Start with the record, not a hiding place Searching for Confederate gold often begins with a question: where did the money go? A useful first step is to separate three things that a treasure story can blend together—the movements of government officials, the handling of treasury funds, and later claims about hidden treasure. The sources below establish parts of the setting in which those questions arise. They are not a complete treasury accounting, and they do not identify a location where a missing fortune can be recovered. April 1865: Richmond falls The National Park Service describes Lee’s retreat from Petersburg on April 2, 1865, followed by the entry of Union forces into Richmond on April 3. The Confederate government’s evacuation included the authorized burning of warehouses and supplies, with destructive consequences for the city. This is an important setting for the treasury story: the government was abandoning its capital amid military collapse. But the fact of an evacuation does not, by itself, establish how much gold was carried away, who held it, or where any particular shipment ended. Treasury gold was used during the flight The Library of Congress account of Jefferson Davis’s capture says that his cabinet disbanded en route, taking payment from treasury gold. That detail matters: money being paid out is different from an intact treasure simply disappearing. The same account places Davis’s capture by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia, on May 10, 1865. It also links to Varina Davis’s June 6, 1865 letter describing the capture. A contemporary account can help illuminate an event, but it still needs to be read with attention to its author, purpose and limits. These references support a discussion of the government’s flight and the use of treasury funds. They do not verify every stop on this website’s illustrated route, an exact total of missing gold, or a burial site. How to evaluate a Confederate treasure claim Ask what the claim is based on. Is there a dated document, an identified eyewitness account, a later retelling, or only a modern illustration? Does the source describe government money, private property, or an unspecified cache? Those are different claims and require different evidence. Follow a citation to the underlying source whenever possible. A route traveled by a person is not automatically the route of every shipment associated with that person. Likewise, a map marker is not evidence of a deposit, and uncertainty about an accounting is not proof that treasure remains buried. This introduction deliberately avoids estimating an unverified fortune or recommending a place to dig. It is a starting point for reading the evidence, not a treasure-location guide.