5
HIDING THE CACHE
Velazquez and I remained inside her residence until the sun went down and while the gloom of Yankee occupation enveloped New Orleans. Mobs comprised of the local citizenry roamed the streets in defiance, but Confederate General Mansfield Lovell surveyed his scant force and realized at once the futility of meaningful resistance. The General told Mayor John Monroe that the Yankees, if faced with spirited defense, would inflict severe damage and casualties upon the city.
The Yankees now controlled New Orleans, the gateway to the lower Mississippi, and the Confederacy now faced imminent doom. I chose to shove such facts from my mind and concentrate instead on matters more pressing to me personally.
I figured since we removed the cache from the mint building in broad dayl
