The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-07-12
THAT ALLEGED HFffRSON DAVIS CONN
1872 North Cascade Ave,
nclr~rIx Cr~.nc n,l1
Colorado Springs, Colo.


Colorado Springs, Colo.
Editor Picayune: Dear SRA
Mrs. Inez Z. Gordon persists in ~
iterating her account of the dressing
gown she says was at one time the
property Of my father, jefferson
Davis land | now see by the papers
sent me from New Orleans she still
hopes to sell it TO some museum in
the South, and agrees to swear be-
fore a notary public it was one worn
by him on the morning of his cap
ture, stating he told her sol, | write
to ask you, through your columns,
to say that |, the only living child
of Jefferson Davis, declare and am
ready to prove that my father did
not wear this garment, nor did he
say 80,
| can remember wildly all that
happened, as | was present, but if, as
Judge Bossier said to Mr., Hayes, the
fact Of my being a child at the time
weakens my power TO contradict
Mrs. Gordon's absurd statement, my
aunt, Nine. M. de W. Stoess, my
mothers sister, who was with my
father when he was captured, and a
grown woman at the time, can testi-
fy, also our old colored coachman,
James Jones, who is still living, and
who was the person who warned my
father Of the approach OF the enemy
before dawn, which was the time the
capture took place, not after a break
fast with his escort, as Mrs. Gordon
states, or rather Judge Bossier said
she did to him. l will quote from
my mothers book, "a Memoir Of
Jefferson Davis" in which, on page
637, first volume, can be found these
words, dictated by Jefferson Davis:
II determined to leave their en-
campment at nightfall to execute my
original purpose, My horse and
those Of my party were saddled, pre-
paratory to a start, when one Of my
staff, who had ridden into the neigh
boring village, returned and told me
that he had heard that a marauding
party intended to attack the camp
that night. This decided me to wait
long enough to see whether there
was any truth in the rumor, which
| supposed would be aseertained in
a few hours, My horse remained
saddled, and my pistols in the hol-
sters, and | laid down, fully dressed,
to rest. Nothing occurred to rouse
until just before dawn, when my
coachman, a free colored man James
Jones, whose testimony | can get,
who chung to our fortunes, came and
told me there was firing over the
branch Just behind our epcampment.
l stepped out Of my wife's tent and
horsemen, whom | Immediately
recognized as cavalry deploying
around the encampment. l turned
back and told my wife that these
were not the expected marauders,
but regular troops"
He goes on to give a full account
of his capture, and ! only wish our
dear people Of the South would read
testimony in this book, and then
such statements as this one Of Mrs.
|. f. Gordon would not gain cred
ence.
| do not know what Judge Bos-
object was in aiding this wom-
an in obtaining money under false
pretenses, and as TO her atfectation Of
reverence and sentiment, 1t Is arrant
hypocrisy. Judge Bossier told me
Gordon needed new clothes, and
expected to raise money to buy them
through the sale of this so-called
dressing gown Of my fathers, ] ask
you to send to all Southern museums
and memorial societies a marked
copy OF your paper containing this
and | can only hope that when
any more such impositions are at
tempted | may be notified, and there
by be enabled to crush calumny and
In New Orleans there is
il any excuse for credence be-
ing given to such stories, as BY con-
,ulting my cousin, E. H. Farrar, or
Mrs. (General) ]. R. Davis, the wife
Il my fathers nephew, the truth
be ~ascertained. Yours sin
MARGARET HOWELL JEFFER-