Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-12-20
Mr.. Davis Capture.
THE TRUTH WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

THE TRUTH WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
The Cincinnati Ege1a5i1g Post publishes
report of Mr.. Davis capture written by
| himself. 1t was written to his old friend
and roommate at West Point, Col. j
Crafts Weight, who resided in Cincinnati
| some years after the war, but is now dead
At the time of writing it ex-President
Davis requested that it should not be pub.
lished till after his death:
| LETTER NO. /.
MISSISSIPPI CITY P. O., October IS, 1877
| My Dear Crafts: Accept my thanks fol
| the report of the proceedings at the last
ates; also for a paper containing state
ment i'll regard to my capture. The lieu
| tenant in his zeal to sustain the strenuous
article of his general makes assertions
| which he could not have believed to be
true. For instance the one who ordered
me to halt bore a carbine, not revolver
| The only person with me was colored
man servant. Instantly [ dropped the
waterproof cloak and shawl and advanc-
cd toward the soldier, declaring | would
not surrender in answer to his demand.
Then Mrs. Davis ran up to me and threw
her arms around my neck That Of course,
ended any possibility for my escape and
| SdlQ TO uGI, ''IOu 5 WILL UG UOHG anCl
| turned back with her to the tent and passed
on to fire short distance Off. The only
| firing, OF show OF armed resistance, was
| beyond creek we had crossed before en-
camping, and that was between the Michi-
gan and Wisconsin men,
AS you say there was no improperly in
assuming disguise to escape capture, but
there was no time to- have assumed
one except by waiting for the deployed
cavalry, seen approaching, to close upon
| the road still open to the creek,
| The falSehGQd was conceived in order to
| humiliate ME, and at first it was asserted
| that [ had ON a bonnet and woman's dress
with hoopskirt 1t may here be mentioned
that the staff officers sent on the ship when
my wife and children were detained after
l was incarcerated at Fort Monroe, did
| plumber her trunks, carrying off many az
| ticles Of value, and, ong other things, a
| hOOpskirt which the knaveS were said sub
| sequently to have sold as the one worn by
me. DO not, my friend, wonder at my con-
| vlctlon that in my case and our time truth
is crushed beneath malice and falsehoGd
SO deep below the light Of reason, in the
| Northerner's mind, that TO- expect Justice
| fr9m them is hopeless. Either sagacity Oh
| nlagnaniniity should have taught my en-
| emies to deal fairly, If not generously, by
one who was regarded as suffering for the
people whom he represented.
SECOND LETTER,
| MISSISSIPPI CITY, February 4, 187a-Dea1
friend, have the pleasure to acknowledge
| gonr kind letter Of the 30th ultimo. The
facts you state in regard to captured treas
ures are new to me. 1t is probable that
most of 1t was the property of the Rich
mOnd banks. The item of .'money cap
| tured from jeff Davis is unfounded, fo,
the sufficient reason that l had no gold
when captured either private CT public.
MI. Reagan, secretary Of the treasury, had
some gold, part of it his private property,
most OF 1t belonging to the Confederate
| States treasury, which was Secreted in his
saddle-bags. The amount does not, as nv
memory serves me, correspond witt. either
item. 1t was probably appropriated by the
| drunken fellow named Hudson, who was
recognized as adiutant Of Michigan reg
iment. and who, Reagan told me, got his
saddle-bags. The rest Of the Confederate
States treasure was in possession of the
treasurer, an old purser of the United
States navy, and his assistants, both OF
them recent appointments, They were in
Washington, Ca, when left there, and ]
have no knowledge Of their future conduct
The fact is, my dear Crafts, that I staked
all nay property and reputation on the de-
Tense of States rights and constitutional
liberty as l understand them. The first
spent in the cause, except what was saved
and appropriated OF destroyed by the enc:
my; the last has been persistently assaileo
by all which falsehOod could invent anG
malignity employ,