The Curse of Civil War Gold: Was the treasure found in Lake Michigan? Explained

History Channel’s The Curse of Civil War Gold, which ran for 16 episodes and two seasons, attempted to get to the bottom of a Civil War mystery that has for decades perplexed historians. The show sees a group of treasure hunters search Lake Michigan and surrounding areas to find the gold left behind by the Confederates during the Civil War.

The mystery kicked off almost 100 years ago when a lighthouse keeper had claimed that he had buried a box full of gold and other valuables at the bottom of Lake Michigan. Hence, in some ways, the show sees the treasure hunters get to the bottom of the mystery.

The series involves History Channel's Marty Lagina, and had the following synopsis:

"Marty Lagina, of HISTORY’s #1 series “The Curse of Oak Island,” has learned of an enigma that rivals Oak Island – a story of national treasure that goes back to the Civil War."

The Curse of the Civil War Gold had first aired back in March 2018, with season 1 only consisting of 6 episodes. This was followed by a season 2 in April 2019, which concluded the narrative with 10 episodes.

While several theories have attempted to explain exactly what happened to the mysterious treasure, the show did not result in its discovery, although the treasure hunters did find another compelling piece of evidence.

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The Curse of Civil War Gold: Is Jefferson Davis’ gold lost to history?

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who was captured by Union Forces, had a substantial amount of gold. While the man himself was captured, the treasure had gone missing, with numerous theories claiming that it rests at the bottom of Lake Michigan, one way or another.

Most theories suggest that there was a boxcar that was pushed off a ferry by the Confederates, which led to the gold being lost forever. The Curse of Civil War Gold was in itself a creation of Kevin Dykstra, who assembled a team of treasure hunters to see if they could find the treasure.

His team included a range of personnel, including metal detectors, experienced divers, and an underwater archaeologist.

The group’s search resulted in 16 episodes and led to a promising discovery. The group came across a shipwreck at the bottom of the lake, which they believed to be initially carrying the gold. Furthermore, they found similarities between the ship and historical documents talking about it, further fuelling this theory.

However, the gold itself was not found, with the most popular theory related to the curse being that the gold itself was collected by the government, and the story was later covered up. Regardless, while History Channel’s The Curse of Civil War Gold undoubtedly made a novel attempt of refinding this lost wealth, the expedition itself did not succeed.

Still, the expedition team did manage uncover the remains of the ship, which in itself was a huge achievement. The Curse of Civil War Gold can be watched on multiple online platforms, including The History Channel.