The Curse of Civil War Gold (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 4 - The Pritchard Connection - full transcript

NARRATOR: Tonight on
The Curse of Civil War Gold...

I have heard rumor
of Confederate gold

-underneath the Pritchard house.
-Oh.

GARY:
Not every day you get to search

the property
of a Civil War general.

Hey, hey, hey, it's a coin!

Oh, man.

Pritchard didn't come home
empty-handed.

Could what you see on the screen
there possibly be a tunnel?

-It is possible.
-You just got wood.

AL:
You're kidding.



It could be part of a vault.
What is it? Bring it up.

AL:
That's it!

♪

NARRATOR: 50 miles south
of Muskegon, Michigan.

EVIN: So, are you guys nervous
at all meeting with Rob?

I got butterflies
in my stomach a little bit.

-A little bit, a little bit.
-I'm excited.

NARRATOR:
Kevin Dykstra,

his younger brother Al,
and team researcher

Brad Richards are on their way to the town of Allegan

for what could be
a breakthrough meeting.

Okay, diver in the water.

NARRATOR: During the past few weeks...

...they have discovered
amazing evidence



that a boxcar filled
with millions

in stolen Civil War gold...

Let it go.

NARRATOR: ...could be lying at the bottom of Lake Michigan,

just off shore
from the town of Frankfort.

I would definitely call this
a man-made structure

that needs a lot
of further investigation.

NARRATOR: But while Kevin
and his team must now wait

for the appropriate permissions

to return to the lake and begin excavating their search area,

they are using the time
to further investigate

what Kevin believes
was a major conspiracy,

one that suggests the gold
they might have found

at the bottom of Lake Michigan could be only a small portion

of the gold that was stolen at the end of the Civil War.

Today they have arranged
to meet face-to-face

with the great-great-grandson of a man who, Kevin believes,

was a key player in the plot to steal the gold

Confederate President
Jefferson Davis

had with him at the time
of his arrest,

Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard.

EVIN: Well, guys, here we are.
-AL: Here we are.

KEVIN:
Get this meeting underway.

AL:
Let the games begin.

-This is gonna be interesting.
-I know.

NARRATOR: Because mainstream historians

have long argued that Davis
did not have gold

or any portion of the Confederate treasury with him

on the morning
he was captured...

-Mr. Proctor.
-Hey, Kevin.

NARRATOR: ...if Kevin and his
team can prove otherwise,

it would suggest that his
theory of a vast conspiracy

and elaborate cover-up is true.

Well, thanks for taking the time
to meet with us today.

We've never had
the opportunity to speak

with a descendent of
Mr. Pritchard, and I understand

that you lived in the
Pritchard house for some time?

I did. We lived there, uh,

with my family from 1994

to 2007, but I've been
around that house

since the '60s,
when I was a little kid,

and it's been in our family
since 1865 when he built it.

-Been in your family that long?
-Yeah.

So I'm sure you've heard of some
of the research that I've done.

Yes. I-I've seen your research,

and it's almost hard to grasp
what was going on at the time.

You know, we're just
searching for the truth.

Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR:
It is Kevin's belief

that Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard,

a native of Allegan, Michigan, was operating under orders

from his commanding officer, Colonel Robert H. G. Minty,

who, in turn, was part
of a conspiracy organized

by another Michigan native,

lumber tycoon turned banker,
Charles Hackley.

So growing up,

when they were talking about
the arrest of Jefferson Davis,

were there any other things
about the arrest

that you have information of?

ROB: Yeah, we had
a couple of articles

that the general acquired
during the capture.

If you'd like to see them now,
I have them with me.

You mean, like, actual artifacts
from the capture?

Yeah, they were in the
possession of Jefferson Davis

-at the time of his capture.
-Ooh.

-AL: Seriously. That's cool.
-Yeah.

-Let's see 'em.
-Yeah.

-Uh-oh.
-So...

This is one of the buttons

off of one of the
articles of clothing

Jefferson Davis was wearing when
he was attempting to escape.

-AL: Really? Oh, wow.
-BRAD: No way.

-And we have one more.
-Oh, wow.

-What in the world?
-This is the Tiffany chalice.

AL:
Ugh, that's cool.

KEVIN: And your family lore
says this was with

Jefferson Davis at the point
of capture?

-Yes.
-Wow.

NARRATOR:
A Tiffany chalice?

A genuine article of treasure

taken from Jefferson Davis
at the time of his arrest?

But if Benjamin Pritchard took this, could he have taken more?

Perhaps six wagonloads
of gold and silver

the Confederate president
had hoped

to smuggle across the border to Mexico.

KEVIN: It was amazing to hold
that chalice in my hand,

knowing that Jefferson Davis

and his wife probably drank
from that,

and it also appeared
to be a trophy

for Colonel Benjamin Pritchard.

