Ok here is the story. My grandfather acquired 100 + acres from a gentleman in 1934. This is partly pasture with some wooded terrain making up say 50% that looks to never have been logged. When my grandfather acquired this property the current owner was elderly at the time,  and passed away in short order after the transfer. Now here is the intriguing part.
He told granddad a story of a cave that was to be somewhere on this land, that was used by either the union or the southern rebel army to hide from which ever was pursuing the other. the story goes that, when whichever opposing army was hold up in this cave, the pursuer used explosives to cave the mouth of the cave in on them. the story was always told that there was a payroll with the solders in the cave as well as supplies. This area has a well known civil war history, and this property is adjacent to the main road at the time of the war. Well I have searched this property high and low and have came upon what could be a rubble pile. this looks very much like there could have been a cave there at some time. So here are some questions that I feel some of you may be able to help me with. First off I will be the first to admit that this story is probably 100% BS but here we go. What were the army's paid with? Union, gold coinage? Southern, confederate paper money? What are the odds of anything made of steel being in any kind of shape after all of this time i.e. guns and swords and such? Also does anyone know of some way or some company that can penetrate the ground with radar to see if there may be a cave under all of the rubble? There is a spring that just bubbles up out of the ground about 100 yards from this rock pile, which makes me feel like the cave theory may be possible.
Also my father who passed away 10 years ago says that he can remember when he was a child, the trees having carvings in them that had dates in the 1800's. I have found these trees I believe, but I can't make anything out on them. You can tell that they were most likely scars made by man, but they are seriously faded. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  

What are the odds of anything made of steel being in any kind of shape after all of this time i.e. guns and swords and such? Also does anyone know of some way or some company that can penetrate the ground with radar to see if there may be a cave under all of the rubble? There is a spring that just bubbles up out of the ground about 100 yards from this rock pile, which makes me feel like the cave theory may be possible.
[/quote]


Sounds like a fun summer project if there's anything or not.

Perhaps call your local college's History department?

Hell, let's dig it up and see! How big are the rocks blocking the passage? You could pop them with a small charge each if they are too big to drag with a jeep/tractor/4wheeler/mule. Generator, extension cord, 1/2"hammerdrill, squibs, black powder and about 50 feet of wire. No more problem. It might take you a few weekends or all summer, but a sackful of buttons, beltbuckles,whatever would be a large payoff.

I am in Lincoln county. Lemmeknow if you need some help.

DO NOT contact a college or university.  They will, in turn, contact state and Federal authorities regarding the possibility of "significant cultural resources" being present on your property and then you will have a world of grief on your hands.

The cost of acquiring a ground penetrating radar unit and an operator is astronomical.  Unless you are 100% sure there is something there, Don't.

It's on your property and it's yours if there is anything there at all, but if you tell a lot of people, someone will try to get involved and try to claim jurisdiction (State Historic Preservation Officer, or possibly one or more Federal agencies in the name of historic preservation and concervation concerns).  So whatever you do, keep quiet about it.

Do the work yourself, it's not difficult.  First check the local library for old maps and records.  If the story can be verified, then there might be a chance that something is there, but even if it can't be, it wont hurt to explore the area.  

First, remove the rubble by hand with the help of family or friends.  Since it's on private property and no one has access, you are in no hurry, make it a summer project or longer.  If it turns out that there is a cave and the rubble is covering the entrance, then you get to explore it and claim what is there without any outside interference.  If the cave is completely filled in with rubble, then by the time you clear it you will have discovered if there is or isn't anything in it.

Just remember, professional treasure hunters are in it only for the money.  University, State & Federal Archaeologist don't want anyone other than themselves to have anything to do with archaeology and will try to either cut you out of the picture or confiscate anything you recover and don't listen to the hype about how only trained professionals are the only ones who can do what you want to do, that's B.S.  Once you get started, you'll enjoy it and wonder why you didn't do it sooner.  Have fun and good luck.

DesertRat

You can rent a backhoe at a fairly decent price.  I would recommend getting one and moving some of the rocks to see what you have.  You might just have a pile of rocks or maybe you will find more evidence of a cave.  It would be the fastest way of seeing what you have without getting a bunch of other people involved.

You could hire an geological survey co. to come out and take a few "shots" of the ground in the area in question. Have them sign a non-disclosure agreement and you'd be covered. Might cost $1500, but what's the fun in that?

The rocks are obviously too big to move by hand or those desperate motherfuckers in the cave would have moved them themselves. There aint nothing like eternity in a cold dark place to motivate you to move whatever is keeping you there. I would be willing to help out some and sign a disclosure form just for the grins involved. But if you do find something I would want my picture taken with it.

Screw any federal agency or friends.If on the 1 in a million chance you do find something,do you want anybody else to know??Rent yourself a backhoe and start digging.

Are you sure you want to release the ghosts of all those long dead soldiers?  They might be somewhat angry after all this time.

It sounds like fun, wish I lived in the vicinity- I would rent the backhoe for you.  Just please don't tell any more people about it.

Their MRE's are probably expired.  The hot sauce is still good, though.

[:D]

First thing to do is not tell anyone else and delete you post. Second get a copy of the OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE CIVIL WAR. It comes on a CDROM and has a great search function. Just type in the name of the town or area your in. It will give you hits to all Union and Confederate dispatches made. It will tell you who made orders and were they came from. Very usefull!! Has hideouts, supply depots etc. You've got to know there are confederate buttons out there worth 10.00-15,000.00 each. The next thing I would do is invest in a good metal detector maybe a FISHER or WHITE. Search the area around the entrance. If there we soldiers there you will find dropped bullets and other junk they left behind. Hope this helps!!

What are the chances of a cave in the war era being mapped, especially if it were blown up? You guys have been super helpful in getting my mind working as far recovery is concerned, one question that I have that hasn't been answered is what were these men paid in? Paper money? Gold coinage? Would a lost payroll be on record somewhere, or would that depend on if it were Confederate or union? Does this even sound feasible to anyone but me? One has to admit that it is a good story true or not! The one thing that has me really wired is that the site that I have scoped to be a likely spot, seems to have dislodged rock that would seem to be eroded about right for 150 years. Not that I am a geologist or anything, but it does seem to fit the tale. I don't want to be a Mel Fisher, but this has been churning in my head for nearly 20 years. Ideas? TNT already considered!!!

I wish you lived closer,I might just take you up on that![kiss]Edited to add, the little kissing things look too gay... Please don't take it that way..No gay..No way!!! Thanks anyway!!

good story.  i'd help for free if i lived in the area.  sounds neat.

Did you post this before? It sounds VERY familiar. I even remember someone telling you to put Modern Weaopns in it AFTER you converted it to a hideyhole. Weird. I SWEAR You posted about this before...

Have you tried the library or done a search on the net for your towns name and various key words? A whole unit being buried alive is probably documented somewhere.

I do some geophysical work for my job.

GPR will not penetrate very deep, you need to do a seismic,resistivity, or gravity survey.  Before doing the survey you should look at current and historic maps and aerial photographs to identify structural trends(joint patterns, sinkholes, other solution features)  A review of historic maps may also show the location of the cave.