Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-09-25
JEFFERSON DAVIS

and RefuteS the SANDERS thai
Have Been Published Every
where throughout the Union in
Regard to His Capture by the
Union Troops in 1865.
BEAUvoGR, Miss, Sept. 0, 1885.
To the Editor Of the New York Herald:
On my return after a protracCed alb
sence from home / received a slip from
your journal, which l inclose for
greater convenience in noticing its
contents:
INDIANAPOLIS, IND, Aug. 16.-At
the recent reunion of the veterans of
the Fourth Indiana Cavalry. in this
city, Lieut.. Isgrigg, of the command,
who was provost marshal at Macon,
Ca, at time of the capture
of Jefferson Davis. related the cir
cumstances of the capture. He de-
scribpd his participation in this affair
as follows: Il went out to the line of
my jurisdiction to receive Davis. Two
miles and a half from Macon he be-
came my prisoner, and l brought him
to the city in an old farm wagon. 1t
was Il vehicle with a great deal to con-
denim it in the way Of unsightliness.
1t had weaknesses all over it, but suti~
Gent strength to hold Jefferson Davis,
myself and his secretary. The rebel
chief sat betwten US, and over his head,
from a pole fixed to the seat, hung the
hoop skirt, calico wrapper and an old
straw hood which formed his disguise
when captured.
so jeff Davis was disguised? ?"
Eyes. 1t is no use to question the
fact. The articles of his costume hung
from that pole. Davis bore himself
with the fortitude of a brave man in
trouble. He was courteous to me and
to the ~guard-talked freely on every
question but that relating to the result
| Of the war"
"When we stopped at the Interna-
| tional Hotel, and were about to get out
of the wagon, Capt. Thompson of the
Fourth Indiana Cavalry drew his re-
volver to fire at Davis, l saw his
movement, struck the weapon with
my arm, and the bullet tore my coat
=, and shirt. At the moment Davis,
seeing Thompson's purpose, cried out.
> For Gods sake, Lieutenant, save my
life! | got the prisoner out of the
wagon and into the hotel with a good
deal Of alacrity."
o after that | met Davis at the Louis
vile Hotel in 1872, when he recog-
nized nee, and approaching, said; ~
q must thank you again, Lieutenant Is
grigg, for saving my life.' We had
quite a chat about the war then. Be-
fore this l had received a letter of
thanks from him. He was my prisoner
/ eight days, together with his wife,
IS daughter and the commissary CT his
ir guard. These three we took into
h Macon in an old family carriage. jeff
was not sulky as a prisoner, but we
could see that the breaking of the
or Confederacy bore previously on his
thoughts"
Though accustomed to see slanderous
3r publications in regard to myself, ]
O. have read this with no little surprise
because of the total absence of any
10 foundation or pretext on which to builC
lie the fiction. 1 avail myself of your
usual courtesy in asking you to publish
this seriatim ~refutation Of the severaI
l. statements of the story.
=, 1t is not true, as stated, that l was
1t turned over to the custody of ont
is Lieut.. Isgrigg two and a half miles (oI
IL any other dlstance) from Macon. The
,e troops by whom | was captured re
manned my guard to Macon, and {
detachment Of them accompanied me tt
Fortress Monroe in charge Of thei
own officers.
,e Equally untrue is it that 1 rode will
an the said Isgrigg and my secretary 70
lis with any n else) in "an old farm
rg wagon" My private secretary, Burton
NJ N. Harrison, Esq. now a member o
to the bar of New York, was capture,
with me, and rode on horseback to Ma
lie, con. 1 had, for several days, occupie,
m an ambulance with my wife and Chi
~ dren, and rode into Macon in it.
ID. There was no such cowardly attemp
% to offer insult to me as would hav
nv been shown by hanging over my hea
no the articles of clothing which Isgrig
of falsely AYERS l had worn at the time @
my capture. Nor did my captors OF
an tain, at the time of my capture, tn
a. hoopskirts, ETC., which Isgrigg dc
til scribes, unless they were found anon
ia. the apparel taken when the trunks @
40 my wife and her female servants wer
ST. pillaged.
On our arrival at the hotel in Nj
con a small body of troops in front G
the entrance was at open ranks, facin
inward. When l got out of the an
bulance to enter the hotel they pr
sented arms while l passed through
OF and l received the salute as an expires
Of sion of the feeling brave men show t
Mt. a fallen foe.
The story Of "Capt. Thompson {
tos the Fourth Indiana Cavalry" attemp
~ ing to shoot me as l entered the NJ,
con hotel is wholly fictitious, and
leave it to that regiment itself to rep,
~ the imputation that one of its Officer
act would nave been guilty of so bastard
of an assault on a prisoner.
ot- Upon that falsehood the narrato
hangs another, that l met him at tn
J " Touicuilla Hotel in 1879 rooOOrizo