Was an important Confederate artifact lost in Conecuh County in 1865?

Several months ago, one of our readers told me an interesting story about an important Confederate artifact that may be lost somewhere in Conecuh County. I’m passing the story along today to see if any of you might know more details about the story.

The story begins in 1865, in the last days of the Civil War, when Union forces began to move north out of Mobile towards Selma, where there was a large armory and munitions factory, which supplied most of the South’s ammunition. Sensing what was to come, Confederate agents in Selma began to gather important documents and other items, including a valuable Confederate seal. This seal, which was very much like a notary public’s seal today, was used by Confederate government officials to stamp documents with an embossed mark that certified the document’s authenticity.

According to the story, Confederate agents made their way south with these items, possibly in hopes of hiding them in the vicinity of Pensacola, Mobile or New Orleans. One version of the tale has them making their way to Sanders Cave at Brooklyn, where they hid the documents and items from Union officers.

On the way to Brooklyn though, as the story goes, the Confederate seal was supposedly either lost or stolen, giving rise to stories about a lost Confederate seal somewhere in the vicinity of Conecuh County.

Since first hearing this story, I spent a couple of months trying to track down more details, but did not have much luck.

Steve Stacey of Monroeville, who I consider a Civil War expert, especially in regard to the local aspects of the war, doesn’t put much stock in the “lost seal” tale.

“It is part lore, part factual that documents left Selma (true) for Brooklyn (not proved) and the seal was part of the shipment (not proved),” he told me in an August e-mail. “A facsimile of the seal ‘may have’ traveled to Brooklyn and would have crossed the Federal Road in the journey.”

In any event, the Selma seal was likely one of a number of identical seals used by Confederate officials in important cities like Montgomery, Atlanta and New Orleans.

The “Great Seal of the Confederacy,” the one used by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, can be seen today in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va.

It was designed by the firm of Joseph S. Wyon in London, the same firm that served as engravers for Queen Victoria and made the Great Seal of England.

According to officials at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., the seal was completed and given to James Mason, who was a Confederate agent operating in England. Mason then turned it over to Confederate naval officers, who were charged with transporting it back to America. Being a sensitive (and no doubt expensive) item, the seal took a round about trip to the Confederate States in order to avoid the Union naval blockade. It went from England to Canada by ship and then traveled by ship to the island of Bermuda before finally coming ashore in Wilmington, N.C.

In April 1865, around the time that Union forces were marching on Selma, Mrs. William J. Bromwell, the wife of a Confederate State Department official, smuggled the Great Seal out of Richmond, when the rebel government fled that doomed city. The Great Seal was hidden in a barn nearby along with other important archives and documents, and the seal remained in private hands until 1915. It was officially presented to the Museum of the Confederacy in 1943, and it remains there today.

Before I close this thing out, here’s a description of the Confederate seal. The actual seal is round with a picture of George Washington on a horse, surrounded by a wreath composed of cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, wheat and rice. Embossed around the edge you’d find “The Confederate States of America: 22 February, 1862” as well as the Confederacy’s motto, “Deo Vindice.”

In the end, I’m hoping that someone out there will read this story and will provide me with more information about the “Lost Seal” story as it relates to Conecuh County. If you know of any additional details, please contact me at The Courant by calling 578-1492 or by mail at P.O. Box 440, Evergreen, AL 36401. You can also reach me by e-mail at courantsports@earthlink.net.

(In addition to Stacey, a number of people helped me in my search for information about the “lost seal,” and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank them in this space. Special thanks to Larry Ryland of Bermuda; Sherry Johnston, the Genealogist-Historian at the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library; Bill Rambo, Site Director at Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury; and Lee Anne Wofford at Preserve Alabama.)