The Victim: A Romance of the Real Jefferson Davis

by Thomas Dixon

  CHAPTER XLII

  THE CAPTURE

  At midnight on the day of the evacuation the President and his Cabinetleft Richmond for Danville. He still believed that Lee might cut his waythrough Grant's lines and join his army with Johnston's in NorthCarolina. Lee had restored Johnston to command of the small army thatyet survived in opposition to Sherman. He had hopes that Johnston'spersonal popularity with the soldiers might in a measure restore theirspirits.

  The President established his temporary Capital at Danville. G. W.Sutherlin placed his beautiful home at his disposal. Communications withLee had been cut and the wildest rumors were afloat. Davis wrote hislast proclamation urging his people to maintain their courage.

  In this remarkable document he said:

  "I announce to you, my fellow countrymen, that it is my purpose to maintain your cause with my whole heart and soul. I will never consent to abandon to the enemy one foot of the soil of any of the States of the Confederacy.

  "If by stress of numbers, we should be compelled to a temporary withdrawal from the limits of Virginia or any other border State, we will return until the baffled and exhausted enemy shall abandon in despair his endless and impossible task of making slaves of a people resolved to be free.

  "Let us, then, not despair, my countrymen, but, relying on God, meet the foe with fresh defiance, and with unconquered and unconquerable hearts."

  So Washington spoke to his starving, freezing little army at ValleyForge in the darkest hour of our struggle for independence against GreatBritain. With the help of France Washington succeeded at last.

  Davis was destined to fail. No friendly foreign power came to his aid.His courage was none the less sublime for this reason.

  Lee's skeleton army surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, and Davishurried to Greensboro where Johnston and Beauregard were encamped withtwenty-eight thousand men. Two hundred school girls marched to the housein Danville and cheered him as he left.

  Mrs. Sutherlin in the last hour of his stay asked for a moment of histime.

  He ushered her into his room with grave courtesy.

  "Dear Madam," he began smilingly, "you have risked your home and thesafety of your husband to honor me and the South. I thank you for myselfand the people. Is there anything I can do to show how much I appreciateit?"

  "You have greatly honored us by accepting our hospitality," was thequick cheerful answer. "We shall always be rich in its memory. I havebut one favor to ask of you--"

  "Name it--"

  She drew a bag from a basket and handed it to him.

  "Accept this little gift we have saved. It will help you on yourjourney. It's only a thousand dollars in gold--I wish it were more."

  The President's eyes grew dim and he shook his head.

  "No--no--dear, dear Mrs. Sutherlin. Your needs will be greater thanmine. Besides, I have asked all for the cause--nothing formyself--nothing!"

  He left Danville with heart warmed by the smiles and cheers of twohundred beautiful girls and the offer of every dollar a patriotic womanpossessed.

  He had need of its memory to cheer him at Greensboro. Here he felt forthe first time the results of the malignant campaign which Holden'sRaleigh _Standard_ had waged against him and his administration. Sogreat was the panic and so bitter the feeling which Holden's sheet hadroused that it was impossible for the President and his Cabinet to findaccommodations in any hotel or house. He was compelled to camp in afreight car.

  It remained for a brave Southern woman to resent this insult to theChieftain. When Mrs. C. A. L'Hommedieu learned that the President was intown, housed in a freight car and shunned by the citizens, she sent hima note and begged him to make her house his home and to honor her bycommanding anything in it and all that she possessed.

  The leader was at this moment preparing to leave for Charlotte and hadto decline her generous and brave offer. But he was deeply moved. Hestopped his work to write her a beautiful letter of thanks.

  His interview with Johnston and Beauregard was strained and formal.Johnston's army in its present position in the hands of a resolute anddaring commander could have formed a light column of ten thousandcavalry and cut its way through all opposition to the Mississippi River.Knowing the character of his General so well he had small hopes.

  After receiving the report of the condition of the army the Presidentcalled his Cabinet to consider what should be done.

  Johnston sat at as great a distance from Davis as the room would permit.

  The President reviewed briefly the situation and turned calmly toJohnston:

  "General, we should like now to hear your views."

  The reply was given with brutal brevity and in tones of unconcealeddefiance and hatred.

  "Sir," the great retreater blurted out, "my views are that our peopleare tired of war, feel themselves whipped and will not fight."

  A dead silence followed.

  The President turned in quiet dignity to Beauregard:

  "And what do you say, General Beauregard?"

  "I agree with what General Johnston has said," he replied.

  There was no appeal from the decision of these two commanders in such anhour. The President dictated a letter to General Sherman suggestingtheir surrender and outlining the advantageous terms which the NorthernCommander accepted.

