The Rebel and the Rose
By Wesley Millett and Gerald White
Cumberland House Press

When the Confederate government evacuated Richmond in April, 1865, a Navy paymaster, James A. Semple, was with Jefferson Davis and eventually entrusted with the remaining gold in the Treasury, namely, $86,000 in coins and bullion.  The book reveals what happened to the gold as well as some $160,000 in Mexican silver dollars.  The Rebel and the Rose is more than an accounting of the missing treasury.  It is also the story of a man on the run, as he stashes the gold and seeks to evade capture by Union troops.  He is on a mission that he is convinced will help the Southern states.

During Semple’s evasion, he develops a close relationship with Julia Gardiner Tyler, visiting her in New York as an interlude between trips to Canada and the South.  Once known as the “Rose of Long Island” and still captivating in her forties, Julia was the wife of deceased former President John Tyler.

The book describes the symbiotic bond that develops the “Rebel” and the “Rose”.  With well documented detail, the authors examine Semple’s growing passion for Julia and the extensive financial support he provides to the former First Lady.  More information can be found at

http://www.rebelandtherose.com/book.html.

The book is available at Barnes & Noble stores in the Richmond area and on line at Amazon.com.

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