Rob, is there any specific story
handed down through your family

that General Pritchard

brought Confederate gold
back here to Michigan?

Specific story, no.

I'm not aware of
a treasure trail

story of Benjamin Pritchard

getting gold from Irwinville
to Michigan.

But I will level with you.

I have heard conversation

about gold underneath
the Pritchard house. Yes.

You've heard of treasure under
the Pritchard house?

Yes.

We had stories of

Confederate gold,
and it was folks

that would say, "Oh, hey,
you live in the Pritchard house.

There's a tunnel
under the Pritchard house."

-Tunnel?
-I did say tunnel.

I lived in the Pritchard house
for 13 years.

I've been around it
since the '60s.

Throughout time,
there have been folks that said,

"Oh, there's a tunnel
in the Pritchard house."

KEVIN:
Look at that.

Look at that! Nice.

NARRATOR:
Last week,

Kevin and his team discovered evidence of a tunnel

connecting Charles Hackley's
former mansion in Muskegon

to a home that once belonged to Hackley's friend

and longtime business partner Thomas Hume.

It had to be a tunnel.
They just closed it off.

Well, and we were told
there was a tunnel right here.

NARRATOR: It is Kevin's belief
that the tunnel was used

to secretly transport portions of the stolen Confederate gold

from Hackley's house to Hume's,

as part of their plot to sneak the gold out of Michigan

and west to Utah,

where it would be melted down
and laundered

in one of Hackley's
numerous gold mines.

So, with all this talk
of the possibility

of tunnels and treasures,
do you think there's a way

that we could ever get
into that house?

-Do you know the owners?
-Yes, I do, very well.

You think they'd let us come on

to the property
and search around?

Oh, I'm pretty sure
they would, yeah.

KEVIN: You know, with my large
background in construction

and being able to go
into the Pritchard house,

which Benjamin Pritchard built--
it's exciting

because I think
I might be able to see things

that the average person
may not see.

Rob, I can't thank you enough

for coming up here
and meeting with us.

This has been very valuable
for my research.

I'm happy to help.

NARRATOR: While waiting for permission to visit the home

of Benjamin Pritchard,
Kevin, Al and Brad

pay a visit to the Allegan Historical Society.

They are hoping
to find further evidence

of Pritchard's involvement
in a plot

to steal and then launder
millions in Civil War gold.

SCOTT:
Hey, guys. How you doing?

Good. Couldn't be better.
Couldn't be better.

-Hey, this is my brother Al.
-Hi, Al. Scott Kuykendall.

-Nice to meet you.
-And this is Brad Richards.
-Hi, Brad.

Scott Kuykendall.
Good to meet you.

Nice to meet you, Scott.

NARRATOR: Housed in a former
courthouse and jail,

the Allegan Historical Society contains rare artifacts

and historical documents

dating as far back
as the early 1800s.

So, as we spoke on the phone,

you apparently have
a lot of artifacts here

from Benjamin Pritchard

and the capture of Jefferson
Davis, as I understand it?

We have the largest collection

of Pritchard artifacts
in the country.

-Wow.
-Because he was from our county.

And that's everything
from documentation

to actual military artifacts.

-Can we go see them?
-Follow me.

KEVIN: I'm certain I'm gonna
find out things from Scott

that I don't know
about Benjamin Pritchard.

And I'm really excited to see

how what he knows can propel
my research even further.

I got a few items
you might be interested in.

-Wow.
-The first one we've got here.

This is Pritchard's saddle
and saddle blanket.

-Wow.
-You got the "4"

for the 4th Michigan Cav.

This was on Pritchard's horse.

-That was at the capture site?
-In Irwinville, Georgia,

on May 10th of 1865,
this was there.

Very nice.

Uh, next thing we're gonna
look at here is...

-AL: Wow, look at that.
-BRAD: Wow.

Gentlemen, this is
the 1863 issue Colt .44.

This was Pritchard's army issue.

Al, why don't you put
some gloves on here?

We're gonna let you hold
a piece of history.

Be careful with that thing.

-Right.
-I got it.

SCOTT: This revolver on
Pritchard's hip heard

the conversation when
they initially captured Davis.

BRAD: That was aimed at the
president of another country.

SCOTT:
Right.

AL: As I'm holding this gun,
I cannot believe

that this is a gun that Pritchard was carrying.

If the thing could talk,
what would it tell me?

Well, he was an amazing war hero
and this is a real honor.

Yeah, he truly was a war hero,

and he was so popular
in the state of Michigan,

there were several folks that
wanted him to run for governor,

but he didn't want to.
He wanted

to stay local, he wanted
to stay here in Allegan County.