  And then the Confederate Chieftain received a message so amazing hecould not at first credit its authority.

  A courier from Sherman conveyed the announcement to Johnston that Davismight leave the country on a United States vessel and take whoever andwhatever he pleased with him.

  The answer of Jefferson Davis was characteristic.

  "Please thank General Sherman for his offer and say that I can do no actwhich will put me under obligations to the Federal Government."

  Sherman had asked Lincoln at their last interview whether he shouldcapture Davis or let him go.

  A sunny smile overspread the rugged features of the National President:

  "That reminds me," he said, "of a temperance lecturer in Illinois. Wetand cold he stopped for the night at a wayside inn. The landlord, notinghis condition, asked if he would have a glass of brandy.

  "'No--no--' came the quick reply. 'I am a temperance lecturer and donot drink--' he paused and his voice dropped to a whisper--'I would likesome water however--and if you should of _your own_ accord, put a littlebrandy in it _unbeknownst_ to me--why, it will be all right.'"

  Sherman was trying to carry out the wishes of the man with the lovingheart.

  At Charlotte Davis was handed a telegram announcing the assassination ofAbraham Lincoln. His thin fate went death white. Handing the telegram tohis Secretary, he quietly said:

  "I am sorry. We have lost our noblest and best friend in the court ofthe enemy."

  He immediately telegraphed the news to his wife who had fled furthersouth to Abbeville, South Carolina. Mrs. Davis burst into tears onreading the fatal message. Her woman's intuition saw the vision ofhorror which the tragedy meant to her and to her stricken people.

  The President left Charlotte with an escort of a thousand cavalrymen forAbbeville. His journey was slow. The wagons were carrying all thatremained of the Confederate Treasury with the money in currency from theRichmond banks which had been entrusted to the care of the Secretary ofthe Treasury.

  Davis stopped at a little cabin on the roadside and asked the lady whostood in the doorway for a drink of water.

  She turned to comply with his request.

  While he was drinking a baby barely able to walk crawled down the stepsand toddled to him.

  The mother smiled.

  "Is this not President Davis?" she asked tremblingly.

  "It is, Madam," he answered with a bow.

  She pointed proudly to the child:

  "He's named for you!"

  The President drew a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to themother.

  "Please keep it for my little namesake and tell him when he is oldenough
to know."

  As he rode away with Reagan, his faithful Postmaster General, he said:

  "The last coin I had on earth, Reagan. I wouldn't have had that but forthe fact I'd never seen one like it and kept it for luck."

  "I reckon the war's about finished us," the General replied.

  "Yes," Davis cheerfully answered. "My home is a wreck. Benjamin's andBreckinridge's are in Federal hands. Mallory's fine residence atPensacola has been burned by the enemy. Your home in Texas has beenwrecked and burned--"

  He paused and drew from his pocketbook a few Confederate bills.

  "That is my estate at the present moment."

  He received next day a letter from his wife which greatly cheered him:

  "_Abbeville, S. C._, April 28, 1865.

  "_My dear old Husband_:

  "Your very sweet letter reached me safely by Mr. Harrison and was a great relief. I leave here in the morning at 6 o'clock for the wagon train going to Georgia. Washington will be the first place I shall unload at. From there we shall probably go on to Atlanta or thereabouts, and wait a little until we hear something of you. Let me beseech you not to calculate upon seeing me unless I happen to cross your shortest path toward your bourne, be that what it may.

  "It is surely not the fate to which you invited me in the _brighter_ days. But you must remember that you did not invite me to a great hero's home but to that of a plain farmer. I have shared all your triumphs, been the only beneficiary of them, now I am claiming the privilege for the first time of being all to you, since these pleasures have passed for me.

  "My plans are these, subject to your approval. I think I shall be able to procure funds enough to enable me to put the two eldest to school. I shall go to Florida if possible and from thence go over to Bermuda or Nassau, from thence to England, unless a good school offers elsewhere, and put them to the best school I can find, and then with the two youngest join you in Texas--and that is the prospect which bears me up, to be once more with you if need be--but God loves those who obey Him and I know there is a future for you.

  "Here they are all your friends and have the most unbounded confidence in you. Mr. Burt and his wife have urged me to live with them--offered to take the chances of the Yankees with us--begged to have little Maggie--done everything in fact that relatives could do. I shall never forget all their generous devotion to you.

  "I have seen a great many men who have gone through--not one has talked fight. A stand cannot be made in this country! Do not be induced to try it. As to the trans-Mississippi, I doubt if at first things will be straight, but the spirit is there, and the daily accretions will be great when the deluded of this side are crushed between the upper and nether millstones. But you have not tried the 'strict construction' fallacy. If we are to require a Constitution, it must be much stretched during our hours of outside pressure if it covers us at all.

