The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1881-07-06

IUne 1nI1uence OF every paJfI0tlC
bcitizen is invoked to avert it. -..t
."T Il Respectfully, &C.,
ASA -''5 t. T. CHIFTENDEN,
Pres't National Anti Monopoly
League. i e" .
The Jefferson Davis Capture
| Iiaar His Account of 1t. a.a
Mr. Jefferson Davis's new book on
the "Rise and Falf of the Confed-
crate Government gives the. follow
ing account of his own capture
"After a short time | was hailed
by voice which I recognized as
that of my private secretary, who
informed me that marauders had
been hanging around the camp, and
that he and others were on post
around it, and were expecting an as
sault as soon as the moon went down.
A silly STORY had got abroad that it
was a treasure train, and dttri Sacrd
faneS had probably instigated these
marauders, as it subsequently
stimulated Gen. J. III. Wilson to
send out large force to capture the
same train. For the protection of
my family | Travelled with them two
or three days, when, believing that
they had passed out of the region of
marauders, I determined to leave
their encampment at nightfall to ex-
ecute my original purpose Ny
horse and those of my party proper
were saddled preparatory to a start,
when one ofmy staff, who had rid
den into the neighboring village,
returned and told me that he had
heard that a marauding party in
tended to attack the camp that night.
This decided me to wait long enough
to see whether there was any
truth in the rumor, which I sup
posed would be ascertained in a few
hours. My horse remained saddled
and my pistols in the holsters, and I
lay down, fully dressed, to rest.
Nothing occurred to rouse me until
just before dawn, when my coach
man, a free colored man, who faith
fully clung to our fortunes, came
and told me there was firing over
the branch, Just behind our encamp-
ment. | stepped out of my wife's
tent and saw some horsemen whom
| Immediately recognized as cavalry,
deploying around the eneampment.
l turned back and told my wife
these were not the expected maraud-
ers, but regular troopers. She i'm
plored me to leave her at once l
hesitated, from unwillingness to do
so, and lost a few precious moments
before yielding to her importantly.
My horse and arms wereinear the
road on which | expected to leave,
and down which the cavalry ap-
preached it was, therefore imprae-
ticable to reach them. | was COM
PEELED to start in the opposite direc
ton. As it was quite dark in the
teptI picked up what was supposed
to be my raglan, waterproof light
overcoat, without sleeves; it was
subsequently found to be my wife's
so very like my own as to be mis-
taken for it; as l started my wife
thoughtfully threw over my head
and shoulders a shall. I had gone
perhaps fifteen or twenty yards
when a trooper galloped up and
ordered me to halt and surrender,
to which | gave a defiant answer,
and, dropping the shawl and raglan
from my shoulders, advanced to-
ward him. He leveled his carbine
at me, but l expected if he fired, he
would miss me, and my intention
was, in that event, to put my hand
under his foot, tumble him off on
the other side, spring into his sad
die and attempt to escape. My wife,
who had been watching, when she
saw the soldier aim his carbine at
me, ran forward and threw her
arms around me. Success depended
on instantaneous action, and recog-
nizing that the opportunity had
been lost | turned back, and, the
morning being damp and chilly,
passed on to a fire beyond the tent.
Our pursuers had taken different
roads, and approached our camp
from opposite directions. They en-
countered each other and commenc-
ed firing, both supposing they had
met our armed escort, and some
casualties resulted from their conflict
with an imaginary body of Confed-
crate troops. During the confusion,
while attention was concentrated up
on myself, except by. those who were
engaged in pillage, one of my aides,
jCol. J. Taylor Wood, with Lieut..
| Barnwell, walked off unobserved.
His daring exploits on the sea had
made him on the part of the Fed
eral government an object of special
hostility, and rendered it quite prop
or that he should avail himself OF
every possible means Of escape. Col.
! Pritchard went over to their battle
field, and | did not see HIM for a long
time, surely more than an hour after
tmy capture. He subsequently
1 claimed credit, in conversation with
| me, for the forbearance shown by
| his men in not shooting me when |
trefused to surrender" .......
+ The Virginia Fish and Game Pro
tective Association, in order to insure
| the destruction Throughout the Com
monwealth of all hawks above, the
SPARROW and little brown horned owl
- - y