So, if he...
if he wanted to stay local,

why did he agree to become
the state land commissioner?

A lot of his friends
were big players

in politics
in the state of Michigan.

So when they moved up,
they asked Pritchard

to take on some of the
smaller jobs, in their view.

Well, see, Kevin's got
this theory that the railroad

that goes from here in Allegan
to Muskegon needed

-a land commissioner.
-KEVIN: My theory says, Scott,

that a land commissioner
would have been the person

who could have okayed
the transfer of land

to be able
to put a railroad together.

-Okay.
-Because, it's my belief

that possibly the Confederate
gold could have been brought up

to Muskegon on those railroads.

NARRATOR: Soon after returning
home to Allegan

at the end of the Civil War,

Benjamin Pritchard
was appointed

to the office
of state land commissioner.

The job gave him oversight

of, among other things,

new railroad construction.

In 1870,

a 60-mile section
of track known

as the Michigan Lakeshore
Railroad

was built to connect the cities of Allegan and Muskegon,

the hometown
of Charles Hackley.

Because the rail line ended
right at the back door

of Hackley's downtown office,

it is Kevin Dykstra's belief
that the project

was the result of a secret deal

between Hackley
and Benjamin Pritchard.

So, my-my thought
is that Benjamin Pritchard

possibly became
the land commissioner

to help with that process to get
that railroad to Muskegon.

-Mm-hmm.
-And then

Charles Hackley
would have benefited

from the land commissioner

deeding over the property.

Would you say that there was
a good likelihood

that Charles Hackley knew
Benjamin Pritchard?

Oh, very well. Yes.

Yeah, that's-that's a definite.

SCOTT:
I do have some documents

that you might be
interested in.

So, why don't you follow me.
Bring your gloves with you.

NARRATOR: While looking for evidence directly linking

Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard

to a conspiracy
involving millions

in stolen gold and silver...

All right, we're gonna be coming
in this room.

...Kevin Dykstra has just been informed that Pritchard,

in his capacity as the Allegan County land commissioner,

would have had
extensive dealings

with local millionaire
Charles Hackley,

the man who Kevin believes

was instrumental in the plot.

SCOTT: The first document
I want you to look at here,

it's from the First National
Bank of Allegan.

-This is one of-- on his...
-AL: Oh.

-The letterhead?
-You can see, up in the corner,

he's president.

AL:
That seem like an odd thing

for him to be able to do

after the war was over?

Pritchard was, uh,
very connected in the community.

He was able to raise

the $50,000 that was needed
to start the bank.

So, he obviously had that

-or got that money
from somewhere
-Correct.

-to start the charter.
-Correct.

Okay. Okay.

You know, in our paperwork
that we have here,

we have no proof that he had
$50,000 to start the bank.

KEVIN: Has any
of the townspeople ever wondered

how was it he was able
to start a bank

or did they just accept the fact
that he had...

earned this money somewhere?

Uh, I think, initially, no.

Pritchard was
a very philanthropic,

-very upstanding,
-Mm-hmm.

-community-oriented,
-BRAD: Honest.

honorable, courage,
commitment to his community.

That's why it was
never questioned.

-This guy is a returning hero.
-Right.

He's not gonna be questioned
for anything.

-He's-he's the capturer
of Jefferson Davis.
-No.

NARRATOR: A small-town
schoolteacher and lawyer

who becomes a banker?

Could the money Pritchard used
to start his bank

actually have been a payoff
for his complicity

in an elaborate scheme

to steal a large portion of the Confederate treasury?

You know, the only thing
that makes any sense to me

with Benjamin Pritchard
opening up that bank

is he could have used
that Confederate gold.

I can't wait to get
to Benjamin Pritchard's house

and see if there's any remnants
of that gold anywhere.

-Been a worthwhile trip. Thanks.
-For sure, it has.
-All right. Thank you.

-Scott, thank you.
-Thanks, Kevin. Al.
-Great meeting you.

SCOTT:
Good seeing you.

♪

NARRATOR:
Early the next day...

AL:
There they are.

NARRATOR: ...Kevin and the team arrive

athe former home
of Benjamin Pritchard.

Hey, guys.

-Hey, Rob.
-NARRATOR: They have arranged

to meet once again
with Rob Proctor,

who has secured permission from the current owner, Diana Lloyd,

to look around the house
and property.

VIN: If Pritchard brought gold to Michigan, as my research

shows, there's a good chance that gold could be in Allegan

or it could be in his house
or anywhere around it.

All right, come on in.

As you can see,

-the initial thing you see
in the house
-BRAD: Wow.

is the hanging circular
staircase.

-BRAD: Very cool.
-ROB: And what's really neat

about this is this was built
by General Pritchard.