  "Be careful how you go to Augusta. I get rumors that Brown is going to seize all Government property, and the people are averse and mean to resist with pistols. They are a set of wretches together, and I wish you were safe out of their land. God bless you, keep you. I have wrestled with Him for you. I believe He will restore us to happiness.

  "Devotedly,

  "Your Wife."

  "Kindest regards to Robert, and thanks for faithful conduct. Love to Johnson and John Wood. Maggie sends you her best love."

  The President and his party reached Abbeville on May first, only to findthat his wife had left for Washington, Georgia.

  At Abbeville, in the home of Armistead Burt, Davis called his lastCabinet meeting and council of war.

  There were present five brigade commanders, General Braxton Bragg, hisChief-of-Staff, Breckinridge, Benjamin and Reagan of his Cabinet. Theindomitable spirit made the last appeal for courage and the continuanceof the fight until better terms could be made that might save the Southfrom utter ruin and the shame of possible negro rule.

  He faced them with firm resolution, his piercing eye undimmed bycalamity.

  "The South, gentlemen," he declared, "is in a panic for the moment. Wehave resources to continue the war. Let those who remain with arms intheir hands set the example and others will rally. Let the brave men yetwith me renew their determination to fight. Around you reenforcementswill gather."

  The replies of his discouraged commanders were given in voices that sankto whispers. Each man was called on for his individual opinion.

  Slowly and painfully each gave his answer in the negative. The war washopeless, but they would not disband their men until they had guardedthe President to a place of safety.

  "No!" Davis answered passionately. "I will listen to no proposition formy safety. I appeal to you for the cause of my country. Stand by it,men--stand by it!"

  His appeal was received in silence. His councilors could not agree withhim. The proud old man drew his slender body to its full height, liftedhis hands and cried pathetically:

  "The friends of the South consent to her degradation!"

  He attempted to pass from the meeting, his emaciated face white withanger. His step tottered and his body swayed and would have sunk to thefloor had not General Breckinridge caught him in his arms and led himfrom the room.

  Benjamin parted from the President when they crossed the Savannah Riverand he had dropped the Seal of the Confederate Government in the depthsof its still, beautiful waters.

  "Where are you going?" Reagan asked.

  "To the farthest place from the United States," was the quick reply, "ifit takes me to China."

  He made his way successfully to England and won fame and fortune in theold world.

  On hearing that the Federal cavalry were scouring the country,Breckinridge and Reagan proposed that Davis disguise himself in asoldier's clothes, a wool hat and brogan shoes, take one man with himand go to the coast of Florida, ship to Cuba.

  His reply was firm:

  "I shall not leave Southern soil while a Confederate regiment is on it.Kirby Smith has an army of 25,000 men. He has not surrendered. GeneralHampton will cut his way across the Mississippi. We can lead an army of60,000 men on the plains of Texas and fight until we get better termsthan unconditional surrender."

  Breckinridge was left at Washington to dispose of the small sum yet leftin the Treasury and turn over to their agent the money of the Richmondbanks.

  Robert Toombs lived in Washington. General Reagan called on thedistinguished leader.

  He invited his guest into his library and closed the door.

  "You have money, Reagan?"

  "Enough to take me west of the Mississippi--"

  "You are well mounted?"

  "One of the best horses in the country."

  "I am at home," he added generously. "I can command what I want, and ifyou need anything, I can supply you--"

  "Thank you, General," Reagan responded heartily.

  Toombs hesitated a moment, and then asked suddenly:

  "Has President Davis money?"

  "No, but I have enough to take us both across the Mississippi."

  "Is Mr. Davis well mounted?"

  "He has his fine bay, 'Kentucky,' and General Lee sent him at Greensboroby his son Robert, his gray war horse 'Traveler,' as a present. He hastwo first class horses."

  Again Toombs was silent.

  "Mr. Davis and I," he went on thoughtfully, "have had our quarrels. Wehave none now. I want you to say to him that my men are around me here,and if he desires it I will call them together and see him safely acrossthe Chattahoochee River at the risk of my life--"

  "I'll tell him, General Toombs," Reagan cordially responded. "And Iappreciate your noble offer. It differs from others who have pretendedto be his best friends. They are getting away from him as fast as theycan. Some are base enough to malign him to curry favor with the enemy.I've known Jefferson Davis intimately for ten years. The past four yearsof war I've
been with him daily under every condition of victory anddefeat, and I swear to you that he's the truest, gentlest, bravest,tenderest, manliest man I have ever known--"

  "Let me know," Toombs urged, "if I can serve him in any possible way."

