# Civil war gold athens ga.



## birdman1 (Sep 27, 2009)

At the close of the civil war it is rumerd that a chest of gold bullions and coins from the CSA treasury was buried along the banks of the oconee river just south of athens, The site was marked with a huge chain hooked around a tree close to the river.


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## tashwoo (Dec 16, 2010)

more info please. Ive heard stories like this alot and heard about one that ended up at a post office in washington,ga...i think


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## mickbear (Dec 16, 2010)

when i was a kid in the late 60's a friend of my father gave my brother and myself an old bent belt buckle and a bunch of old lead bullets.we didn't think anything about them untill years later (40 +/-) when a old fella stopped by the house a month or so back to ask about getting some turnip greens,collards and cabbage i had growing in the garden.well he turned out to be dads old friend,now 84 years old!we talked a long time and the old stuff he gave us came up.i told him i was sad to say i didn't know what had become of the stuff but i'd call my brother.he told me that the buckle was a brass CSA buckle and the bullets where from confederate soldiers that had been removed at the old confederate hospital near where i live.he said when he was a child in the 30's on his grandfathers farm that there was a big drainage ditch that they had dug out to use for something.he said the ditch was full of buckles of all different kinds,buttons,bullets other stuff that came off the wonded soilders in the dirt that they dug out.i guess they just tossed the old bloody cloths and other stuff in a hole or ditch and covered it up.


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## fishfryer (Dec 16, 2010)

A lot of people,myself included, would like to know where that ditch was.


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## Milkman (Dec 16, 2010)

The story I heard was that the gold was hidden somewhere east of Lincolnton Ga, and is under the waters of Clarks Hill Lake today.  
They say this was done as the Confederate Cabinet members were getting ready to assemble in Washington Ga for their last meeting in the spring of 1865.


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## mickbear (Dec 16, 2010)

fishfryer said:


> A lot of people,myself included, would like to know where that ditch was.


i live north of milner and grew up just a few miles from where i live and have allways seen the historical marker for a confederate hospital in Milner but i never put two and two together until after my fathers friend said something about the old hospital site.i called a neighbor and told him the story because he was from milner and he said he had heard that same story long years ago but couldn't remember where the actual site was but said it wasn't far from the confederate cemetery east of town.


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## westcobbdog (Dec 19, 2010)

We had a General and a detail of men who took care of this gold. They paid off our troops and those in the detail. If memory serves it was SD Lee and I have read his account and am satisfied there was no hanky panky. I have an old AJC from the 1960's with the story of the chest being opened by a locksmith with a crowd watching..it was empty of course. Cool picture though.

The gold orginally arrived in Greensboro NC with another officer charged with its care, those whose care it was turned over to were amazed it was moved in every sort of rickety box or container available.


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## biker13 (Dec 20, 2010)

A lot of them bullets have teeth marks on them if it was near a hospital.There is a drainage in Union Point Ga that has some.


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## georgiarebel52 (Dec 20, 2010)

mickbear said:


> when i was a kid in the late 60's a friend of my father gave my brother and myself an old bent belt buckle and a bunch of old lead bullets.we didn't think anything about them untill years later (40 +/-) when a old fella stopped by the house a month or so back to ask about getting some turnip greens,collards and cabbage i had growing in the garden.well he turned out to be dads old friend,now 84 years old!we talked a long time and the old stuff he gave us came up.i told him i was sad to say i didn't know what had become of the stuff but i'd call my brother.he told me that the buckle was a brass CSA buckle and the bullets where from confederate soldiers that had been removed at the old confederate hospital near where i live.he said when he was a child in the 30's on his grandfathers farm that there was a big drainage ditch that they had dug out to use for something.he said the ditch was full of buckles of all different kinds,buttons,bullets other stuff that came off the wonded soilders in the dirt that they dug out.i guess they just tossed the old bloody cloths and other stuff in a hole or ditch and covered it up.