NARRATOR: A spiral staircase built by Benjamin Pritchard?

General Pritchard built
the stairs with his own hand?

-This is all his work?
-Yeah. He was a carpenter.

NARRATOR:
Could it be another clue,

one that further connects
Benjamin Pritchard

to Charles Hackley?

Feel free to walk on up it.

-Okay.
-This is amazing.
-Yeah.

And see what you think.
Does it f...

-All by hand?
-All by hand.

NARRATOR: Because the spiral serves as an important symbol

in Freemasonry

and it was well-known
that Charles Hackley

was a prominent member of this very secret society,

is it possible that Pritchard built this incredible staircase

as a means
of illustrating his loyalty

both to Hackley and the plot

to steal millions
in Confederate gold?

-ROB: Hear it creaking?
-No, it's solid.

-KEVIN: Even with Brad on it.
-[laughter]

The University of Michigan
Engineering Department

has been here
probably three times,

because they're trying
to figure out

-how he's done it
-How he supported it.

with this kind of support.

And outside of taking it
all apart,

-which we're not interested
in doing,
-No.

it's staying there.

KEVIN: You know, wondering for eight years if,

at the Benjamin Pritchard
house,

there was any treasure
buried anywhere on the property

was always a thought
in the back of my mind.

This great room used to be a
front parlor and a back parlor.

KEVIN: But when I know he built it with his own hands

the same year the war ended,

that's where my thoughts ran--

was where could he hide stuff
in this house.

General Pritchard died
right there

in that room.
That was his bedroom.

-KEVIN: Oh, really?
-AL: No kidding.
-ROB: Mm-hmm.

Yeah. He was 72 years old.

And he came home and he said
he wasn't feeling well.

Had some chest pains.

He went in and laid down.

They got worse.
They called the doctor.

The-the next afternoon,
he passed away of angina.

-AL: Wow.
-Passed right in there, huh?

-AL: That quick?
-BRAD: Curious to see

-the rest of the place.
-Yeah.
-Yeah.

All right, there's a lot more.

When Rob Proctor shared that

his great-great-grandfather
died fairly suddenly...

-All right. -I instantly started to believe

those rumors
that Rob was telling me.

He said to me
that if there was something

buried underneath the basement,

it may still be there.

Here we go.

-ROB: Watch your head.
-AL: Yeah.

BRAD:
Watch my head here.

AL:
Especially down here, Brad.

Oh, wow.

It is an old Michigan basement.

ROB:
[laughs] I told you.

KEVIN:
This is interesting.

AL:
This is impressive.

Is this a coal shoot?

ROB:
Yeah.

Look at this.

KEVIN:
So, to me,

an indicator right off the bat.

I mean, we haven't been
down here five seconds,

and I already see something.

When I see this brick laid
like this on the floor,

this is intriguing.

BRAD:
What's going on here, Kev?

KEVIN:
I think we're gonna find

there's things underneath here
to look for.

ROB:
Okay. I'm interested.

If you look over there, you see
cement or you see concrete.

But over here we see brick.

When I see these bricks laid
like this, that means

they can get back under it.
Why?

Very intriguing,
either way you slice it.

Obviously, those men had
the money to cement this,

but they didn't.
I'd like to find the reason why.

When I get down to the basement and I see

that part of the floor
is concrete

and part of the floor
is just bricks,

which can easily be
taken back up,

there very likely could be
something under this floor.

I'm wondering if we want to look
at some ground-penetrating

radar, which would show us what
could be underneath this floor.

But I'll guarantee you
one thing--

this brick was put in here
for a reason.

ROB:
I am

cautiously,
skeptically optimistic

-about what you're going
to find.
-[chuckling]

It would be very interesting
that if I was playing

on this brick floor,

six inches above millions
of dollars of treasure.

My children would be... floored.

-[chuckling]
-KEVIN: I'd love to get

ground-penetrating radar

and Gary Drayton out here,

so we can really investigate
these grounds.

This house is
really in amazing condition

-for being as old as it is.
-ROB: Isn't it though?

Boy, they've-they've taken
very good care of this place.

BRAD: I'd like to investigate
a little further.

NARRATOR:
Two days after touring

the former home of Benjamin Pritchard in Allegan, Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra has returned
with his brother Al

and history teacher
Brad Richards.

Joining them are ground-penetrating radar expert

Joe Glidden and metal detection
expert Gary Drayton.

-Gentlemen.
-BRAD: Hey, Rob.
-KEVIN: Hi, Rob. How are you?

Good morning. Welcome back
to the Pritchard house.

Thank you so much.

NARRATOR: With the help of Rob Proctor,

Benjamin Pritchard's
great-great-grandson,

they have secured permission to search the property

for evidence, evidence

which could prove
Kevin's theory

that Pritchard was involved
in an elaborate plot

to steal a fortune
in Confederate gold.

