The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-10-31
judah z. Benjamin on the Retreat.

Burton N. Harrison of the New York
bar, who was Jtfferson Davis private Sec
rotary, describes in the November Century
the retreat from Richmond, and "The
Capture of Jefferson Davis" Facts of
historical interest and humorous anecdotes
abound in the paper. The now famous
Mr.. Benjamin's good humor during the
retreat is described as follows: awe
moved southwark on, / think, the day fol.
lowing the council of war held with Gen.
eral Johnston, starting from Greensboro
in the afternoon. The president, those of
us who constituted his immediate staff,
and some members of the cabinet,
were mounted. Others rode in ambu-
lances, army wagons, or such conveyances
as could be got. Almost at the last min
ute / was told l must provide an ambu.
lance for Mr.. Judah P. Benjamin, secre-
tary of state. His figure was not well
adapted for protracted riding, and he had
firmly announced that he should not
mounta horse until obliged to.
"By good fortune, was able to secure
an ambulance; but the horses were old
and broken down, of dirty gray color,
and with spots like fy-bites ali over them
and the harness was not good. There
was no choice, however, and into that am
bulance got Mr.. Ben General Sam
uel Cooper (adjutant general, and rank
ing officer of the whole army, Mr.. George
Davis (of North Carolina, attorney-gen-
era), and Mr.. Jules st. Martin, Benia-
MINIS brother-in-law.
"By the time they got off, the front of
our column had been some time in mo-
ton, and the president had ridden down
the road. Heavy rains had recently
fallen, the earth was saturated with water,
the soil was sticky red clay, the mud
was awful, and the road, in places, almost
impracticable. The wheeled vehicles
could move but slowly and it was only
by sometimes turning into the fields and
having st. Martin and the attorney gen.
eral get out to help the horses with an
occasional fence-rail under the axles, that
their party got along at also difficult
was the road because of the mud, and 80
formidable were the holes made during
the winter, and deepened by the artillery
and heavy wagons that day. was near
them from time to time, and rendered
what assistance I could. Darkness came
on after awhile, and nearly or quite every
body in the column passed ahead of that
ambulance. Having been kept latterly in
the rear by something OBTAINING me, OBJ.
served, as rode forward, the tilted hind.
part of an ambulance stuck in the mud in
the middle of the road, and recognized
the voices inside, as drew rein for mo.
ment to chuckle at their misfortunes. The
horses were blowing like two rusty fog.
horns; Benjamin was scolding the driver
for not going on; that functuary was
stoically insisting they could proceed
no whit further, because the horses
were broken down and General Cooper
faithful old gentleman, he had been
in Richmond throughout our war, and
had not known since the Seminole
war what it is to trough ito was
grumbling about the impotence of a
subordinate officer { only a brigadier.gen
eral, sir }. 1t seems the offender had
thrust himself into the seat in another
ambulance drawn by good horses, that
was intended for the adjutant.general
Getting alongside, could see the front
wheels were over the hubs in hole; the
hind legs of the horses were in the same
hole. up to the hooks; and the feet of the
driver hung down almost into the mud
Mud and water were deep all around
them, and their plight was pitiful in
deed ! They plucked up their spirits
only when l offered to get somebody to
pull themout. Riding forward, l founc
an artillery camp, where some of the mer
volunteered to 60 back with horses ant
haul the ambulance up the hill; and, re
turning to them again, could see from
afar the occasional bright glow of Bepja
Minis cheerful cigar. While the Others
of the party we're perfectly silent, Benja
minis silvery voice was presently heard a
he rhythmically intoned, for their com
fort, verse after verse of Tennyson's od
on the death of the duke of Wellington
The laureate would have enjoyed tn,
situation could he have heard the appre
ciative rendering of his noble poem-un
der the circumstances of that moment |"