04 19 1865 [Wednesday]
Late in the afternoon Pres. Jefferson Davis with several members of his cabinet and others, escorted by a detachment of Vaughan’s Cavalry command arrived in Charlotte, N.C. (CV V. 15, Aug. 1907, pp. 366)
Pres. Davis was about to enter the Bates house in Charlotte when he received the word that Pres. Lincoln had been assassinated. Immediately in front of the house, on the sidewalk, were citizens and refugees, and in the street, beyond the sidewalk, were a number of cavalrymen sitting on their horses. They were members of the commands of Generals Vaughan and Duke, and possibly some from Furgeson’s command. (CV V. 15, Aug. 1907, pp. 366)
The Third Tennessee reached Charlotte, North Carolina, on the 22nd day of April, 1865. At that point the command met President Davis and his Cabinet. Vaughn and Duke’s brigades were joined by a part of Dibrell’s command, and went with President Davis and his Cabinet, acting as an escort for them, and guarding what was left in the Confederate Treasury. (102)
At Charlotte, we met President Davis, who had the specie belonging to the Confederacy, acting as Guard. (J. M. Culton, 100)
Went on the Charlotte, N. C. April 26, 1865 or there about, given privilege to go on with President Davis to trans Mississippi or surrender. (J. P. Funk, 137)
The company and regiment went to Charlotte, N.C. to join Johnston, but when they got there General Johnston had surrendered. The option was given to go on with Jefferson Davis to the west or go home, and his [J. P. Funk] company [G] adopted the plan to go home. (TRCWQ)
Echols, Vaughn, Jackson, &c., with 1,000 or 1,500 volunteers, after having stripped the country of horses, are now trying to make their way to Mississippi. I hope my cavalry will be able to intercept them. I leave for Knoxville to-morrow. Please inform me if you desire any change in the dispositions I have made of the troops in this district. GEO. STONEMAN, (OR 49/2, 408)
04 25 1865 [Tuesday]
At Raleigh, N. C., Allen Geer, 20th Illinois, records in his diary: “Davis and Breckenridge with some good select cavalry are said to be making for Texas. They are determined to retain their personal liberty if they can not secure the right of citizenship.” (108)
In the Phifer house on Charlotte’s North Tryon Street, Davis presided over the last full session of the Confederate cabinet, and sought to make plans for flight. This was not an easy task.
04 26 1865 [Wednesday]
President Jefferson Davis and his entourage sets out from Charlottee, NC, headed for the territory west of the Mississippi to carry on the struggle for Southern independence. (29)
There was a new, if temporary, air of cheerful confidence as the party left the city. Emergency calls for troops had brought in three new skelton brigades, so that the escort had been reinforced to a strength of more that 2,000, all under command of Breckinridge, but led by new field officers: General S. W. Ferguson, an energetic West Pointer from South Carolina who was a Davis favorite; Colonel J. C. Vaughn, a “brave and earnest” Tennesseean; and General Basil Duke, an exceptionally able Kentucky cavalryman. Like most of the others, Duke’s men were veterans, but of uncertain disciplline in these last days of the Confederacy. (196, p. 96)
“At noon on a clear, hot Wednesday . . . the government caravan, ‘ready for another fliting,’ began moving slowly southward. Five wagons; ambulances; the cavalry escort, consisting now of five brigades totaling about three thousand men; and Davis, his staff, and cabinet members who preferred the saddle made up the skeletal remains of the Confederate govenment that passed along the streets of its thired temporary captial since the loss of Richmond twenty-four days earlier.” (250, p. 111)
04 27 1865 [Thursday]
The Davis party spent the night in the small town of Fort Mill, SC, some 17 miles below Charlotte. (196, p. 102)
They spent the night of April 27 in private homes at Yorkville, due west of the Catawaba crossing. (204, p. 205)
Ordered by Sec. Stanton, Gen. George Stoneman’s cavalry . . . were ordered . . . to pursue Davis.. . .The Federal column was led by the aggressive General W. J. Palmer, who pushed his brigades to the limit of their endurance through upland South Carolina toward Augusta, Ga--under orders passed to him by Stoneman to follow Davis “to the ends of the earth” if necessary. (196, pp. 104/5)
The Davis caravan crossed the nearby Catawba River on a ferry at Nation’s Ford, since the railroad bridge had been burned. (196, p. 105)
04 28 1865 [Friday]
Late morning the enrourage set out for the Broad River crossing at Scales’ Ferry. (204, p. 206)
That evening, worried about the attention such a large column attracted to itself, Breckinridge ordered Dibrell and the cavalry brigades to ride on separately and meet them in Cokesbury in a couple of days, choosing Campbell’s company to remain with Davis and the cabinet.. As they got deeper into the interior, they pulled up at a house just a mile short of the river. (204, p. 206)
04 29 1865 [Saturday]
President Jefferson Davis and his entourage crossed the Broad River and arrived at Yorkville, SC (29)
The column . . . crossing the Broad River at Smith’s Ford. (165, p. 308)
The group arrived in Unionville about 11 A. M. where they lunched at the home of General William H. Wallace. (204, p. 207)
After lunch they rode on to Rose Hill , still making very slow progress arriving early in the evening. (204, p. 208)
04 30 1865 [Sunday]
The party moved on, crossing the Broad River at Pinchersville Ferry, thence folloiwing the stream’s west bank to Love’s Ford, where it made camp. (196, p. 106)
There was a stop at Unionville in the home of General William H.Wallace . . . In the southern part of Union Count, the party spent the night in the home of Lafayette (Fate) Young. (196, p. 106)
After an elegant breakfast, the party rode on toward Cokesbury arriving midday in the village of Cross Keys.