He's the master
metal detector guy.

-All right.
-KEVIN: He-he can find anything.

He's been working very close
with Marty Lagina up there,

and he's found
some amazing things.

And we're hoping he brings
that good luck down here for us.

Marty says, "Do you want
to go search the property

of a Civil War general?"

-Heck yeah!
-[laughter]

-ROB: Well, this is it.
-KEVIN: I think

what we need to do is split up.
Um, Brad and Gary,

why don't you start
doing some metal detecting.

-BRAD: Sure.
-And-and we'll head

inside the house
and get this underway.

-Perfect.
-That's good.
-All right, well, give me that.

-You go help Gary.
-All right. Will do.

KEVIN: We're gonna do
a thorough search

on this property.

We're gonna be looking
for gold coins

or gold bullion--

more evidence that might back up our theory.

And we won't stop
till we find it.

-This is a great place to start.
-Okay.

I've searched
a lot of old homes,

and the best place to start
is always close to the house.

If you get a big hit, I'm ready.

I got a big digger.

[both laugh]

-All right, mate,
let's find some cool stuff.
-All right.

[detector chirping]

-You see all these little
chirpy signals?
-Yeah.

-That-That's iron.
-Okay.

We're not looking for iron.

We're not looking
for ferrous objects.

We're looking
for non-ferrous targets.

-Gotcha.
-It would be coins,

jewelry, stuff like that.

BRAD:
Yeah.

[chirping, beeping]

-Getting mixed signals here.
-Is that a double?

Yeah. No, but that ain't worth
digging, mate.

Okay. That's why you're here.

[beeping]

Now, that is.

Let me just have
a little wiggle over it.

[beeps]

Straight in the middle, mate.

That's why I like going next
to the house

to try and find something.

They wouldn't have ventured
very far away.

[detector beeping]

BRAD:
It's a nail.

GARY:
It's a nail?

BRAD:
It's an old nail.

Which explains
the sharp poke I got.

[both laugh]

GARY:
That stinks.

-Oh, that sounds good.
-What do you got there?

-That's a good two-way
-A good one?

repeatable signal, Brad, yeah.

Unfortunately, it's not deep
but you never know.

Yeah, it's out, mate.

-It's in the plug.
-Yeah.

Come on, baby. Be a coin.

[detector beeping]

BRAD:
That's a weird-looking thing.

-GARY: Oh!
-BRAD: What is that?

GARY: That is a Civil War era
belt buckle.

There was a lot of Civil War
soldiers on this property.

There are stories of his
soldiers returning back

to this location,
the soldiers that he led,

and they bivouacked on this hill
over here.

That is crazy.

If I was dating that,
I'd say that's late 1800s.

Whoo-hoo!

GARY:
What a start.

That's unbelievable.

Put that in the top pocket?

GARY:
Wow, that is crazy.

That is definitely
a top pocket find.

Guys are gonna freak
when they see that.

NARRATOR: As Gary and Brad
continue their search

of the grounds around
the Pritchard house...

Kevin and the rest of his team begin searching

for a secret tunnel that could be hidden somewhere

underneath the basement floor.

Joe, so what's that?

It's a ground-penetrating
radar unit.

-So how far will it go down?
-I've been in sand before,

and I've seen 20 to 30 feet
with it before.

So if there's something ten,
20 feet down here,

-we should be able to see it?
-It's very possible.

NARRATOR: The DS-2000 ground-penetrating radar unit

will send high-frequency radio
signals through the floor

which will be able
to detect differences

in ground composition, as well as any large objects,

or voids below the surface.

KEVIN: Isn't it interesting
how you can look

through the brick
to see what's underneath it?

-Yeah, it really is.
-That's just,

just mind-boggling to me.

Kevin, if you look at this
real quick.

-See that hyperbola?
-Yeah.

JOE:
You can see that layer

at that four-foot mark
for-for most of this.

-AL: All the way across?
-All the way across.

Could what you see on the screen
there possibly be a tunnel?

It is possible.

RRATOR: Could Joe Glidden have eally just found evidence

of a tunnel beneath the house
of Benjamin Pritchard?

If so, what was it used for?

And what might it still
contain?

How do we get
more confirmation of it?

Do we just move over
and try it again?

Move-move over,
see if it shows up.

KEVIN:
All right, well,

you know what I'm gonna say.

Let's move over.

JOE:
About there.

That's about the other edge
of the disturbance right here.

-Well, that's odd.
-Mm-hmm.

It starts to go that way.

It's staggered a little.

AL:
And so is that one.

-AL: Oh, yeah.
-JOE: Somewhat strange.

