Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-08-27
From the Galveston News
Circumstances Attending the Capture
of President Davis.
Letter from Hon. j. iii. Reagan,

1 find the following passages in what
purports to be q speech delivered in the
convention of Texas, on the 9th of Janu-
airy, 1869, by Judge l.. d. Evans, under
the heading, in large letters,
"THEY WANT AN EMPIRE
"On the fall of Richmond. Jefferson
Davis started the Confederate treasury
westward, deluding himself with the
dream of trans Mississippi empire.
81 asked his Postmaster General. Mr..
Reagan, how it was that the President of
their Confederacy should be caught with
his baggage wagons in the awkward plight
OF being under his wife's cloak. He in
formed me that Davis had left his trains
and struck for the seaboard, when after
days ride, hearing that the Confederate
force had disbanded, and would probably
endanger the safety of his family, he re-
turned.
| suspect that Davis feared more for the
safety of his Confederate treasury, which
be hoped to get safely into Texas, where,
had Magrnder been able to keep his army
| together, a nucleus for the material OF war
would have enabled him 10 continue the
struggle
| The speech containing these passages
was extensively circulated through Texas
| last spring, and was sent to myself and
others here then intended to call atten-
ton to the errors in the Above paragraphs,
| but in my hurry of business, uegie cted to
do SO. A new batch of these speeches is
now being circulated through the State,
and am favored with second crop.
On the first paragraph of the above, l
| have only to say that on the fall of Rich
mond President Davis did not start de
luding himself with the dream of trans
! Mississippi empire. He left Richmond
with the hope of uniting the armies of
Generals Lee and Johnston, and with the
further hope, after this should be done. Of
meeting and defeating the armies of Gen
could form junction ; or, if this could not
be done, of occupying the first good de-
fensive line which might be chosen after
the junction Of the forces OF Generals Lee
and Johnston. Desperate as the fortunes
of war then were for the Confederacy, he
had not abandoned the hope of carrying
on the struggle east of the Mississippi.
| On the second paragraph have to say
that Mr. Davis and his cabinet and staff
officers left their baggage wagon and all
their personal baggage, except such as
each took for himself in his saddle bags,
at Abbeville, South Caroliua. The train
which carried such supplies as were taken
from that to Washington, Georgia, and
crate Treasury, were under the escort Of
the few remaining cavalry troops. And
| this train went no further than the latter
place. Some days after leaving Washing
ton, Mr.. Davis was captured in the South
ern part of that State.
While at Danville, Virginia, he learned
of the surrender of General Lee, and short
ly after he left Charlotte, North Carolina,
he learned of the surrender of Gen. John
ston. SO it is seen he was not "caught
with his baggage wagons" that he had
/ long before known of the surrender of the
armies in that part of the Confederacy;
that he had no trains to return to; and that
he did not then, for the first time, learn
of the disbanding of the Confederate forces
as the inducement to his return to his
trains.
I have not seen Judge Evans since No
vember, 1865, and do not remember or be-
lieve that he ever asked mo the question
he puts in this paragraph. [ am sure 1
could not have made him the answer he
puts in my mouth. for it would have been
! untrue in fact.
Mr.. Davis family left Richmond in
March, perhaps in the early part of that
month. Richmond was evacuated on the
I'd of April. He did not see his family
after they left Richmond until little be-
fore daylight on the 7th of May, when he,
happening to hear of them, and that they
were in serious danger, accompanied by
few faithful friends, had gone to their re-
lief. He and those friends travelled with
his family that day, and camped with them
that night. The next morning they sepa
rated, but, from inaccurate information as
to roads, were again by accident thrown
together in the evening, and camped to-
gether that night, travelled together the
next day, and were captured at daylight
the next morning, the 10th Of May. AS
he had not previously seen his family after
they left Richmond, there was no return
ing to them.
On the third paragraph I have to say
that Judge Evans suspicious that Mr..
Davis feared more for the safety of his
Confederate Treasury than for his family,
is mere mental speculation without the
support of facts. The Confederate treas
ure at Washington, Georgia, consisted, as
was supposed, of some eighty five thous-
and dollars in gold, some thirty or thirty
five thousand dollars in silver coin, about
the same amount in silver bullion, and be-
tween six and seven hundred thousand
dollars in Confedate Treasury notes. The
silver coin was paid to the troops who were
there, so much to each man and officer
without reference to rank, as it was too
bulky and inconvenient, under the circum-
stances which surrounded us, to be safely
transported to our repositories at Ber-
muda, Nassau or Liverpool. For the same
reason the silver bullion was turned
over to Major Moses of the commissary
department., and was left at Washington
in an ordinary warehouse. The gold was
placed in the hands of two officers of the
Confederate Navy, then there, with in
structions to convey it, as soon as this
could safely be done, to one of the deposi-
tories above named. While in prison I
saw statements in the New York papers
that amounts of gold and of silver bullion
corresponding to the above had been cap
tured by the Federal forces. Before leav-
ing Washington directed the acting trea-
suer to burn the Confederate Treasury
notes above named in the presence OF the
Secretary of War, General Breckenridge
and myself.
Mr.. Davis was captured nearly week
after this, in Southern Georgia, and there
fore, Judge Evans suspicious that he cared
more for this treasure than for his family
are as baseless in truth as they are unman.
" and urgenerous in inference.
| TIL hot n