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Confederate Gold

buried hoard OPEN fame 3/5

The remaining specie of the Confederate treasury, dispersed during Jefferson Davis's flight from Richmond in 1865. Much of it was documented as paid out or recovered, but a persistent legend holds that a larger remainder was hidden and never accounted for, most often placed in Georgia.

Scorecard

Location hypotheses

The interactive map (Leaflet + OpenStreetMap tiles) is the one part of this page that needs a network connection; the hypothesis list below is the offline-readable source of truth.

What would it take?

Evidence ledger (3 verified facts)

• When the Confederate government evacuated Richmond in April 1865 it moved the treasury — gold and silver coin, bullion, and bank assets — south by train and wagon under guard, a movement documented in period records.
  known by 1866-01-01 · diagnosticity high · confidence 0.90
  ↳ Wikipedia: Confederate gold journalistic
• Contemporary accounts record much of the treasury being paid to troops, deposited, seized by Union forces, or robbed at Chennault Crossroads in Georgia in May 1865 — leaving only an uncertain, disputed remainder unaccounted for.
  known by 1866-01-01 · diagnosticity medium · confidence 0.75
  ↳ Wikipedia: Confederate gold journalistic
• No verified cache of hidden Confederate gold has been recovered in the century and a half since; historians treat the "still-buried remainder" as folklore accretion rather than a documented hoard.
  known by 2010-01-01 · diagnosticity high · confidence 0.70
  ↳ Wikipedia: Confederate gold journalistic

Technique matrix