Chennault Crossroads Confederate Gold

After Richmond fell in April 1865, the Confederate treasury and Richmond bank reserves traveled south with Jefferson Davis. Roughly $450,000 in bank metals was placed in the Bank of Georgia vault at Washington, Georgia, before Union troops attempted to move it north. On the night of May 24, 1865, the Union wagon train camped at the Chennault Plantation crossroads. Bushwhackers attacked at dusk and made off with an estimated $250,000; bank officials recovered only about $111,000. Local lore says coins are still found along the dirt roads near the plantation. Legends of America and Georgia Encyclopedia tie decades of Wilkes County treasure hunting to this raid. Folklore even claims Graball Road earned its name from raiders grabbing all the treasure they could carry.