"A Spellbinding Tale Of The Last Days Of The Confederacy." --David J. Eicher, author of The Longest Night In the only book to tell the definitive story of Confederate President Jefferson Davis's chase, capture, imprisonment, and release, journalist and Civil War writer Clint Johnson paints a riveting portrait of one of American history's most complex and enduring figures. "Riveting And Revealing." --Marc Leepson, author of Desperate Engagement In the vulnerable weeks following the end of the war and Abraham Lincoln's assassination, some in President Andrew Johnson's administration burned to exact revenge against Jefferson Davis. Amid charges of conspiracy to murder Lincoln and treason against the Union, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered cavalry after Davis. After a chase through North and South Carolina and Georgia, Davis was captured. The former United States senator and Mexican War hero was imprisoned for two years in Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where he was subjected to torture and humiliation--yet he was never brought to trial. "Engaging. . .Vivid, Fresh, And Entertaining." --Chris Hartley, author of Stuart's Tarheels With a keen eye for period detail, as well as a Southerner's insight, Johnson sheds new light on Davis's time on the run, his treatment while imprisoned, his surprising release from custody, and his later travels, in this fascinating account of a defining episode of the Civil War. "Compelling. . .an indispensable volume for any Civil War library." --Daniel W. Barefoot, author of Let Us Die Like Brave Men "One Of The Most Fascinating And Overlooked Dramas In Civil War History." --Rod Gragg, author of Covered With Glory

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of Davis' escape and his correspondence with Southern generals *Includes accounts of Davis' capture and imprisonment *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents On April 1, 1865, the Union army finally broke the Confederate army's siege lines around Petersburg at the Battle of Five Forks. When fighting across the siege lines erupted the next day, it forced Lee to make a disorderly retreat of both Petersburg and nearby Richmond. Left no choice with Lee's retreat, the Confederate government hurriedly evacuated Richmond, taking as many papers as they could, and Confederate president Jefferson Davis moved his headquarters to Danville, Virginia on April 3. On April 4, President Lincoln entered Richmond and famously toured the White House of the Confederacy, sitting at Davis's desk. To most observers, the South was clearly reaching its end, but Davis had no intention of quitting the war. Even while he was fleeing, he attempted to order Confederate generals in the field to keep fighting. On April 9, 1865, Lee formally surrendered his weary army to Grant at Appomattox. Appomattox is frequently cited as the end of the Civil War, but there still remained several Confederate armies across the country, mostly under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, the same commander who arrived with reinforcements by rail during the First Battle of Bull Run and gave the South hope with victory in the first major battle. But on April 26, 1865, Johnston defied Davis's orders and surrendered all of his forces to General Sherman. Over the next month, the remaining Confederate forces would surrender or quit. The last skirmish between the two sides took place May 12-13, ending ironically with a Confederate victory at the Battle of Palmito Ranch in Texas. As fate would have it, the last fighting of the Civil War took place two days after Davis had been captured in Georgia, and his capture remained controversial for several decades. . Davis and his family had continued to flee south from Virginia trying to stay ahead of Union authorities, but with Lee and Johnston both surrendering, President Davis held a meeting of his Cabinet in Georgia in early May 1865, during which he officially dissolved the Confederate government. Davis still hoped to escape federal authorities, but his luck ran out on May 10 in Irwinville, Georgia, when he and his family were spotted. While attempting to run, Davis slung his wife's overcoat over his shoulders. In the North, Davis was portrayed as attempting to disguise himself as a woman to avoid capture. Publications gladly ran cartoons depicting Davis in dresses and women's attire. Placed in heavy shackles, he was transported to Fort Monroe, Virginia where he was charged with treason and planning to assassinate Lincoln, with the country still reeling over his assassination by John Wilkes Booth. Davis was put in a basement cell with one small barred window facing the moat. A grand jury would later indict him for treason. On December 25, 1868, treason charges were officially dropped against him, much to Davis' chagrin. Davis actually relished the possibility of challenging the charges in court and was dismayed that he wasn't given a soapbox to make his arguments. Though Davis was offered several positions as an agent for various British interests, Presidents Grant, Hayes, Garfield and Arthur cut short any such arrangements, intent on not rewarding his "traitorous" actions. Still, Davis enjoyed his time in Europe, and in the decades after the war, he made several more trips to Europe. The Capture of Jefferson Davis: The History of the Confederate President's Attempt to Escape the Union Army analyzes the history of one of the final chapters of the Civil War. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the flight and capture of Jefferson Davis like never before.

During the last nine months of the Civil War, virtually all of the news reports and President Jefferson Davis’s correspondence confirmed the imminent demise of the Confederate States, the nation Davis had striven to uphold since 1861. But despite defeat after defeat on the battlefield, a recalcitrant Congress, nay-sayers in the press, disastrous financial conditions, failures in foreign policy and peace efforts, and plummeting national morale, Davis remained in office and tried to maintain the government—even after the fall of Richmond on April 2—until his capture by Union forces on May 10, 1865. The eleventh volume of The Papers of Jefferson Davis follows these tumultuous last months of the Confederacy and illuminates Davis’s policies, feelings, ideas, and relationships, as well as the viewpoints of hundreds of southerners—critics and supporters—who asked favors, pointed out abuses, and offered advice on myriad topics. Printed here for the first time are many speeches and a number of new letters and telegrams. In the course of the volume, Robert E. Lee officially becomes general in chief, Joseph E. Johnston is given a final command, legislation is enacted to place slaves in the army as soldiers, and peace negotiations are opened at the highest levels. The closing pages chronicle Davis’s dramatic flight from Richmond, including emotional correspondence with his wife as the two endeavor to find each other en route and make plans for the future in the wreckage of their lives. The holdings of seventy different manuscript repositories and private collections in addition to numerous published sources contribute to Volume 11, the fifth in the Civil War period.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

Victor Vifquain?s memoir is an engaging, firsthand account of a bold attempt to kidnap the president of the Confederate States of America. Archived for nearly a century, the chronicle of this previously unknown and daring plot has been brought to light by historians Jeffrey H. Smith, Vifquain?s great-great grandson, and Phillip Thomas Tucker in a meticulously edited and annotated volume. ø The plot to ride into Richmond and capture Jefferson Davis was concocted by three brash adventurers, who, using pseudonyms from The Three Musketeers, were soon involved in escapades worthy of Dumas's trio. This stunning story provides a fresh perspective on Richmond during the Civil War and a personal account of a scheme devised to bring an early end to the war.