What are bushwhackers and why do they hide so much gold? I'm Colton from Ripley's.com and this is your Weird Minute. As Union forces pushed into Richmond, Virginia, Confederate President Jefferson Davis scrambled to move the South Treasury to safety. He loaded two trains with as much silver, gold, and other valuables as he could, sending them away to Danville, 150 miles away. Once there, the stores were loaded onto horses bound for the Confederate Mint in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Before they could get there, however, northern forces took the city, so they diverted course to south Georgia. The Union Army captured it mid-trip, but was attacked by a guerrilla force of disenchanted soldiers from both sides before they could even get out of Georgia.
Known as bushwhackers, these soldiers made off with sacks filled to the brim with silver and gold. They had so much loot they were burying, hiding, and simply dumping it in their bid to get away. No one's sure where all the money ended up.
Some think it ended up on the bottom of Lake Michigan, but others think it could be hiding in plain sight somewhere in Wilkes County, Georgia. For more stories of lost treasure, head to ripleys.com, rate the Weird Minute if you haven't already, and tune in tomorrow for another Minute of Odd.