Pres. Davis’ party halted for the night a short distance above the Saluda River.
05 01 1865 [Monday]
Crossed the narrow, muddy Saluda River at Puckett’s Ferrry, some nine miles northeast of Greenwood. That night was spent in the town of Cokesbury. (196, p. 106)
The Davis party arrived at Cokesbury, S. C. where they were joined by Gen. Bragg. [pursuit of Jeff Davis 5/1-10, OR 49/1, 342]
They reached Cokesbury the evening of May 1. (204, p. 209)
05 02 1865 [Tuesday]
Scouts brought Davis word that Federal riders might be only ten miles behind, and the caravan hurried out of Cokesbury in the morning. (196, p. 108)
Departing early in the morning, the weary party galloped into Abbeville around 10 A. M. (204, p. 213)
President Jefferson Davis and his entourage arrive [in the afternoon] at Abbeville, SC, headed for Washington, GA (29)
As they entered the town they encountered Ferguson’s and Duke’s brigades camped on the outskirs, having taken a different route from Dibrell. (204, p. 220)
Davis’s group took a week to traverse its route of just over 180 miles to the small town. (198, p. 530)
That afternoon Breckinridge thought the president should hear directly from the officers commanding his escort. The men were talking about the future and what plans had been formulated, if any. Davis called a conference for 4 p.m. in the Burt parlor, with Breckinridge, Bragg, and the six cavalry brigadiers in attendance. On this occasion as at Greensboro and Charlotte, Davis talked about continuing the war. Admitting the bleakness of the situation, he professed it no worse that the black days of the American Revolution. Taken aback, the cavalry commanders remonstrated while Breckinridge and Bragg kept silent. The commanders voiced a unamimous opinion: they could envision no military future. Davis inquired of them why with such an outlook they stayed in the field. To protect him, they answered, to get him to safety. Though shaken by the finality of their declaration, Davis called his safety inconsequential and adjourned the meeting. He would never again meet with military commanders as their commander in chief. (198, p. 531)
Here Davis called a council of war in the parlor of the Burt house. . . The Generals agreed that Southern resources were exhausted and that the people were “broken down and worn out.” Any attempt to fight another campaign would merely bring more miseries to the region. (196, pp. 117/8)
We acted as Guard until we reached Abbeville, SC. Seeing that escape was impossible, he divided the money with what men were with him, giving each $28.25. He then left us, we going to Washington, GA, where Gen. Vaughn left us, going to meet some Federal Officials to make arrangement for surrender. (J. M. Culton, 100)
Following the council of war, the bulk of the escort was paid and dismissed from service. (198, p. 531)
Toward midnight . . . a much smaller band left for Washington, Georgia, around fifty miles to the west. (198, p. 531)
05 03 1865 [Wednesday]
Davis entered Washington on the sunny morning of May 3. (196, p. 126)
Davis pushed his companions through the night, and in a gray suit rode into Washington late in the morning. (198, p. 531)
The rebel Colonel Bradford, from Vaughn's command, came to Asheville on the 3d instant, under a flag of truce, with thirty-eight officers and men who wished to surrender themselves and ascertain upon what terms the surrender of the remainder of Vaughn's force who wished to come in would be accepted. I directed Colonel Bradford to report to Strawberry Plains, Tenn., in compliance with General Orders, No. 27, headquarters District of East Tennessee, and also sent a copy of the order to General Vaughn, under a flag of truce. Colonel Bradford reports that General Vaughn himself is preparing a farm in Abbeville District, S.C., has sent for his wife and family, and intends to make his home there. (OR 49/2, 623)
President DAVIS:
DEAR SIR: I have not heard from you in answer to my note of this day and the condition of things here, together with great fatigue, have prevented my going forward. Nothing can be done with the bulk of this command. It has been with difficulty that anything has been kept in shape. I am having the silver paid to the troops and will, in any event, save the gold and have it brought forward in the morning, when I hope Judge Reagan will take it. Many of the men have thrown away their arms. Most of them have resolved to remain here under Vaughn and Dibrell and will make terms. A few hundred men will move on and may be depended on for the object we spoke of yesterday. I would respectfully and earnestly repeat the suggestions I then made. Let me know if you desire me to adopt any other course than that proposed. If you are at Washington, or this side, I can ride forward in the morning to see you.
