The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-03
JEFF. DAVIS, CAPTURE.
Mrs. Davis For the First Time Tells How
1t Happened.
(Chicago Times-Herald.l

(Chicago Times Herald.)
Authentic accounts Of jeff Davis
capture have been many times foisted
on the public. but there was one spec
tator who witnessed the scene from
start to finish, who has never uttered
syllable. The one silent tongue was
woman's, tongue that for centuries
has been credited with babbling in sea-
son and out. But recently in response
to an inquiry from an honored friend,
Mrs. Davis for the first time told the
story of the capture.
I'VE were in one tent together when
the warning message came. The mo-
ment was an awful one-death is terri
ble but it's frightful to face captivity
and dishonor. After a moment of in
tense agitation, Mr.. Davis said: My
duty is with the army and must es-
capeI
But how2' 1 gasped. He stood ir-
resolute. There was no chance to hide
in that little white tent no hope of es-
cape outside of it. There were two
raglans lying on q chair, one of them
belonging to him and the other to me.
You know they are not unlike coarse,
old-fashioned waterproof, extending
from throat to ankle. 1t was the only
possible disguise the place afforded,
and surely 1t was no disgrace to grasp
this forlorn means of evading cap
| ture.
With trembling hands l seized one
of them and helped him put 1t on
| When it was nearly buttoned we dis
| covered that in our hurry we had ta-
ken mine instead of his. There was
no time to change, and as l tried to
fasten it at the neck, l could not hide
the gray collar of his coat. In my
dilemma 1 took a small black shawl
belonging to my mother, and tied it
around his head, pulling it well over
his face and tucking it down around
the collar. Just as we went out a
soldier stepped up, exclaiming:
Halt and give your namer
Mr.. Davis passed on without an
swering, and turned to the tent door
and said:
1t is my mother; please let her
pass!'
1.-THE man appeared undecided, and
a second soldier rushed up and gave
the same order as the first had done
My husband attempted to pass him,
but the fellow caught hold of the rag
Ian and, raising 1t rudely, discovered
he had found the man he sought.
Never shall l forget his triumph
ant tone as he commanded Mr. Davis
to surrender nor the determined note
of defiance in my husbands voice as
he replied:
F." BY the eternal, will never sur
renderl'
1.-THE men drew their weapons and
there was fierce struggle. It could
end but one way, for there were two
against one, and my husband was
hampered by the raglan. So to save
his life, l flung myself between the
| soldiers. and When Mr.. Davis realized
my danger, he quietly surrendered.
| And that was all there was to it,
she concluded simply. And yet not
all. for the lines knit by sorrow and
sore disappointment on the tender wo-
manly face tells another story
| The shawl which hampered Mr.. Da-
! Wis is now owned by Judge James B.
Bradwell of Chicago 1t is just a
piece Of soft, black cloth, thick and
warm, a fragment of a. little shoulder
shawl that Mrs. Davis mother used to
wear
Mrs. Davis spends her summers at
| Narragansett Pier. From her hotel
| Floats q magnificent flag, and one day
as she returned from a walk, a friend
| remarked on its unusual size and
beauty.
"And to think, Mrs. Davis" said she,
that you should be content to abide
under this banner; that 1t should be
your protection as well as mine!"
| Mrs. Davis replied passionately:
Its my flag, too! No woman has
better right to it than I, for in its
defense my husband received wounds
from which he almost died. Do you
| remember in the Mexican war how he
led 332 men against fearful odds? How,
when they faltered, he cried:
" 'Steady, Mississippians, steady;
wait until you see the whites Of their
eyes and then pick your man!
Have you forgotten how many
horses went riderless after that awful
charge Of Jeff Davis regiment? All
yes, the flag is mine-nnine as well as
yours!"