So it might...

Let's draw these lines out
so we can see

-right where that
possible tunnel is.
-Mm-hmm.

JOE: That's where the bricks
have been kind of sinking there.

-AL: Yeah, exactly.
-KEVIN: See how they're
caving in there?

It shows the size of a tunnel.

The top of the anomaly feels
like it would be a tunnel.

Or a place to put something

-and cover it up.
-That's why you want
to dig so bad.

I do. Yeah. I want to see
what's down there.

I have to say, I am interested
to see what's under here.

I think we need to dig
all the way down to it.

I do, too.

NARRATOR: While Kevin, Al, Joe
and Rob finish up

their GPR scanning
of the basement,

outside, in the front yard,

Brad Richards and Gary Drayton,

continue their search
for other important clues

and evidence of treasure.

GARY: I always like to put
myself back in the day.

I can just imagine
General Pritchard out here,

bending down
and losing some gold

-or silver out of his pocket.
-Yeah.

No, just not solid enough.

[detector beeping]

-I just can't walk away
from that.
-[detector whining]

-I know. Let's do it.
-Yeah.

-We didn't come
all the way to...
-No.

-This could be the one.
-...General Pritchard's house

to-to not dig up the ones
that you find.

GARY: Yeah, whatever it is,
it's out, mate.

-Sounds real good.
-Does it really?

Come on, be a coin.

[laughing]:
Hey, hey, hey, it's a coin!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

-Oh, my God. That is beautiful.
-Is that a good one?

Oh, man!

BRAD:
Definitely a coin.

That is an oldie.

BRAD: With some old
imprinting on it.

See, it looks like, uh,
some stars there

around the s--
the, uh, edges there.

-Can you see those?
-Yeah, I can. Yeah.

BRAD:
Holy monkey.

Dang, that is nice.

That's gonna be an old one.

That's what we're looking for.

-That's sweet.
-Yeah.

This reminds me of the coin

that came out of the ground
in Georgia.

Yeah. Me, too.

Imagine that,
if it's the same one.

That's sweet.

[laughs] Whoo!

NARRATOR:
Last year...

Big fella in there
and dig it up.

NARRATOR: ...while searching
for artifacts near the site

of Jefferson Davis's capture in Irwinville, Georgia...

You can see the stars going all
the way around the edges of it.

ARRATOR: ...Gary Drayton found
what appeared to be

-a silver Confederate coin.
-Whoo!

But what made the team's discovery even more exciting

was that it was found near
the exact same spot

where Benjamin Pritchard
is believed

to have buried millions

in gold and treasure,
shortly after seizing it

from Jefferson Davis's
entourage

in the hours after his arrest.

Look at that.

NARRATOR:
Could Brad and Gary

have just found
an identical coin

in Benjamin Pritchard's
front yard?

And if so, could it be a piece of the Confederate treasury

that Kevin believes
Pritchard later smuggled

to Michigan in 1870?

-We might have just found one
of the spoils of war.
-Yeah.

If that ends up being
a Confederate coin.

I mean... [laughs]

That's a big step towards
saying, uh,

Pritchard didn't come home
empty-handed.

And we're not going home
empty-handed.

-That's right. That's right.
-All right, Brad.

-I'm just gonna keep going
-All right.

in the same direction.

NARRATOR: As Gary Drayton continues to search the grounds

around the Pritchard home
for more clues...

Here we go.

NARRATOR:
...Brad joins Kevin and Al

as they look for evidence
of a tunnel

beneath the basement floor.

KEVIN:
The top of what we thought

might be a tunnel is about
three foot below us here.

So what we're gonna do is we're
gonna make a two-foot square box

and we're gonna drive
that box down,

excavate the dirt out of it,

drive it down,
excavate more dirt.

And we'll get down to about that
three-foot mark.

There's something very hard
underneath there.

All right, let's do it.

NARRATOR: To dig a three-foot deep hole,

and avoid a collapse
or cave-in...

KEVIN:
Just like that.

NARRATOR: ...Kevin and Brad
build a shoring box

of heavy plywood.

Grab that other piece.

There you go.

Okay, Albert...

let's see how well you measured.

Oh, not bad.

Okay, you're gonna have
to just scoop

and we'll undermine and scoop
and undermine.

And that's the process.

Nice.

BRAD: You know, guys, this is
how Dan Blankenship dug 10-X.

-Up on Oak Island?
-Yeah. He used railcars,

but same principle.
One scoop at a time.

KEVIN:
Yeah. Watch your arm.

We're getting close.

Perfect.

Hand me that probe,
will you, Brad?

Yeah.

Al, can you just kind of step
towards the back of it?

It's right there.

BRAD:
You can't go no further?

KEVIN:
No.