  When Reagan delivered the message to the President he responded warmly:

  "That's like Toombs. He was always a whole souled man. If it werenecessary I should not hesitate to accept his offer."

  He was slowly reading his wife's last letters which had been deliveredto him by scouts who were still faithful.

  They were riding in a wagon with picked Mississippi teamsters twentymiles below Washington:

  "All well, with Winnie sweet and smiling. Billy plenty of laughter and talk with the teamsters keeps quiet. Jeff is happy beyond expression. Maggie one and two quite well.

  "I have $2,500, something to sell, and have heart and a hopeful one, but above all, my precious only love, a heartful of prayer. May God keep you and have His sword and buckler over you. Do not try to make a stand on this side. It is not in the people. Leave your escort and take another road often. Alabama is full of cavalry, fresh and earnest in pursuit. May God keep you and bring you safe to the arms of

  "Your devoted,

  "Winnie."

  He opened and read another:

  "_My own precious Banny_:

  "May God give us both patience against this heavy trial. The soldiers are very unruly and have taken almost all the mules and horses from the camp. Do not try to meet me. I dread the Yankees getting news of you so much. You are the country's only hope and the very best intentions do not advise a stand this side of the river. Why not cut loose from your escort? Go swiftly and alone with the exception of two or three.

  "Oh, may God in His goodness keep you safe, my own. Maggie says she has your prayer book safe. May God keep you, my old and only love, as ever, devotedly,

  "Your own,

  "Winnie."

  He had not seen his wife and babies since they left Richmond. Theconduct of the soldiers determined his course. He turned to Reagan:

  "This move will probably cause me to be captured or killed. You are notbound to go with me--but I must protect my family."

  "I go with you, sir--" was the prompt response.

  The soldiers were dismissed and the money still remaining in theTreasury divided among them. A picked guard of ten men rode with thefallen Chieftain in search of his loved ones.

  They joined Mrs. Davis after a hard ride and found her camp threatenedby marauders. He traveled with her two days and, apparently out ofdanger, she begged him to leave her and make good his escape. He finallyagreed to do this and with Reagan, the members of his staff and BurtonHarrison, his Secretary, started for the Florida coast.

  The day was one of dismal fog and rain and the party lost the way,turning in a circle, and at sunset met Mrs. Davis and her company at thefork of the road near the Ocmulgee River.

  The President and staff traveled with his wife next day and madetwenty-eight miles. At Irwinsville their presence was betrayed to theFederal cavalry, his camp surrounded by Colonel Pritchard, and theConfederate President and party arrested.

  The soldiers plundered his baggage, tore open his wife's trunks andscattered her dresses. In one of these trunks they found a pair of newhoopskirts which Mrs. Davis had bought but never worn. An enterprisingnewspaper man immediately invented and sent broadcast the story that hehad been captured trying to escape in his wife's hoopskirts. His enemiesrefused to hear any contradiction of this invention. It was too good notto be true. They clung to it long after Colonel Pritchard and every manpresent had given it the lie.

  They had traveled a day's journey toward Macon, the headquarters ofGeneral Wilson, when an excited man galloped into the camp waving overhis head a printed slip of paper.

  "What is it?" Davis asked of his guard.

  The guard seized and read the slip and turned to the ConfederateChieftain and his wife.

  "Andrew Johnson's proclamation offering a reward of $100,000 for thecapture of Jefferson Davis as the murderer of Abraham Lincoln!"

  A cry of anguish came from the faithful wife.

  The leader touched her shoulder gently.

  "Hush, my dear. The miserable scoundrel who wrote that proclamation knewthat it is false. He is the one man in the United States who knows thatI preferred Abraham Lincoln in the White House to him or any other manthe North might elect. Such an accusation must fail--"

  The wife was not comforted.

  "These men may assassinate you!"

  The soldiers crowded about their defenseless prisoner and heaped on himthe vilest curses and insults. He made no answer. The far-away look inhis eagle eye told them only too plainly that he did not hear.

  Colonel Pritchard in his manly way made every effort to protect him frominsult. Within a short distance of Macon, the prisoners were halted andtheir escort drawn up in line on either side of the road. ColonelPritchard had ridden into Macon for a brigade to escort his captivesthrough the streets of the city.

  The soldiers again cursed and jeered. The children climbed into theirfather's arms, kissed and hugged him tenderly and put their little handsover his ears that he should not hear what they said.

  He soothed their fears and comforted them with beautiful lines from thePsalms which he quoted in tones of marvelous sweetness.

  General Wilson received his distinguished prisoner with the deferencedue his rank and character. His guard in silence opened their lines andpresented arms as Davis entered the building.