Maj. Raphael Moses had a long night ahead of him.
He had just received custody of gold bullion worth $40,000, and there would be no leaving Washington, Ga., that night.
"The town was full of stragglers, cavalry men who had just been paid $20 each. They had arms but no consciences, and the little taste they had of specie provoked their appetites and like Oliver Twist, they wanted MORE," Moses would later write.
The gold would be heading to Augusta in the morning by train, but first Moses had to make it through the night of May 3, 1865.
His first step was to hire 10 men of the Washington artillery, whom he agreed to pay $10 in gold each if they would guard the gold that night and help him make it to Augusta.
Together they went around town and destroyed all the liquor they could find in shops. Next, Moses put a keg of gunpowder in the building where the bullion was stored and spread word in the community that he would "fire" the building if it was rushed. The guards were placed outside the door.
Via T
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