Amputations were common during the war. I've read that many times they'd bring the soldier in, wrap his belt around the limb and tighten it down like a tourniquet, then amputate. They'd then toss limb and belt out the window. I know of two different places in North Georgia were people dug small piles of buckles at hospital sites.


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## mickbear (Dec 21, 2010)

georgiarebel52 said:


> Amputations were common during the war. I've read that many times they'd bring the soldier in, wrap his belt around the limb and tighten it down like a tourniquet, then amputate. They'd then toss limb and belt out the window. I know of two different places in North Georgia were people dug small piles of buckles at hospital sites.


after reading the post on here i got to looking into the old hospital and asking around and was told there were several around the milner and barnesville area .the historical marker has been moved a couple of times but it says:

Confederate Hospital
On this site stood one of Milner's temporary hospitals for Confederate soldiers wounded in the Battles of Atlanta and Jonesboro in 1864. These men were hastily evacuated south on the only railroad from Atlanta still operated by the C.S.A. at that time. Dr. John F. Hunt, local physician, doctors from nearby communities and townspeople fed and cared for the wounded. 108 of these soldiers, from various companies and several southern states, died at Milner and were buried in a cemetery a mile from town on the Liberty Hill Road. (US 41 (Ga 7) in Milner.)


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## Milkman (Dec 28, 2010)

History Channel will have a show about the Confederate gold on air 12/30/2010 at 10 PM EST.

http://www.history.com/shows/brad-meltzers-decoded


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## Milkman (Dec 30, 2010)

Milkman said:


> History Channel will have a show about the Confederate gold on air 12/30/2010 at 10 PM EST.
> 
> http://www.history.com/shows/brad-meltzers-decoded


...


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## westcobbdog (Dec 30, 2010)

Thanks for the heads up Milk..perfect timimg!


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## Miguel Cervantes (Dec 30, 2010)

Milkman said:


> History Channel will have a show about the Confederate gold on air 12/30/2010 at 10 PM EST.
> 
> http://www.history.com/shows/brad-meltzers-decoded


 
Thanks for the heads up Marvin. I'm on it.


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## Jeff Raines (Dec 30, 2010)

Hopefully I'll catch it on a repeat


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## Miguel Cervantes (Dec 30, 2010)

This is an awesome show..


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## Milkman (Dec 30, 2010)

The first guy they interviewed at the museum in Richmond is Dr. Mark Waters from Washington GA. He comes and speaks to our SCV camp occasionally. He is a very knowledgeable person on the events of the WBTS.  It was good to see him get a chance to participate in the show.

It was a good show indeed.


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## Fletch_W (Dec 31, 2010)

That was a great show. I was hoping they'd mention something about Athens... I bet you that gold is under the Barnett Shoals dam. I'll be heading out there with my matrix this spring, looking for Knights of the Golden Circle symbols. It certainly explains why the sheriffs are always back there running people off from the golf course when they are just walking back there to "retrieve their ball"....


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## jcountry (Dec 31, 2010)

good luck-

I don't think there is two square ft of the state which has not been rumored to have this gold on it... But who knows-mysteries are fun.


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## dbodkin (Dec 31, 2010)

Same type story circulates in the hills of South West PA.  Braddocks Gold was to have been buried as they retreat (Washington, Braddocks army) Buried the gold somewhere in the mountains arounds Jumonsville, PA


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## westcobbdog (Dec 31, 2010)

I watched the show last night and was suprised to get details like the kegs of silver coin and the story of the Union Soldiers dressed as Confederates robbing the money train. Also thought it was just Con Gov't money but some Richmond Banks had their money in the caravan as well.


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## flyfisher76544 (Jan 1, 2011)

dbodkin said:


> Same type story circulates in the hills of South West PA.  Braddocks Gold was to have been buried as they retreat (Washington, Braddocks army) Buried the gold somewhere in the mountains arounds Jumonsville, PA



Braddocks gold? He kept petitioning the colonies to fund his march west to Fort Duquesne(Modern day Pittsburgh) were he was killed. Maybe there is but I doubt Washington would have buried it, at this point he was still trying his best to get a commision in the British Army.


