Sometime in the mid-1890s, a boxcar laden with gold bullion stolen from theConfederacy at the end of the Civil War was allegedly pushed off a ferry into the roiling waters of Lake Michigan during a storm.

Today, it awaits discovery on the lake bottom.

As far as treasure stories go, it's a doozy. But is it believable?

Unfortunately, there's only one way to know for sure whether the story advanced by Muskegon area shipwreck divers Frederick J. Monroe andKevin Dykstra is anything more than a new entry in the encyclopedia of theories about what became of the fabled Confederate treasury after thewar.

Based largely on a deathbed confession relayed to Monroe in 1973, Monroe and Dykstra have spent several years searching the waters off NorthernMichigan's Benzie County for the treasure, which they fully expect will be found this summer.

On board with the tale is Frankfort Superintendent Joshua Mills, who is excited by the economic prospects of treasure seekers descending on hiscoastal town en masse with a modern day version of gold fever.

Less convinced are Civil War historians, who consider the story preposterous.

"It's all a bunch of hogwash," said Rand Bitter, author of a biography about the Union Army officer at the center of Dykstra andMonroe's treasure theory.

Thestory bubbled into the public eye last fall, when Monroe and Dykstra announced the discovery of an unidentified Lake Michigan shipwreck bearingresemblance to Le Griffon, the yet-undiscovered "holy grail" of Great Lakes wrecks.

To read the complete article, see:
Confederate treasure in Lake Michigan? Despiteskeptics, divers pursue fantastic story (www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/02/confederate_gold_lake_michigan.html)