I swear there's something there.

Okay. Take a few more scoops
out of the middle.

Here.

It does feel like
there's something there.

AL: I know. It really does.
It really does.

[grunts]

Oh, he just got wood.

-Hey, Al.
-Yeah.

You just got wood.

Where? Down there?

In that last one you dug,
you just got wood.

You're kidding.

BRAD:
I'll be doggone.

AL:
We're on to something.

NARRATOR: Beneath the basement floor of Benjamin Pritchard's

19th century home,
Kevin Dykstra,

along with his brother Al,

and researcher Brad Richards

have just found
what could be evidence

of a secret underground chamber, where Kevin believes

Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard

may have hidden
a stash of stolen

Confederate gold
after the Civil War.

AL: I don't know why wood
would be down there that deep.

-Doesn't make any sense.
-KEVIN: There's a few options

that it could be, you know.

We thought
possibly it was a tunnel.

We thought possibly
it could be a vault.

The fact that there's wood
three feet below the surface

of this floor...

We know a human being put
that wood down there.

Yeah. And there's
no doubt about that.

KEVIN: When we started finding wood,

you could tell
this wood was old.

That soil down there
is very dry.

And this wood was
very well intact.

So somebody
had excavated that floor.

Could have been
a treasure chest.

Could have been
some type of a box.

But it was definitely
made out of wood.

You want to switch with Brad?

-Why don't we let Brad
get down there.
-All right.

-BRAD: Take turns.
-KEVIN: You want to try

-a little bit with the shovel?
-Yeah.

I know there's something hard.

Every time you shovel
right there, I can hear it.

But I keep getting deeper,
and I think this might be

just a layer
I'm chiseling away from.

-Yeah, it just keeps caving in.
-Yeah.

I think I just punched through
that layer and now I'm back down

into the, uh, softer sand.

-I think that's
what we're hitting.
-That's what we're hitting,

is wood.

It's cut.

Yep.

KEVIN:
All right.

Let's take a break a minute.

That's indisputable,
to have cut lumber

-that far deep.
-Yeah.

Somebody was down here.

Pritchard put his treasure here.

This is where he had
his personal vault, I bet.

Yeah. I'd agree with that.

Something man-made
was down here.

Why don't we do this.
Just on the chance

that maybe there is a hinge

-or a latch or something...
-Hit the metal detector.

Why don't we hit
that metal detector.

BRAD:
You never know.

KEVIN:
Can you get up?

-BRAD: I believe.
-AL: There you go, Brad.

[groans]

♪

[beeping]

[beeping]

[Al laughs]

Yeah, well,
it's close to the surface.

He just touched it,
and it went right off.

[beeping]

-You got it. You got it.
-What is it?

Bring it up. Bring it up.

[beeping continues]

-[beeping]
-Yeah.

Whatever it is, it's in there.

-Is it a coin?
-Oh!

-[beeping]
-That's it!

-AL: Is that a coin?
-[laughing]

-It's a coin!
-No way!

[chuckles]

-KEVIN: Hit that with the...
-[beeping]

Nice job, buddy.

A coin in the hole.

Ha-ha!

-It could be gold.
-AL: It very well could be gold.

KEVIN:
I agree.

It very well could be.
We need to get this

to somebody who can analyze it
and tell us what it is.

Can you see a date
or anything on it?

No, I can't.
And I don't want to rub it,

because I know
we could damage it.

Feel it. It's heavy.

It isn't silver, and it's
almost perfectly circular.

So, what do you think?

-It's definitely man-made.
-Mm-hmm.

Man-made? Wha...

what business
does a man-made object have

almost four feet
below this floor? It all points

to a strong likelihood that
there could very well have been

something of value
below the general's floor.

-Yeah.
-That's right.

KEVIN: So either Benjamin Pritchard

removed what was down there
before he died,

or he told somebody
to remove it for him.

But nonetheless,
it was taken out before he died.

Three feet below
General Pritchard's

-basement floor.
-This is a major discovery.

[laughter]

NARRATOR: Discovering evidence of what could be the remains

of a wooden tunnel
underneath the property

of Benjamin Pritchard further validates Kevin's belief

that Pritchard
wasn't only involved

in Jefferson Davis's arrest,

but also continued to serve
as a key player

in Charles Hackley's plot

to launder millions in stolen
Confederate gold and silver.

I'm convinced
that Benjamin Pritchard

was involved
in moving that gold.

Marty always says,
"Put something in my hand."

We got some trinkets.

We got some cool stuff
to put in Marty's hand.

Yeah, it was a great day.

Let's get another box
and get back down here.

I would really like
to show Diana a handful

-of coins instead of just one.
-Yeah.

KEVIN: This is gonna go
in my top pocket.