Yours, very truly,
JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE,
P.S., 9 p.m.--Your note of 3.15 p.m. this date just received. What I have written above explains condition of affairs. The specie train could not have been moved on but for the course adopted. Out of nearly 4,000 men present, but a few hundred could be relied on, and they were intermixed with the mass. Threats have just reached me to seize the whole amount but I hope the guard at hand will be sufficient.
Davis rode out of Abbeville at midnight of May 3 in a chilly rain. Benjamin, General Bragg, Breckinridge, Mallory and Regan rode with the President, accompanied by a reduced troop of bodyguards. Since Breckinridge had authorized brigade commanders to discharge men who wished to return home, a thousand or more had departed. Of the escort of 2,000 which had left Charlotte with Davis, only half remained after the stop in Abbeville. (196, p. 121)
05 04 1865 [Thursday]
Breckinridge, who had remained in the rear overseeing the disbanding of cavalry units, made it to Washingon this day. (198, pp. 531/2)
This morning Davis presided over a final “Cabinet meeting.” (196, p. 126)
The caravan reached the Savannah River before daybreak, crossed on a pontoon bridge near Vienna, SC, and entered the state of Georgia. Not far from the crossing Breckinridge relented to the demands of the soldiers, ordered the wagons drawn up, and each man of the escort paid about $26 from paymmasters. (196, p. 122/3)
We arrived at Washington, Georgia, on the 4th day of May, and President Davis there decided to abandon any further efforts to go to the Trans-Mississippi Department, and advised a surrender of the troops that had loyally followed him after the surrender of General Johnston. The Confederate Treasury was emptied and the funds divided amongst the soldiers, each man receiving $28.25, officers and men receiving the same ammount. (102, pp. 22)
Lt. Issac Stamper, Co. F, 43rd Tenn. received $28.25 as his share of the Confederate treasury (M268 Roll 294)
President Davis and family left us at Washington and were soon after captured. (102)
It was 10 a.m. when Davis turned his horse out of town at last. Eliza Andrew noted that he left “with a single companion, his . . . escort having gone on before.” (196, p. 128)
Mr. Davis set off from Washington with a select body of men, about twenty strong, commanded by Capt. Given Campbell, of Kentucky. (Reminiscences of General Basil W. Duke, C.S.A., pp. 386)
The President had hardly disappeared when John Breckinridge and his band of troops, including the mutinous cavalrymen, arrived near Washington. It was here, within a mile of the town, that Captain Clark joined the camp, and beneath a large elm tree, conducted his first offical duty as Acting Treasurer of the Confederacy with the dispursment of the remaining treasury. (195, p. 129)
Immediately after Mr. Davis;’s departure the greater portion of the troops were notified that their services would no longer be necessary, and were given a formal discharge. (Last Days of the Confederacy, Basil W. Duke, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 4, pp. 762)
After Reagan and Clark had left to follow the President, Breckinridge set his volunteers on another road in an effort to confuse Federal pursuit. (195, p. 130)
(204) An Honorable Defeat, The Last Days of the Confederate Government, William C. Davis, Harcourt, Inc., 2001
HALF MILE WEST OF THE SAVANNAH BRIDGE,
May 3, 1865--8 p.m.
Secretary of War.
J. C. B. (OR 49/2. 1278)