Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1885-10-31
THE CAPTURE OF JEFF DAVIS.



Unavoidable circumstances have pre-
vented me from contradicting, at an
earlier date, the statements credited to
Lieut.. Harry Isgrigg, formerly OF the
Fourth Indiana cavalry (which appeared
in the Commercial Gazette i'll september
last, concerning the capture OF Jeffer-
son Davis, and | respectfully request
that you will allow me space to correct
some of those statements, as they
| should not be permitted to go uncon-
tradicted.
In the first place, Isgrigg was not
| provost marshal at Macon at the time
| Davis was captured, nor at any other
| time or place during the war. No
superior officer, who knew isgrigg,
would have placed him in any such
position of responsibility, as he was
not only unreliable and Enthusiastically,
but on one occasion was reduced to the
ranks and disgraced before his regiment
for gross cOwardlce.
The statement that Davis was
brought into Macon by lsgrigg i'll "a
farm wagon is Il falsehOod made out OF
whole cloth, purely and simply. | have
never seen il cqualed tor unbiushIng
| falsity. As is well known to the
try, Jefferson Davis was captured by
the Fourth Michigan cavalry-or rather
a detachment of that regiment-under
the command of Lieut.. Pritchard, and
Isyring had no more to do with his
CAPTURE than s'the man i'll the mOOn,"
and Isgrigg knows it. My recollection
is, that when Davis was brought into
Macon, and was taken TO headquarters,
at the International Hotel, lsgrigg was
not even present, but was i'll cainp,Out-
side the city limits.
The most mblushIng falsehood OF all
is the statement that "When we stopped
at the International Hotel and were
about TO get out OF the wagon, Capt.
Thompson (meaniug the writer OF this
article), of the Fourth Indiana cavalry,
drew his revolver to fire at Davis" n
more uniustiiiable falselood was never
uttered in the same number of words.
1t is true | was present as MIR. DAVIS
assembled the steps, standing perhaps
within five or six feet Oh him, but the
idea of trying or attempting 10 shoot
him never entered my mead, nor do l
believe it was thought of by any SOL
dier present. AS Davis, his wife and
private secretary, assembled the steps
through the open ranks of the soldiers
present, the soldiers faced inward and
presented arms, to which MIR. Davis
lifted his hat in recognition of the COM
Dliment. AS he entered the hotel he
turned partially around and again ele-
waited his hat and then passed out OF
sight, and | saw him nc more.
This is quite enough to refute the
willful falsehood that "Davis, seeing
Thompson's purpose, cried out, 'For
Gods sake, lieutenant, save my life
Not Il word was uttered to. nor by, Mr.
Davis as he entered the hotel, nor was
there any mark OF d~isrespect exhibited
by any one toward him, but the de
meanor of the soldiers present was thai
Of men who felt they were conquerors
and MIR. Davis a conquered adversary
1 repel with Indignation the i%mputatiol
that any soldier of the Fourth Indian;
cavalry excepting, possibly, Lieut.
lsgrigg) would have been guilty o
such base cowardice as that sought tt
be fastened OH me by the false utter
{ ances of Harry lsgrigg.
, Publish this and ObIige
JOHN Ii. THOMPSON,
5 Late Captain Company Il, Fourth In
l diana Cavalry.
Aurora, Ind, Oct. IL.