Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1897-10-21
AN ELLSWORTH MAN
TALKED WITH THE PRESIDENT
OF THE CONFEDERACY.
PEARL b. DAY, OF ELLSWORTH, HAD
THAT INTERESTING WAR EXPERT
ENCE STORY OF THE MEET
ING WITH JEFF.
From the Bangor Commercial. !
Butte, Mont, 1897

From the Bangor Commercially
Pearl Il. bay, OF Ellsworth, one of the
railway ui,l clerks on the run between
Bangor mud Bar IIar Dor, has SO many
friends Il, this vicinity that introduction
OF him j. unnecessary. Between Bangor
and the tlarbor, he is probably one OF the
best kin wn of the men who travel back
and for II over that line. IL 1t wasn't for
the hruwn button In his coat, you
wouldn't believe that he had ever smeled
gunp."vder, because it takes a man OF
neariN fifty years to remember war-times,
and Mr.. Day doesn't look so old as that.
However, alt hough he doesn't talk very
much about it TO those " HON he meets,
he nss been through an exper fence which
is - truly interesting rs to be worthy OF
record at this late day, thirty years after.
MIR. Day was intimately associated with
the Imprisonment of President Jefferson
Davis, of the Confederate states, near the
close OF the eivll war.
Mr.. Day goes To Bar lIarbor every
night lie is well known thcrea bouts
and ho knows lot OF people IN that
vicinity. Among the summer visitors
whom Ire sec- very frequently is Mrs.
Jefferson paTi-, widow OF the Gaa:edes-
ate presto, mt. and hcr beautiful daug hter
Winnie. I He sight j. sufficient TO call
back memof5e. of the dag when he "a"
Mrs Davis under other circumstances,
and this is the way he tells he tale:
"Iu 1860 the fourteenth Maine infantry.
Of Which ] WIS a private II \ company,
was stationed At Savannah, along with
the tweltth Maine mud the Elk and six
tenth Ind ,ana yegiu, ut-. We had the
Bangor hutld for our reeimeutal music,
aud it. leader WAS ~ u. Harlow, who is
now director OF another organizati ION in
this city, OF he same name. Mr.. NJ. II.
Andrews. he musician. Was in the four
teeutil al hat time, in the same brigade
with me but | was not acquainted with
him. our colonel was Col. a. X. Bolan,
who Is now a summer resident at Castine.
One OF my company lieutenauts was
Joseph w Grant, OF Bangor; you see We
had a lot OF Bangor men with US then.
''Onc day while we were camped i'll
Savannah he brigade was ordered out
and we were marched up the river toward
Augusta. We learned that Jefferson
DAVIS HAD BEEN CAPTURED,
and that we we're detailed to go up after
him. | suppose came out in such
force because here was - III rebel strength
in the vicinity OF Augusta, and our err
rand was very important.
THE brigade marched up the river as far
as Sisters ferry, where my company OF
the fourteenth was detached and, under
Lieut.. Grant, was put aboard a river
steamer and taken up by water. The re-
mainder OF the brigade went up the
shore on foot We awaited the arrival
of the main body in Augusta. When 1t
arrived the entire force WAS drawn up
and, III closed carriage, Davis was turned
over to our command, together with
some OF his officers. They were al once
put aboard the steamer and company
WAS again detailed II duty aboard Of
her. The main body returned to Sa-
vannah, 200 miles away, on foot.
"Our steamer took Mr.. Davis and his
party down river h savannah where We
took the Clyde line steamer, William p
Clyde, for Hilton Head. There We were
met by the United States warship 'rusca-
rora', which conveyed Us 10 Fort Monroe
where the rebel president was confined.
"rhe clyde was a passenger steamship
which had been made over into war
transport. She had stRterooms just like
any passenger liner, and was we'll fur
nished aud fitted. Mr., Davis and his
wife and their two children, son and
a daughter, were given staterooms
together, and he was allowed deck
space for some two rods on either side
OF his room door. Privates OF my com
pany guarded him in turn, and was
thus placed in contact with him on sew
eral occasions.
TALKED WITH DAVIS.
Zone day was on guard on the deck
near his staleroom, and he was pacing the
narrow space allowed to him; this was
favorite habit of his. He stopped in his
walk when he reached the spot where |
was standing and asked my name.
~ told him and he asked me other
questions. lie was SO easy to talk with
that suppose | wasn't particular about
violating the regulations; one thing led
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