Neil Chatelain is a Civil War historian and author of "Treasure and Empire: The Panama Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America's Mineral Wealth." During the Civil War, the Union relied heavily on gold from the Western states to fund its war efforts, transporting this precious resource through the perilous Panama Route. This route was a critical supply line, as the gold was shipped across the Isthmus of Panama before continuing to the eastern United States. Meanwhile, the Confederacy, struggling with limited financial resources, attempted daring raids and interception efforts to seize this gold and bolster their dwindling treasury.