Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1865-05-25
= JEFF. DAVIS.



Jeff DAVIS, writes, May 49,
Sinee my arrival a. For;rsss Monroe, where.
soT tne iirst time sfce leis Ora yeily Springs
naslssiee;ama, with General Wsieens cavalry ex-
epportnnita H1 % s1e s2a St MarSs last had the
thet. oua .nat great many errors hav crept into
esnsnri riumhs relative to the attem pied es cane,
his coconsn;a maj disposition of JED. Davis and
nnhIicsf,nrp pIdtors. These have been sent for
ton S.s oy correspondents whose informs-
,1on p0a w. o9tsinsd ssd principally from Madauae
matter Of course, evns afe =. .e,esrsph and, as
bulk OF news obtained in that wsy @Ae sie's
The camp where Jef was capured was sit
uated in pine forest, on the side of the Ar
beyyii!e road, about one mile from Irwins
willie, lrwinsville county, Georsia. II con-
sisted OF large wall tent containing only the
arch.traitor and his family, and an ordinarv
''fiy," containing the male portion of the cars
van. Surrounding and contiguous TO these
were TWO common, army wagons two ambu-
!anees and several horses and mules, with the
usual amount OF camp paraphernalia, such as
saddles, brides, harness, cooking utensils, &C.
Davis himself and Postmaster Reagan, with
tne IN Two Colonels-Lu5bocka and Johnson, aid
utsSa Sam ps-had only overtaken the party the
nrght before. after a fauGuing Journey from
w w lngton, Ga, where they had remained to
nsxis some Sh:iness"a they say, while Mrs.
h, WIN the chiidreu and servants had
Pushe9 Ps. W I1oIWard, under the protection and es-
cort on Private Secretary Harrison and a few
N,dshinna,' sasn as Lieutenant Hathaway,
Ihiusnipman dowelf and about twenty private
solciers. 1t was probabiy at or verv near
washington where Davis disnniss.d nis a.cnrt
tu anu ara.uso .ne spoiis under the most press
airy were hard upon him, and he Concluded
TO deceive them by letting them follow the
nody OF cavalry, while he and his friends
travelled fncog across the country and ioined
bis family. To add to the horrors Of his situa-
tion the escort demanded q division OF the CON
tents OF the kegs aud boxes. (gold and silver,
and he was obliged tCdelay some time and act
as paymaster. q As tar as l could learn the di-
vision was very nae4ually maidstone Of the
omcers receiving as much as one hundred dol
lars and upwards, the lions share; while
others not SO exaeung received a bare pittance.
This raised considerable disturbance IN the
camp; and during the melee JEFF. and eompdg-
mons du r0ydgc skedaddled.
Inc "pettcoat story is, in the main, true,
although 1t has been told q score OF times by
oinerent correspondents, many of whom sup
piled the lack of knowledge of facts by
copious draughts from the Imagination, and
gave 1t as many different phases as there are
months in the calendar. The facts are as fol-
lows:
The attack was made upon the camp by
Colonel Pritchard lust as the first streak of
dawn began to light the Eastern sky. Every
thing was profoundly silent. JEFF. was un-
doubtedly dreaming OF his former greatness,
and the entire party were wrapt in the SOM
nambuient embrace of Morpheus, when they
were suddenly startled by the yells of the
soldiers, and awoke too late to make prepara-
tons for even feeble resistance. After the
officers and men in the efy" were safely under
guard, which occupied some time, a corporal
went to the door of the tent occupied by defunct
royalty, and ordered them to come forth and
deliver themselves up MRS. Davis appeared
"Please, gentlemen, do not intrude upon the
privacy Of ladies. There are no gentlemen
here, and you will oblige us greatly by giving
GAN right, madame" said the corporai; tive.
Will give you time TO make your toilet, and
then you can take ride to Macon for your
health"
guard was placed around the tent, and the
readers imagination mus: draw from the de-
noument what transpired inside. After half
beirg broken by the demands Of the guard to
"hurry up " there came to the door Mrs. Davis
and Miss Howell, leading an apparently de-
tUropper with a tight hood on her head and her
face covered 7cih a small reil The sold lady"
could walk only with great difficulty, but tot
tered through the door of the tent with tin
pail on her arm.
"Soldier, L suppose you have no objection to
letting my old mother go to the spring for some
water fer Us to wash withn' said MRS. DAVIS.
"Wall, reckon have some little objection
to letting that old lady Co." said the CORPORAL
"She wears boots; don't snePr ana with tne
point of his saber he raised the frock; discover
ing a large, coarse pair of oalf-skin boots.
While the corporal was discovering and ex-
ntbitinE the slovsn lo9t 81 the S beast, another
face, and 10! the great ass which has so long
been hidden meath lions skin-Jef Davis
in his trne character, before the light of which
Henry VIII. pales, and Richard III. rises in
the scale of human greatness.
When JEFF. saw that he was fairly caught,
and would be delivered into the hands Of his
enemies, he waxed exceedingly wroth, and
rallied out at the soldiers whenever opportunity
offered. He frequently made use OF such sneer-
"Valoreus soldiers, indeed, to make war upon
women and childrenp' "f thought the Yankee
m a1dss ,SGs little mere yaio.ous than 70
and children ont of their beds At night" &c
Mrs. Davis ironically remarked that she
children were of so much value as to be es-
corted by three hundred soldiers through the
country
have previously mentioned the effect pro.
duced upon Davis by the Presidents procla-
nation Offering reward Of one hundred thou
to imagine the terror of Belshazzar when he
read his doom In the Handwriting on the wall,
or the horror OF the murderer when the hands
of the officers of the law are laid rudely upon
him. Such, but in a vastly magnified degree,
must have been the feelings of Jsf. Davis
when he read that proclamation. As his eyes
glanced over the fatal lines have thought
that he must have come to the first realization
Of bis condition. He trembled like an aspen
leaf, dropped the paper from his hands and
sank into reveries and suilenness. His wife
picked up the paper, read its contents audibly,
and they all burst int tears
At Macon and En- Route.
Colonel Pritchard and escort arrived at
Macon about four o'clock on the afternoon OF
the 18th instant. For miles along the streets
and on the road On which the cortege was ex-
pected to arrive were stSung squads of people
eager to catch one glance Of the man who but
so recently had been their sovereign, and sc
whose doors SO many crimes and sins were
laid. Their curiosity, however, was not graf
flied to any considerable extent, as he rode in
q close ambulance, and when he alighted at
the Lanier House General Wilson's head
quarters) the guards obstructed their vision.
oners partook Of It With relish. Az After nd dinner,
Postmaster Reagan, who, seems, had taken
the contract to see sthe President (l) safe
through to Texas, was admitted to General
Wilson's room, where were congregated sew
eral officers, including the General himself,
and your correspondent. Reagan told General
Wilson that he wished to ask his permission
adding that he had shared with him his prop
erty-(exactly so; vide the bills OF exchange
drawn on London in his name)Eand did not
wish 70 desert him in the hour of his adyer-
sity. On receiving assurances that he would
be permitted to accompany him he expressed