Press release from History, Feb. 20, 2018:
Marty Lagina, of HISTORY’s #1 series “The Curse of Oak Island,” has been approached by numerous people offering leads into some of the world’s greatest mysteries and has learned of an enigma that rivals Oak Island – a story of national treasure that goes back to the Civil War – in the new six-episode non-fiction series “The Curse of Civil War Gold,” premiering Tuesday, March 6 at 10PM ET/PT.
In 1865, Union soldiers from Michigan tracked down and arrested Confederate President Jefferson Davis before he could flee the country. These troops allegedly confiscated millions of dollars’ worth of Confederate gold and silver that Davis was transporting and carried out a daring plot to smuggle it nearly 1,000 miles back home using the burgeoning railway system. According to a lighthouse keeper’s deathbed confession years later, part of the stolen treasury was allegedly put into a train car on a barge that was deliberately pushed off a ferry into Lake Michigan.
Kevin Dykstra, a Michigan native and history enthusiast, has been on a seven year quest to solve what happened to the lost gold of the Civil War and believes he can find the sunken train car. However, the sonar scanning of an estimated one hundred square miles will involve tens of thousands of dollars and Dykstra will need to show tangible proof of his theory to Marty before the Traverse City businessman will invest in Kevin’s operation. This leads Dykstra and his team on a compelling hunt to the scene of the original heist; into bank vaults to search for secret tunnels constructed to help launder the loot; and ultimately to the bottom of Lake Michigan to finally decipher one of the biggest conspiracies in American history.
To date, season five of HISTORY’s “The Curse of Oak Island” averages 4.3 million total viewers in Live+7 and is on pace to become the show’s most-watched season. “The Curse of Oak Island” airs Tuesdays at 9PM ET/PT.
“The Curse of Civil War Gold” is produced for HISTORY by Prometheus Entertainment. Kevin Burns, Joe Lessard and Kim Sheerin serve as executive producers for Prometheus. Jennifer Wagman is executive producer for HISTORY.
A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for “The Curse of Civil War Gold.”
I’m confused. The story about the Confederate gold and money has been circulating in the South forever. All of it focused on an alleged drop-off in Georgia. I don’t know how Lake Michigan came into play. Okay, okay, I’ll look it up, but this is a made-up series when a potentially good series could be produced. Problem of course — no water.