Customer Reviews

The Rebel and the Rose: James a Semple, Julia Gardiner Tyler, and the Lost Confederate Gold

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The Rebel and the Rose is an extraordinary - and true - tale of the final days of the Confederate government, its exit from Richmond, the Confederate treasury money and the relationship between Julia Gardiner Tyler and James A. Semple. For all the books over all the years written of this era, The Rebel and the Rose manages to uncover a little known story full of interesting details and mysteries. The research put into this book is impressive. Highly recommended for those interested in the Civil War and history in general. You wont be disappointed.

For any Civil War or history enthusiast, The Rebel and The Rose is by far one of the best novels written to date. The author's writing keeps the reader locked in to each page desperate for more. While historically the whereabouts of the lost Confederate gold remains a mystery, you have to enjoy the detail for which is was written.
The book is very enjoyable, a fun read with facts and intrigue and lost rebel gold! This book is one of my absolute favorites in my Civil War collection!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The depth of the "detective work" done by the authors is outstanding. The mystery and the relationships amongst all the individuals was developed and explained very well. Thank you for bringing this portion of the Civil War into such outstanding light.

Did you know that John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States, was a member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, and was later elected to the Confederate House of Representatives but died before he could take office? Did you know his widow, Julia Gardiner Tyler, former First Lady of the United States and New York socialite, was a Confederate sympathizer? Or also a number of John Tyler's sons held prominent positions in the Confederate government and fought in the Confederate Army? I must confess my historical ignorance on these topics, and ask myself why didn't I learn these things in my high school American History class or even in my American History survey classes in college? The answer is of course obvious, they weren't taught, or for that matter even mentioned. Little nuggets of knowledge like these are often what make history so much fun. Which leads me to my next question: "Why isn't this stuff taught in high school and college American History survey courses? Can you imagine how much more excited students of history would be if they knew a former President and his family took up arms against the United States?

So, how then, you may be asking yourself, did I come to learn about these gems of historical minutia? I'm glad you asked! I read "The Rebel and the Rose: James A. Semple and Julia Gardiner Tyler and the Lost Confederate Gold," written by Wesley Millett and Gerald White. "Lost Confederate gold???" you ask. Ah, yes I see I've gotten your attention. And yet the story of what happened to the Confederate Treasury after the fall of Richmond is another subject not touched on in history classes, but also barely mentioned in many books written about the Civil War. But an Indiana Jones movie it is not. Tracking down a lost treasure isn't as glamorous or dangerous as Hollywood would have you believe.

Wesley Millett and Gerald White, the authors of "The Rebel and the Rose," spent twelve years researching their book in attics, archives, and libraries, and searching the internet to piece together the story of the end of the Confederacy, and the collapse of its government, all the while keeping meticulous track of what happened to the Confederate treasury. Their book reads much more like an adventure novel than a history text, and it is filled with tales of treasure and defeat, an illicit and forbidden love affair, and the desperation of the Confederate Government on the run, which as it travels south and west slowly begins to disintegrate until finally Jefferson Davis himself is captured by the Union Army.

"Okay you've got my interest," you say, "But who is James A. Semple, what does he have to do with the lost Confederate gold and what is his relationship with Julia Gardiner Tyler?" I'm glad you asked. James A. Semple was a very efficient & competent Bureau Chief in the Confederate Navy. Semple's estranged wife, Letitia, was the daughter of John Tyler and his first wife, Letitia Christian. James & Letitia Semple spent most of their married lives apart, and permanently separated during the Civil War, though they never divorced. Letitia hated her step-mother, Julia Gardiner Tyler, and while the two of them shared an antagonistic relationship, Julia never held it against James. James Semple and Julia Tyler grew very close and the evidence indicates they may have had a brief love affair.

As I read the book, I began taking notes on who was related to whom. Eventually I ended up creating a genealogical chart to keep track as the Tyler, Gardiner & Semple families are all inter-related to each other in a number of ways, and the more I delved into the genealogy the more fascinating and complex this story gets.

During the Confederate government's flight from Richmond, Semple was eventually put in charge of the Confederate treasury. He successfully avoided capture by the Union Army, and for the next two years would travel between various points in the South to New York and Canada.

Millett & White have done an exemplary job tracking the movements of the Confederate government after it left Richmond and of the treasury and the various disbursements from it, accounting for nearly all of it. "So what happened to the Confederate Treasury and where exactly is it now?" you may ask. Is there a little bit of Indiana Jones lurking inside you? Take off that fedora, put down that whip, brush the sand off your clothes, then read the book and find out for yourself.

Explores events which are mentioned in passing elsewhere, uncovering fascinating story. Hated to finish it, because much mystery remains. Presents facts more sympathetic to Jefferson Davis than generally understood, and adds to understanding of turbulent end of war.

This is an informative and well written book. Reads like a novel rather than as a history book. Authors provide a great deal of information about the last days of the Confederate government but in a way that compels you to keep turning the pages. A must read for anyone interested in the Civil War.

In April 1865 the Civil War was over for most - but even after the Confederate government dissolved, one Jefferson Davis felt compelled to carry on the struggle, journeying best entrusted with all the remaining gold in the Confederate treasury: some, $86,000 in coins and bullion. It and its carriers disappeared - and their fate is revealed in THE REBEL AND THE ROSE: JAMES A. SEMPLE, JULIA GARDINER TYLER, AND THE LOST CONFEDERATE GOLD, which follows Davis' journeys and considers what happened to the gold. Both military and general-interest libraries will find it engrossing.

This book portrays a possible love relationship at the end of the Civil War as historical fact. The interesting part of the book deals with what probably happened to the lost Confederate gold as it made its way out of Richmond, VA. by train prior to the fall of Richmond (the Confederate capital). The book gives a pretty accurate detailing of disbursements from actual documents of the time. The documents reveal that there is no large amount of gold waiting to be dug up. However, there may be kegs of silver buried in Danville, Virginia. The History Channel recently aired a documentary that looked at the possibility of silver being buried in a local cemetary there. Metal detectors did not reveal anything. For treasure hunters hope is still alive!