“Confederate Gold” is often described as the many hidden caches of gold, silver, and precious jewels reportedly lost after or during the American / US Civil War — a four-year quagmire (1861–65) between the United States and 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union.   

Millions of Dollars worth of Confederate Gold was lost or is still unaccounted for following that terrible conflict. This basic fact has sparked the interest of historians, along with hundreds of amateur treasure hunters. Some say, Confederate gold was hidden in order to wait for the next “rising” of the South while others insist such actions were taken simply so the Union would not gain possession of the treasure.  

The following are a few examples or typical occurrences regarding “Lost Confederate Gold”:

Confederate raiders captured a Union convoy heading from West Virginia to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mint. The convoy’s treasure included some 15 tons of silver bars; alas it was stolen and hidden inside a remote cave north of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The rebels sealed the mouth of the cave but never returned for the plunder. Some say it’s still out there waiting to be found or claimed by you.

A more detailed story: General Nathan Bedford Forrest was perhaps the most feared Confederate cavalry commander in the “Western” theater during the Civil War. He was considered by his Union opponents as being fearless, intelligent, shrewd, and a master of strategy.

Being well aware of Forrest’s reputation, Union commander C.L. Dunham was somewhat apprehensive when he marched his 1500 man Calvary brigade into camp at Dollar Hill just outside Clarksburg, Tennessee in late December of 1862. Dunham’s orders seemed simple: “Seek out and Destroy General Bedford Forrest’s Confederate cavalry brigade”; a directive which he recognized as being no small task to accomplish.

Because, Dunham was unsure of the likely outcome of the upcoming battle to be fought he ordered a lieutenant and two enlisted men from the 39^th Iowa Regiment to bury the brigade’s payroll chest which contained gold coin. The three combatants elected to bury the payroll chest a short distance beyond a nearby spring.

The following day, a bitterly fought battle took place at Parker’s Crossroads, wherein General Forrest’s Confederate forces eventually prevailed over the Union opposition.

Immediately following the battle, a heavy downpour of cold rain fell, which was soon mixed with the blood of the dead into the soil at Parker’s Crossroads.

Unfortunately for the surviving Union soldiers, among those who lost their lives in the battle included the aforementioned lieutenant and the two enlisted men who had buried the brigade’s payroll chest; yep, they had, for reasons unknown, failed to mention exactly where they had buried the coffer.

When the survivors of Colonel Dunham’s defeated brigade returned to Dollar Hill they found the entire area a sea of mud and standing water. Despite repeated attempts by Dunham’s men to locate the burial site of the brigade’s payroll, they were in the end, unsuccessful — it is believed to remain in hiding their today.

On April 2, 1865 the Union Army faced a tattered and battle-weary Confederate army defending the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia under the overall command of General Robert E. Lee.  Realizing that his lines could not possibly hold and that the fall of Richmond was imminent, General Lee sent an urgent message to President Jefferson Davis that the “government” must evacuate or face certain capture. A special convoy carrying the President and Members of the CSA (Confederate States of America) Cabinet departed Richmond by train (The Richmond and Danville Railroad) for Danville, Virginia late that evening.   

Shortly after midnight a second train slipped away from Richmond; however, most accounts say this was a “wagon train” with plans to meet-up with the Davis Party in Danville. On board was all the treasury of the Confederate States of America guarded by a group of young midshipmen from the Confederate Navy who had been forced to scuttle their vessel in the nearby James River. The “riches” were many — some say hundreds of crates and barrels containing gold and silver coins, gold bullion, and a substantial amount of fine jewelry donated to the “Cause” by women from across the South. In addition, there was more than $450,000 in gold from Richmond’s bank reserves, all taken, no doubt, to keep it from falling into the hands of the “invading” Yankees.

Many accounts of the “Confederate Gold” secreted out of Richmond that night have since been published in the papers of the Southern Historical Society with the intent of squelching or dismissing rumors that Confederate President Jefferson Davis took the money for himself and his family after the war.  

In any case, by the end of the next day, April 3, 1865; we know Richmond lay in ashes and was occupied by Federal troops. During the ensuing weeks, Lee surrendered to Grant at the Appomattox, Virginia Courthouse and a few days later, Abe Lincoln was assassinated. All the while the band of Confederate “fugitives” continued to work their way south,

hoping to escape west beyond the Mississippi, or perhaps somewhere overseas.

Jefferson Davis and his ragged group were captured a bit more than a month later by members of the 4^th Michigan Calvary near Irwinville, still, “in camp” near a south Georgia plantation on the morning of May 10^th.    Surprisingly they had only a few dollars in their possession.  The fabled riches of the vast “Confederate Treasury” was not found.  Rumors of the amount of silver, gold, and precious stones carried away by wagon train with plans to regroup or meet-up with the Davis party in Danville, VA has grown to millions and millions of Dollars over the years. But the truth is; no-body knows for sure what the treasure was worth then and certainly not now.

It’s a historical fact that the treasure was carried out of Richmond behind Jefferson Davis and others and when coupled with the fact that it was not with Davis when he was captured has led to wild speculation as to its fate.  

A short while after the war, Acting Confederate Treasury Clerk (Micajah Clark – a Davis appointee), provided a detailed accounting of the location of a few of the riches slipped out of Richmond that night. However, there’s several “riches” Mr. Clark failed to mention; one of particular interest concerned the fate of 39 kegs of Mexican silver Dollars that was only a small part of the “Treasury of Richmond”!

Now keep in mind, before you “strikeout” to Georgia on an amateur treasure quest, you should know that while some say it was buried on or near the grounds of a nearby Georgia plantation shortly before their capture; others claim, out of necessity, it was left behind in the Danville, VA area. Common sense dictates the more probable hideaway lies in Danville, as it seems unlikely that the treasure was hidden a short while before their seizure; unless they somehow were aware of their impending capture.

It is generally believed that a minimum of 9,000 pounds of silver coin was stashed in the Danville area in an effort to prevent the capture of the President and members of his CSA Cabinet which would have, in theory, been slowed considerably by the heavy burden.  However, others still believe it was hidden somewhere on or near the South Georgia plantation.  

The lack of evidence, in this case, suggesting it’s location most likely means the larger part of the Richmond Treasury still remains intact today.  

This is only a few accounts of lost treasures of the Civil War but there are actually hundreds more which you can research or investigate as an amateur treasure hunter in such places as Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and yes, in Georgia, lest we forget, where the Confederate Treasury, in route from Richmond, Virginia some still contend was somehow lost or hidden.  

Of significant note in regard to the Confederate Treasury of Richmond, for some reason the victorious US Army was of the opinion that the treasure had in fact been hidden in Georgia as was clearly indicated by their immediate actions: The entire plantation family was taken to Washington, DC to undergo rigorous interrogation. They were questioned thoroughly as to the whereabouts of the gold, silver, and etc but the family could not or would not tell anything that was not already known. They were released after a few weeks and soon returned to their beloved Georgia plantation.  

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