Millions of dollars worth of gold was lost or unaccounted for after the war, and its possible location has been a source of speculation for many historians and treasure hunters.
Allegedly, some of the Confederate treasury was hidden in the hope that the South would rise again, and at other times simply so that the Union would not gain possession of it.
When Union troops were on the verge of invading New Orleans, Confederates quickly removed millions of dollars of gold to a "safer" location – the city of Columbus, Georgia.
Halleck stated that Richmond, Virginia bankers estimated specie valued "from six to thirteen millions" were traveling south from Goldsboro, North Carolina in wagons.
However, the treasury increasingly became an encumbrance on his flight, and Davis had disbursed the treasury along the way, among others to General Joseph E. Johnston in order for him to pay his troops at Greensboro, North Carolina, and to several banks for safekeeping, with the remainder paid out to Joseph Wheeler's accompanying cavalry men before dismissing them from their duties.