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## southron (Aug 3, 2011)

i know this post is late compared to the others, but i just got here. there is an interesting book titled "hunt for the confederate gold," written by tom moore, that is interesting. Dixie? did someone mention Dixie?


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## forestrytech (Aug 4, 2011)

*The Confederate Treasury*

Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut but...what the heck...here we go- I have been researching this subject since about 1969. I have read and read and read some more. Everything that I can find that is factual including some diaries of people traveling with Uncle Jeff Davis during his leave taking of Richmond. There are many questions that were answered after the war pertaining to the gold. The one thing that people ,including Brad Metzler get confused about is the fact that there was not one "treasure" but two. First one- All of the cash that belonged to the CSA-Gold bullion,Mexican siver dollars,a keg of pennies ,some Liverpool Acceptances, and a chest of jewlery that had been donated by the ladies of the CSA to buy a ship with.
"Treasure 2"- The assets of the Ricmond banks ( which was private money)

Anything you hear about the Chenault Raid involves the Richmond Bank money.

Most of the gold has been accounted for IF you believe the receipts that were given by the people controling the gold. Everything else has been accounted for also EXCEPT the Mexican silver dollars( if memery serves me its about 50 kegs)There are only two places that these kegs seem to be.Alot of people belsive they never left Danville,Viginia and are buried in the cemetary which used to be part of the CSA Naval Commisary. Others beleive they made it furthes south into Georgia and are buried near the Oconee River. I have read 3 diaries that are available from a library in North Carolina.The men that wrote the diaries became extreamly close lipped during the 4 days the group was in middle Georgia. There are tales of what happened during this time. If you want to know more,You need to read "The Rebel and The Rose" Its a great book with the latest and I beleive most accurate info .......except for the Mex.silver!!


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## EAGLE EYE 444 (Aug 5, 2011)

Milkman said:


> The story I heard was that the gold was hidden somewhere east of Lincolnton Ga, and is under the waters of Clarks Hill Lake today.
> They say this was done as the Confederate Cabinet members were getting ready to assemble in Washington Ga for their last meeting in the spring of 1865.



I grew up in Lincolnton and I still have property there.  I know many people (including myself) that still believe that the Gold is buried in the little town of Lisbon, Georgia which is now covered by the waters of Clark's Hill Lake which was built around 1951.  The Chenault Place is located just west of there between Lisbon and Washington, Georgia.  The Chenault Place is a still a beautifully restored two story plantation style farmhouse and it sure has a lot of history surrounding it as well.  Some people even thought that some of the gold was possibly hidden in the well during that treacherous night many years ago.  I saw the History channel show again about a month ago where it showed a lot of scenes from the bank in Washington, Georgia, the Chenault Place in Lincoln County, also a Danville, Virginia cemetery, and certain scenes from Richmond.  It is amazing that nobody has found the "motherload" of the supposedly missing gold yet.


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## skiff23 (Aug 6, 2011)

The home being called the Chennault House was built after the war and after the gold was stolen. The gold train robbery actually took place at the Old Grays Plantations down the road from Chennaut about 2 miles. Funny how the rumors are spread and the "historians " compile their on tales. The show that aired on the history channel was a joke. We all watched expecting something facinating, but was disappointed big time. I have been in the room with 3 local historians from Washington at the same time and all told 3 different versions . I know a fellow still alive that owns the land that the origonal Chennault home was on , and he has the closest recolection of tales told today. His family purchased the ;and from Chennault Family years ago and remembers detailed events passed by his Grandfather . He watch the show on history channel with us the night it aired and thought it was a huge joke.
The gold is not burried , what wasnt recovered has been spent by the theives who stole it . There was more than one family involved in it,and they turned out to all be prosperous.


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## westcobbdog (Aug 7, 2011)

I have read accts of the silver coin kegs being robbed from the escort in Ga..I think this was right after leaving Washington Ga and the last cabinet meeting..anybody have info on this? was it union or reb's who robbed it?


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