Thaddeus Knox
Thaddeus Knox is a character featured in the Young Whit Book Series.
Captain Thaddeus Knox (1840–1910) was a slave-owning Confederate officer from Provenance, North Carolina, known for his role in the controversial Confederate gold incident during the final days of the American Civil War. Though once considered a war hero, it was discovered that he falsified history to preserve his reputation. He was the Grandfather of Milo Knox, and the Great Grandfather of Wilson Knox.
History
Civil War and the Confederate Gold Incident
Thaddeus Knox served as a captain in the 26th North Carolina Regiment, one of the most famous Confederate units. In April 1865, as the Confederacy neared collapse, President Jefferson Davis entrusted Knox and Lieutenant G.W. McClintock with transporting a large cache of Confederate gold intended to pay General Joseph Johnston’s troops near Raleigh. However, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman were closing in, making the mission perilous.
To prevent the gold from falling into Union hands, Knox and McClintock buried it on the Granville estate in Provenance. Shortly after, Knox attempted to persuade McClintock to abandon the war effort and flee with the treasure. When McClintock refused, calling him a coward, the two men fought. During the struggle, McClintock struck Knox, and in retaliation, Knox shot McClintock in the head, grazing his temple and rendering him unconscious.
With Union troops nearby, Knox fabricated a story to their Confederate comrades, claiming McClintock had attempted to steal the gold and flee. The Confederates, unable to verify the truth in the heat of battle, accepted Knox’s version, branding McClintock a traitor. Meanwhile, Knox secretly planned to return for the gold after the war. However, Ben Huck I, one of Knox's own slaves, had witnessed the fight, and moved the gold to a hidden location beneath the Provenance water tower. When Knox later deserted and returned to retrieve it, he found the treasure gone.
Post-War Years and Controversial Legacy
Following the war, Knox remained in Provenance and worked tirelessly to cement his version of events. He ensured that local newspapers, particularly The Standard, published his story annually for a decade. As public interest waned, Knox took it upon himself to spread the tale, recounting it to anyone who would listen—often embellishing details to further vilify McClintock. His persistence led to the town hall mural, which depicted the supposed betrayal, showing Knox standing over a wounded McClintock with an open Confederate payroll box spilling gold.
Over time, Knox grew increasingly eccentric. As his accounts became more exaggerated. His death in 1910 was reported in The Standard, but apart from his obituary, no further articles about him appeared—except for one, five years later.
The Ghost Legend
According to a supernatural themed newspaper column titled "Weird Provenance," Captain Knox was so consumed by his obsession with the lost Confederate gold that his spirit remained bound to the town. The Weird Provenance article claimed his ghost still haunted the Granville Estate, waiting for a McClintock descendant to return so he could exact his revenge. The story was accompanied by a chilling illustration of Knox’s ghost: a tall, thin figure draped in a hooded cloak, wielding a long dagger in one hand and a coil of rope in the other.
This article was later discovered to have been planted by Milo Knox as a way to scare away kids from the Granville estate, so he could hunt for the lost treasure.