KEVIN: I love giving
reports like this.

BRAD [laughs]:
Yeah.

NARRATOR:
After making a number

of important discoveries on the property of Benjamin Pritchard,

Kevin Dykstra,
his younger brother Al,

Jeff Zehr and Brad Richards have gathered in his workshop

for a video conference
with Marty and Alex Lagina.

-Hey, guys.
-Hello!
-KEVIN: Hey. How are ya?

-ALEX: Good.
-Fantastic!

It's good to hear from you.

I saw you sent me a bunch

of interesting photos
but no explanation, so, uh,

let's talk about
what I'm looking at here.

We've got a lot
of explanations for you.

Good. Proceed.

We actually met
with Rob Proctor,

who is Benjamin Pritchard's
great-great-grandson.

Pritchard-- he's the guy that
captured Jefferson Davis, right?

-Yes.
-MARTY: Was he cooperative?

I mean, 'cause you're talking
about his family, you know?

I was a little apprehensive,
but it was the opposite.

He was a stand-up guy.

Rob Proctor shared that

for years rumors persisted
that there was items buried

beneath the Pritchard basement.

-Wow.
-Wow.
-He was able

to actually get us access

to the Pritchard property
and inside the house, as well.

-Fantastic.
-Wow.
-What I realized

when I first laid eyes
on the basement,

half of the basement floor
was poured with concrete,

and the other half
of the basement floor

was laid with pavers.

-And I thought that unusual.
-Okay.

We pulled out a metal object,

circular in shape
with a flat side on it,

which was about four feet
below the top of the brick.

-You guys mean this thing?
-Yeah, that's exactly it.

We believe that
if we can identify what it is,

we could probably come up
with a good reason

why it was below Benjamin
Pritchard's basement floor.

Wow. That is fantastic!

KEVIN:
It's unbelievable.

So huge success in the basement.

But I'll tell you what, guys,

what Brad and Gary Drayton
found out in the yard,

I'll let Brad talk about that.

We found a coin that,

when we pulled it
out of the ground,

Gary immediately said,

"That's a really old coin."

Oh, my God!

-Is that a good one?
-That is beautiful. Oh, man!

BRAD:
He got really excited,

and Gary thought
it was almost identical

to the one we found
in Irwinville, Georgia.

Very, very interesting.

KEVIN: What are the odds
that we find a coin like that

down in Irwinville and we go
to Benjamin Pritchard's house

and we find the same type
of coin out in his yard?

Yeah, that's exciting.

-Seems to link the two sites
pretty conclusively.
-MARTY: Yep.

KEVIN:
I think sharing the results

of searching the Benjamin
Pritchard property with Marty

is really great, because...

it's just
more compelling evidence

that pushes this story forward.

Guys, is there any news on
the Lake Michigan permit front?

You know, where are we at
in the permitting process?

We are working on it
with the state.

There's no definitive word yet,
but we are working on it.

Okay, great. Let me know
if I can help somehow.

KEVIN: We will. At this point
in time, while we're waiting,

we're gonna be researching

where else we're
gonna find missing gold.

What we're seeing here, guys,
is that what started off

as one cache of gold
down in Irwinville, Georgia,

it's really looking like

we're just at the tip
of the iceberg here.

It wouldn't surprise me
if more people reach out to us

with information that leads us
to other caches of gold.

Maybe many more.

You know, at the risk
of being a person who is viewed

as never being satisfied,

I am truly impressed
with what you've done.

I mean, it's really remarkable.

-Keep at it.
-We will.
Thanks for your time, guys.

-Good talking to you guys. Bye.
-Thanks a lot, guys.

KEVIN:
Well, let's get back at it.

Yeah, let's go.

NARRATOR: For Kevin Dykstra and his team,

the notion that wagonloads of Confederate gold and silver

came to Michigan
after the Civil War

is less a question of "if,"
but "how much,"

and "where is it now?"

They are also
more convinced than ever

that they are on the verge of uncovering a vast conspiracy,

one that involves a number of wealthy and powerful men.

But as they dive
deeper and deeper

to solve the mystery,
what will they find?

Millions in stolen gold?

Or, perhaps, something
of even greater value?

Something that has been hidden from the eyes of history

for 150 years.

Next time on
The Curse of Civil War Gold...

Isn't it great to be back
in Georgia again?

BRAD: There were six wagons
full of gold.

GARY: And it was stolen at this site?

Once the robbery got underway,

it was just a free-for-all.

GARY:
If you was running

with gold in your pockets,

this is the type of place
you'd hide it.

-What is that?
-I don't know.

I've never seen
anything like it.

Oh, wow! Nice!

JEFF: It's time to go down and see

if that's real gold.

Subtitled by Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk