City
iftrat
REFERENCE USE ONLY
KANSAS CITY, MO PUBLIC LIBRARY
o DOOI cmiais i
RISON
J
EFFERSON JUAVIS
D
EMBRACING DETAILS AND INCIDENTS IN HIS CAPTIVITY, PARTI
CULARS CONCERNING HIS HEALTH AND HABITS, TO
GETHER WITH MANY CONVERSATIONS ON
TOPICS OF GREAT PUBLIC INTEREST.
BY
BVT. LIEUT.-COL. JOHN J. CRAVEN, M.D., '
Late Surgeon U. S. Vok, and Physician of the Prisoner during his Confinement
in Fortress Monroe, from May 25, 18(15, up to December 25, 1863.
"Had I died m the throne, enveloped in the dense
atmos/ihfre of power, f should to many have re
mained a problem. Now, misforfiau will e-ruible
* all fff judge me ivithtyet dufittsc." NAPOLEON
* BONAPA'RTK TO D. BARKY O'MKARA.
NEW YORK:
Carleton, Publisher, 413 Broadway.
LONDON: S. Low SON & Co.
M DCCC LXVI.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year iS66, bj
GEO. W. CARLETON,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern
District of New York.
THE NEW YORK PRINTING COMPANY
81, 83, and 85 Centre Street,
NEW YORK.
THE HON. HUGH McCULLOUGH,
Secretary of the Treasury,
WHO FIRST
Of all our Northern Public Men
HAS HAD THE WISDOM, MAGNANIMITY, AND COURAGE
To express Sympathy for the Misfortunes
OF
THE SUBJECT OF OUR MEMOIR,
BY
A Visit to Mr. Davis in his cell at Fortress Monroe,
THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED.
CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER L
An Introduction by Anecdote. The Old-fashioned Pre
face in a New Dress ii
CHAPTER II.
Fortress Monroe. The Ceremonial of delivering Mr.
Davis into Custody. His first Day in the Casemate 21
CHAPTER III.
Placing Mr, Davis in Irons. His Protest and his Strug
gles. My First Visit to the Prisoner . , .33
CHAPTER IV.
Conversation with Mr. Davis on many Points. The
Removal of his Shackles demanded as a Medical
Necessity 45
CHAPTER V.
Conversations of some Interest The Shackles Re
moved. Mr. Davis on Various Scientific Subjects 58
CHAPTER VI.
Operations on the Southern Coast. Davis Hears that
he is Indicted and to be Tried. His Joy. Views
of his own Defence 74
CHAPTER VII.
Mr. Davis on the New England Character. Future
of the South and Southern Blacks .... 90
viii Contents.
Page
CHAPTER VIII.
Mr. Davis on Cruelty to Prisoners. Mexico. Turtle
on the Southern Coast The Southern Leaders an
Aristocracy. Lecture on the Fine Arts, by a fc
Strange Man in a Strange Place .... 104
CHAPTER IX.
Mr. Davis on Gen. Butler and Dutch Gap. He denies
that Secession was Treason. His opinion of Grant/
McClellan, Pope, and other Union Officers ; also of
Bragg, Lee and Pemberton. His Flight from
Richmond and Arrest 119
CHAPTER X.
Diseases of the Eye. Guards removed from the Prison
er's Room. Mr. Davis takes his first Walk on the
Ramparts. The Policy of Conciliation. Dr. Davis
on Improvements in Land and Naval Warfare . 146
CHAPTER XL
Mr. Lincoln's Assassination. Ex-President Pierce.
Torture of being Constantly Watched. Mr. Davis
on the Members of his Cabinet and the Opponents
of his Administration. Touching Tribute to the
Memory of " Stonewall " Jackson .... 163
CHAPTER XII.
Mr. Davis seriously 111. Restrictions on Correspondence
with, his Wife. Clement C. Clay. A Rampart In
terview. Religious Phase of Mr. Davis 7 Character 183
CHAPTER XIII.
Southern Migration to Mexico. Mr. Calhoun's Mem
ory vindicated from one Charge. Tribute to Albert
Sidney Johnston. Failure of Southern Iron-clads
and Loss of the Mississippi ion
Contents. Ix
CHAPTER XIV. Page
Mr. Davis on Negro Character. Xhe Assassination of
President Lincoln. How the Prisoner's Food was
Served. A Solemn and Interesting Statement . 214
CHAPTER XV.
Southern Non-Belligerents. The Ant-Lion and its
Habits. Mr. Davis on the Future of the Southern
Blacks 228
CHAPTER XVI.
Mr. Davis on Fenianism. Highly Important His
Views of Reconstruction 243
CHAPTER XVII.
Mr. Davis seriously III Change of Quarters officially
Recommended. The Pictures and Poetry of the
Bible. Lafayette's I mprisonment. Marvellous -
Memory and great Variety of Knowledge. Mr,
Davis on Female Lecturers. The True Mission of
Women ......... 254
CHAPTER XVIII.
Mr. Davis on Sensation News. The Condition of the
Negro. -Gen. Butler at Drury's Bluff. Bishop
Lynch and the Sisters of Charity. A Story after
the manner of President Lincoln .... 275
CHAPTER XIX.
Treason. State and National. The Fish-Hawk and
Bald-Eagle.- Mr. Davis on Senator Benton, F,x~
President Buchanan, and President Andrew John
son. Preparations to remove Mr. Davis to Carroll
Hall . . 391
x Contents.
Pa
CHAPTER XX.
Visit to RichmondGeneral Lee. Mr. Davis on
Horseback Exercise. Macaulay's Pictorial Power 30$
CHAPTER XXL
Removal to. Carroll Hall. Some Curious Coincidences.
A Foolish Precaution. Interesting Letter from
Mrs. Davis. Adventures of the Family from Incar
ceration of Mr. Davis up to date .... 3 2 3
CHAPTER XXII.
A New Regiment on Guard. Ordered not to Commu
nicate with Mr. Davis, save on " Strictly Professional
Matters." The Correspondence about Prisoner's
Overcoat ...'... 349
CHAPTER XXIII.
General Summary in Conclusion. The Character of
Mr. Davis. Let us be merciful !.*.. 3^8
THE
PRISON LIFE OF JEFFERSON DAVIS.
CHAPTER I.
An Introduction by Anecdote. The Old-fash
ioned Preface in a New Dress,
LATE one summer evening, hot, hungry, dusty,
thirsty, tired, exasperated, and full of venge
ful thoughts, I was riding down the road from
the bloody and resultless encounter near Ber
muda Hundreds, 'to where my field hospitals
had been established. Saul journeying to Da-*
mascus, breathing out threatenings against
his enemies, was in no fiercer spirit The
day had been oppressively warm, our losses
enormous, our gains nothing ; and worn out
with the labor and wretchedness of superior
12 The Prison Life
tending the removal of the wounded, I was
cantering wearily but rapidly back to where
many hundred sufferers, in all stages of man-
glement, lay awaiting the painful remedy of
the surgeon's art Never before had the re
bellion, with its attendant horrors, appeared so
inhuman to my mind ; and if the hot hatreds
of my soul could have taken shape in words,
I would have exclaimed, addressing the Con
federates under Beauregard :
" Oh, that each slave had forty thousand lives,
One is too poor, too weak for my revenge ! "
Half way between the battle-field and my
hospitals, I overtook four of our boys in blue,
under a corporal, tenderly carrying to the
rear a stretcher on which lay a wounded
rebel.
Something tempted me to halt and dis
mount. God forgive me if it was a desire to
assure myself that all the suffering had not
been on our side. If so, the unworthy feel
ing was of brief duration ; for no sooner,
throwing the reins to my orderly, did I stand
of Jefferson Davis. 1 3
beside the litter and gaze upon the pale,
pinched features of the wounded man, than
all promptings of patriotic hatred vanished;
and there was nothing left in my existence
but the deep, overwhelming sympathy of the
medical man for a patient needing aid to call
him back from death.
He needed aid, indeed. His left arm was
shot through ; his right leg shattered and badly
mangled above the ankle ; his hip was torn
by the fall of his horse, and life appeared fast
ebbing. In his horse, by the way, as it fell
under him, there were sixteen bullets. He
had ridden right in on top of the 6th Conn,
regiment, and our boys had given him what
we called " a blizzard."
" My poor man," I said, " you are wounded
nearly unto death."
" I feel it," he faintly replied. " I am Gene
ral Walker, of Beauregard's staff. Let me
rest somewhere, and dictate some last words
to my Wife and Commander."
Where was my hatred now? Where the
fierce thirst of retribution that should have
14 The Prison Life
looked on this unfortunate's agony as a just
judgment ?
Giving him some brandy from a pocket-
flask, I told the corporal in charge to carry
him to my own tent, next General Gillmore's
head-quarters at Hatcher's House ; and hastily
scribbling a line to my hospital steward,
" Take charge will be with you soon," I re
mounted, and galloped off to the sickening
scenes always presented in a field hospital
after a severe engagement
It was midnight, or some little later, before
my duties to the hundreds of our boys would
allow me to visit the sufferer in my tent His
case needed immediate amputation of the
lower leg, and there was no sufficient light
for performing the operation.
" Tear down that smoke-house and kindle
a big bonfire," was my order. " We must get
light somehow, and quickly, or this man will
die. He is seven-eighths on his way to death
already."
Never before had I been so painfully anx
ious. The feeling arose, no doubt, from an
of Jefferson Davis. 15
instinct of conscience punishing my unpro
fessional thoughts or half thoughts when
first halting beside his litter. The man had
to be saved, or an unhappy recollection would
haunt my life. No appliance that care or
skill could furnish must be wanting. It had
been against Beauregard all day that my
anger had been specially kindled. I recalled
our first defeat at Bull Run. His memorable
" beauty and booty" proclamation. Was I
always to witness defeat when opposed to this
enemy ? And it was against Beauregard and
all belonging to him, that day, while the con
test lasted, that the imprecations of my soul,
if not uttered, had been most vehemently felt
But here now was a military part of Beau-
regard one of his eyes or arms over whom
I yearned as if with a brother's sympathy.*
My business was to heal the wounded, not to
wound. By what right had I indulged the
vengeful thoughts which filled my breast"
when first meeting on the road this shattered
human wreck ?
The bonfire was soon blazing, and before
1 6 The Prison Life
the operation commenced as a happy result
could scarce be hoped I procured an amanu
ensis for General Walker, to whom he hur
riedly dictated two letters. They were fare
wells to his Wife and General Beauregard.
Will the loyal world think worse of me, if I
confess, that while hearing the few feeble
whispers in which this wounded rebel commu
nicated to a strange soldier of the hostile
force what he expected to be his last words
on earth his last messages to the Commander
he reverenced, and the Wife he was to see no
more I found an unusual moisture making
my sight uncertain ?
General Walker, however, was not destined
to die. By the flickering light of the bonfire,
and with the aid of Surgeons Janeway and
Buzelle, the amputation was successfully per
formed, and his other wounds properly treated.
He remained at once my guest and patient
until sufficiently restored for safe transfer to
the General Hospital at Fortress Monroe, and
is now hopping around the earth somewhere,
bly the and, hearty on the Iftg that is left him;
of Jefferson Davis. 17
perfectly willing to be " reconstructed/' I
should imagine, in more senses than one; nor
any the less likely in future to make a loyal
citizen, from such recollections as he may yet
preserve of the bonfire and the tent, the
amanuensis and the attending doctors of that
midnight scene.
This is the material part of my preface, and
contains the only apology I shall offer in case
any over-sensitively loyal readers may feel, or
affect to feel, shocked on finding in the follow
ing pages some record of the imprisonment
of Jefferson Davis, not written to gloat over
the misfortunes of a fallen enemy certainly
not aiming to palliate his political or other
errors ; but to depict so much of him as was
revealed to the Writer during a medical attend
ance of many months while Mr. Davis lay a
prisoner in Fortress Monroe. Should any
such objectors be found, the Writer believes
himself safe in predicting that they will be
drawn pretty exclusively from that loyal class
who were non-belligerent, except in the con
tracting line, and strictly non-combatant, save
1 8 The Prison Life
for higher percentages of profit, during the
recent contest for the Union.
For the rest, the following pages have been
prepared from a conscientious conviction of
duty, under the advice of eminent and re
spected friends, and with the sanction of many
gentlemen in our public life, who are not
more exalted by station than by loyalty, intel
ligence, and moral worth.
The book aims to introduce no discussion
of any political questions connected with the
late rebellion ; nor to be a plea influencing
public judgment, either for or against, the
gentleman who was for so many months the
Author's patient. It will report him as he was
seen during a protracted and confidential
medical attendance, extenuating nothing of
public interest, and setting down naught in
malice.
Of course, the relations of physician and
patient have a sacredness of confidence which
the Writer would be the last to violate ; and
all such restrictions, in this volume, will be
of Jefferson Davis. 19
found rigidly observed. No knowledge gained
during such relationship that might injure
Mr. Davis if published, could properly or
without flagrant infidelity, be given to th
world by his medical attendant ; and it is from
a sincere conviction that the reverse, must
prove the fact, and from a sincere personal
sympathy and respect for the subject of this
memoir, that the present volume has been
undertaken.
It may here be proper to remark lest par
tisan malice should attempt from interested
motives to distort the Writer's position that
he has been through all the years of his
thinking life an earnest and active opponent
of slavery, and of all the other cardinal doc
trines on which the leaders of the late Rebel
lion claimed to base their action. He was
a member of the Republican party from its
birth down to the present day an uncom
promising supporter of the Union ; and it is
from his deep conviction that the Union can
best be reconstructed, and its harmony of
relationship restored, by pursuing a moderate
2O The Prison Life
policy and seeking to understand, in their
present frame of mind, what are the views
of the men who were recently our leading
enemies, that he would now beg the earnest
attention of all classes in the Country to such
portions of this volume as shadow forth the
opinions of Mr. Davis in regard to the future
of the South.
of Jefferson Dams. 2 i
CHAPTER II.
Fortress Monroe* Tfie Ceremonial of deliver
ing Mr. Davis into Custody, His first
Day in the Casemate.
FORTRESS MONROE is too well known to
need any description in these pages. It is
the most powerful regular fortification on the
Continent; and, with its subordinate works
is the grim Cerberus guarding the approach
by water to our National Capital. It has wit
nessed the initial movements of many most
interesting chapters in the recent war, though
itself never within reach of hostile guns,
save when the Merrimac made its brief raid
upon our fleet in Hampton Roads the raid
so notably checked by Captain Worden in
his little Monitor.
Either from it, or past it from Annapolis,
had sailed the chief expeditions, marine and
22 The Prison Life
military, of the Southern coast Beneath its
ramparts the transports of McClelland army
had made brief rendezvous when hastening
to the campaign of the Peninsula; and here
again they had to pass, when returning with
diminished ranks and soiled plumage to save
the National Capital after General Pope's dis
aster. It witnessed the sailing of Sherman's
Port Royal expedition, to which the writer
had the honor to belong ; the expeditions of
Burnside, Butler, Banks, and all the other
joint military and naval movements which
thundered for three years along the coast,
from Cape Hatteras to Sabine Pass. Far-
ragut, Du Pont and Porter stepped ashore
on its hospitable beach when returning from
their most famous exploits.
Of a truth, Fortress Monroe, though not
properly in the war, was of the war a ren
dezvous for our greatest naval, military and
civil chiefs in some of their greatest mo
ments ; nor will its least interesting reminis
cence to the future tourist be this which
records, that in one of its granite casemates,
of Jefferson Davis. 23
and looking out through the bars of a grated
embrasure on the Empire he had lost, lay for
many months in solitary confinement, and
awaiting trial, the defeated Chief of the might
iest rebellion which this earth has yet wit
nessed ; or, at least, the vastest in extent and
the most formidable in its resources, of which
history gives any clear and credible record.
And never before, indeed, did the old fort
witness such excitement, though partially sup
pressed and held in check by military disci
pline and the respect due to a fallen enemy,
as on the igth day of May, 1865, when the
propeller William P. Clyde dropped anchor
in Hampton Roads, and the news spread on
shore first in eager, questioning whispers,
then in the full assurance of conviction that
she had on board as prisoners Jefferson
Davis, late President of the late Confederacy
and his family; Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-
President; John H. Reagan, late Postmaster-
General ; Clement C. Clay, and several more
State prisoners belonging to his now scat
tered and ruined house.
24 The Prison Life
" What will they do with him ? " " When
will they bring him ashore ? " " Guess they'll
take him right on to Washington and hang
him by Military Commission ? " " Guess you're
a jackass ; they can't hang him, unless they
hang all." " Jackass yourself; the papers say
he was partner with the assassins in killing
Lincoln." "Who are the other chaps with
him ? " " Will they keep him in the woman's
toggery he had on when caught ? J> "" Guess
there's $o truth in that" " It's just as true as
preaching all the papers say so." " They'll
hang Clem. Clay sure." This was something
of the conversational buzz I had to pass
through, while hastening down from my
quarters inside the fort, to get an early view
of the little steamer, which, with her impri
soned freight, was the centre of attention.
For the next three days these speculations
continued, colloquially and in the papers ; but
meantime, and for some days previously, pre
parations had been going on within the fort,
under the direction of Colonel Brewerton of
the Engineers, which gave evidence to the
of Jefferson Davis. 25
initiated that the State prisoners on board
the propeller in the offing would soon be
transferred at least some of them, and for
the present to securer quarters. Black
smiths aiTd carpenters were busily at work
fitting up casemates number two and four in
first front, and near the postern, for the recep
tion of prisoners. They were being parti
tioned off into regular cells by busy brick
layers; heavy iron bars were placed across
the external embrasures, and windows open
ing on the interior; and the cells intended
for the prisoners were partitioned off into
two apartments, that next the embrasure be
ing intended for the captives, -while the room
or cell opening on the interior of the fort
was for his guard.
" And it has come to this," was my reflec
tion, as I stood with folded hands first con
templating these arrangements. " But a few
months ago, the man for whose reception
these preparations are b^jng made, was the
acknowledged ruler of many millions of
American citizens. He had armies at his
26 The Prison Life *
command ; cabinet officers ; a staff of devoted
adherents ; and ambassadors, though not offi
cially recognised, at all the courts of Europe.
Nearly a million of lives by battle, disease,
and starvation have been sacrificed for, and
against, the cause of which he was the chosen
representative. And it has come to this with
him!" Aye, and was soon to come to worse
But this is anticipating,
On the morning of the 2ist of May some
of the minor State prisoners on board the
Clyde the rebel General Wheeler and his
staff were placed on board the gunboat
Maumee, which then steamed for Fort War
ren in Boston harbor; while Alexander H.
Stephens, ex-Postmaster Reagan, and some
others, were soon after transferred on board
the gunboat Tuscarora, which immediately
started off to Fort Delaware, as was pre
sumed. Intense excitement, on shore and
in the neighboring vessels, accompanied all
these changes; bu,t Major-General Halleck,
who had come down some days before to
superintend the arrangements, would make
of Jefferson Davis. 27
no sign, and speculation consequently ran
higher and higher every moment as to
whether the chief prisoner of all was des
tined to remain at the fort, or be transferred
elsewhere in custody without halting.
At last, on the afternoon of the 22d, all
doubts were set at rest by the arrival of
Major-General Miles in a special steamer
from Baltimore, this officer being now as
signed to the command of the fort, relieving
Colonel Roberts ; and simultaneously there
with, from the posting of chains of sentinels
and guards to keep back the crowd along
the Engineer's Landing, and from thence
along the route to the Water Battery Pos
tern, it became clear that the important pri
soner was about being landed, and that his
route would lie in this direction.
The parting between Mr. Davis, his wife,
four children, and the other members of his
family and household who were on board
the Clyde, was extremely affecting, as I have
been 'told, by officers who were present the
ladies sobbing passionately as the chief pris-
28 The Prison Life
oners Messrs. Clay and Davis were handed
over the ship's side and into the boat, which
was to convey them, under guard, to their
unknown fate.
The procession into the fort was simple
though momentous, and was under the im
mediate inspection of Major-General Halleck,
and the Hon. Charles A. Dana, then As
sistant Secretary of War; Colonel Prich-
ard, of the Michigan cavalry, who immedi
ately effected the capture, being the officer in
command of the guard from the vessel to
the fort. First came Major-General Miles
holding the arm of Mr. Davis, who was
dressed in a suit of plain Confederate grey,
with a grey slouched hat always thin, and
now looking much wasted and very haggard.
Immediately after these came Colonel Prich-
ard accompanying Mr. Clay, with a guard of
soldiers in their rear. Thus they passed
through files of men in blue from the Engi
neer s Landing to the Water Battery Pos
tern ; and on arriving at the casemate which
had been fitted up into cells for their incarce-
of Jefferson Davis. 29
ration, Mr. Davis was shown into casemate
No. 2 and Clay into No. 4, guards of soldiers
being stationed in the cells numbered i, 3,
and 5, upon each side of them. They en
tered ; the heavy doors clanged behind them,
and in that clang was rung the final knell of
the terrible, but now extinct, rebellion. Here,
indeed, is a fall, my countrymen. Another
and most striking illustration of the muta
bility of human greatness. Let me here
give a picture of the earliest scene in the
cell of Mr. Davis, as related immediately
after its occurrence by one who was a pas
sive actor therein, my own connection with
Mr. Davis not commencing until two days
after (May the 24th), when I was first de
tailed by Major-General Miles as his attend
ing physician.
Being ushered into his inner cell by Gen
eral Miles, and the two doors leading there*
into from the guard-room being fastened, Mr.
Davis, after surveying the premises for some
moments, and looking out through the em
brasure with such thoughts passing over his
3O The Prison Life
lined and expressive face as may be imagined,
suddenly seated himself in a chair, placing
both hands on his knees, and asked one of
the soldiers pacing up and down within his
cell this significant question : " Which way
does the embrasure face ? "
The soldier was silent.
Mr- Davis, raising his voice a little, re
peated the inquiry.
But again dead silence, or only the mea
sured footfalls of the two pacing sentries with
in, and the fainter echoes of the four without
Addressing the other soldier, as if the first*
had been deaf and had not heard him, the
prisoner again repeated his inquiry.
But the second soldier remained silent as
the first, a slight twitching of his eyes only
intimating that he had heard the question, but
was forbidden to speak.
" Well," said Mr. Davis, throwing his hands
up and breaking into a bitter laugh, " I wish
m y men could have been taught your disci
pline!" and then, rising from his chair, he
commenced pacing back and forth before the
of Jefferson Davis. 31
embrasure, now looking at the silent sentry
across the moat, and anon at the two silently
pacing soldiers who were his companions in
the casemate.
What caused his bitter laugh for even in
his best days his temper was of the saturnine
and atrabilious type, seldom capable of being
moved beyond a smile ? Was he thinking of
those days under President Pierce, in which
on his approach the cannon of the fortress
thundered their hoarse salute to the all-power
ful Secretary* of War, the fort's gates leaping
open, its soldiers presenting arms, and the
whole place under his command ? Or those
later days under Mr. Buchanan when, as the
most powerful member of the Military Com
mittee of the Senate, similar honors were
paid on his arrival at every national work
even during those final moments when he
was plotting " to secure peace" by placing in
command of all our forts and armories, such
officers as he thought might be relied upon
to " go with the South if the worst came ? "
And was not his question significant:
32 The Prison Life
" Which way does this embrasure face ? J
Was it north, south, east, or west ? In the
hurry and agitation of being conducted in, he
had lost his reckoning of the compass, though
well acquainted with the localities ; and his
first question was in effect : " Does my vision
in its reach go southward to the empire I
have lost, or North to the loyal enemies who
have subdued my people ? " for it is always
as " his people" that Mr. Davis refers to the
Southern States.
His sole reading-matter a Bible and prayer-
book, his only companions those two silent
guards, and his only food the ordinary rations
of bread and beef served out to the soldiers
of the garrison thus passed the first day and
night -of the ex-President's confinement.
of Jefferson Davis. 33
CHAPTER IIL
Placing Mr. Davis in Irons. His Protest
and his Struggles. My First Visit to the
Prisoner.
ON the morning of the 23d of May, a yet
bitterer trial was in store for the proud spirit
a trial severer, probably, than has ever in
modern times been inflicted upon any one
who had enjoyed such eminence. This morn
ing Jefferson Davis was shackled.
It was while all the swarming camps of
the armies of the Potomac, the Tennessee
and Georgia over two hundred thousand
bronzed and laurelled veterans were pre
paring for the Grand Review of the next
morning, in which, passing in endless succes
sion before the mansion of the President, the
conquering military power of the nation was
to lay down its arms at the feet of the Civil
34 The Prison Life
Authority, that the following scene was en
acted at Fort Monroe :
Captain Jerome E. Titlow, of the 3d Penn
sylvania Artillery, entered the prisoner's cell,
followed by the blacksmith of the fort and his
assistant, the latter carrying in his hands some
heavy and harshly-rattling shackles. As they
entered, Mr. Davis was reclining on his bed,
feverish and weary after a sleepless night, the
food placed near to him the preceding day
still lying untouched on its tin plate near his
bedside.
"Well?" said Mr. Davis as they entered,
slightly raising his head.
" I have an unpleasant duty to perform,
Sir," said Captain Titlow; and as he spoke,
the senior blacksmith took the shackles from
his assistant
Davis leaped instantly from his recumbent
attitude, a flush passing over his face for a
moment, and then his countenance growing
livid and rigid as death.
He gasped for breath, clutching his throat
with the thin fingers of his right hand, and
of Jefferson Davis. 35
then recovering himself slowly, while his
wasted figure towered up to its full height
now appearing to swell with indignation and
then to shrink with terror, as he glanced from
the captain's face to the shackles he said
slowly and with a laboring chest :
" My God ! You cannot have been sent to
iron me ? "
" Such are my orders, Sir," replied the offi
cer, beckoning the blacksmith to approach,
who stepped forward, unlocking the padlock
and preparing the fetters to do their office,
These fetters were of heavy iron, probably
five-eighths of an inch in thickness, and con
nected together by a chain of like weight I
believe they are now in the possession of
Major-General Miles, and will form an inter
esting relic.
" This is too monstrous," groaned the pri
soner, glaring hurriedly round the room, as if
for some weapon, or means of self-destruction.
" I demand, Captain, that you let me see the
commanding officer. Can he pretend that
such shackles are required to secure the safe
36 The Prison Life
custody of a weak old man, so guarded and
in such a fort as this ? "
" It could serve no purpose," replied Cap
tain Titlow ; " his orders are from Washing
ton, as mine are from him."
" But he can telegraph," interposed Mr
Davis, eagerly; "there must be some mis
take. No such outrage as you threaten me
with, is on record in the history of nations.
Beg him to telegraph, and delay until he
answers."
" My orders are peremptory," said the offi-
cer fc " and admit of no delay. For your own
sake, let me advise you to submit with
patience. As a soldier, Mr. Davis, you
know I must execute orders."
" These are not orders for a soldier,"
shouted the prisoner, losing all control of
himself. " They are orders for a jailor for
a hangman, which no soldier wearing a
sword should accept! P tell you the world
will ring with this disgrace. The war is
over; the South is conquered; I have no
longer any country but America, and it is
of Jefferson Davis. 37
for the honor of America, as for my own
honor and life, that I plead against this degra
dation. Kill me ! kill me ! " he cried, passion
ately, throwing his arms wide open and expos
ing his breast, "rather than inflict on me,
and on my People through me, this insult
worse than death."
" Do your duty, blacksmith," said the offi
cer, walking towards the embrasure as if not
caring to witness the performance. " It only
gives increased pain on all sides to protract
this interview."
At these words the blacksmith advanced
with the shackles, and seeing that the prisoner
had one foot upon the chair near his bedside,
his right hand resting on the back of it, the
brawny mechanic made an attempt to slip one
of the shackles over the ankle so raised ; but,
as if with the vehemence and strength which
frenzy can impart, even to the weakest invalid,
Mr. Davis suddenly* seized his assailant and
^ hurled him half-way across the room.
On this Captain Titlow turned, and seeing
that Davis had backed against the wall for
38 The Prison Life
further resistance, began to remonstrate, point
ing out in brief, clear language, that this course
was madness, and that orders must be en
forced at any cost " Why compel me," he
said, " to add the further indignity of personal
violence to the necessity of your being
ironed ? "
" I am a prisoner of war," fiercely retorted
Davis ; " I 'have been a soldier in the armies
of America, and know how to die. Only kill
me, and my last breath shall be a blessing on
your head. But while I have life and strength
to*resist, for myself and for my people, this
thing shall not be done."
Hereupon Captain Titlow called in a ser
geant and file of soldiers from the next room,
and the sergeant advanced to seize the pri
soner. Immediately Mr. Davis flew on him,
seized his musket and attempted to wrench it
from his grasp.
Of course such a scene could have but one
issue. There was a short, passionate scuffle.
In a moment Davis was flung upon his
bed, and before his four powerful assailants
of Jefferson Davis 39
removed their hands from him, the blacksmith
and his assistant had done their work one
securing the rivet on the right ankle, while
the other turned the key in the padlock on
the left.
This done, Mr. Davis lay for a moment as-
if in stupor. Then slowly raising himself
and turning round, he dropped his shackled
feet to the floor. The harsh clank of the
striking chain seems first to have recalled him
to his situation, and dropping his face into
his hands, he burst into a passionate flood of
sobbing, rocking to and fro, and muttering at
brief intervals : " Oh, the shame, the shame ! "
It may here be stated, though out of its
due order that we may get rid in haste of an
unpleasant subject that Mr. Davis some two
months later, when frequent visits had made
him more free of converse, gave me a curious
explanation of the last feature in this incident
He had been speaking of suicide, and de
nouncing it as the worst form of cowardice
and folly. " Life is not like a commission
that we can resign when disgusted with the
4O The Prison Life
service. Taking it by your own hand is a
confession of judgment to all that your worst
enemies can allege. It has often flashed
across me as a tempting remedy for neuralgic
torture ; but thank God ! I never sought my
own death but once, and then when com
pletely frenzied and not master of my actions.
When they came to iron me that day, as a last
resource of desperation, I seized a soldier's
musket and attempted to wrench it from his
grasp, hoping that in the scuffle and surprise,
some one of his comrades would shoot or
bayonet me."
What has preceded this, with the exception
of the preceding paragraph and of things I
saw such as the cell, procession, etc. has
been based on the evidence of others who
came fresh from the scenes they pictured. I
now reach the commencement of my personal
relations with the prisoner, and for all that
follows am willing to be held responsible.
On the morning of May 24th, I was sent
for about half-past 8 A.M., by Major-General
Miles ; was told that State-prisoner Davis
of Jefferson Davis. 41
complained of being ill, and that I had been
assigned as his medical attendant
Calling upon the prisoner the first time I
had ever seen him closely he presented a
very miserable and afflicting aspect Stretched
upon his pallet and very much emaciated, Mr.
Davis appeared a mere fascine of raw and
tremulous nerves his eyes restless and fe
vered, his head continually shifting from side
to side for a cool spot on the pillow, and his
case clearly one in which intense cerebral ex
citement was the first thing needing attention.
He was extremely despondent, his pulse full
and at ninety, tongue thickly coated, extremi
ties cold, and his head troubled with a long-
established neuralgic disorder. Complained
of his thin camp mattress and pillow stuffed
with hair, adding, that he was so emaciated
that his skin chafed easily against the slats ;
and, as these complaints were well founded, I
ordered an additional hospital mattress and
softer pillow, for which he thanked me cour
teously.
" But I fear," he said, as, having prescribed,
42 The Prison Life
I was about taking my leave, accompanied by
Captain Evans, sd Pennsylvania Artillery,
who was officer of the day ; " I fear, Doctor,
you will have a troublesome and unsatisfactory
patient. One whose case can reflect on you
little credit There are circumstances at work
outside your art to counteract your art ; and I
suppose there must be a conflict between your
feelings as a soldier of the Union and your
duties as a healer of the sick."
This* last was said with a faint smile, and I
tried to cheer him, assuring him, if he would
only keep quiet and endeavor to get some
rest and sleep, which my prescription was
mainly addressed to obtain, that he would be
well in a few days. For the rest, of course a
physician could have no feelings nor recog^
nise any duties but towards his patient.
Mr. Davis turned to the officer of the day,
and demanded whether he had been shackled
by special order of the Secretary of War, or
whether General Miles had considered this
violent course essential to his safe-keeping ?
The Captiin replied that he knew nothing
of Jefferson Davis. 43
of the matter ; and so our first interview
ended.
On quitting Mr* Davis, at once wrote to
Major Church, Assistant Adjutant-General,
advising that the prisoner. be allowed tobacco
to the want of which, after a lifetime of
use, he had referred as .one of the probable
partial causes of his illness though not com-
plainingly, nor with any* request that it be
given. This recommendation was approved
in the course of the day ; and on calling in
the evening brought tobacco with me, and Mr.
Davis filled his pipe, which was the sole article
he had carried with him from the Clyde, ex
cept the clothes he then wore.
" This is a noble medicine," he said, with
something as near a smile as was possible for
his haggard and shrunken features. " I hardly
expected it ; did not ask for it, though the
deprivation has been severe. During my con
finement here I shall ask for nothing."
He was now much calmer, feverish symp
toms steadily decreasing, pulse already down
to seventy-five, his brain less excitable, and nis
44 The Prison Life
mind becoming more resigned to his condi
tion. Complained that the foot-falls of the
two sentries within his chamber made it diffi
cult for him to collect his thoughts ; but
added cheerfully that, with this touching his
pipe he hoped to become tranquil.
This pipe, by the way, was a large and
handsome one, made of meerschaum, with an
amber mouth-piece, showing by its* color that
it had seen " active service" for some time as
indeed was the case, having been his com
panion during the stormiest years of his late
titular Presidency. It is now in the Writer's
possession, having been given to him by Mr,
Davis, and its acceptance insisted upon as the
only thing he had left to offer.
of Jefferson Davis. 45
CHAPTER IV,
Conversation with Mr. Davis on 'many Points.
The Removal of his Shackles demanded
as a Medical Necessity.
MORNING of 25th May. My patient much
easier and better. Had slept a little, and
thanked me for the additional mattress.
" I have a poor, frail body," he said ; " and
though in my youth and manhood, while
soldiering, I have done some rough camping
and campaigning, there was flesh then to
cover my nerves and bones ; and that makes
an important difference."
He then spoke of his predisposition to
bilious fever at this period of the year, stating
that it usually began with a slight chill, then
raa into a remittent condition. Had also suf
fered much from neuralgia, by which the sight
of one eye had been destroyed ; and had been
46 The Prison Life
a victim to what he called " the American
malady, 5 ' dyspepsia, ever since quitting the
active, open-air life of the army.
Having ordered him a preparation of Cali-
saya bark after each meal to assist digestion
Mr. Davis spoke familiarly of all the various
preparations of this medicine ; then digressed
into some reminiscence of a conversation he
once had with an eminent English physician
in regard to anti-periodics.
He took the ground, said Mr. Davis, that
Peruvian bark in its various forms was the
only reliable therapeutic agent of this kind
and it may be so with the practice in England.
Here, however (I told him), we have a number
perfectly reliable, such as Salicine, from the
willow, a preparation of arsenic (in solution),
and so forth.
He appeared anxious to know what agents
could be used for adulterating quinine and
the other preparations of bark, for that they
are grossly adulterated he knew. Taking all
the risks of running the blockade, these pre
parations, or preparations purporting to be
of Jefferson Davis. 47
such, had been sold at Wilmington and
Charleston during the war, at prices in gold for
which the genuine articles could scarcely have
been procured in London. They were the
best his people could get, however, and very
thankful they were when they could be had.
Then spoke of the crime of adulterating me
dicines as heinous in the extreme, and re
ferred to a speech he had made on the subject
in the Senate of the United Sates, asking
legislative interference, and that no adulterat
ed drugs should be allowed to pass the Cus-
tom-House. His action had been based,
partly on his own acquaintance with the facts,
but more especially on a report from an emi
nent chemist in New York city, setting forth
the magnitude of the abuse, with tabular
statements.
" There was one restriction of the war," he
went on to say, " imposed by the overwhelm
ing superiority of your navy, which I do not
believe an enlightened and Christian civiliza
tion can approve. I refer to that making
medicines contraband of war. This inflicted
48 The Prison Life
much undeserved suffering on women and
children and the whole non-combatant class,
while comparatively but little affecting the
combatants. For our soldiers we had to pro
cure the requisite medicines, at whatever cost
or sacrifice ; so that the privation fell chiefly
upon those who were not engaged in the war,
save as helpless spectators. I am far from
saying this restriction was not justified by the
laws of war, as heretofore acknowledged and
practised; but whenever these laws come to
be revised in a spirit more harmonizing with
the advanced intelligence of our times, some
friend of humanity should plead that cargoes
duly vouched as only containing medicines
should not be liable to stoppage."
Happening to notice that his coffee stood
cold and apparently untasted beside his bed
in its tin cup, I remarked that here was a
contradiction of the assertion implied in the
old army question, " Who ever saw cold cof
fee in a tin cup ? " referring to the eagerness
with which soldiers of all classes, when cam
paigning, seek for and use this beverage. >
of Jefferson Davis. 49
" I cannot drink it," he remarked, " though
fond of coffee all my life. It is the poorest
article of the sort I have ever tasted ; and if
your government pays for such stuff as cof
fee, the purchasing quartermaster must be
getting rich. It surprises me, too, for I
thought your soldiers must have the best
many of my Generals complaining of the
difficulties they encountered in seeking to
prevent our people from making volunteer
truces with your soldiers whenever the lines
ran near each other, for the purpose of ex
changing the tobacco we had in abundance
against your coffee and sugar."
Replied that the same difficulty had been
felt on our side, endangering discipline and
calling for severe measures of repression.
The temptation to obtain tobacco was uncon
trollable. One of our lads would pop his
head up from his rifle-pit and cry : " Hey,
Johnny, any tobacco over your way?" to
which the reply would instantly come, "Yes,
Yank, rafts of it How is it with you on the
coffee *question?" A satisfactory reply being
SO The Prison Life
given, the whisper would run along each line,
" Cease firing, truce for coffee and tobacco ; "
and in another moment scores of the combat
ants, on either side, would be scrambling
over their respective earthworks, and meet
ing on the debatable land between, for com
mercial dicker and barter on true Yankee
style.
This picture seemed to amuse the patient
His spirits were evidently improving. Told
him to spend as little time in bed as he
could ; that exercise^ was the best medicine
for dyspeptic patients. To this he answered
by uncovering the blankets from his feet and
showing me his shackled ankles.
" It is impossible for me, Doctor ; I cannot
even stand erect These shackles are very
heavy; I know not, with the chain, how
many pounds. If I try to move they trip
me, and have already abraded broad patches
of skin from the parts they touch. Can you
devise no means to pad or cushion them, so
that when I try to drag them along they may
not chafe me so intolerably ? My limbs have
of Jefferson Davis. 5 1
so little flesh on them, and that so weak, as
to be easily lacerated."
At sight of this I turned away, promising
to see what could be done, as exercise was
the chief medical necessity in his case ; and
at this moment the first thrill of sympathy
for my patient was experienced.
That afternoon, at an interview sought with
Major-General Miles, my opinion was given
that the physical condition of State-prisoner
Davis required the removal of his shackles,
until such time as his health should be estab
lished on some firmer basis. Exercise he ab
solutely needed, and also some alleviation of
his abnormal nervous excitement No drugs
could aid a digestion naturally weak and so
impaired, without exercise ; nor could any
thing in the pharmacopoeia quiet nerves so
over-wrought and shattered, while the con
tinual irritation of the fetters was counter
poising whatever medicines might be given.
" You believe it, then, a medical necessity ? "
queried General Miles.
" I do most earnestly."
52 The Prison Life
" Then I will give the matter attention ;" and
at this point for the present the affair ended.
May 26ik. Called with the Officer of
the Day, Captain James B. King, at i P.M.
Found Mr. Davis in bed, complaining of in
tense debility, but could not point to any par
ticular complaint The pain in his head had
left him last night, but had been brought back
this forenoon and aggravated by the noise of
mechanics employed in taking down the
wooden doors between his cell and the ex
terior guard-room, and replacing these with
iron gratings, so that he could at all times be
seen by the sentries in the outside room, as
well as by the two " silent friends," who were
the unspeaking companions of his solitude.
Noticed that the prisoner's dinner lay un
touched on its tin plate near his bedside, his
meals being brought in by a silent soldier,
who placed food on its table and then with
drew. Had remarked before that he scarcely
touched the food served to him, his appetite
being feeble at best, and his digestion out of
order.
of Jefferson Davis. 53
Quitting him, called on General Miles, and
recommended that I be allowed to place the
prisoner on a diet corresponding with his con
dition, which required light and nutritious
food. Consent was immediately given, and I
had prepared and sent over from my quarters
some tea and toast for his evening's meal.
Calling about 7 P.M., found Mr. Davis
greatly improved, the tea and toast having
given him, he said, new life. Though he
had not complained of the fare, he was very-
thankful for the change. Remarked in reply
that I had observed the food given was not
fit for an invalid in his condition, and was
happy to say permission had been given me
to supply from my own table such diet as he
might seem to need. On this he repeat
ed that I had an unequal and perplexing
task.
" As a soldier you could soon dispose of
me," he said ; " but as a master of the healing
art all your energies will be taxed; and J
sometimes hope sometimes fear in vain.
You have in me a constitution completely
54 The Prison Life
shattered, and of course all its maladies ag
gravated by my present surroundings,"
He then commenced talking and let me
here say that I encouraged him in this, believ
ing conversation and some human sympathy
the best medicines that could be given to one
in his state on the subject of the weather.
How has the weather been rough or fair ?
In this huge casemate, and unable to crawl to
the embrasure, he could not tell whether the
weather was rough or smooth, nor how the
wind was blowing.
" All my family are at sea, you are aware,
on their way to Savannah ; and I know thQ
dangers of going down the coast at this sea
son of the year too well to be without in
tense alarm. My wife and four children,
with other relatives, are on board the Clyde,
and these propellers roll dreadfully and are
poor sea-boats in rough weather."
He then explained with great clearness of
detail, and evidently having studied the sub
ject, why the dangers of going down the
coast in rough weather were so much greater
of Jefferson Davis. 55
than coming north. Going down, ships had
to hug the shore-often running dangerously
near the treacherous horrors of Cape Hat-
teras; while in running north they stood out
from land to catch the favoring gulf stream,
to avoid which they had to run in shore as
close as they could when steering south.
He appeared intensely anxious on this
subject, recurring to it frequently and specu-
lating on the probable postoon of he Cfy*
at this time. '< Should she be lost he re
marked, "it will be 'all my pretty chicken
and their dam at one fell swoop. It will be
the obliteration of my name and house.
"Mrs. Davis, too," he continued, has
mu ch to contend with. Her sister has been
V ery ill, and her two nurses left her whd
here, and she could procure no others. My
only consolation is, that some of my paroled
people are on board, and soldiers make excel-
lent nurses. Soldiers are fond of chudrer.
Perhaps the roughness of the. camp-hfe
L^the contrasted playfulness o^ncy
so pleasant. Charles of Sweden, Frederick
56 The Prison Life
the Great, and Napoleon, were illustrations
of this peculiarity. The Duke of Welling
ton is the only eminent commander of whom
no trait of the sort is recorded."
Talking of propellers, and how badly they
rolled in a rough sea, I spoke of one called
the Burnside, formerly stationed at Port
Royal, of which the common remark was,
that in every three rolls she went clean
round.
" Once," I added, " when her Captain was
asked what was her draught of water, he
replied that he did not know to an inch the
height of her smoke-stack, but it was from
the top of that to her keel."
This, and other anecdotes, amused the
patient for some quarter of an hour; and
whatever could give his mind a moment's
repose was in the line of his cure.
As I was leaving, he asked had I been
able to do nothing to pad or cushion his
shackles? He could take no exercise, or
but the feeblest, and with great pain, while
they were on.
of Jefferson Davis. 57
To this gave an evasive answer, not know
ing what might be the action of General
Miles, and fearing to excite false hopes. No
such half-way measures as padding would
suffice to meet the necessities of his case ;
while their adoption, or suggestion, might
defer the broader remedy that was needed,
On leaving, he requested me in the morning
to note how the wind blew, and the pros
pects of the weather, before paying him
my visit. Until he heard of his family's
arrival in Savannah he could know no peace.
58 The Prison Life
CHAPTER V.
Conversations of some Interest. The
les Removed. Mr. Davis on Varwis Sci
entific Subjects.
27th. Called in the morning with the
Officer of the Day, Captain Titlow. Found
Mr. Davis in bed, very weak and desponding.
He had not slept Had been kept awake by
the heavy surging of the wind through the
big trees on the other side of the moat Ap
peared much relieved when I told him the
breeze was nothing like a storm, though it
blew north-easterly, which was favorable to
the ship containing his family. ,
He expressed great concern lest his wife
should hear through newspapers of the scene
in his cell when he was ironed. Would it be
published, did I think ? And on my remain
ing silent for I knew it had been sent to the
of Jefferson Davis, 59
newspapers on the afternoon of its transpiring
he interlaced his fingers across his eyes, and
ejaculated : " Oh, my poor wife, my poor,
poor girl ! How the heart-rending narrative
will afflict her ! "
He remained silent for some moments as I
sat beside his bed; and then continued, ex
tending his hand that I might feel his pulse :
" I wish she could have been spared this
knowledge. There was no necessity for the
act My physical condition rendered it obvi
ous that there could be no idea that fetters
were needful to the security of my imprison
ment It was clear, therefore, that the object
was to offer an indignity both to myself and
the cause I represented not the less sacred
to me because covered with the pall "of a
military disaster. It was for this reason I re
sisted as a duty to my faith, to my country
men, and to myself. It was for this reason
I courted death from the muskets of the guard.
The Officer of the Day prevented that result,
and, indeed," bowing to Captain Titlow
" behaved like a man of good feeling. But,
60 The Prison Life
my poor wife ! I can see the hideous an
nouncement with its flaming capitals, and can
not but anticipate how much her pride and
love will both be shocked. For myself I am
resigned, and now only say, 'The Lord re
prove them ! ' The physical inconvenience
of these things I still feel (clanking his ankles
together slightly under the bed-clothes), but
their sense of humiliation is gone.f* Patriots
in all ages, to whose memories shrines are
now built, have suffered as bad or worse in
dignities."
He thanked me for the breakfast that had
been sent him, expressing the hope that I
would not let my wife be put to too much
trouble making broth and toast for one so
helpless and utterly wretched.
" I wish, Doctor," said he, " I could com
pensate you by getting well ; but my case is
most unpromising. Your newspapers," he
went on this with a grim smile "should
pray for the success of your skill. If you
fail, where will their extra editions be their
startling head-lines ? My death would only
of Jefferson Davis. 6 1
give them food for one or two days at most ;
while my trial for I suppose I shall be give'n
some kind of trial would fatten for them a
monthfe crop of lucrative excitement"
Finding the conversation, or rather his
monologue, running into a channel more likely
to excite than soothe him the latter being the
object for which I was always willing to listen
during the fifteen or twenty minutes these
interviews usually lasted while he was seri
ously ill I now rose to take my leave, gently
hinting that he should avoid such thoughts
and topics as much as possible.
He took my remark in a wrong sense, as
if I had been hurt at his saying anything that
might cast a reflection on the justice that
would be dealt to him by my government, or
upon the style of journalism in Northern
newspapers. But I explained that nothing
could be farther from my thoughts : that my
counsel was purely medical, and to divert him
from a theme that must re-arouse the cerebral
excitement we were seeking to allay.
" For the rest, Mr. Davis " I went on, " that
62 The Prison Life
Doctor should go to College again who is
not ready to listen with interest and attention
to whatever subject may be uppermost in his
patient's mind, unless convinced that the
mind's brooding upon it will do harm, not
good. We need ventilation in the world of
mind not less than in that of physics. Our
thoughts need to go abroad in the minds of
other men, and take their exercise in the sun
light and free air of language. The doctrine
of confession in the Catholic Church is based
on the soundest principles of moral and intel
lectual hygiene. It is throwing open the
doors and windows of the soul, changing the
atmosphere, and disinfecting every crevice of
the mind of the foul vapors engendered by
the close dampness and darkness of secresy.
The physician who has not learned to act in
this faith should re-commence his education,"
Called again at 8 P.M. same day. Mr. Davis
still very weak, and had been troubled with
several faint, not exactly fainting, spells, his
pulse indicating extreme debility. He said
thr, nights were very tedious and haggard.
of Jefferson Davis. 63
During the day he could find employment
reading (the Bible or prayer-book being sel
dom out of his hand while alone), but during
the night his anxieties about his family re
turned ; and the footh-falls of the sentries in
the room with him their very breathing
or coughing continually called back his
thoughts, when otherwise and for a moment
more pleasantly wandering, to his present
situation. He had watched the weather all
day with intense interest; and had been cheer
ed to observe from the slant of the rain that
the wind appeared to continue north-east, so
, that he hoped his family were by this time in
Savannah. *
Then went on to say that he feared, after
he had been removed from the Clyde, his wife
must have suffered the annoyance of having
her trunks searched an unnecessary act, it
seemed to him, as, of course, if she had any
thing to conceal, she could have got rid of it
on the passage up.
On my remarking, to soothe him, that no
such search was probable, he said it could
64 The Prison Life
hardly be otherwise, as he hadreceiv ed a suit
of heavy clothes from the propeller ; and Gen.
Miles, when informing him of the fact, had
mentioned that there were quite a number of
suits there.
" Now I had none with me but such as my
wife placed in her own trunks when she left
Richmond, so that her trunks have probably
been opened ; and I suppose," he added with
another grim smile, " that the other clothes to
which Gen. Miles referred, are now on exhibi
tion or preserved as ' relics/ My only hope
is, that in taking my wardrobe ' they did not
also confiscate that of my wife "and children;
but I realize that we are like* him of old who
fell amongst a certain class of people and was
succored by the good Samaritan.^
" And so, Doctor," he went on, *' you think
all the miserable details of my ironing have
been placed before the public? It is not
only for the hurt feelings of my wife and
children, but for the honor of Americans
that I regret it My efforts to conceal from
my wife the knowledge of my sufferings are
of Jefferson Davis. 65
unavailing; and it were perhaps better that
she should knov^ the whole truth, as proba
bly less distressing to her than what may be
the impressions of her fears. Should I write
such a letter to her, however, she would
never get it."
Sunday ^ May 2%tk. At n A.M. this morn
ing was sitting on the porch in front of my
quarters when Captain Frederick Korte, 3d
Pennsylvania Artillery, who was Officer of the
Day, passed towards the cell of the prisoner,
followed by the blacksmith. This told the
story, and sent a pleasant professional thrill
of pride through my veins. It was a vindi
cation of my theory, that the healing art is
next only in its sacredness and power to that
of the healers of the soul an instance of
the doctrinal toga forming a shield for suffer
ing humanity, which none were too exalted
or powerful to disregard./ I hastily followed
the party, but remained/in the outer guard
room while the smith removed the shackles.
Did not let Mr. Davis see me then, but
retired, thinking it better the prisoner should
66 The Prison Life
be left alone in the first moments of regain
ing so much of his personal freedom.
Called again at 2 P.M. with the Officer of
the Day. Immediately on entering, Mr.
Davis rose from his seat, both hands ex
tended, and his eyes filled with tears. He
was evidently about to say something, but
checked himself; or was checked by a rush
of emotions, and sat down upon his bed.
That I was gratified by the change I will
not deny and let those in the North into
whose souls the iron of Andersonville has
entered, think twice before they condemn
me. The war was over ; the prisons on
both sides were empty. If by rigor to Davis
we could have softened by a degree the suf
ferings of a single Union prisoner, I, for one,
would have said let our retaliation be so terri
ble as to bring the South to justice. But
now, no sufferings of his could recall the
souls that had fled, or the bodies that were
wasted and fever-stricken. It would not be*
retaliation to secure justice, but mere ignoble
vindictiveness to further torture this unhappy
of Jefferson Davis. 67
and shattered man. Besides, as his medi
cal adviser, I could know him in no other
capacity ; and it then remained to be proved
remains yet to be proved that he was in
any manner of volition or wish responsible
for the horrors we deplore. Even Napoleon
complained that Virion, and his other com
missaries of prisoners, stole the food and
other stores furnished for their use ; and time
must develop whether, and how far, Mr.
Davis was responsible for the cruel treatment
of our boys.%
Thus feeling, I congratulated him on the
change, observing that my promise of his
soon feeling better was, being fulfilled; and
he must now take all the exercise that was
possible for him, for on this his future health
would depend. Captain Korte, too, joined
in my congratulations very kindly, and spoke
with the frank courtesy of a gentleman and
soldier.
In speaking of his present state of health,
and the treatment he had formerly been
under for the same symptoms, Mr. Davis
68 The Prison Life
referred very kindly, and in terms of admira
tion, to his former friend and medical attend
ant, Dr. Thomas Miller, of Washington.
Also to Dr. Stone, of Washington, who had
made a specialty of the eye and its diseases.
From him he had received clearer ideas of
the power of vision, and the adaptation of
the eye to various distances and degrees of
light, than from any other sourcgj- Referring
to his own loss of sight in one eye from
leucoma, or an ulceration of the cornea, he
said he could discern light with it, but could
not distinguish objects.
Entering then into conversation upon
optics and acoustic?, Mr. Davis spoke on
both subjects, but more especially the former,
with great familiarity. Referring to the
undulating waves by which both light and
sound are conveyed, he remarked :
"With what admirable perversity nature
has avoided all straight lines and angles the
curve, or waving * line of beauty/ first discov
ered to men by Hogarth, being the .rule with
her in every variety of production. In no
of Jefferson Davis. 69
leaf, flower, tree, rock, animal, bird, fish or
shell that nature has produced, can a straight
line, angle, or two lines exactly parallel be
found."
Speaking of how greatly the powers of the
sight may be increased by practice, Mr. Davis
upheld the theory that the brain, top, was
also enlarged in its capacities, both physically
and intellectually, by continual labor. He
pointed to the large brains of nearly all who
have been eminent in pursuits involving
mental labor, contending that as the labor
of the tailor develops the muscles of the
right thumb and fore-finger, those of the
delver the muscles of the leg, and so forth,
so^ the increased exercise of the brain in
creased its size. There was a fault in his
parallel, he knew, or rather what appeared to
be a fault that we can establish no analogy
between the mental and physical phases of
existence. Still it was certain that labor
enlarged all organs involved in it, so far as
we had means of judging; and that while we
did not know how the brain acted in its
70 The Prison Life
reception or emission of ideas whether
purely passively, or with some physical
action, however slight we did know for
certain that the brains of all great intellectual
workers were much larger, on the average,
than were those of men pursuing different
callings.
Remarked that with these ideas, he must to
a great extent be a believer in phrenology ; to
which he assented, while at the same time
protesting against the charlatanisms which
had overlapped, for selfish purposes of gain,
what of truth there was in the science. Be
fore the matter could be properly tested, the
anatomy of the brain should be made a
specialty, and studied with all the assistance
of innumerable subjects for many years. But
the men who now put themselves forward as
professors of the science, had probably never
seen the inside of any brain certainly not of
half a dozen in their lives.
Referring 1 to the stories that were probably
being circulated about him in the Northern
papers, and the falseness of such stories in
of Jefferson Davis. 71
general, Mr. Davis instanced what he called
the foul falsehood that he had preached and
effected the repudiation of the Mississippi
bonds.
" There is no truth in the report," he said.
" The event referred to occurred before I had
any connection with politics my first en
trance into which was in 1843; nor was I at
any time a disciple of the doctrine of repudia
tion. Nor did Mississippi ever refuse to
acknowledge as a debt more than one class of
bonds those of the ' Union State Bank
only.
" To show how absurd the accusation is,"
continued Mr. Davis, " although so widely
believed that no denial can affect its cur
rency, take the following facts. I left Mis
sissippi when a boy to go to college ; thence
went to West Point ; thence to the army. In
1835 I resigned, settled in a very retired
place in the State, and was wholly unknown,
except as remembered in the neighborhood
where I had been raised. At the time when
the Union Bank bonds of Mississippi were
72 The Prison Life
issued, sold and repudiated as I believe
justly, because their issue was in violation of
the State "Constitution I endeavored to have
them paid by voluntary contributions ; and
subsequently I sent agents to England to
negotiate for this purpose."
Recurring then to the subject of optics and
diseases of the eye which appeared a favorite
with him Mr. Davis descanted on the curious
effects of belladonna on the iris and crystal
line lens; stating that, though a valuable
remedy when only used as such, it tended to
coagulate and produce cataract in the latter
when used in excess as witness the number
of cases of this kind of injury amongst the
ladies of Italy and Spain, where the article
was much used as a toilette adjunct. He
spoke of the beautiful provisions of nature for
the protection of this organ, illustrating by
the third transparent eyelid or membrane
which all diving birds drop over the eye
when darting swiftly through the air or water,
thus protecting the delicate organ from being
hurt, while allowing a sufficiency of light to
of Jefferson Davis. 73
guide them. He could not believe that any
living things as a class were deprived of the
joy of sunlight; and while the microscope had
thus far found no organs that we could re
cognise as of sight in many -classes of living
things shell-fish, worms, and so forth he
believed that they must in some manner
be impressible with the alternations of light
and darkness. It had so long appeared a
question with him whether his own eyesight
could be saved, that he had given this subject
much attention or rather reflection ; and he
quoted from Milton with great pathos several
passages on the subject :
Oh dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon ;
Irrevocably dark ! total eclipse without the hope of day
And again :
Nor to these idle orbs doth sight appear
Of sun, or moon, or stars, throughout the year,
Or man, or woman. Yet I argue not
Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot
Of heart or hope ; but still bear up and steer
Right onward.
The Prison Life
CHAPTER VI
Operations on the Southern Coast. Davis
Hears that he is Indicted and to be Tried.
His^oy. Views of his own Defence.
MAY 29TH. Called with Captain Bispham, 3d
Pennsylvania Artillery, Officer of the Day.
Found Mr. Davis walking up and down the
floor, apparently better but still laboring
under some excitement He said exercise
had already done him good ; had slept much
better last night; and rejoiced to see clear
and bright weather again, though little sun
shine entered his cell. Thought though it
did not shine on him, it was shining on his
dear wife and children, safely havened from
the dangers of the ocean. #
Complained of the dampness of his cell,, as
one probable cause of his illness. The sun
could never dart its influence through such
of Jefferson Davis. 75
masses of masonry. Surrounded as the fort
was with a ditch, in which the water rose
and fell from three to four feet with the tide,
it was impossible to keep such places free
from noxious vapors.
" I am something of an engineer," he said,
" and the causes are obvious. Builders fill in
the backs of walls with stone-chips and rubble,
insufficiently mortared, through which the tidal
water ebbs and falls. When it falls it leaves
vacuums of damp air, and when it rises again,
this mephitic air, with its gases engendered in
closeness, dampness and darkness, is forced up
ward into the casemates, for no masonry is so
perfect as to exclude the permeation of gases.
" I am aware," he went on, " that officers
and soldiers and their families have been in
the habit of occupying these casemates f but
when Secretary of War I issued an order
forbidding the practice. Huts or tents -are
much healthier, more especially for children.
The casemates of Fort Pulaski were peculiar
ly unhealthy, that place being erected on
what might be called a shaking-scraw, or
76 The Prison Life
sponge of miasmatic vegetation, thoroughly
permeated by tidal action. Its foundations
had to be pile-driven at an enormous expense
of money and labor, and only from the neces
sities of the coast could such a selection of a
site have been justified."
Mentioned that I had been at the siege,
and gave him some particulars explanatory
of the actual situation at the time of the sur
render of Col. Olnjstead of the 2d Georgia
Volunteers, whom he, appeared at first inclin
ed to blame as guilty of a premature capitula
tion. After all> however, he thought the
Colonel was excusable, as further holding-out
promised no advantages to compensate its
loss, the up-river batteries of our forces mak
ing it certain that Tatnall's fleet could render
no assistance. The surrender of Port Royal
he did not think premature, under the cir
cumstances, because if his people had not
retreated when they did, our gunboats, run
ning round the creeks in rear of Hilton
Head, Port Royal and St. Helena Islands,
would have made retreat impossible; while
of Jefferson Davis.
77
the troops of our Sherman expedition when
landed were more than sufficient to overpower
the garrisons. The mistake was that power
ful works had not been erected in rear of the
islands to cover the ferries, and thus secure
uninterrupted communication with the main
land. Had this been attended to in the first
instance, there would then have been no ex
cuse for the abandonment of the powerful
works designed to protect Port Royal at
least none unless preceded by a more pro
tracted resistance.
Recurring to the subject of his family, Mr.
Davis asked me had I not been called upon
to attend Miss Howell, his wife's sister, who
had been very ill at the time of his quitting
the Clyde. Replied that Col. James, Chief
Quartermaster, had called at my quarters, and
requested me to visit a sick lady on board that
vessel; believed it was the lady he referred to,
but could not be sure of the name. Had men
tioned the matter to Gen. Miles, asking a pass
to visit; but he objected, saying the orders were
to allow no communication with the ship.
78 The Prison Life
Mr. Davis exclaimed this was inhuman.
The ladies had certainly committed no crime,
and there were no longer any prisoners on
board the ship when the request was made,
he and Mr. Clay having been the last remov
ed. The lady was very seriously ill, and no
officer, no gentleman, no man of Christian or
even human feeling, would have so acted.
Gen. Miles was from Massachusetts, he had
heard, and his action both' in this and other
matters appeared in harmony with his origin.
It was much for Massachusetts to boast that
one of her sons had been appointed his jailor;
and it was becoming such a jailor to oppress
helpless women and children. * * * * * *
June \sL Called with Captain Korte, Offi
cer of the Day, about noon. Had been sent
for at 8 P.M., but was away fishing. Mr. Davis
was suffering from a numbness of the extre
mities, which he feared was incipient paraly
sis. Told him it was merely due to an enfee
bled circulation, and recommended bathing
and friction.
He asked me what luck fishing, and ap-
of Jefferson Davis. 79
peared in better spirits than usual. Had just
heard, he said, through an irregular channel,
that he had been indicted with Mr. Breckin-
ridge in the District of Columbia, and hoped
therefore that he was about to have a consti
tutional trial not one by military commis
sion, to which he would not have pleaded,
regarding it as foregone murder. The news
had reached him through the conversation of
some soldiers in the guard-room, who some
times spoke to each other in loud tones what
they wished him to overhear. It was proba
bly in no friendly spirit they had given him
this news ; but to him it was as welcome as
air to the drowning.
He then referred to the severity of his
treatment, supposing himself at present to be
merely held for trial, and not already under
going arbitrary punishment. As this conver
sation was a very important one, I took full
note of it almost immediately on quitting his
cell, and it is now given in very nearly, if not
precisely, his own words :
" Humanity supposes every man innocent,"
8o The Prison Life
urged Mr. Davis, " until the reverse shall be
proven ; and the laws guarantee certain privi
leges to persons held for trial. To hold me
here for trial, under all the rigors of a con
demned convict, is not warranted by law is
revolting to the spirit of justice. In the poli
tical history of the world, there is no parallel
to my treatment England and the despotic
governments of Europe have beheaded men
accused of treason ; but even after their con
viction no such efforts as in my case have
been made to degrade them. Apart, however,
from my personal treatment, let us see how
this matter stands.
" If the real purpose in the matter be to
test the question of secession by trying cer
tain persons connected therewith for treason,
from what class or classes should the persons
so selected be drawn ?
" From those who called the State Conven
tions, or from those who, in their respective
conventions, passed the ordinance of seces
sion ? Or, from the authors of the doctrine
of State rights? Or, from those citizens
of Jefferson Davis. 81
who, being absent from their States, were
unconnected with the event, but on its occur
rence returned to their homes to share the
fortunes of their States as a duty of primal
allegiance? Or from those officers of the
State, who, being absent on public service,
were called home by the ordinance, and
returning, joined their fellow-citizens in State
service, and followed the course due to that
relation ?
" To the last class I belong, who am the
object of greatest rigor. This can only be
explained on the supposition that, having
been most honored, I, therefore, excite most
revengeful feelings for how else can it be
accounted for ?
" I did not wish for war, but peace.
Therefore sent Commissioners to negotiate
before war commenced ; and subsequently
strove my uttermost to soften the rigors of
war; in every pause of conflict seeking, if
possible, to treat for peace. Numbers of
those already practically pardoned are those
who, at the beginning, urged that the black
8^2 The Prison Life
flag should be hoisted, and the struggle
made one of desperation.
" Believing the States to be each sover
eign, and their union voluntary, I had
learned from the Fathers of the Constitu
tion that a State could change its form of
government, abolishing all which had pre
viously existed ; and my only crime has been
obedience to this conscientious conviction.
Was not this the universal doctrine of the
dominant Democratic party in the North
previous to secession? Did not many of
the opponents of that party, in the same
section, share and avow that faith? They
preached, and professed to believe. We
believed, and preached, and practised.
" If this .theory be now adjudged errone
ous, the history of the States, from their
colonial organization to the present moment,
should be re-written, and the facts sup
pressed which may mislead others in a like
manner to a like conclusion.
But if as I suppose the purpose be to
test the question of secession by a judicial
of Jefferson Davis. 83
,
decision, why begin by oppressing the chief
subject of the experiment? Why, in the
name of fairness and a decent respect for
the opinions of mankind, deprive him of
the means needful to a preparation of his
defence ; and load him with indignities
which must deprive his mind of its due
equilibrium? It ill comports with the dig
nity of a great nation to evince fear of giv
ing to a single captive enemy all the advan
tages possible for an exposition of his side
of the question.^/ A question settled by vio
lence, or in disregard of law, must remain
unsettled for ever./*
x "" Believing all good government to rest on
truth/ it is the resulting belief thatJBJustice Jo
anxJMividual is a pi^blic injury, which can
only find compensation in the reaction which
brings retributive justice upon the oppressors.
It has been the continually growing danger
of the North, that in attempting to crush the
liberties of my people, you would raise a
Frankenstein of tyranny that would not down
at your bidding. Sydney, and Russell, and
84 The Prison Life
Vane, and Peters, suffered; but in their death
Liberty received blessings their lives might
never have conferred.
" If the doctrine of State Sovereignty be a
dangerous heresy, the genius of America
would indicate another remedy than the sacri
fice of one of its believers. Wickliffe died,
but Huss took up his teachings; and when
the dust of this martyr was sprinkled on the
Rhine, some essence of it was infused in the
cup which Luther drank.
"The road to grants of power is known
and open ; and thus all questions of reserved
rights on which men of highest distinction
may differ, and have differed, can be settled
by fair adjudication; and thus only can they
be finally set at rest"
He then apologized for talking politics to
one who should not hear such politics as his ;
but out of the fulness of the heart the mouth
speaketh, and in his joy at the unhoped-for
news that he had been indicted, and was to
have a trial which he supposed must be pub
lic, and which publicity would compel to be
of Jefferson Davis. 85
not wholly one-sided, there was some excuse
for his indiscretion.
To change the subject, he returned to fish
ing, of which we had been speaking. Was a
follower and admirer of the sport, but more in
theory than practice. His life had been too
busy for the past thirty years to allow his in
dulging even his most cherished inclinations,
except at rare intervals. Izaak Walton had
been one of his favorite authors; and one of
the counts he had against Benjamin Frank
lin, was the latter's fierce attack on the gentle
fisherman. Indeed Franklin had said many
things not of benefit to mankind. His soul
was a true type or incarnation of the New
England character hard, calculating, angu
lar, unable to conceive any higher object than
the accumulation of money. He was the
most material of great intellects. None of
the lighter graces or higher aspirations found
favor in his sight ; and with true New Eng
land egotism, because he did not possess cer
tain qualities himself, they were to be ignored
or crushed out of existence everywhere. The
86 The Prison Life
hard, grasping, money-grubbing, pitiless and
domineering spirit of the New England Puri
tans found in Franklin a true exponent
Noble qualities he had, however courage,
truth, industry, economy and honesty. His
school of common sense was the apotheosis
of selfish prudence. He could rarely err, for
men err from excess of feeling, and Franklin
had none. The homely wisdom of his writ
ings, judged from the material stand-point,
could never be surpassed ; and while he con
fessed to disliking him, he was compelled to
admire his " Poor Richard " from its sinewy
force.
Mr. Davis then spoke of the restrictions
placed upon his reading, which he supposed
must soon terminate if he was to be placed
on trial. Books would be indispensable to
preparing his defence, nor did he see how he
could be denied free intercourse with counsel.
Books, if he could get them, would be a
great consolation. True, he had the two best
pointing to his Bible and prayer-book ; but
the mind could not keep continually at the
of Jefferson Davis. 87
height and strain of earnestness required for
their profitable reading. That the papers and
other publications of the day should be de
nied him, he could understand though even
this would not be right when he was prepar
ing for trial He would then require to know
what phase of public opinion he addressed ;
for in all such trials and in this age of
.publicity there must be two tribunals one
inside, but infinitely the vaster one outside
the court-room. To old English or other
books for his perusal, wliat objection could
be urged ? Such indulgences were given to
the worst criminals before trials; and even
after cpnviction the prison libraries were
open for their use. A mind so active as his
had been for forty years, could not suddenly
bring Its machinery to a pause. It must
* either have food, or prey upon itself, and this
was his case at present. Except for the pur-
pose of petty torture, there could be no color
of reason for withholding from him any books
or papers dated prior to the war.
June Jtkl received the following letter
88 The Prison Life
from Mrs. Davis, dated Savannah, June ist,
1865, to Dr - J- J- Craven, Chief Medical Offi
cer, Fort Monroe, Va.
SAVANNAH, GA., June ist, 1865.
DR. J. J. CRAVEN, Chief Med. Officer, Fort Mon
roe, Va,:
SIR, Through the newspapers I learn that
you are the Surgeon of the post, and con
sequently in attendance upon Mr. Davis,
Shocked by the most terrible newspaper ex
tras issued every afternoon, which represent
my husband to be in a dying condition, I
have taken the liberty, without any previous
acquaintance with you, of writing to you.
Perhaps you will let me know from your own
pen how he is. Would it trouble you too
much to tell me how he sleeps how his eyes
look are they inflamed? does he eat any
thing ? may I ask what is the quality of his
food? Do not refuse my request ^ It seems
to me that no possible harm could accrue to
your government from my knowing the ex
tent of my sorrow. And if, perchance, actu
ated by pity, you do not tell me the worst, the
of Jefferson Davis. 89
newspapers do, and then the uncertainty Is
such agony ! You will perceive, my dear sir,
that I plead with you upon the supposition
that you sympathize with our sorrows, and in
the sufferings of the man have lost sight of
the political enemy, who no longer has the
power to do aught but bear what is inflicted.
I will not believe that you can refuse my
petition. If you are only permitted to say
he is well, or he is better, it will be a great
comfort to me, ;who has no other left. If you
are kind to him, may God have you in His
holy keeping, and preserve all those sources
of happiness to you which have, in one day,
been snatched away from,
Yours very respectfully,
VARINA DAVIS.
go The Prison Life
CHAPTER VII.
Mr. Davis on the New England Character.
Future of the Sputk and Southern Blacks.
JUNE 8th. Was called to the prisoner, whom I
had not seen for a week. Entered with
Captain E. A. Evans, Officer of the Day.
Found Mr. Davis relapsing and very despond
ent Complained again of intolerable pains
in his head. Was distracted night and day by
the unceasing tread of the two sentinels in his
room, and the murmur or gabble of the guards
in the outside ceil. He said his casemate was
well formed for a torture-room of the inquisi
tion. Its arched roof made it a perfect whisp
ering gallery, in which all sounds were jumbled
and repeated. The torment of his head was
so dreadful, he feared he must lose his mind.
Already his memory, vision, and hearing, were
of Jefferson Davis. ' 9 1
impaired. He had but the remains of one
eye left, and the, glaring, whitewashed walls
were rapidly destroying this. He pointed to
a crevice in the wall where his bed had been,
explaining that he had changed to the other
side to avoid its mephitic vapors.
)f the trial he had been led to expect, had
heard nothing. This looked as if the indict
ment were to be suppressed, and the action
of a Military Commission substituted. If so,
they might do with him as they pleased, for
he would not plead, but leave his cause to the
justice of the future. As to taking his life,
that would be the greatest boon they could
confer on him, though for the sake of his
family he might Vegret the manner of its
taking.
Talked with Mr. Davis for some time, en
deavoring to allay his irritation. The trouble
of his head did not arise from the causes he
supposed, but from a torpid condition of the
liver, and would be at once relieved by a bi
lious cathartic which I prescribed. It was
impossible that any malarial poisons at this
92 The Prison Life
season of the year could have influence in his
casemate, 'the ventilation was thorough, the
place scrupulously clean ; and the very white
wash of which he complained as hurting his
eyes, was a powerful disinfectant, if such
poisons existed. After the action of the
rtiedicine he would look on the world witft a
more hopeful view. In regard to his expected
trial, knew nothing, never had known any
thing, and even knowing would be forbidden
to speak.
He said he had not mentioned the matter
to question me, but as an ejaculation of
impatience, for which his intolerable pain
must bear the blame. He was no stranger
to pain, nor easily overcome by it. At
Buena Vista, though severely wounded, he
kept saddle until the close of the day ; but
the f>ain of ixo wound could compare to this
aching fury of the brain.
June <^th. Called, accompanied by Cap
tain Korte, Officer of the Day. Mr. Davis
very well almost entirely relieved. Said he
would believe after this that disquietude
of Jefferson Davis. 93
could be best reached through the stomach.
Had slept well, and was greatly refreshed ;
his head almost free from pain.
Calling me to the embrasure, he pointed
out some dark spots on the slope of the
moat opposite, and asked me what they
were. Told him they were oysters. He
had thought so, but was not sure. Had
seen them growing in a stranger place the
branches of trees so heavily fruited with
them a.s almost to break. Told him I had
seen the same thing, but only along the
coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and
Florida. In the South the oysters cling to
high rocks and drooping branches of trees,
only requiring to be submerged for a few
hours at high tide ; while with us, the frosts
of winter compel them to keep in deep water.
Mr. Davis spoke of the Coon oysters of
the Southern coast the long, razor-shaped
oysters, growing on high ledges, and referred
to the negro version of how the coons
obtained their flesh. Their story is, that
the coon takes in his mouth a blade of
94 The Prison Life
bluebent, or meadow grass, and when the
oyster opens his shell, drives the stiletto
point of- the grass into his flesh, killing him
instantly, so that he has no power to close
his defences. This, though ingenious, is
not true. The coon bites off the thin edges
of the shell at one point, a f nd then sucks
out all the softer parts of* the body.
In regard to the propagation of oysters,
had some talk, Mr. Davis thinking the
spawn drifted in the water unable to control
itself and adhered to the first solid sub
stance rock, bank, or branch with which
it was brought in contact This, *I ex
plained, was not so ; the oyster, for the first
three or four days of his life, being a tuni-
cated pteropod, able to swim in any direc
tion he may please. At the end of this
'first period, when he finds a congenial
object to fasten upon, he literally settles
down in life and commences building him
self a house from which there is no annual
" May moving " no process of ejectment
short of death.
of Jefferson Davis. 95
Talking of the shell-fish and snails of the
Southern coast, Mr. Davis referred to the
beautiful varieties of helix (bullima immaculata,
very rare, and bullima, oblongatd) that may be
seen feeding on the wild orange-trees of
Florida. Also to the sport of harpooning
devil-fish by night, first attracting them to the
surface by a fire of pine-knots kindled in a
cresset over the bow of the boat. The skin
of the largest devil-fish ever known, he said,
had been preserved in Charleston, its weight
when caught being fourteen hundred pounds.
Told him I had seen one caught about two
years before weighing over six hundred
pounds, and the old negroes of the island said
it was the heaviest they had seen. He talked
of the molluscs and Crustacea of the coast,
this appearing a favorite subject, and his re
marks being much pleasanter, though of less
interest, than when given a political complex
ion. He possesses a large, varied, and prac
tical education ; the geology, botany, and all
products of his section appearing to have in
turn claimed his attention. Not the superfi-
96 The Prison Life
cial study of a pedant, but the practical ac
quaintance of a man who has turned every
day's fishing, shooting, riding, or pic-nicking,
to scientific account
June loth. Mr. Davis out of sorts, very ill-
tempered. Complained that his clean linen,
to be sent over twice a week by General Miles,
had not been received. General Miles had
taken charge of -his clothing, and seemed to
think a change of linen twice a week enough.
It might be so in Massachusetts. But now
even this wretched allowance was denied.
The general might know nothing of the mat
ter ; but if so, some member of his staff was neg
ligent It was pitiful they could not send his
trunks to his cell, but must insist on thus
deling out his clothes, as though he were a
convict in some penitentiary. If the object
were to degrade him, it must fail. /None
could be degraded by unmerited insult heaped
on helplessness but the perpetrators/ The
day would come that our people would be
ashamed of his treatment For himself, the
sufferings he was undergoing would do him
of Jefferson Davis. 97
good with his people (the South). Even those
who had opposed him would be kept silent,
if not won over, by public sympathy. What
ever other opinions might be held, it was clear
he was selected as chief victim, bearing the
burden of Northern hatred which should be
more equally distributed.
Speaking of the negroes, Mr. Davis re
marked, as regards their future, he saw
no reason why they must die out, unless
remaining idle. If herded together in idle
ness and filth, as in the villages established
by our military power, the small-pox, licen
tiousness, and drunkenness would make short
work of them. Wherever so herded, they
had died off like sheep with the murrain.
But remaining on the plantations, as hereto-
tofore, and employed for wages, they were a
docile and procreative people, altogether differ
ing from the Indians, and not likely to die out
like the latter. Their labor was needed ; and
though they could not multiply so fast in free
dom as under their former wholesome restraints,
he saw no good argument for their dying out
98 The Prison Life
In ten years, or perhaps less, the South will
have recovered the pecuniary losses of the
war. It has had little capital in manufac
tures. Its capital was in land and negroes.
The land remains productive as ever. The
negroes remain, but their labor has to be paid
for. Before the war, there had been 4,000,000
negroes, average value, $500 each, or total va
lue, two thousand millions of dollars. This was
all gone, and the interest upon it, which had
been the profits of the negro's labor in ex
cess of his cost for food, clothing, and medi
cines. Still their labor remains ; and with this,
and such European labor as will be imported
and such Northern labor as must flow South,
the profits of the Southern staples will not be
long in restoring material prosperity.
The Brfi ts of the cotton crop are enor
mous. Good bottom lands, such as on the
Mississippi and Yazpo rivers, yield a bale of
400 Ibs. per acre, and some as high as a bale
and a quarter ; but this is rare. The uplands
throughout Georgia, South Carolina, Alaba
ma, etc., yield about from half to three-quar-
of Jefferson Davis. 99
ters of a bale ; and under the old system of
labor, a good negro averaged ten bales a sea
son. The land of the Sea Islands ran about
200 Ibs. to the acre ; but its fine, long, silky,
and durable staple made it from twice to four
times the value of other cotton.
In his freedom, if capable of being made
to labor at all, the negro will not average
more than six bales a year ; but as the price
of cotton has more than doubled, and is hot
likely to recede, even this will yield an enor
mous profit. Six bales, of 400 Ibs. each, will
be worth $600 at twenty-five cents per pound,
while the cost of this species of labor will be
about $150 a year per hand and found a
profit of certainly not less than $300 a year
on each black laborer employed.
The land will not pass to any |pat extent
from its former proprietors. They will lease
it for a few years to men with capital, and
then resume working it themselves; or sell
portions of it with the same object, not
materially decreasing their own possessions.
When the country is quiet and the profits of
ioo The Prison Life
the crop come to be known, there will be a
rush southward from the sterile New Eng
land regions and from Europe, only equalled
by that to California on the discovery of gold.
Men will not stay in the mountains of Ver
mont and New Hampshire cultivating little
farms of from fifty to a hundred acres, only
yielding them some few hundreds a year pro
fit for incessant toil, when the rich lands of
the South, under skies as warm and blue as
those of Italy, and with an atmosphere as
exhilarating as that of France, are thrown
open at from a dollar and a half to three dol
lars per acre. The water-power of the South
will be brought into use by this new immi
gration, and manufactures will spring up in
all directions, giving abundant employment
to all elates. The happy agricultural state
of the South will become a tradition ; and
with New England wealth, New England's
grasping avarice and evil passions will be
brought along.
The estimate that a million negroes have
died off during the war, he considered exces-
of Jefferson Davis. 101
sive. They had fled or been dragged away
from their old homes in great numbers ; but
much less than a million, he thought, would
cover their casualties. As to any general
mingling of the races, nature had erected
ample barriers against the crime. Depraved
white men occasionally had children by black
women; but it was comparatively rare for
mulattoes to have large or healthy families ;
and quadroons, though extremely amorous,
rarely had children at all. There could be
no danger that Southern white women of the
poorer class, though left greatly in excess of
the white male population by the war, would
either cohabit with or marry negroes. Public
sentiment on the point is so strong they dare
not do it; nor had they any inclination. It would
be regarded South as crimes against nature are
regarded in all civilized communities.
The blacks were a docile, affectionate, and
religious people, like cats in their fondness
for home. The name of freedom had charms
for them; but until educated to be self-sup
porting, it would be a curse. If herded toge-
IO2 The Prison Life
ther in military villages and fed on rations
gratuitously distributed, rum, dirt, and vene
real diseases would devour them off the face
of the earth in a few years. With peace
established, they would return, in ninety-five
cases out of the hundred, to their old planta
tions, and work for their old masters. Free
dom was to them an orgie, of which such as
had enjoyed it were rapidly sickening. While
health lasted, and idleness was saved its
penalty by government support, they might
get along well enough. But when sick, starv
ing, and ill-treated, their first wish was a long-
ing to be back with their old masters, and
redomiciled on their old plantations. Of this,
even during the war, and at penalty of return
ing to slavery, he had seen many instances
enough to convince him that with freedom
assured, or rather its evils to them in their
unprepared state better understood the great
majority of the blacks would flock back
eagerly.
Mr. Davis said he heard my little daughtei
had undertaken to be his housekeeper, and
of Jefferson Davis. 103
sent over his meals. He knew the kind hand
of woman was always tenderest in the great
est grief. It only needed they should see
misery to wish and labor for its relief, unless
some great moral turpitude repelled. He
begged me to carry the assurance of his gra
titude, and hoped if he might never see her
himself that his children would some day
have opportunity to thank the young lady
who had been so kind to their father.
IO4 The Prison Life
CHAPTER VIII.
Mr. Davis on Cruelty to Prisoners. Mexico*
Turtle on the Southern Coast. The
Southern Leaders an Aristocracy. Lecture
on the Fine Arts, by a Strange Man in a
Strange Place.
JUNE nth. Called with Captain R. W. Bick-
ley, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Officer of the
Day. Mr. Davis still improving, febrile symp
toms abated, and had slept, for him, very well
the night before. Thanked me for some fruit
sent with his breakfast, and then spoke of the
fruits of the tropics and their beautiful adap
tation to the wants of the inhabitants. Also
of Mexico, its climate and productions; a
land for which God had done everything, and
" where only man was vile." Considered the
Mexicans not capable of self-government;
they must be cared for, and it belonged to
of Jefferson Davis. 105
America to protect them. Had the South
succeeded * without the help of France, this
would have been one of his first cares, "and
he should not have hesitated a moment.
The South having failed, leaving the
North more powerful than ever, the duty
of establishing a continental protectorate
was imperative, and could not long be
evaded.
Mr. Davis remarked that when his tray of
breakfast had been brought in that morning,
he overheard some soldiers in the guard-room
outside commenting on the food given our
prisoners during the late war. To hold him
responsible for this was worse than absurd
criminally false. For the last two years of
the war, Lee's army had never more than
half, and was oftener on quarter rations of
rusty bacon and corn. It was yet worse with
other Southern armies when operating in a
country which had been campaigned over
any time. Sherman, with a front of thirty or
forty miles, " breaking into a new county,
found no trouble in procuring food ; but had
io6 The Prison Life
he halted anywhere, even for a single week,
must have starved. Marching every day, his
men eat out a new section, and left behind
them a starving wilderness.
Colonel Northrop, his Commissary-Gene
ral, had many difficulties to contend with;
and, not least, the incessant hostility of cer
tain opponents of his administration, who, by
striking at Northrop, really meant to strike
at him. Even General , otherwise so
moderate and conservative, was finally in
duced to join this injurious clamor. There
was food in the Confederacy, but no means
for its collection, the 'holders hiding it after
the currency had become depreciated ; and,
if collected, then came the difficulty of its
transportation. Their railroads were over
taxed, and the rolling-stock soon gave out
They could not feed their own troops; and
prisoners of war in all countries and ages
have had cause of complaint. Some of his
people confined in the West and at Look
out Point, had been nearly starved at certain
times, though he well knew> or well believed,
of Jefferson Davis 107
full prison-rations had been ordered and paid
for in these cases.
Herd men together in idleness within an
inclosure, their arms taken from them, their
organization lost, without employment for
their time, and you will find it difficult to
keep them in good health. They were or
dered to receive precisely the same rations
given to the troops guarding them ; but dis
honest Commissaries and Provost-Marshals
were not confined to any people. Doubtless
the prisoners on both sides often suffered
that the officers having charge of them might
grow rich; but wherever such dishonesty
could be brought home, prompt punishment
followed. General Winder and Colonel Nor
throp did the best they could, he believed;
but both were poorly obeyed or seconded by
their subordinates. To hold him responsible
for such unauthorized privations was both
cruel and absurd. He issued order after
order on the subject, and, conscious of the
extreme difficulty of feeding the prisoners,
made the most liberal offers for exchange
io8 The Prison Life
almost willing to accept any terms that would
release his people from their burden. Non-
exchange, however, was the policy adopted
by the Federal Government -just as Austria,
in her later campaigns against Frederick the
Great, refused to exchange; her calculation
being, that as her population was five times
more numerous than Prussia's, the refusal to
exchange would be a wise measure. That it
may have been prudent, though inhuman,
situated as the South was, he was not pre
pared to deny; but protested against being
held responsible for evils which no power of
his could avert, and to escape from which
almost any concessions had been offered.
Anxious to hear the opinion of Mr. Davis
about the future of Mexico, I brought back
the conversation to that point, suggesting that
when the country became quiet, and with our
continual influx of European immigration, we
might have men and enterprise enough to re
settle Mexico, and colonize out the present
indolent and inefficient race.
" The " programme might answer, " he
of Jefferson Davis. 109
thought, " for the thinly peopled parts, though
even the;re its fulfillment must be in the re
mote future. When the Valley is reached,
however, the population is comparatively
dense twenty to the square mile ; and politi
cal economy teaches that no people so nume
rous can be crushed out by colonization. A
new race must come in to master and guide
them, using the present generation as hewers
of wood and drawers of water, while educat
ing the next generation for a happier and
more intelligent future. It was on a recogni
tion of this necessity the French Emperor
based his scheme of European protection ; but
in failing to make terms with the seceded
States, and support them in their struggle, he
proved that his comprehension was not equal
to the, problem. The failure of the South
rendered a future of European rule for Mexico
impossible."
June 14^4. Visited prisoner in company
with Captain Evans, Officer of the Day. Pre
scribed for some slight return of nervous
headache and sleeplessness. Referring to
no The Prison Life
our previous conversation about the shell-fish;
etc., of the Southern coast, Mr. Davis said
that books of a scientific nature, if allowed
him, would keep his attention occupied, and
could do no harm. Would be glad to have
a few volumes on the conchology, geology, or
botany of the South, and was at a loss to
think how such volumes could endanger his
safe-keeping.
Said that the loggerhead-turtle appeared a
contradiction of the rule that nature makes
no vain effort nothing that had not a per
ceivable use. Here, however, was an animal
averaging from one to three hundred pounds
weight, very plentiful from Hatteras to the
Gulf, for which human ingenuity had yet
found no use. But what part it may perform
in the economy of the ocean must of course
remain a mystery. That it had some useful
mission amongst the denizens of the deep, all
analogy would lead us to believe. Early in
the spring they come up from the Caribbean
Sea and Gulf of Mexico, only approaching
the shore to lay their eggs when the high
of Jefferson Davis. in
tide serves just after dusk of the evening.
The male then remains at the edge of the
surf, while the female crawls up the beach to
find a proper place for laying. The place
being selected, she first makes a hole with
her head; then increases its size to about that
of a peck measure, by putting one of her fore-
fins into it, and twisting herself around until
the required space has been scooped out.
The eggs are then laid, about 200 in number,
nearly the bulk of a hen's egg each/but with a
soft, pliable, and very tough white skin. This
done, she packs sand over them to the proper
depth, and smoothes the place by crawling
over it several times with heavy pressure.
Of these eggs, when undisturbed, about
eighty per cent, are hatched ; in some four or
five weeks swarms of little turtle suddenly
breaking out, each about the size and color of
a ginger-snap, and hurrying towards the water
with infallible instinct. The eggs have three
active and powerful enemies the coon, the
*crow, and the negro. The coon hunts the
turtle-nest by smell, as a certain breed of dogs
112 The Prison Life
in France hunt the truffle, and having taken
his first meal, leaves the nest open to the
crows, who are not long in finishing what
may be left. The negroes search the shores
every morning at daylight in this season, and
when they find the track made by a turtle's
flippers follow it up to where the nest is
buried, prodding into the sand with a long
stick until it is found, and carrying off the con
tents. The loggerhead is famous for its longe
vity, and occasionally weighs from four to six
hundred pounds.
Speaking of the peculiarities of his people
as he always styled the late Confederate
States Mr. Davis said they were essentially
aristocratic, their aristocracy being based on
birth and education ; while the men of the
North were democratic in the mass, making
money the basis of their power and standard
to which they aspired. It always commanded
a premium socially, and was accepted in lack
of other qualities. No matter how ill-bred or
base, no man possessed of wealth who had
not been made judicially infamous, was ex-
of Jefferson Davis. 1 1 3
eluded from northern society. This money-
element entered into the politics of the
North, while at the South it was, and always
had been, powerless. At northern primary^
elections and nominating conventions, the
reins were for him who had money to pay for
being allowed control ; and the power thus ob
tained by money was used to get back what it
had cost, and "to treble that sum during its,
tenure.
Birth is a guarantee we do not ignore in
raising stock, nor should we in growing men.
Which should be more important the pedi
gree of a horse on which we stake our
money, or that of a man we are asked to
select for some position of control? The
basis of political prominence at the North
has been money first, and secondly loqua
ciousness, effrontery, the arts of the dema
gogue; while at the South except in the
case of shining talents lifting some individual
to eminence by their force birth, education,
and representative rather than noisy or
showy qualities, formed the ladder to distinc-
H4 The Prison Life
tion. No one could fail to be impressed with
this difference while attending our National
Conventions, Congress, or any other body in
which the two sections were represented.
He must not be misunderstood as wishing to
imply that we had no good blood, no educa
tion, no culture at the North far from it, for
he knew we had all in abundance ; but under
our political system, and owing to the vast
influx of a foreign population, they were
excluded from our public or representative
life. In a word, prominence at the North
has, of late, been obtained either by money
of the man made prominent, or that he
served the money interests of those who
pushed his elevation. This evil must con
tinually increase with the increase of immi
gration ; while at the South, birth, education,
and intelligence had beenj:he chief usual ele
ments of political distinction the first neces
sity being, however, that the man selected
should be a true representative of the views
of his constituency, whether those views were
right or wrong according to northern notions.
of Jefferson Davis. 115
To this representative quality, Mr. Davis
went on, were due the various positions with
which the South had honored him. His
selection to the chief office of the Confe
deracy was in no manner sought The rea
sons inspiring the choice were obvious. He
was a Mississippian ; had graduated at the
Military Academy ; served with some dis
tinction in the Mexican war ; had large expe
rience in the military comjnittee of the Se
nate, and in the War Department But one
of his chief recommendations lay irf'this,
that after the removal of Calhoun and Gen
eral Quitman by death, he became the chief
exponent or representative of those princi
ples of State Sovereignty which the South*
cherished, and of which, as he claimed, the
Fathers of the country had been the found
ers, Thomas Jefferson the inspired prophet,
and they the eloquent apostles. He was cer
tainly not more responsible for his own eleva
tion than any of those who had voted to
make him President
June i^th. Visited Mr. Davis with Cap-
1 1 6 The Prison Life
tain Korte, Officer of the Day. General
Miles, learning that the pacing of the two
sentinels in his room at night disturbed Mr.
Davis and prevented his sleeping, gave orders
that the men should stand at ease during
their two hours of guard, both night and
day, instead of pacing their accustomed beat
This, Mr. Davis said, was much pleasanter
for him, but cruel for the men obliged to
stand so long in one position, as if they had
been bronze or marble statues. Feared, as it
cost them suffering, it would make them hate
him more, as the cause though innocent
of their inconvenient attitude; and there
were plenty of men wearing uniforms of that
"color who hated him more than enough
already.
From this point Mr. Davis glided off to
some considerations of statuary, commenting
on the growing taste for representing animals,
birds and men, in painful or impossible atti
tudes in the basso-relievos, bronzes, and other
ornaments of modern sculpture. Stricken
deer contorted by death-wounds ; horses with
of Jefferson Davis. 117
sides lacerated by the claws of a clinging
tiger; partridges, or other birds, choking in
snares or pierced with arrows ; dying Indians,
wounded gladiators, dying soldiers pain oi'
death in every variety of- grade, seemed to
form the present staples for popular bronze
and Parian ornament Our sculptors made
their horses stand eternally with fore-paws
poised in air in an attitude only possible for
a moment to the living animal. Such works
were not pleasing, but the reverse. They
fretted the sensibilities with petty pain,* and
lacked the repose which should form the
chief cl>arm of sculpture. The groups of the
Laocoon and Dying Gladiator were the only
eminent works of antiquity of which he had"
heard or seen casts, in which pain or horror
had been the elements depicted ; and in these
the treatment had been so overwhelmingly
grand as to numb the sense of suffering by
the splendor of their beauty. For modern
sculpture, however the statuary designed for
parlor ornaments he wished to see more
pleasant themes. The agony of a wounded
Ii8 The Prison Life
deer or bird could have nothing to recom
mend it but the fidelity of imitation with
which the agony was portrayed ; while in the
Laocoon, there was the titanic struggle of the
father to free his children from the coils of
the serpent, and behind the Dying Gladiator
rose up the gazing circles of the amphi
theatre each subject wakening trains of
thought and 'emotion which concealed our
sense of physical pain, or only allowed it to
obtrude as a sort of undertone, or diapason,
to the awful beauty of the picture.
Mr. Davis, on this subject, was really elo
quent, showing a keen appreciation of art,
and I only regret that my notes report him
so imperfectly. It struck me as a strange
place for such a dissertation, a strange man
strangely circumstanced to be its author, and
a strange incident two armed soldiers stand
ing like statues within a cell, to have given
origin in such a mind to a lecture on the
aesthetics of repose applied to modern sculp-
ture.
of Jefferson Davis. 119
CHAPTER IX.
Mr. Davis on Gen. Butler and Dutch Gap.
He denies that Secession was Treason. His
Opinion of Grant, McClellan, Pope, and
other Union Officers ; also, of Bragg, Lee
andPemberton. His Fligfatfrom Richmond
and Arrest.
JUNE i&t& Called on Mr. Davis with Cap
tain Jerome E. Titlow, Officer of the Day.
Found him continuing to improve in general
health much stronger than he had been on
his arrival. Complained of a stricture ,or
tightening of the chest, accompanied by a dry
cough. Ordered him to exercise his arms by
swinging them back and forth horizontally
twice or thrice a day.
Standing at the embrasure, the white sails
of a passing vessel suggested the trade and com
merce of the James, for the mouth of which it
I2O The Prison Life
appeared steering. Together in fancy we reas-
cended the banks of the river, with which Mr.
Davis was familiar. He asked the fate of all
the beautiful plantations along its shores ; of
Brandon belonging to the Harrisons on the
south bank, a place Gen. Butler had harried ;
of Westover; and beautiful Shirley on the
north bank, just opposite Bermuda Hundreds,
belonging to that noble Virginian of the old
school, Mr. Hill Carter. Told Mr. Davis it
was the only one left standing, in all its beauti
ful antiquity, of the palaces that once lined the
James. Carter had been kind to the wounded
of McClellan's soldiers and had taken no part
in the war, though very possibly a Southern
man in sentiment His place consequently
had been not only spared from incursion, but
guarded with jealous care by daily details, and
was the green spot in the desert made by the
movements of contending armies.
Talking of Gen. Butler, said Mr. Davis, with
a smile, Richmond owes him something, if
only for giving it the best joke of the war. He
referred to the Dutch Gap Canal, considered
of Jefferson Davis. 121
as a war-measure, for as a commercial one,
improving the navigation of the James, it was
full of advantage. It was a task imposing
great hardships upon many thousand soldiers ;
and must have been inspired by Grant's simi
lar attempt to change the course of the Mis
sissippi at Vicksburg. If successful, the canal
only avoided one battery, Fort Howlett, which
might have been carried by a resolute effort ;
nor could any of us understand what adequate
object could be gained by it when completed.
The James, from Dutch Gap to Richmond,
was too shallow for gun-boats ; was paved with
torpedoes, and obstructed in every conceivable
manner. Besides, the works at Chapin's and
Drury's Bluffs would still remain.
Commercially, the canal might be of great
value to Richmond. The loop of the river
which it cut off about seven miles in length
formed the shallowest and most intricate
part of its navigation, from Rockett's to the
sea. By making a lock of the Dutch Gap
Canal, and throwing a dam across the river
just below the higher lock, the water up to
122 The Prison Life
Richmond might be permanently raised two
feet and placed beyond tidal influence, thus
allowing vessels of ten or eleven feet draft to
reach the city in all stages of the tide, while
at present vessels drawing even eight or nine
feet can , only with extreme difficulty be
brought up at high tide. Commercially, the
canal was good ; but as a war-measure, of no
value.
Mr. Davis said it was contrary to reason,
and the law of nations, to treat as a rebellion,
or lawless riot, a movement which had been
the deliberate action of an entire people
through their duly organized State govern
ments. To talk of treason in the case of the
South, was to oppose an arbitrary epithet
against the authority of all writers on interna
tional law. Vattel deduces from his study of
all former precedent and all subsequent in
ternational jurists, have agreed with him
that when a nation separates into two parts,
each claiming independence, and both or
either setting up a new government, their
quarrel, should it come to trial by arms or by
of Jefferson Davis. 123
diplomacy, shall be regarded and settled pre
cisely as though it were a difference between
two separate nations, which the divided sec
tions, de facto, have become. Each must ob
serve the laws of war in the treatment of
captives taken in battle, and such negotiations
as may from time to time arise shall be con
ducted as between independent and sovereign
powers. Mere riots, or conspiracies for law
less objects, in which only limited fractions
of a people ai^e irregularly engaged, may be
properly treated as treason, and punished as
the public good may require ; but Edmund
Burke had exhausted argument on the sub
ject, in his memorable phrase, applied to the
first American movement for independence :
" I know not how an indictment against a
whole people shall be framed."
But for Mr. Lincoln's untimely death, Mr.
Davis thought, there could have been no
question raised upon the subject. That event
-*-more a calamity to the South than North,
in the time and manner of its transpiring
had inflamed popular passions to the highest
124 The Prison Life
pitch, and made the people of the section
which had lost their chief now seek as an
equivalent the life of the chief of the section
conquered. This was an impulse of passion,
not a conclusion which judgment or justice
could support. Mr. Lincoln, through his en
tire administration, had acknowledged the
South as a belligerent nationality, exchanging
prisoners of war, establishing truces, and
sometimes sending, sometimes receiving, pro-
positions for peace. On the last of these oc
casions, accompanied by the chief member of
his cabinet, he had personally met the Com
missioners appointed by the Southern States
to negotiate, going half way to meet them
not far from where Mr. Davis now stood ; and
the negotiations of Gen. Grant with Gen.
Lee, just preceding the latter's surrender,
most distinctly and clearly pointed to the
promise of a general amnesty ; Gen. Grant,
in his final letter, expressing the hope that,
with Lee's surrender, " all difficulties between
the sections might be settled without the loss
of another life," or words to that effect
of Jefferson Davis. 125
To my -question what he thought of Gen
eral Grant, Mr. Davis replied that he was a
great soldier beyond doubt, but of a new
school. If he had not started with an enor
mous account in bank, his checks would
have been dishonored before the culmination
was reached. At Shiloh he'was defeated the
first day, and would have been destroyed or
compelled to surrender next morning, but for
Buell's timely arrival with a fresh and well-
disciplined reinforcement, the strength of
which had been variously stated.
When Secretary of War, he thought
McClellan the ablest officer in the army,
and had employed him on two important
services as Military Commissioner in the
Crimea, and to- explore a route for the
Pacific railroad both of- which duties had
been discharged in a manner to increase
his reputation. He organized the Army of
the Potomac admirably, but it required a
commander of more dash to wield the
weapon in the field. McClellan's caution
amounted very closely to timidity moral
126 The Prison Life
timidity, for he was personally brave. On
his first landing in the Peninsula there had
been only 7,000 troops to meet him, and
these he should have rushed upon and over
whelmed at whatever cost Cautious, and
wishing to spare the blood of his men, he
commenced a regular siege at Yorktown
giving his enemies time to concentrate suffi
cient numbers and drive him back. As a
magnanimous enemy he respected McClellan,
but thought he had been promoted too rap
idly for his own good before he had ripened
in command and gained the experience requi
site for the supreme position. Had he been
kept in a subordinate capacity the two first
years of the war, rising from a division to a
corps, and thence to command in chief, he
would have been the greatest of our soldiers.
He had the best natural gifts and highest
intellectual training, and was just becoming
fitted, and the best fitted, for his position
when removed. Had he been supported by
the government he might have taken Rich
mond two years earlier, and it was with joy
of Jefferson Davis^ 127
Mr. Davis heard of his removal after the bat
tles of South Mountain and Antietam. Such
sacrifices of officers to the ignorance of an
unwarlike people, anxious to find in him a
scapegoat for their own lack of discipline or
endurance, were unavoidable in the early
stages of every popular war.
Pope, while Secretary of War, he had
never been able to make serviceable, and
Pope held his own gallantly. His mind was
not less inflated than his body. He was a
kind of American gascon, but with good sci
entific attainments. Sumner and Sedgwick
were gallant and able soldiers excellent com
manders in action, courteous and reliable in
all the relations of life. Hunter, of whom I
asked him specially as one of my old com
manders, was his beau ideal of the military
gentleman the soul of integrity, intrepidity,
true Christian piety and honor. Mr. Davis
had long been associated with him, both in
the service and socially, and believed Hun
ter's want of success due in a great measure
to his unwillingness to bend to anything
128 The Prison Life
mean or sinister. He was rash, impulsive ; a
man of action rather than thought ; yielding
to passions which he regarded as divine in
stincts or intuitions the natural temper of a
devotee or fanatic.
Of the officers on the Confederate side,
Mr. Davis spoke in high terms of General
Lee, as a great soldier and pure, Christian
gentleman ; also, in praise of Bragg and Pem-
berton, though the two latter, from unavoida
ble circumstances and the hostility of the par
ty opposed to Mr. Davis, had not been ac
corded the position due to their talents by
public opinion in either section. Pemberton
made a splendid defence of Vicksburg, and
might have been relieved if the officer com
manding the army sent to relieve him (Gene
ral Johnson) had not failed to obey the posi
tive orders to attack General Grant which
Mr. Seddon, then Secretary of War, had sent.
If the same officer, who was upheld in com
mand by the anti-administration party, had
vigorously attacked Sherman at Atlanta when
directed, the fortunes of the war would have
of Jefferson Davis. 129
been changed, and Sherman hurled back to
Nashville, over a sterile and wasted country
his retreat little less disastrous than Napo
leon's from Moscow. He did not do so, and
was relieved General Hood, a true and spir
ited soldier, taking his place but the oppor
tunity was then gone ; and to this de
lay, more than to any other cause, the
Southern people will attribute their over
throw, whenever history comes to be truly
written.
Bragg's victory over Rosecrans at Chicka-
mauga, Mr. Davis regarded as one of the
most brilliant achievements of the war, con
sidering the disparity of the forces. The
subsequent concentration - of Grant and
Hooker with Rosecrans, and the victory of
their combined forces at Lookout Mountain,
was the result of an audacity or desperation
which no military prudence could have fore
seen. So confident was Bragg in the impreg
nability of his position, that immediately after
Chickamauga he detached Longstreet, with
16,000 men about a third of his entire force
130 The Prison Life
to make a demonstration against Krioxville
thus indirectly threatening Grant's communi
cations with Nashville. Bragg's position was
finally carried by the overwhelming numbers
of the enemy. The opponents of his admin
istration censured Bragg for detaching Long-
street, but the subsequent events which made
that movement unfortunate were of a cha
racter which no prudence could have foreseen,
no military calculation taken into view as
probable.
All such reflections were idle, however, con
cluded Mr. Davis, and he must not be again
betrayed into their indulgence. Success is
virtue and defeat crime. This is the philoso
phy of life at least the only one the great
masses of mankind feel ready to accept Woe
to the conquered is no less a popular cry in
the nineteenth century than when the barba
rians first yelled it as they swarmed with drip
ping swords to the sack of Rome.
Mr. Davis then spoke of the circumstances
attending his flight from Richmond.
On leaving Richmond he went first to Dan-
of Jefferson Davis. 1 3 j
ville, because it was intended that Lee should
have moved in that direction, falling back to
make a junction with Johnson's force in the
direction of Roanoke River. Grant, however,
pressed forwaid so rapidly, and swung so far
around, that Lee was obliged to retreat in the
direction of Lynchburg with his main force,
while his vanguard, which arrived at Danville,
insisted on falling back and making the rally-
ing-point at Charlotte in North Carolina.
In Danville Mr. Davis learned of Lee's sur
render. Immediately started for Goldsboro',
where he met and had a consultation with
Gen. Johnson, thence going on south. At
Lexington he received a dispatch from John
son requesting that the Secretary of War
(Gen. Breckinridge) should repair to his head
quarters near Raleigh Gen. Sherman having
submitted a proposition for laying down arms
which was too comprehensive in its scope for
any mere military commander to decide upon.
Breckinridge and Postmaster-General Reagan
immediately started for Johnson's camp, where
Sherman submitted the terms of surren-
132 The Prison Life
der on which an armistice was declared the
same terms subsequently disapproved by the
authorities at Washington. -
One of the features of the proposition sub
mitted by General Sherman was a declaration
of amnesty to all persons, both civil and mili
tary. Notice being called to the fact parti
cularly, Sherman said, " I mean just that ;"
and gave as his reason that it was the only
way to have perfect peace. He had previ
ously offered to furnish a vessel to take away
any such persons as Mr. Davis might select,
to be freighted with whatever personal pro
perty they might want to take with them, and
to go wherever it pleased.
General Johnson told Sherman that it was
worse than useless to carry such a proposi
tion as the last to him. Breckinridge also
informed General Sherman that his proposi
tion contemplated the adjustment of certain
matters which even Mr. Davis was not em
powered to control. The terms were accept
ed, however, with the understanding that
they should be liberally construed on both
of Jefferson Davis. 133'
sides, and fulfilled in good faith General
Breckinridge adding that certain parts of the
terms would require to be submitted to the
various State governments of the Confede
racy for ratification.
These terms of agreement between John
son and Sherman were subsequently disap
proved by the authorities at Washington, and
the armistice ordered to cease after a certain
time. Mr. Davis waited in Charlotte until
the day and hour when the armistice ended ;
then mounted his horse, and, with some ca
valry of Duke's brigade (formerly Morgan's),
again started southward, passing through
South Carolina to Washington, in Georgia.
At an encampment on the road, he thinks,
the cavalry of his escort probably heard of the
final surrender of General Johnson, though
he himself did not until much later. Being
in the advance, he rode on, supposing that
the escort was coming after.
As with his party he approached the town
of Washington, he was informed that a regi
ment, supposed to belong tp the army of
134 The Prison Life
General Thomas, was moving on the place
to capture it, ir violation, as he thought, of
General Sherman's terms. On this he sent
back word to the General commanding the
cavalry escort to move up and cover the town
an order which probably never reached its
destination at least the cavalry never came ;
nor did he see them again, nor any of them.
Thinking they were coming, however, and
not apprehending any molestation from the
Federal troops, even if occupying the same
town, he entered Washington, and remained
there over night no troops of the United
States appearing. Here he heard of his wife
and family, not having seen them since they
had left Richmond, more than a month be
fore his own departure. They had just left
the town before his arrival, moving South in
company with his private secretary, Colonel
Harrison, of whose fidelity he spoke in
warm terms, and accompanied by a small
party of paroled men, who, seeing them
unprotected, had volunteered to be their
escort to Florida, from whence the family,
of Jefferson Davis. 135
not Mr. Davis himself, intended to take ship
to Cuba.
Mr. Davis regarded the section of country
he was now in as covered by Sherman's
armistice, and had no thought that any expe
dition could or would be sent for his own
capture, or for any other warlike purposes
He believed the terms of Johnson's capitula
tion still in force over all the country east of
the Chattahoochie, which had been embraced
in Johnson's immediate command; citing as
an evidence of this, that while he was in
Washington, General Upton, of the Federal
service, with a few members of his staff, pass
ed unattended over the railroad, a few miles
from the place, en route for Augusta, to re
ceive the muster-rolls of the discharged
troops, and take charge of the immense mili
tary stores there that fell into General Sher
man's hands by the surrender. General Up
ton was not interfered with, the country being
considered at peace, though nothing could
have been easier than his capture, had Mr.
Davis been so inclined.
136 The Prison Life
At this very time, however, a division of
cavalry had been sent into this district, which
had been declared at peace and % promised ex
emption from the dangers and burdens of any
further military operations within its limits,
for the purpose of capturing himself and
party ; and this he could not but regard as a
breach of faith on the part of those who
directed or permitted it to be done, though
he <did not wish to place himself in the con
dition of one who had accepted the terms of
Johnson's capitulation or taken advantage of
the amnesty which Sherman had offered.
But the district in which he then found
himself had been promised exemption from
further incursions, and he did not think
himself justly liable to capture while within
its limits though he expected to have to
take the ^chances of arrest when once across
the Chattahoochie.
Hearing that a skirmish-line, or patrol, had
been extended across the country from Ma-
con to Atlanta and thence to Chattanooga,
he thought best to go below this line, hoping
of Jefferson Davis. 137
to join the forces of his relative, Lieutenant
General Dick Taylor, after crossing the Chat
tahoochie. He would then cross the Missis
sippi, joining Taylor's forces to those of Kirby
Smith of whom he spoke with marked acer
bity and would have continued the fight so
long as he could find any Confederate force
to strike with him. This, not in any hope of
final success, but to secure for the South
some better terms than surrender at discre-
*
tion. " To this complexion," said Mr. Davis,
"had the repudiation of General Sherman's
terms, and the surrenders of Lee and John
son, brought the Southern cause."
Mr. Davis left Washington accompanied
by Postmaster-General Reagan, three aides,
and an escort of ten mounted men with one
pack-mule. Riding along, they heard dis
tressing reports of bands of marauders going
about the country stealing horses and what
ever else might tempt their cupidity these
rumors finally maturing into information
which caused him to change his course and
follow on to overtake the train containing his
138 The Prison Life
wife and family, for whose safety he began to
feel apprehensions.
This object he achieved after riding seventy
miles, without halt, in a single day, joining
Mrs. Davis just at daylight, and in time to
prevent a party he had passed on the road
from stealing her two fine carriage-horses
which formed a particular attraction for their
greed. "I have heard," he added, "since my
imprisonment, that it was supposed there was
a large amount of specie in the train. Such
was not the fact, Mrs. Davis carrying with her
no money that was not personal property, and
but very little of that"
Having joined his family, he travelled with
them for several days, in consequence of finding
the region infested with deserters and robbers
engaged in plundering whatever was defence
less, his intention being to quit his wife
whenever she had reached a safe portion of
the country, and to bear west across the Chat*
tahoochie. The very evening before his arrest
he was to have carried out this arrangement,
believing Mrs. Davis to be now safe; but was
of Jefferson Davis 139
prevented by a report brought in through one
of his aides, that a party of guerillas, or high
waymen, was coming that night to seize the
horses and mules of his wife's train. It was on
this report he decided to remain another night
Towards morning he had just fallen into
the deep sleep of exhaustion, when his wife 7 ?
faithful negro servant, Robert, came to him
announcing that there was firing up the road
He started up, dressed himself and went out
It was just at grey dawn, and by the imperfect
light he saw a party approaching the camp.
They were recognised as Federal cavalry by
the way in which they deployed to surround
the train, and he stepped back into the tent,
to warn his wife that the enemy were at hand.
Their tent was prominent, being isolated
from the other tents of the train ; and as he
was quitting it to find his horse, several of the
cavalry rode up, directing him to halt and
surrender. To this he gave a defiant answer.
Then one whom he supposed to be an officer
asked, had he any arms, to which Mr. Davis
replied : " If I had, you would not be alive to
140 fke Prison Life
ask that question." His pistols had been left
in the holsters, as it had been his intention,
the evening before, to start whenever the
camp was settled ; but horse, saddle, and hol
sters were now in the enemy's possession, and
he was completely unarmed. %
m Colonel Pritchard, commanding the Fede
ral cavalry, came up soon, to whom Mr^ Davis
saick " 1 suppose, sir, your orders are acc^iji-
plishei in arresting me. You can have &o
wish to interfere with women and children ;
and I beg they may be permitted ,to pursue
their journey," The Colonel replied that his
orders were to take every one found in my
company back to Macon, and he frould* ha^ve
to do so, though grieved to inconvenience the
ladiga Mt D&vk said his wife's party was
feomposed of paioled men, who had commit
ted no act of K$ar since their release, and
begged they might be permitted to go to
their homes^ but the Colonel, under his or
ders, clid not feel at liberty to grant this re
quest. . They were all taken to Macon, there-
rea&hing it in four days, and from thence
of Jefferson Dams. 141
were carried by rail to Augustas-Mr. Davis
thanking Major-General J. H. Wilson for
having treated him' with all the courtesy pos
sible to the situation.
The party transferred to Augusta consisted
of Reagan, Alexander H. Stevens, Clement
C. Clay, two of his own aides and private
secretary, Mrs. Clay, his wife and four chil
dren, four servants and three paroled men,
^hated generously offered their protection to
SV Darvis'duriitg her journey. Bteokkiridge
beait with * lie cavalry brigade, which
had been the escort of Mr. Davis, and did
not come up at Washington. He and Secro*
tary Benjamin had started for Florida, expect
ing to escape thence to the West Indies.
There was no specie nor public treasure in
the train nothing but his private funds, and
of thm very little. Some wagons .had btem
furnished by the quartermaster at Wasi^g-
ton, Georgia; for the transportation - of Ms
family and Ae Caroled men fabc^ Jbrmed
their escort, and "that was? tfcer o^rtedn.
r^ Davis had not seerf* his fMylfcr some
I42 The Prison Life
months before, and first rejoined them when
he rode to their defence from Washington.
June 23^1 received the following letter
from Mrs. Davis :
DATED SAVANNAH, GA., June i4th, 1865.
DR. CRAVEN:
MY DEAR SIR, Pursued by dreadful pic
tures thrown before me every day in excerpts
from northern correspondents, and published
in the daily journals, in which the agony
inseparable from defeat and imprisonment is
represented to have been heightened for my
husband by chains and starvation, I can -no
longer preserve the silence which I feel
should be observed by me, in your failure to
answer my letter of the first inst Can it be
that fhesfe tales are even in part true ? That
such atrocities could render him frantic I
know is not so. I" have so often tended him
through months of nervous agony, without
ever hearing a groan or an expression of
impatience, that I know these tales of child*
Bf- tevings are not true would to God ' I
of Jefferson Davis. 143
could believe that all these dreadful rumors
were false as weU I
But there is something about them which
convinces me that they are not altogether
false. You must have been kind to him, else
he had not told you of his sufferings. Will
you not, my dear sir, tell me the worst? Is
he ill is he dying ? Taken from me, with
only ten minutes 5 warning, I could not see
any , one to whom I could say that he was
quite, pi ^ifadeed^ .suffering 091 fever at the
|W>UE op: sepamtioru Ke has been much
exposed to a Southern sun in malarial dis
tricts, and I dread everything from an attack
of illness in his depressed condition, even
were the humanities of life manifested to him.
With a blaze of light pouring upon the dilat
ed pupils of eyes always sensitive to it ;
chains fettering his emaciated limbs ; coarse
food, served, as the newspapers describe it, in
the most repulsive manner, without knife,
fork, or spoon, "lest he should commit. sm-
cide," hope seems denied to me ; yet^I^can-
not reconcile myself to Aat result, which for
144 The Prison Life
many years must have been his gain. Will
you only write me one word to say that he
may recover ? Will you tell him that we are
well that our little children pray for him, and
miss his fatherly care that his example still
lives for them. Please tell him not to be
anxious for us ; that kind friends are with us,
and that those who love him have adopted
.us> too. Do not tell him, please, that we are
not permitted to leave here ; for the present,
we can do very well, and then I expect, every
day, a permit to leave this city for one more
healthy. Please try to cheer him about us
for we are kindly cared for by the Southern
friends who love him here. Will yau not
take the trouble to write me, only this once ?
Can it be that you are forbidden ? Else, how
could a Husband an4 Father, as I hear you
are, refuse us such a small favor, productive
as it would be of such Blessed comfort ?
- My children shall pray for you, and per-
baps the pray sirs of 1 " one of these little ones "
;availmucii with Him who said, " Suffer
unto me-" and that which you
of Jefferson Davis. 145
have done for another may be returned to
-you with usury in some less happy and pros
perous hour. With the hope of hearing from
you very soon,
I am, sir,
Very respectfully
And gratefully yours,
VARINA DAVIS.
146 The Prison Life
CHAPTER X.
Diseases of the Eye. Guards removed from
the Prisoners Room. Mr. Davis takes his
first Walk on the Ramparts. The Policy
of Conciliation. Mr. Davis on Improve
ments in Land and Naval Warfare.
JUNE 242^. Called on Mr. Davis, accompa
nied by Captain Titlow, Officer of the Day.
On entering found the prisoner, for the first
time, alone in his cell, the two guards having
been removed from it in consequence of my
report to Major-General Miles that their pres
ence was counteracting every effort Tor quiet
ing the nerves of the patient Mr. Davis
remarked that the change had done him
good, his last night's sleep having been
undisturbed. He complained of his eyes,
afod a throbbing pain in the back of his
of Jefferson Davis. 147
neck, asking me to give the matter particular
attention, as similar symptoms, at the same^
season last year, in Richmond, had been fol
lowed by a severe bilious remittent fever.
Mr. Davis spoke of the injurious effects of
reflected light upon the eyes, thence diverg
ing to the phenomena of the mirage, and
the illusions of vision arising from an over
excited condition of the optic nerve, o^
peculiar conditions of the atmosphere. The
mirage on the deserts of Egypt and Arabia
was chiefly observable in the afternoons, when
the sands were thoroughly heated, thus pro
ducing a different medium of atmosphere
close to the earth, and causing the horizontal
or vertical refraction, or both, which produced
the appearance of this so common pheno
menon.' Science, he remarked, was fast
explaining, as the result of natural la^s,
nearly all the mysteries of the earth on
which ignorance in preceding ages "had
founded its superstitions and magicians built
up a belief^ in their reputed power. The
injurious effects of the whitewash upon the
148 The Prison Life
walls of his cell to his eyes, he attributed to
the double refractive power doubly injuri
ous of all salts and crystallized minerals not
retaining the form of the original cube, the
regular octohedron, etc. ; and of all these sub
stances, the carbonate of lime possessed the
double refractive power most eminently, and
was, therefore, most injurious to the sight
Mr. Davis said that reading continually the
same type in his Bible and Prayer-Book had
become a severe tax upon his' sight, of which
he had often complained to me before; but
what was he to do ? Utter inaction for a mind
so busy as his had been, was impossible: he
must either furnish it with external employ
ment, or allow it to prey upon itself. Nature
had furnished all varieties of pabulum to the
vision, resting it on one color when weary
with another, and changing the forms on
which it had been employed with every object
of nature. Even with the most healthy, sight
was a delicate organ, and with him the sight
of one eye lost and that of the other seriously
impaired peculiarly so. The pupil of the
of Jefferson Davis. 149
eye was constructed to expand or contract in.
harmony with each change of light, or color,
or different form of object; and to employ the
vision continually on one size of type, he be
lieved must be injurious at least on no other
theory could he account for the fast-growing
alteration of his sight
On this subject we had frequently conversed
before, my views agreeing with those of Mr.
Davis, who, from the necessities of his case,
appeared to have pretty thoroughly studied the
art of the oculist. Indeed it was a remark
which every day impressed on me more forci
bly, that the State prisoner had studied no sub
ject superficially, and that his knowledge in all
the useful arts and sciences was varied, exten
sive, and very thorough in each branch.
Representations in regard to the need Mr.
Davis stood in of different pabulum, both for
his eyes and mind, had been previously made
by me to Major-General Miles, and had been
confirmed, I rather believe, by Colonel Pineo,
Medical Inspector of the Department, who
had visited Mr. Davis in my company on the
150 The Prison Life
1 2th of this month, having a long and inter
esting conversation with the prisoner a fact
which should have been mentioned at an
earlier date ; but as the conversation was one
in which I took little part, the brief memo
randum in my diary escaped notice until re
vived by the fuller notes of this day's inter
view. It was upon the day of Colonel Pineo's
visit, also, that Mr. Davis mentioned having
heard that my little daughter, moved by sym
pathy, had volunteered as his housekeeper
and superintended the sending of his meals.
Beautiful as woman's character always was, in
its purity, grace, delicacy, and sympathetic
action, it was rarely, save in man's hours of
deepest affliction, that he realized how much
his nature stood in need of the support of his
gentle counterpart. Then, picking up a vol
ume of prayer from the table, he said : " Doc
tor, my wife gave me this. Another, which
she placed in my valise, I have since received.
Pray present this, with my love and grateful
regards, to your little Anna, and say, though
I may never have an opportunity to thank
of Jefferson Davis. 1 5 1
her myself, my children will one day rise up
' to call her blessed. 7 "
And now to have done with this digression
and return to my interview of June 24th.
While the State prisoner was yet speaking
of the troubles of his sight, Major-General
Miles entered, with the pleasant announce
ment that Mr. Davis was to be allowed
to walk one hour each day upon the ramparts,
and to have miscellaneous reading hereafter
books, newspapers, and such magazines as
might be approved, after perusal at headquar
ters an improvement of condition, it must be
needless to say, very pleasing to the prisoner.
That afternoon, Mr. Davis took his first
walk in the open air since entering Fortress
Monroe; Major-General Miles supporting him
on one side, the Officer of the Day on the
other, and followed by four armed guards.
Of this party I was not a member, much to
my regret, for the remarks of the prisoner on
regaining so much of his liberty, and looking
upon scenes formerly so familiar, under hap
pier circumstances, would beyond doubt have
152 The Prison Life
been of interest. I only noticed that Mr
Davis was arrayed in the same garb he had
worn when entering his cell indeed General
Miles had possession of all his other ward
robe ; and that while his carriage was proud
and erect as ever, not losing a hair's breadth
of his height from any stoop, his step had
lost its elasticity, his gait was feeble in the ex
treme, and he had frequently to press his
chest, panting in the pauses of exertion. The
cortege promenaded along the ramparts of the
South front, Mr. Davis often stopping and
pointing out objects of interest, as if giving
reminiscences of the past and making inqui
ries 4f the present. He was so weak, how
ever, that the hour allowed proved nearly
twice too much for him, and he had to be led
back with only half his offered liberty enjoyed.
June 2$fJL Visited prisoner with Captain
Evans, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Officer of
the Day. Mr. Davis much better, and with
spirits greatly improved. The application to
the back of his neck had immediately re
lieved the pain, and his sight was less waver-
of Jefferson Davis. 153
ing. He no longer saw the cloud of black
and amber motes rising and falling before his
sight The nervous and painful twitching of
the eyelids had also in great measure ceased.
Of all diseases, he most feared photophobia ;
having seen many cases of it, and heard it was
the keenest agony of which the human nerves
are susceptible. Injured as his sight was, he
knew such a disease must result in total blind
ness. " Not that I expect many pleasant
things to look out upon, Doctor, but that I
need my sight for my defence, which must
also be the defence of the cause I represented,
and which my sufferings have been aimed to
degrade." K
. Asked him how he had enjoyed his walk
on the previous afternoon. He said the sense
of breathing air not drawn through iron bars
was a glorious blessing, only to be appreciated
by prisoners one of the thousand common
blessings which must be lost before we prize
them. The varieties of view and animation
of the scene, had stimulated and reinvigorated
his eyes ; but his feebleness had been exces-
154 The Prison Life
sive partly arising, he thought, from a rush
of novel emotions, partly from the old recol
lections that came crowding back to him;
and partly because, looking towards the land
of his people from the Southern front, it seem
ed to his mind a vast charnel-house, with the
black plumes of political death nodding be
tween it and the sun.
"And yet this should not be," continued
Mr. Davis, " if your authorities at Washing
ton be wise. The attempt of certain States
to separate from the- old confederation, in
which their rights under the fundamental law
had been violated, having proved abortive,
and they being coerced back under the Gene
ral Government by military force, their rights
under the Constitution at once return, and
revive with their submission, unless that in
strument shall be deliberately and openly re
pudiated. Such was the absolute spirit of
General Grant's negotiation upon which
General Lee surrendered ; and such both the
spirit and letter of General Sherman's propo-
s&Js to the General he was contending against'
of Jefferson Davis. 155
(General Johnson's name not mentioned). " It
was also embodied in all the declarations of
your Government and late President in all
their public acts; and I think my people
would have fought more desperately, and con
tinued the war much longer, though hope
lessly, had it not been for this expectation.
" But even apart from this apart from all
pledges of faith or obligations of constitu
tional law," Mr. Davis went on, " and looking
on the matter only in the light of future ex
pediency, let us see how the case stands. In
the better days of the Roman empire, when
its possessions increased, and conquered coun
tries came in a few years to be integral, and
even zealous mertibers of the imperial system,
it was the policy of conciliation, following that
of military conquest, which achieved the de
sired results. Certain laws and restrictions
of the imperial government were imposed
so much annual tribute, so many legions to
our military levies, and obedience to all such
laws of the Central Government as may be
issued for your control. But within these
156 The Prison Life
lines, and with these points conceded, the
empire strove in .all minor and domestic mat
ters to conform, in so far as might be possible,
to the former habits, customs, and laws of the
people absorbed, and the independent govern
ments superseded. Even their peculiarities
of morals, manners, and religious views were
studied and respected, when not conflicting
with the necessities of the empire ; their lead
ing men were justly treated, and na efforts
were spared to make the new order of things
sit lightly at first, and even pleasantly in a
few years, on the necks of the subjugated pro
vinces. Generosity is the true policy, both
of nations and individuals. ' There is that
maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing ; there
is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great
riches.' While my people are held as con
quered subjects, they must be to you a con
tinued source of expense and danger a coun
try penned together with bayonets. Let the
past be expunged, if you please; we have
nothing to blush for in it, and nothing to re
gret but failure. The necessities of the North-
of Jefferson Davis. 157
ern treasury and public debt," Mr. Davis
thought, "^ould, before long, compel us to do
justice to this section."
Mr. Davis then spoke of the immense im
provements in the art and practice of war
which the recent struggle had developed ; this
in connection with the progress of work on
the Rip Raps, some iron-clads he had seen in
the roadstead, and the fifteen-inch Rodman
guns which now stand en barbette on each
bastion of the fort
England's naval supremacy he considered
lost by the invention of iron-clads, these con
verting the conditions of maritime warfare
from a question of dexterity and personnel
into one of machinery, and in machinery the
Americans could have no superiors, while in
all other qualities they were at least the equals
of the British. The science of naval gunnery^
ha,d also been revolutionized, the new princi
ple being to concentrate into a single crush
ing shot the former scattered forces of a broad
side. The problem of the iron-clad was to
attain the maximum of offensive power while
158 The Prison Life
exposing the least possible and most strongly
armored objective points to the projectiles ol
the enemy ; and in such plans of bur iron-clads
i
as he had lately seen, these desiderata seemed
to have been very nearly attained. For cross
ing the ocean, however, and for cruising on
peaceful stations, our vessels lay too low in
the water, either for safety from storms, or the
comfort and health of the crews and officers.
If our present vessels had in them vast wells,
which, when empty, would cause the hulls to
float eight or ten feet above the water, and
which, on being filled when going into action,
would reduce them to their present level, he
thought no grander instruments of belligerency
could be imagined. Wooden bottoms, with ar
mored sides and armored turrets, he could not
but think would prove the best. The enormous
weight superimposed, coupled with the rollings
of the sea, must soon chafe and wear away the
rivets and plates of an iron bottom, no matter
how carefully secured; while wooden hulls sat
more easily on the water, and both avoided
chafing and obtained greater speed by their
of Jefferson Davis. 159
capacity of yielding a little. Even the sea
in its laws, concluded Mr. Davis with a smile,
teaches the policy of conciliation of conces
sion ; vessels making headway as their lines
conform to the resistance of the ocean, and
have some power of yielding to the pressure
of the billows. To attain the greatest speed,
we should take for model the swiftest fish,
and conform to that as much as circumstances
would permit ; and in this connection he re
ferred approvingly to the cigar-shaped vessels
of Mr. Winans, of Baltimore.
In regard to the improvements in ordnance,
he spoke at great length, displaying not
merely a very observant knowledge of all the
changes in modern artillery and projectiles,
but also of the science of metallurgy as ap
plied to the production of ordnance. He dis
cussed the atomic theory, or relationship of
particles, and the effects on iron fibre of differ
ent temperatures and treatments, as by ham
mering, rolling, and the various methods of
cooling ; detailing with a minuteness I could
not hope to follow, numerous experiments in
160 The Prison Life
the construction and effect of ordnance while
he was Secretary of War. The Swedish and
Russian iron had been reputed best, but he
thought experiment would prove that the iron
of the Shenandoah Valley and of Eastern
Tennessee, when properly treated, would be
at least as good, if not superior, for this cli
mate. In the Tredegar Iron-Works, an enor
mous amount of work had been done, and
many improvements in puddling and casting
introduced ; but the continued and ever-in
creasing necessities of the war, as the block
ade became more effective, made rapidity the
one thing needful, and much of the work,
more especially of late, had been rough and
defective.
Rifled guns he had been at first inclined to
favor, and for certain classes of service at long
range, they must always remain the best. For
tearing and destroying forts of masonry, the
results "at Pulaski and Sumter had demon
strated their value ; but as earthworks would
hereafter be employed wherever possible, their
superiority in this respect was of less import-
of Jefferson Davis. 161
ance. For naval engagements, at long range,
they would also be better ; but with iron-clad
ships, all future engagements must be within
a few hundred yards, and then the slow, crush
ing shot of the heavy smooth bore was the
thing needed. For chasing a blockade-run
ner or crippling a flying ship, the rifled gu& ;
but for crushing in the sides or turret of an
armored vessel, the heavy thirteen or fifteen-
inch shot from a smooth bore, propelled by
slow-burning powder, would be most effica
cious. Quick-burning powder strained the
gun to.o much by its shock, hurled out the
projectile before the powder behind it had
been half developed, -and also wasted not less
than a third of the charge before the process
of combustion had time to take place. He
spoke of Captain Dahlgren and his experi
ments in ordnance while he (Mr. Davis) had
been Secretary of War, remarking that, rightly
or wrongly, the Captain had been accused of
appropriating a& his own, with very trivial al
terations, if any, discoveries which were sub
mitted to him for examination and report as
1 62 Tke Prison Life
chief of ordnance in the navy yard. Of the
Rodman he spoke approvingly, regarding its
chilling process as the true one ; but for perfec
tion of elaborate workmanship and detail no
guns he had ever seen were superior to some
of those received through the blockade from
England. It was a mistake, however, to be too
minute in war. War was a rough business,
and rough tools would carry it through if there
were only plenty of them, and in the hands of
anything like a sufficiency of proper men.
From this time, the prisoner received books
and newspapers freely, chiefly reading of news
papers, the New York Herald^ and of books,
histories Mr. Bancroft appearing his favorite
American author. I recommended him to be
very moderate at first in his open-air exercise,
gauging the amount of exercise to his strength ;
and from this time forward Mr. Davis went
out every day for an hour's exercise, the
weather and his health permitting.
of Jefferson Davis. 163
CHAPTER XI.
Mr. Lincoln's Assassination. Ex-President
Pierce. Torture of being Constantly Watch
ed Mr. Davis on the Members of his Cabi
net and the Opponents of his Administra
tion Touching Tribute to the Memory of
" Stonewall" Jackson.
SUNDAY, July ntk. Was sent for by Mr.
Davis, and called in company with Captain R.
O. Bickley, Officer of the Day.
Found prisoner very desponding, the failure
of his sight troubling him, and his nights
almost without sleep. His present treatment
was killing him by inches, and he wished
shorter work could be made of his torment
He had hoped long since for a trial, which
should be public, and therefore with some
semblance of fairness ; but hope deferred was
making his heart sick, The odious, malig-
164 The Prison Life
nant and absurd insinuation that he was con
nected in some manner with the great crime
and folly of Mr. Lincoln's assassination, was
his chief personal motive for so earnestly de
siring an early opportunity of vindication.
But apart from this, as he was evidently made
the representative in whose person the action
of the seceding States was to be argued and
decided, he yet more strongly desired for this
reason to be heard in behalf of the defeated,
but to him still sacred cause. The defeat he
accepted, as a man has to accept all necessi
ties of accomplished fact ; but to vindicate the
theory and justice of his cause, showing by the
authority of the Constitution and the' Fathers
of the Country, that his people had only as
serted a right had committed no crime ; this
was the last remaining labor which life could
impose on him as a public duty. Mr. Davis
then spoke of Ex-President Franklin Pierce in
terms of warm admiration, as the public man
who had studied constitutional law, and the
relation of the States to highest profit, remark
ing, that if he were given any choice of coun-
of Jefferson Davis. 165
sel, Mr. Pierce would be one of those whose
advice he would think most reliable, tie also
spoke of Mr. Charles Eames, of Washington,
as a walking encyclopaedia of constitutional
law, very accurate and ready in his reference
to precedents ; adding that he had seen a re
port in the Herald that Messrs. Reverdy John
son, of Maryland, and Charles CVConor, of
New York, had professed their readiness to
assume his defence, when approached by some
of his friends for that purpose, for which he
felt grateful, both personally aneWor his people.
His own fate was of no importance in this
matter, save to the Government, on which his
tory would devolve the responsibility for his
treatment Martyrdom, while representing
the deliberate action of his people, would be
immortality; but for the sake of justice, not
merely to his own people, but to the whole
American people, whose, future liberties were
now at stake ip his person, a fair and * gpblic
trial was now the necessity of the situation
" My people," he added, " attempted what
your people denounced as a revolution. My
1 66 The Prison Life
people failed ; but your people have suffered
a revolution which must prove disastrous to
their liberties unless promptly remedied by
legal decision, in their efforts to resist the
revolution which they charged my people
with contemplating. State sovereignty, the
corner-stone of the Constitution, has become
a name. There is no longer power, or will,
in any State, or number of States, that would
dare refuse compliance with any tinkle of
Mr. Seward's bell."
Mr. Davis complained this sleeplessness
was aggravated by the lamp kept burning in
his room all night, so that he could be seen
at all moments by the guard in the outer
cell. If he happened to doze one feverish
moment, the noise of relieving guard in the
next room aroused him, and the lamp poured
its full glare into his aching and throbbing
eyes. There must i>e a change in this, or he
would go crazy, or blind, or both.
" Doctor," he said, " had you ever the con
sciousness of being watched? Of having
an eye fixed on you every moment intently
of Jefferson Davis. 167
scrutinizing your most minute actions, and
the variations of your countenance and pos
ture? The consciousness that the Omni
scient Eye rests upon us, in every situation,
is the most consoling and beautiful belief of
religion. But to have a human eye riveted
on you in every moment of waking or sleep
ing, sitting, walking, or lying down, is
a refinement of torture on anything the
Camanches or Spanish Inquisition ever
dreamed. They, in their ignorance of cruel
art, only struck at the body ; and the nerves
have a very limited capacity of pain. This
is a maddening, incessant torture of the
mind, increasing with every moment it is
endured, and shaking the reason by its inces
sant recurrence of miserable pain. Letting
a single drop of water fall on the head every
sixty seconds does not hurt at first, but ijs
victim dies of raving agtmy, it is alleged, if
the infliction be continued. The torture of
being incessantly watched is, to the mind,
what the water-dropping is to the .body, but
more afflictive, as the mind is more suscepti-
1 68 The Prison Life
ble of pain. The Eye of Omniscience looks
upon us with tenderness and compassion ;
even if conscious of guilt, we have the com
fort of knowing that Eye sees also our repent
ance. But the human eye forever fixed upon
you is the eye of a spy, or enemy, gloating
in the pain and humiliation which itself cre
ates. "I have lived too long in the woods to
be frightened by an owl, and have seen death
too often to dread any form of pain. But I
confess, Doctor, this torture of being watched
begins to prey on my reason. * The lamp
burning in my room all night would seem a
torment devised by some one who had inti
mate knowledge of my habits, my custom
having been through life never to sleep
except in total darkness."
t This conversation, so far as related to its
medical aspect, I deemed it my duty to com
municate that afternoon to Major-General
Miles, who could not remove the lamp alto
gether, but directed that it should be screened
at night, so that no direct and glaring beams
should be thrown into the prisoner's eyes.
of Jefferson Davis. 169
Soon after this interview, I received a third
letter from Mrs. Davis, as follows :
SAVANNAH, GA., July 2, 1865.
DR. J. J. CRAVEN :
MY DEAR SIR, I have written to you three
times, and no answer has been returned ; but
I am not capable of the " still yet brave
despair," which I know is required in my
hopeless position. Thanks to God, that He
has raised you up a "present help" in my
husband's time of trouble, are daily ren
dered.
Am I intrusive in offering gratitude and
earnest prayers for your welfare and that of
your household, and for your manly disregard
of everything but the suffering man^before*
you ? I know you have been kind, for the
only concordance between any of the number
less harrowing statements which daily agonize^
me, is tftat you are always/ epresented as fed
to himas iaiiiistering to his necessity^ ,
last account tfejls me that your wife $nl
daughter ar^ also kia4 enough 10 attend to
his wants. With my gratitek .and joy that
I7 o The Prison Ljfe
even in such a dungeon, separated from all
his earthly ties he is not alone, comes the sad
memory that I can do nothing but write to
say how I love them for their goodness ; how
I long to see their faces before my eyes are
closed in death! I am not alone in offering
to them lovifeg thanks^r-our whole people join
me in offering acknowledgments to them and
to you ; ' Many little Children, besMes my own
poor little ones, have asked fte if I had a like
ness of your family, that they might form an
idea of those whose kindness has become to
them household words. Still no word of com
forting response comes to me from you. I
will not annoy you by importunities ; but
*f>ray that we may meet at some future day,
when such painful circumstances as now sur
round me may have been swept away by God's
christianizing grace.
When "martial faith and courtesy 1 ' may
again dictate the action . of those who now,
hold my suffering husband "a prisoner -of
war," but tr$at him like a felon^a heart full
Of gratitude, overflowing, in earnest, constant
of Jefferson Davis. 1 7 1
prayers for you, : and fcfr your dear wife, and
little Annie, is all I have to offer; and
these are ever present to
Yours most gratefully,
VARINA DAVIS.
July i$th. Called efh Mr. Davis, accom
panied by Captain Grill, 3d Pennsylvania
Artillery, Officer of the Day. Found him
extremely weak, and growing more alarmed
about his sight, whichi>wa* failing rapidly.
The - phenomenon had occurred to him < of
seeing all objects double, due chiefly 'to his
nervous debility and the over-taxation of con
stant reading. Prescribed stimulants inter-
naly weak brandy and water with his meals
to aid digestion and a stimulating wash.
Some remarks he had seen in one of the
4 ff f ,5
'New' York papers led Mr. Davis to speak of
the difficulties which had surrounded fi$
admjtnstratiofi. , * , " ' ; 1
** *' * r * **
His Cabinet had been selected 4nri^g t|te
foimafifSn of -d^Pro^oaal GoVfeament at
Moi3itgom6ry, when
172 The Prison "
States in the Confederacy from which to
select or accept Secretaries, and when all
things were in dire confusion even those of
farthest sight in public affairs with but little
prevision of what lay before them. Georgia,
as the largest State represented in the Pro
visional Congress, claimed the portfolio of
State and rfecommended Mr. Toombs a man
of great natural force and capacity, but a
destroyer, not a builder up ; a man of restless
nature, a born Jacobin, though with honest
intentions. Alabama, as the second State,
claimed the portfolio of War, and nominated
Pope Walker for the position a gentleman
of excellent intentions, but wholly without
the requisite Experience or capacities for so
vast a trust. South Carolina placed Mr.
Memminger in the Treasury, and while he
respected the man, the utter failure of Con
federate finance was the failure of the cause.
Had Mr. Memminger acted promptly on the
proposition of depositing cotton in Europe
and holding it^there for two years as -a basis
* ^
Ibr ^heir currency, their circulating medium
of Jefferson Davis. 173
might have maintained itself at par to the
closing day of the struggle ; and that in
itself would have insured victory. Louisiana
sent Benjamin, the^ablest and most faithful
member of his advisory council; a man
who realized that industry is the mistress of
success, and who had 1 no personal aspirations,
no wishes that were not subordinate to the
prosperity of the cause. In the early part of -
the war, Benjamin furnished a parallel to Mr.
Seward, both believing and avowing that the
impending crisis would not last longer than
sixty or ninety days, though Benjamin relaxed
no labor or preparation on that account
Texas had the Postal Department in the per
son of Mr. Reagan, who was ia plain, strong
man, of good common sense and a good
heart, faithful to the cause with zealous fidel
ity, and faithful to the last, though endowed
with m> peculiar administrative abilities* aiid
one of those who had not labored to, precipi
tate secession, though accepting it heartily
as a political necessity when it came. The
Navy Department went to Florida,' aad was
1 74 The Prison Life
filled by Mr. Mallory, who had large experi
ence in the Naval Committee of the United
States Senate. It was complained that there
had been remissness in this department, no
Confederate war vessel having been com
menced until eight or nine months after the
act of secession. In these complaints there
was doubtless some truth ; but after an event
happened, prophesying was cheap. No one
at that day could have foreseen the extent or
prolongation of the struggle, and the belief
was common, if not natural, that the necessi
ties of Europe would compel foreign nations
to raise the blockade, and finally bring the
naval resources of England and France to
the aid of his people.
Being interestedly what Mr. Davis said of
the failure of the Confederate currency as the
failure of the cause, and of some scheme by
which it might have been prevented, I ex
pressed my curiosity and ventured to request
some explanation,^ there appeared to rne no
manner jn which Confederate paper could
have been sustained at par.
of Jefferson Davis. 175
Mr. Davis replied that one rule of his life
was, never to express regret for the inevitable :
to let the dead bury its dead in regard to all
political hopes that were not realized. Fire
is not quenched with tow, nor the past to be
remedied by lairentations. It would, how
ever, have been possible, in his judgment, to
have kept the currency of his people good
for gold, or very nearly so, during the entire
struggle; and had this been done, the con
trast, if , nothing else, would have reduced
United States securities to zero, and so ter
minated the contest. The plan urged upon
Mr. Memminger was as follows a plan Mr.
Davis privately approved, but had not time to
study and take the responsibility of directing,
- until too late :
*
At the time of secession there were not less
than .three million bales of cotton in the
South plantation bales, of 400 pounds weight
each. These the Secretary of the Treasury
recommended to buy from the planters, who
were then willing, &ad even eager, to sell to
the government, at ten cents per pound of
176 The Prison Life
Confederate currency. These three million
bales were to be rushed off to Europe before
the blockade was of any efficiency, and there
held for one or two years, until the price
reached not less than 70 or 80 cents per
pound and we all know it reached much
higher during the war. This would have
given a cash basis in Europe of not less than
a thousand milliqp dollars in gold, and all
securities drawn against this balance in
bank would maintain par value. Such a sum
would have more than sufficed all the needs
of the Confederacy during the war ; would
have sufficed, with economic management, for
a war of twice the actual duration ; and this
evidence of Southern prosperity and stability
could not but have acted powerfully on the
minds, the securities' and the avarice of the
New England rulers of the North. He was far
from reproaching Mr. Memminger. The
situation was new. No one could have fore
seen the course of events. When too late
the wisdom of the proposed measure was
reaped, but the inevitable "too late" was
of Jefferson Davis. 177
interposed. The blockade had become too
stringent, for one reason, and the planters had
lost their pristine confidence in Confederate
currency. When we might have put silver in
the purse, we did not put it there. When we
iNte
had only silver on the tongue, our promises
were forced to become excessive.
I asked how Mr. Memminger had obtained
prominence in so aristocrats a State as South
Carolina, the report being that he was a found
ling born with little claim to either wealth or
name. Mr. Davis said he knew nothing of
the matter, and immediately turned away the
conversation, appearing displeased.
When Mr. Benjamin was made Secretary of
War, Mr. Davis continued Mr. Walker hav
ing proved a failure Congress was pleased to
blame him for the successes of General Burn-
side at Roanoke Island, and so forth ; events
which no human activity or foresight, witii the
forces at his command, could have averted.
Congress in some respects was slow to pjovide
against reverses, but never lacking in prompt
ness to find a scapegoat From the first, there
i;S The Prison Life
was a strong party in the South or rather in
the Southern Congress and political life
arrayed against his administration. They
never deemed it wise to attack him personally
or directly, for his people were devotedly and
nobly faithful to the representative of their
selection ; but the plan was to assail any man
or measure in whom or which Mr. Davis was
supposed often erroneously to take special
interest He himself was much to blame for
this, perhaps his fidelity to friendship and
the natural combativeness of his nature,
prompting him to assume as personal to him
self, any assaults directed against men 01
measures for whose appointment or origination
he was in any degree responsible. This was
a fault of his temperament, but each man must
accept himself as he stands, and that man does *
well who makes out of himself .the best pos
sible.
Toombs, even when in the Cabinet, had
been impracticable and restless. Out of it he
became an active malcontent, and was power-
felly supported in every perverse and perni-
of Jefferson Davis. 1 79
cious suggestion by Governor Brown, of
Georgia. Vice-President Stephens had lent
the government no assistance, continually
holding himself aloof from Richmond per
haps on account of ill health; but certajnly
his health must have been very wretched in
deed, if poorer than that of Mr. Davis, during
many of his most trying and laborious months.
Be the cause what it might, however, the ab
sence, if not apathy, of Mr. Stephens, had been
an element Il|we1ikness, and led him to be re
garded by the malcontents as a friend qnd
pillar of their cause. In South Carolina, there
was the Rhett faction; never at' home save
when in 1 the attitude of contradiction ; men
whose lives were expended in the negative,
and who often recalled to his mind the con
tradictory gentleman described by Sydney
Smitl-*, who, when he had no one else to quar
rel with, threw up his window at night for the
purpose of contradicting the watchman who
was shouting, " Two o'clock all %elL" The
only open assailant he had in Congress was
Senator Foote, of his own State a man of no
i8o The Prison Life
account or credit ; an inveterate place-hunter
and mere politician, who appeared laboring
under a constitutional inability either to see
anything correctly, or to report correctly what
he had seen.
Of Stonewall Jackson, Mr. Davis spoke
with the utmost tenderness, and some touch
of reverential feeling, bearing witness to his
earnest and pathetic piety, his singleness of
aim, his immense energy as an executive
officer, and the loyalty of his nature, making
obedience the first of all duties. " He rose
every morning at three," said Mr. Davis; "per
formed his devotions for half an hour, and
then went booming along at the head of his
command, which came to be called 'Jackson's
foot cavalry/ from the velocity of their move
ments. He had the faculty, or rather gift, of
exciting and holding the love and confidence
of his men to an unbounded degree, even
though the character of his campaigning im
posed on them more hardships than on any
other troops in the service. Good soldiers-
not for their individual sacrifices when
of Jefferson Davis. 181
adequate results can be shown; and these
General Jackson never lacked. Hard fight
ing, hard marching, hard fare, the strictest
discipline all these men will bear, if visibly
approaching the goal of their hopes. T|hey
want to get done with the war, back to their
homes and families ; and their instinct soon
teaches them which commander is pursuing
the right means to accomplish these results.
Jackson was a singularly ungainly man on
horseback, and had many peculiarities of tem
per, amounting to violent idiosyncrasies ; but
everything in his nature, though here and
there uncouth, was noble. Even in the heat
of action, and when most exposed, he might
be seen throwing up his hands in prayer. For
glory he lived long enough," continued Mr.
Davis with much emotion ; " and if this result
had to come, it was the Divine mercy that
removed him. He fell like the eagle, his own
feather on the shaft that was dripping with
his life-blood. In his death the Confederacy
lost an eye and arm, our only consolation
being that the final summon^ could* have
1 82 The Prison Life
reached no soldier more prepared to accept
it joyfully. Jackson was not of a san
guine turn, always privately anticipating the
worst, that the better might be more
welcome."
of Jefferson Davis. 183
CHAPTER XII.
Mr. Davis seriously IlL Restrictions on Cor
respondence with his Wife. Clement C. Clay.
A Rampart Interview. Religious Phase
of Mr. D avis' s Character.
JULY zotk. Called on Mr. Davis, Captain
Korte, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, being Offi
cer of the Day, and, of course, my companion.
Was requested to call by Major-General Miles,
who had received report that prisoner was
seriously ill.
Found Mr. Davis in a very critical state;
his nervous debility extreme ; his mind more
despondent than ever heretofore ; his appetite
gone'; complexion livid, and pulse denoting
deep prostration of all the physical energies.
Was much alarmed, and realized with painful
anxiety the responsibilities of my position. If
he were to die in prison, and without trial,
184 The Prison Life
subject to such severities as had been inflict
ed on his attenuated frame, the world would
form unjust conclusions, but conclusions with
enough color to pass them into history. It
seemed to me, let me frankly confess, due to
the honor of America, and the future glory
of our struggle for national existence, that this
result should not happen.
Mr. Davis asked me could nothing be done
to better his condition, or secure him the jus
tice of a trial before death. The effort of his
people to establish a country had failed, and
they had no country now but America. It
was for the honor of America, not less than
for his own, and for justice to his cause, that
he pleaded.
Assured Mr. Davis that no effort of care or
such skill as I possessed should be wanting
for his benefit. Then commenced conversa
tion on various topics, seeking to divert his
mind from the afflictions preying on it
Talking of the Confederate flag and the
various flags under which the regiments of
State fought, I mentioned having once
of Jefferson Davis. 185
seen a curious practical realization of the flag
of South Carolina the palmetto-tree and
rattlesnake.
The day after the success of Admiral Du
Pont at Port Royal, and the landing of Sher
man's expedition on Hilton Head, I had
ridden out in company with General Horatio
G. Wright to an abandoned cavalry camp of
the expelled troops. There, twisted around
the trunk ol a palmetto-tree, and held in his
place round it by ligatures of reeds, was a
dead rattlesnake, the largest I had ever seen,
some eight feet long, and probably nearly a
hundred pounds weight. It had undoubtedly
been placed there in sport by some of the cav
alry as an emblem of the flag of their State.
" It was a good omen for you," said Mr.
Davis, wfth a faint smile, and then commenced
talking of the snakes of the Southern coast
He mentioned as curious that the deer,
usually Hie most timid of animals, or so popu
larly regarded, was the deadliest enemy of the
rattlesnake. Wherever and whenever finding
one in the woods near the coast, or dn the
1 86 The Prison Life
grassy sand-heaps which the snake so loved,
the deer commenced assailing it acrimoni
ously with its sharp and powerful though
dainty fore-hoofs. These it would job or dig
into the rattlesnake's head, half stunning it
the first blow. Then the deer would graze a
few moments with a wary eye on the snake,
however, repeating its stabs with its sharp
hoofs ^otit it%? enemy expired. The negroes
accounted for the immunity oft the deer in
these encounters by the fact that its delicate
forefegs, being nearly all skin and bone, were
the? only parts exposed within reach of the
rattlesnake, and 'had too little blood or flesh
in them to convey the virus. It was not true
that this snake could project himself the full
length of his coil. He could only coil up
half his length and, throw that forward. They
are slow and of little danger to men or dogs,
unles'S suddenly trodden upon. No instance
of their attacking a man, unless attacked, was
on record along the Southern coast They
like the cdol sea-breezes, and- feed on rabbits
Squirrels, which they have great dexterity
of Jefferson Davis. 187
in catching. Mr. Davis had never heard of
any specific cure for their bite save when the
part could be Instantly amputated before the
poison spread. Powerful * doses of whiskey
were a remedy in some cases perhaps on
the principle of the more powerful poison
expelling the weaker. He had known a case,
when serving on the frontier, in which this
' remedy had proved worse than the -disease.
A very wo'riftiy sergeant of the ist Dragoons
had been- formerly of *ininperate habits, but
j t^jk,
had reformed and been prfectly abstemious
for several years. Some kind of a snakfe* bit
him probably one whose bite was not mortal,
though painful and heavy doses of whiskey
were at once prescribed. This re-aroused the
slumbering devil, and in less than six months
after the sergeant, degraded to the ranks, died
of mania apotu in the guard-house. Drunken
ness is tjje great vice of soldiers, and Worked
much misery with his people. The social
glass, carried to excess, become^ a fJ&ir of
spectacles throttgti which men g^se into the
bottomless p& Mr. Davis then referred
1 88 The Prison Life
jocosely to the old form of commissary
requisitions for whiskey when he was in the
army : " So many barrels of whiskey to cure
snake-bites. This was because whiskey w^is
forbidden in army stores, unless to be used
for medicinal purposes. He believed ten
thousand soldiers had " seen snakes," as the
phrase ran, through this agency, for the one
who had been cured of a snake-bite,
The mocassin-snake, which is also very
poisonous though not so deadly on the
southern coast-line as in the interior seldom
grows to be over three feet in length, and is
thicker and slower of motion than the rattle
snake. The chicken or house-snake often
grows to great size, fully as large as the rattle
snake, but is not dangerously -poisonous,
though its fangs create an unpleasant pustule,
death occasionally resulting when they hap-
p^n to pierce a vein. They are swift, feed on
birds and poultry of all kinds, and have great
er power of convolution and contortion than
any other snakes, this being necessary to en-
them to climb trees in pursuit of their
of Jefferson Davis. 189
prey with the requisite quickness. Children
often attacked these snakes when finding them
curled up in the crevices of barns or abandon
ed houses, rarely failing to kill them. The
mocassin-snake is rather more omnivorou.
than the others, feeding upon- frogs, toads,
birds, beetles, rabbits, or whatever it can
catch.
Mr. Davis said when he had last been out
on the ramparts he had met Mr. C C. Clay,
similarly walking under ^guard. Clay was
looking wretchedly, and seeing him made "Mr.
Davis realize more acutely his own humiliating
position. Men at sea in a ship never realize
how forlorn and frail the vessel is they are on
board, until their counterpart in some closely
passing vessel is brought under notice. Ab
sorbed in exercise and the emotions of the
scene, he had previously failed to realize his sit
uation, with an officer at his side as custodial,
and four bayonets pacing behind him to secure
that he should make no effctffe to escape. The
moment Mr. Clay passed, his own situation
stood revealed ; and nothing but Ms strong coi>
190 The Prison Life
viction that to remain in his cell would be equi
valent to suicide, could induce him to parade
again in the same manner. As he passed Mr.
Clay, they exchanged a few words in French,
nothing more than the compliments of the
day and an inquiry for each other's health;
but it seemed this had alarmed the officer, who
did not understand the language, Mr. Clay not
being permitted to pass him again, but being
marched off to another part of the ramparts.
Clay was naturally delicate, of an atrabilious
type, and his appearance denoted that he must
be suffering severely.
Replied that I had been attending Mr. Clay,
and saw nothing in his state to occasion alarm.
He ,had a tendency to asthma, but that was a
loag-lived disease. Mr. Davis inquired how
Clay was fed. Replied that at first he had
received soldiers' rations, but latterly, his con-
dition demanding it, had been fed from the
hospital. Mr. Davis expressed much sympa
thy for his fellow-sufferer, begging me to do,
whatever I professionally could for his relief,
and to hold up, his hands. Let me here re-
of Jefferson Davis. 191
mark that, despite a certain exterior cynicism
of manner, no patient has ever crossed my
path, who, suffering so much himself, appeared
to feel so warmly and tenderly for others.
Sickness, as a general rule, is sadly selfish ; its
own pains and infirmities occupying too much
of its thoughts. With Mr. Davis, however,
the rule did not work, or rather he was an ex
ception calling attention to its general truth.
Prisoner complained bitterly of the restric
tions imposed by General Miles on his corre
spondence with his wife; certain subjects,
and those perhaps of most interest, being for
bidden to both. The convicts in State pri
sons were allowed this liberty unimpeded, or
only subject to the supervision of the Chaplain,
whose scrutiny had a religious and kindly
character that of a Father Confessor. His
letters, on the contrary, had to be sent open
to General Miles, and from him, he under
stood, similarly open to the Attomey-GeBerai
What unbosoming of confidence ^mutual
griefs, mutual hopes, the interchange of tee-
derest sympathies was possible, or would be
1 92 The Prison Life
delicate under such a system! He pictured
idle young staff-officers here, or yet more piti
ful clerks in the Law Department at Washing
ton, grinning over any confessions of pain, or
terms of endearment, he might be tempted to
use ; and this thought embittered the pleasure
such correspondence might otherwise have
conferred. The relationship of husband and
wife was the inner vestibule of the temple
the holy of holies in poor human life ; and
who could expose its secrets, or lay his heart
bare on his sleeve, for such daws to peck at ?
Even criminals condemned to death for hein
ous crimes, were allowed not only free corre
spondence with their wives, but interviews at
which no jailor stood within earsh'ot What
^possible public danger could there be from
allowing such letters to pass without scrutiny ?
Time will set all these petty tyrannies in
their true light He that first pleadeth his
own cause seems justified ; but his neighbor
cometh and searcheth him. If the privilege
were ever abused if anything he wrote to
his wife were published to the detriment of
of Jefferson Davis. 193
the government, or tending to disturb the
peace, what easier than to say, " This privi
lege has been abused, and must cease ? "
July 2 ist. Visited prisoner with Captain
Evans, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Officer of
the Day. Mr. Davis better, but still in bed ;
the Bible and Prayer-Book his usual compa
nions. Complained that his irritation of sight
made reading painful; but there was conso
lation for greater sacrifice in what he read.
There was no affectation of devoutness or
asceticism in my patient ; but every opportu
nity I had of seeing him, convinced me more
deeply of his sincere religious convictions.
He was fond of referring to passages of Scrip
ture, comparing text with text; dwelling on
the divine beauty of the imagery, and the
wonderful adaptation of the whole to every
conceivable phase* and stage of human life.
Nothing that any ijtan's individual experience,
however* strange, could bring home to him,
but had been previously foretold and describ
ed, with its proper lesson or promise of hope,
in the sacred volume. It was the only abso-
194 The Prison Life
+
lute wisdom, reaching all varieties of exist
ence, because comprehending the whole ; and,
besides its inspired universal knowledge, all
the learning of humanity was but foolishness.
The Psalms were his favorite portion of the
Word, and had always been. Evidence of
their divine origin was inherent in their text.
Only an intelligence that held the life-threads
of the entire human family could have thus
pealed forth in a single cry every wish, joy,
fear, exultation, hope, passion, and sorrow of
the human heart. There were moments, while
speaking on religious subjects, in which Mr.
Davis impressed me more than any professor
of Christianity I had ever heard. There was
a vital earnestness in his discourse; a clear,
almost passionate grasp in his faith ; and the
thought would frequently recur, that a belief
capable of consoling such sorrows as his,
possessed and thereby evidenced, a reality a
substance which no sophistry of the infidel
could discredit
To this phase of the prisoner's character I
fctye heretofore rather avoided calling atten-
of Jefferson Davis. 195
tion for several reasons, prominent of which,
though an unworthy one, was this : My know
ledge that many, if not a majority of my read
ers, would approach the character of Mr.
Davis with a preconception of dislike and dis
trust, and a consequent fear that an earlier
forcing on their attention of this phase of his
character, before their opinion had been .modi
fied by such glimpses as are herein given,
might only challenge a base and false impu- ,
tation of hypocrisy against one than whom,
in my judgment, no more devout exemplar of
Christian faith, and its value as a consolation,
now lives, whatever may have been his poli
tical crimes or errors.
And here, dropping the note-book a moment,
let me say a few words in my own character
a reflection continually brought to my notice
by each day's further acquaintance with Mr.
Davis ^
Is it not true that the chief mistakes aAd
prejudices of public opinion come from our not
understanding not seeking to understand
the true motives and cteacters of the men to
196 Tfie Prison Life
whom we are opposed ? Blind and hot-headed
partisanship, speaking in the haste of the press
and the heat of the rostrum, accepts without
evidence whatever epithet of infamy can be
applied to the object of its dislike ; no storie?
of guilt or folly that can degrade or render
hateful the foeman we stand arrayed against,
can be too monstrous to find believers, at least
while the struggle lasts. But iri a few years,
, as we recede from the convulsed and frenzied
period of the strife, we grow to be ashamed of
the malignant delusions which have so grossly
cheated our senses ; and before history takes
up the pen to record her final judgment, the
world will be willing to concede that the man
was not utterly bad had, in fact, great re
deeming virtues who was our most promi
nent foe ; and that no movement 'so vast, and
eliciting such intense devotion on the part of
<. its partisans as the late Southern rebellion,
could have grown up into its gigantic propor
tions without containing many elements of
truth and good, which it may profit future
ages to study attentively, though the means
of Jefferson Davis. 197
taken for the assertion of its principles were
false, criminal, and only fraught with disaster.
To anticipate a little what must be the in
evitable course of events, to give the public
such opportunity as was given the writer of
judging Jefferson Davis from a clearer stand
point, and to save the present generation of
the North from the fatal error of continuing
to regard and treat as a common criminal the
chief actor opposed to us in a struggle the
most gigantic the world has ever seen, and
with which history will ring for centuries to
come if these objects can be attained, the
author will not have toiled in vain. All the
crimes that an evil ingenuity has yet been able
to impute to this man, are as new-fallen snow
when brought in contrast with the fabrications
of the English and European press in regard
to murderous and incestuous proclivities of
the first Napoleon during the great wars m
which that Captain involved the elder conti
nent ^ But such is not now the judgment of
him, either in England or in the world's his
tory nor will history consent to regard Mr.
198 The Prison Life
Davis in the odious, monstrous, or contempt
ible light which has been, for the last five
years, the only one in which the necessities
and passions of our recent struggle would per
mit him to be presented to our gaze.
of Jefferson Davis, 199
CHAPTER XIII.
Southern Migration to Mexico. Mr. CaL
houns Memory vindicated from one Charge.
Tribute to Albert Sidney Johnston. Fail
ure of Southern Iron-clads and Loss of the
Mississippi.
JULY 2\th. Called on Mr. Davis, accompa
nied by Captain Korte, $d Pennsylvania
Artillery, Officer of the Day. Found pri
soner still very feeble, but said he could not
resist the temptation to crawl out in such
beautiful weather, even at the cost of the
degrading guards who dogged his steps.
Captain Korte absent ^during greater part of
this interview, relieving guard in the case
mates of Clay and other prisoners. Some
officers of the day often left me alone with
prisoner for this purpose; others remained
aoo The Prison Life
close to us as we conversed; but as Mr. Davis
always spoke in a subdued manner, and my
replies were given in the usual confidential
tone of a doctor consulting a patient, the
presence or absence of the Officer of the
Day made little difference.
Mr. Davis spoke of the folly and something
worse of those Southern leaders who had fled
to Mexico. It was an act of cowardice an
evasion of duty only to be excelled by suicide.
They had been instrumental in bringing the
evils of military subjugation on the people,
and should remain to share their burdens.
The great masses of the people were rooted
to the soil, and could not, and should not, fly.
The first duty of the men who had been in
command during the struggle was, to remain
faithful fellow-sufferers with the rank and file.
By doing so they could yet exercise a moral
and intellectual, if not political, weight against
the schemers of rapine and oppression now
swarming over the Southern country; while
by deserting, they abandon helpless ignorance
to the sway of powerful craft, and confessed
of Jefferson Davis. 201
judgment to whatever charges might be
brought against them. The scheme of a
political settlement in Mexico was preposter
ous in practice, though tempting to wounded
pride. Settlements and colonies were gov
erned, or governed themselves, by laws of
material interest, considerations of profit and
loss ; and no settlers could be imagined less
fitted for the requirements of a new colony
than a body of embittered politicians, still
sore and smarting from a conflict in which
they had incurred defeat Patience,' indomi
table industry and self-denial were the necessi
ties of every new settlement; and these
even were the colonists of a more suitable
class could scarcely be continued in Mexico,
where languor, indolence and ease, are con
stituent portions of the climate.
Remarked to Mr. Davis that I had always
regarded the filibustering expeditions of ,
Lopez against Cuba, and Walker in Nica
ragua, as Southern projects for the acquire
ment of more territory and larger representa
tion in Congress, to balance the increasing
2O2 The Prison Life
free States of the North and West If his
opinions against the feasibility of Southern
men colonizing Mexico had been general with
his people, how came the Lopez, and more
especially the Walker expeditions, to find
favor in his section, Walker - proposing an
American settlement so much nearer the
equator? The desire for Cuba could be
understood; its enormous slave population,
wealth, and command of the Gulf, forming
sufficient attractions.
Mr. Davis replied there had been a general
desire in the South for Cuba, but none of any
consequence for Central America. Neither
expedition, however, hact been supported by
any, organized party of his people. The
Walker foray in Nicaragua had its main
origin in a quarrel between two new New
York commercial houses those of Governor
Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt, as he
understood for the profits of the Transit
Company across the Isthmus. The expedi
tion against Cuba was favored by General
, and had so much of direct Southern
of Jefferson Davis. 203
sanction as might be drawn from the General's
representative position which was deservedly
of the highest but no more. Lt was fostered
on the statements and promises of Cuban
planters anxious for annexation, and promising
a liberal cooperation of men and means the
moment a landing was effected. These pro
mises went off in smoke, as do all the
promises of a tropical and luxurious people
for active exertion ; and so the matter ended.
In regard to his remarks about settlements
in Mexico, it was not his intention the
reverse, in fact to be understood as sug
gesting that his people could not, pr will not
colonize and reclaim the greater part or the
whole of that country. His thought merely
was/ that a settlement of self-exiled politicians
and soldiers, acting under the impulse of
anger, and with no fixed purposes or habits
of industry, and but little capital in oney or
materials, formed a poor basis for, any coloni
zation project of permanent prosperity. His
people needed more temtotyjand would con
tinue to need it, their line of expansion
co^ The Prison Life
running towards Mexico ; but this would have
to come by natural processes of growth,
perhaps assisted, when time was ripe, by
some such political and military movements
as added Texas to the country. Timely
blossom gives timely fruit, and we can no
more quicken the healthy growth of a nation
by artificial aid than the growth of a chttd.
If restraints be imposed on natural growth,
violence may be useful to cast off such
restraints, but beyond this can only serve to
retard expansion.
Same afternoon, joined Mr. Davis, who was
seated with Major-General Miles on the south
front of the ramparts, the prisoner seeming to
prefer this aspect of the compass.
General Miles remarked that the fortifica
tion known as the Rip Raps had already occu
pied much time, and must have cost the gov
ernment vast sums of nloney.
Mr. Davis replied, giving full statistics on
the subject up to the period he had ceased to
be Secretary of War, adding, that many years
agp r it had approached completion, but had
vV*""*'* 1
6 f Jefferson Davis. 205
slowly settled down until the second tier of
embrasures reached the sea-level, owing to a
spreading of the artificial rock-island on which
it has been built As it was so nearly finished,
and might be useful in case of a foreign war,
he supposed government would now complete
its armament and maintain it as a permanent
fort ; but if the matter were to do over again,
a couple of iron-clads would serve all its pur
poses better, at less than a tenth of its expense.
General Miles observed, interrogatively, that
it was reported John C. Calhoun had made
much money by speculations, or favoring the
speculations of his friends, connected with this
work.
In a moment Mr. Davis started to his feet,
betraying much irfdignation by his excited
manner and flushed cheek It was a trans
figuration of friendly emotion, the feeble and
wasted invalid ancf prisoner suddenly forget-
.ting his bonds, forgetting hk deblEty, apd
ablaze with eloquent anger against this injus
tice to the memory of one whom he-loved and
reverenced. Mr, Caiiio^ J, said, lived a
206 The Prison Life
whole atmosphere above any sordid or dis
honest thought was of a nature to which even
a mean act was impossible. It was said in
every Northern paper that he (Mr. Davis) had
carried with him five millions in gold when
quitting Richmond money pilfered from the
treasury of the Confederate States and there
was just as much truth in that as in these im
putations against Calhoun. One of the worst
sign's of the times is the looseness with which
imputations of dishonesty are made and ac
cepted against public men in eminent station.
They who spit against the wind, spit in their
own faces, and such charges come back to
soil the men who make them. If an indivi
dual has any proof of dishonesty against a
public man, he should bring his charges in
due form, and have an open trial ; but when
an entire people, or their great majority,
greedily accegt r and believe any unsupported
imputation of corruption against a distin
guished statesman or other officer, it argues
corruption in their own minds, and that they
tospect it in others because conscious it
of Jefferson Davis. 207
would be their own course If Qndowed with
power.
Mr. Davis then entered upon an explana
tion, too minute for me to follow, of the man
ner in which these charges against Mr. Cal-
houn arose from the malice of some specula
tors, between whose avarice and the public
treasury Mr. Calhoun had interposed his pure
and powerful influence. Calhoun was a states
man, a philosopher, in the true sense of that
grossly abused term an enthusiast of perfect
liberty in representative and governmental
action. Wrong, of course, in his conclusions,
the opponents of his theory were free to
judge him ; but Mr. Davis believed the hands
of George Washington not more free from
the filthiness of bribes, than were those of the
departed statesman who had been thus libel
led. Every public officer who crosses tibe
schemes of rogues must to pay fttis
* 'V*--^
penalty. There was not a General in either
army of the recent war who was Hot accused
,by sutlers and camp-followers' of taviag made
fortunes from fhe exacfMiM wticti their pow-
2C>8 The Prison Life
ers allowed them to impose. /While the astro-
nomer dwells in his tower watching the stars,
bats may breed and slimy things crawl at will
in the foundation-story of his edifice. /
August 4/A Visited Mr. Davis with Cap
tain Gusson, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Offi
cer of the Day. Found prisoner improving.
Mentioned that I had spent the previous day
on the wreck of the frigate Congress, sunk by
the Merrimac, describing minutely, at his re
quest, the state of the vessel, and -the process
of elevating sunken vessels by building a
bulkhead, etc., and the use of powerful pumps.
Mr. Davis appeared much interested, saying
the Congress had fought gallantly, and that
it was in consequence of injuries to the prow
of the Merrimac from her shot, and not owing
to the Attack of the Monitor, that the Merri
mac had been compelled to retire. These
injuries started a fatal leak, which the weight
of armor render&i it impossible to cure ;
and this was the true cause of the vessel's
fi^al ^failure. Mr. Davis also spoke of the
continued advances in engineering skill and
of Jefferson Davis. 209
mechanical contrivance. When the Royal
George capsized, she went to the bottom
uninjured, and would have been in perfect
order had such means for raising sunken ves
sels been then known. The British Govern
ment had made great exertions, and offered
large rewards, he believed, to accomplish this
result, but without success ; and only such small
articles, or piecemeal parts, had been regained
as the divers could fasten ropes to, and cause ,
to be hauled up. With the exception of the
Merrimac, no armed vessel of the South had
enjoyed a fortunate career, and hers was brief.
They were either captured, like the Atlanta^
while trying to run out to sea, or destroyed
by our war vessels and gun-boats while still
imperfect and unprepared for the combat
The capture of New Orleans was a great
calamity to, his cause, but mainly injurious
from its sacrifice of the inchoate iron-clads of
the Mississippi With the mouth and ^ead-
waters of this vital river in our possession,
no energy could have waited off the result
beyond a certain time, if tfee North, with its
2io The Prison Life
superior resources of manufacture and pre
ponderance of population, should see fit to
persist. Pemberton made a splendid defence
of Vicksburg. He had been blamed for
remaining there, but this was the last hope of
saving the Mississippi and keeping open the
beef, and other commissary supplies, of the
trans-Mississippi department.
'Had General Albert Sidney Johnston lived,
Mr. Davis was of opinion, our success down
the Mississippi would have been fatally check
ed at Corinth. This officer best realized his
ideal of a perfect commander large in view,
discreet in council, silent as to his own plans,
observant and penetrative of the enemy's, sud
den and impetuous in action, but of a nerve
and balance* of judgment which no heat of
danger or complexity of < manoeuvre could up
set or bewilder. All that Napoleon said of
Dessaix and Kleber, save the slovenly habits
of one of them, might be combined and truth
fully said of Albert Sidney Johnston. John
ston had been opposed to locating the Confed
erate Capital at Richmond, alleging that it
of Jefferson Davis. 2 1 1
would involve fighting on the exterior of our
circle, in lieu of the centre: and that as the
struggle would finally be for whatever point
was the capital, it was ill-advised to go so far
north, thus shortening the enemy's line of
transportation and supply. Whatever value
this criticism may have had in a military point
of view, added Mr. Davis, there were political
necessities connected with Virginia which left
no choice"in the matter. It was a bold court
ing of the issue, clearly planting our standard
in front of the enemy's line and across his
path. Such reflections are of no use now,
concluded Mr. Davis, and the Spaniards tell
us when a sorrow is asleep not to waken it
Talkii>g of the financial future of the South,
he believed negro labor requisite for the pro
fitable working of the rice, sugar, and cotton
crops. Th^se staples peculiarly demanded
the industry of this race. Germany or
Irishmen, could grow tobacco wife ptofit,
and for a few years, perhaps, ctfltrfetg the
other staples; but the climatic, influences
would overpower : &etr OTtsifatIons, and the
212 Tfye Prison Life
rice-fields, in particular, prove deadly to any
laborers but the black.
To this I opposed my own experience on
the Sea Islands of the Southern coast, where
I had cognizance of the sanitary condition of
an average of fifteen thousand soldiers, black
and white, and of all nationalities, for nearly
three years ; and the result had been that
negroes, to the " manor born," had suffered
more than any others, white or black, with the
exception of the troops from Maine. The
work for all had been of the hardest and
heaviest ; guard-duty night and day along
creeks, lagoons and swamps ; incessant toil
in the trenches and on the works ; the
severest portion of these labors having been
performed on Morris Island, in the month of
July. The Southern negro refugees men,
women, and children, living in villages on
Port Royal, St. Helena, Edisto, Ladies, and
other islands suffered more from the* fevers
of the climate than our black troops from the
North, and far more than our white troops,
^o were the healthiest in , the whole armies
of Jefferson Davis. 213
of the Unioft, with the exception of those
from the inland mountains of Maine, and
perhaps New Hampshire.
Mr. Davis thought this very possible, but
the mortality of the plantation negroes arose
from the absence of restraint, and their
inability to guide themselves. It was to the
master's interest that they should be kept in
*&
health by regular hours, wholesome food, and
proper periods of rest The license of
sudden freedom proved too much for their
ignorant passions, and became perverted into
debauchery. It was a feast or a famine with
them, and such violent changes of habit
never failed to work ruin. While slaves,
they were confined to their quarters after
certain hours of the night, and thus saved
from malarial exposure; while in their new
liberty tlxepdoubtless remained abroad until
whatever bour they pleased. As to fte
health of fee white troops, the exc!feiB6t &f
war was in itself a prophylactic. But tet the
same met* try regular labor in of peace,
and a different heal$i~bil would be retwnfecl
214 The Prison Life
CHAPTER XIV.
Mr. Davis on Negro Character. The Assas
sination of President Lincoln. How the
Prisoners Food was Served. A f Solem^
and Interesting Statement.
AUGUST 14^. Had been absent in Balti
more on official business some few days, dur
ing which Mr. Davis sent for me. Called with
Captain Evans, Officer of the Day, and ex
plained my absence. A pustule, sqmewhat
malignant in character, was forming on pris
oner's face, which was much inflamed and
swollen. He reiterated belief that the case
mate was full of malarial poison, caused 4>y
the rising and falling of the tide in the ditcfo
outside (as previously explained), and wished
the Washington people would take quicker
means of dispatching him, if his death without
trial was their object That it was so he was
of Jefferson Dams. 215
led to suspect, for a trial must develop many
things not pleasant to those in power. In
particular it would place the responsibility for
the non-exchange of prisoners where it be
longed.
Called the same evening. Prisoner In a
high fever, the swelling of his face spreading
to his back and head, with indications of
latent erysipelas. Mn Davis wished he could
have with him his faithful servant Robert,
who, though a slave, had a moral nobility
(Serving honor. The negroes had excellent
traits of character, but required, for their own
sakes, guidance and control They were
docile, as a general rule, easily imbued with
religious sentiment, quick in sympathies, and
of warm family affection. Their passions,
bowever, were Intense and uncontrollable,
"Slavery had been blamed for their inconti-
nena^ -but ^this was unjust Were the fee&
blacks any less libidinous? The Sontfae
slaves were Incomparably more chaste* or leas
unchaste, than people of the same race in the
North. Slavery was a restraint upon pro-
2i6 The Prison Life
miscuous intercourse, and for commercial rea
sons, if for none higher. The negroes were
improvident to a degree that must reduce
them to destitution if not cared for. They
had to be provided with fresh seeds for their
little garden patches every year, no remon
strances sufficing to make them provide one
season for the wants of the next It was in
their affections they were strong, and many
of them had excellent traits. His man Rob
ert was the best and most faithful of his race,
and had attended him through many serious
illnesses. Was with his wife on board the
Clyde, but might possibly have deserted the
sinking ship by this tinre. Did not think he
would, though others with greater claims to
them feiifeful were among his enemies.*
Augmt 1 6#k -Called with Captain Gressin,
AkIe-de-Camp of General Miles, Officer of
the Day. Prisoner suffering severely, but in
a less critical state, the .erysipelas now show
ing iteelf in his nose "and forehead. Found
*% *
* See letter of Mrs, Davis further on, in regard to this
Servant.
of Jefferson Davis. 217
that a carbuncle was forming on his left thigh,
Mr. Da\is urging this as proof of a malarial
atmosphere in his cell, reiterating his wish
thati if the Government wanted to be rid of
him without trial, it might take some quicker
process.
Prisoner said he had never held much hope
for himself since entering Fortress Monroe,
and was now losing it for his people. The
action and tone in regard to the Richmond
elections, gave evidence that the policy of
" woe to the conquered" would prevaiL^lWhat
a cruel farce it was to permit an exercise of
the elective franchise, with a proviso that the
electors must cast their ballots for men they
despised or hated! Either all pretence of
continuing representative government should
be abandoned, or free acceptance given to the
men indorsed by the people. To ask men
who had fought, sacrificed, and lost their all
for a cause, to wheel suddenly, and vote into
power men they despised as renegades or
cowards, was tihe sin of attempting ,to seethe
the kid in its mother's *p3k. Better for the
2i8 The Prison Life
South to remain disfranchised forever, than
crawl back into office or recognition through
such incredible apostasy. Better remain pri
soners, than be citizens on such terms. In no
district of Virginia could what we called a
" loyalist," muster a corporal's guard of men
with similar sentiments. Why organize hy
pocrisy by attempting to force into elective
positions men who were not representatives
of their alleged constituents men who could
only excite the abhorrence or contempt of
ninety-nine in every hundred of the people?
Either the South should be declared so many
conquered provinces under military rule, or
given back the freedom of the ballot. To
offer bribes for wholesale falsehood, would be
femndpoorpoiky; and the men hereafter to
create trouble in the South, would not be the
gallant and well-born gentlemen who fought
loyally, and at every sacrifice of life and pro
perty for a cause they believed right, but that
small scum of poltroons and renegades who
ipnained ".neutral" through the contest, only
to avoid danger for themselves, aaad
of Jefferson Davis. 219
jump over to the side that won. The formei
class accepted defeat, and would loyally pre
serve any obligations that might be imposed
on them. The latter were worthless and piti
ful intriguers, commanding no popular confi
dence, chastened by no memories of the strug
gle ; and now that no personal risk could be
incurred, would seek to attain popularity the
popularity of demagogues by re-fanning* into
flame the passions and prejudices of the igno
rant ancf vulgar. ~ Yiey will be clamorous for
Southern rights, ilo^r that Sotithern rigfkts are
dead, and out-Herod Herod in their professed
devotion to the Southern cause.
August 20tk. Called with Captain Evans,
Officer of the Day. Mr. Davis suffering great
prostration, a cloud of erysipelas covering his
whole face and throat The carbuncle much
iirffemed. Spirits exceedingly dejected, evino- f
ed by anxiety for his wife and -children. TfeSf
he should die without opportunity dPadbtftt-
ting in puHic trial the imputed Stlgim of
having had sfta^e ia the conspira^ to Assas
sinate Mr. Ltncofei; ;i Wtl inferred to frequently
22O The Prison Life
and painfully. That history would do him
justice, and the criminal absurdity of the
charge be its own refutation, he had cheerful
confidence -while in health; but in his feeble
ness and despondency, with knowledge frow
powerful they were who wished to affix this
stain, his alarm, lest it might become a re-
proactf to his children, grew an increasing
shadow*
Of Mr. Lincoln he then spoke, not in
affected terms of regard "or admiration, but
paying a simple and sincere tribute to his
goodness of character, honesty of purpose, and
Christian desire to be faithful to his duties
according to such light as was given him.
Also to his official purity and freedom from*
ararloe. The Southern press labored in the
early part of the war to render Mr. Lincoln
abhorred and contemptible ; but such efforts
were against his judgment, and met such
opposition as his multiplied cares and labors
would permit Behind Mr, Lincoln, during
first teto r stood an infinitely more objec-
al less scrupulous successor
of Jefferson Davis. 221
Hamlin) ; and the blow that struck down the
President of the United States would place
that successor in power. When Mr. Lincoln
was reinaugurated, the cause of his people
was hopeless, or very nearly so the struggle
only justifiable in continuance by its better
attitude^ for obtaining terms; and from no
ruler the United States could have, might
terms so generous have, been expected. Mr.
Lincoln was kind of heart, naturally longing
for the glory and repose of a second term to
be spent in peace* Mf. Johnson, being from
the South, dare not offer such liberal treat
ment; his motives would be impugned. In
every embittered national struggle, proposals
to assassinate the rival representatives were
common, emanating from different classes of
men, with different motives : from spies of
the enemy, wishing to obtain evidence how
stich proposals would be received ; from fana
tics, religious or patriotic, believing the act
would prove acceptable to Heaven; fk>m luna
tics, driven mad by sufferings connected with
the struggle; mid from lio^Stfal and often
222 The Prison Life
cowardly desperadoes, seeking gold and noto
riety by attempting, or promising to attempt,
the crime. At the time it occurred, Mr. Lin
coln's death, even by natural causes, would
have been a serious injury to the prospects
of the South ; but the manner of his taking-
off, frenzying the Northern mind, -was the last
crowning calamity of a despairing and defeat
ed, though righteous cause.
August 21 $t. Called with Captain Corlis,
on the staff of General Miles, Officer of the
Day. Prostration increased, and the erysi
pelas spreading. Deemed it my duty to send
a communication to Major-General Miles,
reporting that I found the State prisoner,
Davis, suffering severely from erysipelas in
the face and head, accompanied by the usual
prostration attending that disease. Also that
he had a small carbuncle on his left thigh, his
condition denoting a low state of the vital
forces,
August 2$d. Called with Captain Evans,
3d Pennsylvania Artillery, pfficer of the Day.
a little improved, febrile symptoms
of Jefferson Dams. 223
subsiding. Had no appetite for ordinary
food, but found the coolness and moisture of
fruits agreeable. Said he had concluded not
to lose any more spoons for me, but would
retain the one that morning sent with his
breakfast Unless things took a change, he
would not require it long.
[This was an allusion to the desire some of
the guards had to secure trophies of anything
Mr. Davis had touched. They had carried
away his brier-wood pipe* and from time to
time taken five of the spoons sfent over with
his meals from my quarters. The meals were
sent over by a bright little mulatto boy named
Joe, who handed them to the sergeant of the
guard outside the casemate, who passed them
through the window to the lieutenant of the
guard in the outer cell, by whom they were
handed to the prisoner through the grated
doors of the inside room, the keys of which
were held by the Officer of the Day. No
knife and fork being allowed the prisoner,
" lest he should commit suicide,'* his food had
to be cut up before being seat over a need-
224 The Prison Life
less precaution, it always seemed to me, and
more likely to produce than prevent the act,
by continually keeping the idea that it was
expected before the prisoner's mind. It was
in returning the trays from Mr. Davis to my
quarters that the spoons were taken an
annoyance obviated by his retaining one for
use. This only changed the form of trophy,
however ; napkins that he had used being the
next class of prizes seized and sent home
to sweethearts by loyal warders at the
gates.]
Mr. Davis expressed some anxiety as to his
present illness. He was not one of those who,
when in trouble, wished to die. Great inva
lids seldom had this wish, save when protract
ed sufferings had weakened the brain. Suicides
were commonly of the robuster class men
wbo had never been" brought close to death
nor thought much about it seriously. A good
old Bishop once remarked, that " dying was
the last thing a man should think about," and
tbe mixture of wisdom and quaint humor in
phrase had impressed Mr, Davis. Even to
of Jefferson Davis. 225
Christians, with the hope of an immortal future
for the soul, the idea of physical annihilation
of parting forever from the tenement of flesh
in which we have had so many joys and sor
rows was one full of awe, if not terror.
*
What it must be to the unbeliever, who enter
tained absolute and total annihilation ~as his
prospect, he could not conceive. Never again
to hear of wife or children to take the great
leap into black vacuity, with no hope of meet
ing in a brighter and happier life the loved
ones left behind, the loved ones gone before !
He had more reasons than other men, and
now more than ever, to wish for*some pro
longation of life, as also to welcome death.
His intolerable sufferings and wretched state
argued for the grave as a place of rest His
duties to the cause he had represented, and
his family, made him long to be continued wot
the footstool, in whatever pain or misery^ at
least until by the ordeal of a trial fee coiild
convince the world he was not the monster
his enemies would make him appear* End that
no wilful departures from - the humanities of
226 The Prison Life
war had stained the escutcheon of his people.
Errors, like all other men, he had committed ;
but stretched now on a bed from which he
might never rise, and looking with the eyes
of faith, which no walls could bar, up to the
throne of Divine mercy, it was his comfort
that no such crimes as men laid to his charge
reproached him in the whispers of his con
science,
. " They charge me with crime, Doctor, but
God knows my innocence. I indorsed no
measure that was not justified by the laws of
wan Failure is all forms of guilt in one to
men who occupied my position. Should I
die, repeat this for the sake of my people, my
dear wife, and poor darling children. Tell
the world I only loved America, and that in
following my State I was only carrying out
doctrines received from reverenced lips in my
early youth, and adopted by my judgment as
the convictions of riper years."
Mr, Davis spoke with intense earnestness
the solemnity of a dying man, thought not
io my judgment, in any immediate
of Jefferson Dams, 227
danger. His words, as quoted, were taken
down on my return to quarters, and are here
given for what each reader may think them
worth. They certainly impressed me as sin
cere, and as if whether true or not, judged
by the standard of law the speaker uttered
them in the good faith of a religious man,
who thought death might very possibly be
near, if not imminent and certain.
228 The Prison Life
CHAPTER XV.
Southern Non-Belligerents. The Ant-Lion
and its Habits. Mr. Davis on the Future
of the Southern B lacks
AUGUST 24/A Visited Mr. Davis with Cap
tain Titlow, Officer of the Day. Found him
slightly better in body and mind. Expressed
hope that no sensational reports of his illness
had appeared in the newspapers to alarm, his
1^ more than necessary. His hope was
faint, however. The swarm of newspaper
correspondents, more than quadrupled by the
war, no longer finding food for their pens in
camps or on battle-fields, had to seize every
item of the slightest interest and swell it into
importance by exaggeration, in order to retain
tbeir employment Spoke of the superior
and inventive powers of our corre-
of Jefferson Davis. 229
spondents during the wan To contrast the
dry official report of some affair of outposts
or the skirmish line, in which half a dozen
men on either side had been killed or
wounded, with the wonderfully enlarged and
intensely colored mirage of the same appear
ing some few days subsequently in the North
ern press, formed an amusing and amazing
study, giving one a higher ideal of man's
imaginative power. The Southern press, on
the contrary, was short of printers, short of
paper, and all other requisites for exciting
journalism, insomuch that latterly only the
meagerest skeletons of events could appear;
and ^ven official documents, and debates of
the highest consequence, had to be brie%,
epitomized.
Mr. Davis said the press of the South had
enjoyed more liberty and given more trouble
to its government than that of the Nortk
Properly conducted, its power was an .impor
tant adjunct to the machinery oC war; but
engineering it was a complex study, calling for
special education in its professor. The only
230 The Prison Life
men still remaining vindictively belligerent
and anxious to perpetuate trouble in the
South so far as he knew, and as their words
could reach would be found in the small-fry
of little country editors, and certain classes of
civilians who had been exempted from mili
tary service by special legislation, the purchase
of substitutes, or the procurement of details.
It was the non-belligerents of actual conflict
who had always been and would remain most
ferociously belligerent in speech and writing.
Not having borne arms in the struggle, they
might claim rewards for their loyalty or
neutrality in Federal patronage, or offices to be
filled by popular vote ; and such claims would
JIfcdy be allowed by our people to the exclu
sion of those fearless and honorable men, who
having fought, failed, and accepted defeat
were now only anxious to erase all painful
souvenirs and legacies of the unfortunate
and unavailing strife.
Observing me brush away with my foot
crumbs scattered near -his bedside, Mr.
asked me to desist; they were for ^
of Jefferson Davis. 231
mouse he was domesticating the only living
thing he had now power to benefit The
drawback to this companionship was, that the
crumbs called forth a swarm of red ants as well
as the mouse ; and he suggested, with a smile,
that a few ant-lions should be caught and
brought in from the beach. Placed in a cigar-
box, with some fine sand and a lump of sugar,
or a few dead locusts, to attract the ants, they
would soon rid him of his insect visitors, ancfe
afford him, though on a small scale, the
nearest approach to sport fee could BOW
have.
Finding my curiosity excited, Mr. Davis
then Described the ant-lion with much minute
ness and pleasant humor, saying it was next
to the bee as an interesting study in natural
history. It is about the size of a small, elon
gated pea, three legs on each size, a forceps
proportionally immense arming Its head^ aa4
* between these nippers a sharp stiletto, which
can be drawn in or thrown out at fieafOTe*
It is found all along the Southern coast and
would seem to have a difficult problem in sup-
232 The Prison Life
porting life. It is painfutff slow of movement,
always walking backward and dragging its
heavy forceps along the ground behind it;
while the ants, on which it chiefly preys, are
extremely active. Nature, however, has com
pensated by subtlety what the ant-lion lacks in
spring. It digs a funnel-shaped hole in the
fine sand of the Southern coast, circular at the
top, of an inch diameter and an inch in depth,
the bottom it secretes itself in the sand,
only its forceps protruding. These pitfalls are
located about an inch or so from the stems of
shrubs or tufts of grass the ants flocking to
these latter, because finding in them a species
of grass-louse called the ant-cow, which the
ant milks by suction as its favorite food, the
cows not resisting lest worse befall them, and
not appearing injured by the process. While
the ants are thus hastening to their food, some
one of them will approach the brink of the
ant-lion's pitfall, and instantly the fine sand of
gives way, precipitating the unwary
to the bottom. Here he is seized by
and firmly held, while the
of Jefferson Dams. 233
is driven through mis body. His juices are
soon sucked dry by the secreted monster of
the cave, and then with one jerk of the forceps,
the carcass is flung up and out two or three
inches beyond the edge of the funnel a dis
tance as much as if a man were thrown one
hundred and fifty times his length. Should
the ant, when first tumbling, escape the grasp
of the forceps, and seek to clamber out of the
trap, the ant-lion foils the attempt by jerking
little jets of sand on the body and across the
path of his flying victim, who is soon stunned,
bewildered, and losing his foot-grasp on the
slippery sides, falls back a helpless prey to his
destroyer. Mr. Davis, when on the coast of
Georgia, many years ago, had often spent
hours in watching them, and their whole per
formance could be witnessed by placing one
in a cigar-box half filled with iine sand, and
dropping in some sugar or a dead locust to
attract the autfe. The ant-lion would not be
in the box half a day, before commeaeiiJg4]o
earn his livelihood by digging out Ms "trap.
Sb great was the hai>it of smbflety in this ifl*
234 The Prison Life
sect, that when moving from place to place, it
always burrowed along just a little beneath
the surface of the sand ; and he had heard, if
compelled to cross a stone, log, or other ob
struction, that it seized a chip or leaf with its
forceps, thereby covering its body, as it slowly
and painfully toiled backward. This, how
ever, he could not verify from personal obser
vation.
Eveiy conversation of this kind with Mr.
Davis recalled the saying of some eminent
writer whose name has escaped me, that " it is
a noble thing to know how to take a couhtry
walk," or words containing that idea, but
more concisely and vividly expressed. Edu
cated by the microscope and habits of obser
vation, we become afraid of treading on some
of God's beautiful little things at every step.
August 25/A Called upon Mr. Davis,
accompanied by Captain Gresson of the staff
of Major-General Miles, Officer of the Day.
The Captain gave me an order from General
Hies, allowing State-prisoner Davis to have a
fork with his meals hereafter. Mh
of Jefferson Davis. 235
Davis was pleased, but said he had learned
many new uses to which a spoon could be
put when no other implement was accessible.
In particular, it was the best peach-peeler ever
invented, and he illustrated as he spoke on a
fruit that lay on his table. Denying him a
knife and fork lest he should commit suicide,
he said, was designed to represent him to the
world as an atrocious criminal, so harrowed
by remorse that the oblivion of death would
be welcome. His early shackles had partly
the same object, bnt still more to degrade his
cause.
Prisoner's health very delicate, but the
erysipelas subsiding. Asked could he soon
resume his walks in the open air? The
change of scene being a great delight, and
the exercise improving his sleep.
He referred to an account he had been
reading of an attack on a negro naifaed-
DavenpQrf, in Connecticut, for marr^ittgf or
living with a white woman. Also, to the
New York riots, in which mobs rose seclcteiily
upon the blacks, hanging to lamp-posts
236 The Prison Life
and roasting them at slow fires. The papers
bore evidence, from all sections, of increasing
hostility between the races, and this was but
part of the penalty the poor negro had to pay
for freedom. The more political equality was
given or approached, the greater must become
the social antagonism of the races. In the
South, under slavery, there was no such feel
ing^ because there j:ould be no rivalry. Chil
dren of the white master were often suckled
by negroes, and sported during infancy with
black playmates. Old enough to engage in
manlier exercise, it was under black hunts
men the young whites took their first les
sons in field-sports. They fished, shot, and
hunted together, eating the same bread,
drinking from the same cup, sleeping under
the same tree with their negro guide. In
public conveyances there was no social exclu
sion of the blacks, nor any dislike engen
dered by competition between white and negro
labor. In the bed-chamber of the planter's
daughter it was common for a negro girl to
as half attendant h^lf companion j and
of Jefferson Davis. 237
while there might be, as in all countries and
amongst all races, individual instances of
cruel treatment, he was well satisfied that
between no "master and laboring classes on
earth had so kindly and regardful a feeling
subsisted. To suppose otherwise required a
violation of the known laws of human nature.
Early associations of service, affection and
support were powerful. TQ these self-interest
joined. The horse we hire for a day may be
fed or not fed, groomed or not groomed* when
returned to the livery-stable Tfa liaise
owned by us, and for which we have paid a
thousand or fifteen hundred dollars, * is an
object both of pride and solicitude. His
grooming, stabling, and feeding are cared for.
If sick he is doctored, and cured if possible.
When at work, it is the owner s interest that
he shall aot be overtaxed.
^tfaitiment of political equality by4faft
Revolutionize all this. It will Jbe as
nB&s weare given the
into our parlors; or brought
competition with feiKias fca
238 The Prison Life
* aiding it but as rivals. Put large gangs of
white laborers, belonging to different nation
alities, at work beside each other, and feuds
will probably break out Endeavor to sup
plant a thousand Irishmen working on a
levee or canal by a thousand Germans ready
to accept lower wages, or vice versa, and
military power will be required to keep the
peace. Emancipation does this upon a gigan
tic scale and in the most aggravated form.
It throws the whole black race into direct
and aggressive competition with -the laboring
classes of the whites; and the ignorance of
the blacks, presuming on their freedom, will
embitter every difference. The principle of
compensation prevails everywhere through
nature, and the negroes will have to pay, in
harsher social restrictions and treatment, for
the attempt to invest them with political
equality. Toe^iow them with the ballot by
Act of Congress was impossible, until the
fcwak 0f the Constitution, already stripped of
"branches oac;e full of shade and plea-
s, was torn up by fte
of Jefferson Davis. 239
Each State had the privilege of deciding the
qualifications of its own citizens ; and some
of the States most clamorous for universal
negro suffrage in the South, where such a
measure would send unlettered blacks to both
Houses of Congress, and pass the State Le*gis-
lature and judiciary altogether into their
hands, themselves refused the ballot to the
negro, though not numerous enough in any
district to decide the majority of a pound-
Took issue with Mr. Davis 00 the , laJbor
question. What necessity for competition IB
a country so vast, and only partially develop
ed, as the South ? The relations of the races
would adjust themselves, under the laws of
supply and demand, and the whites still own
ed their old plantations and other property,
whicfe wa^ their capital ; and to this the labor
cC i^ould have to bcw* White
cogld net teig remain, nor to aay great ex
tent in cOTtpetstioja with Hack* It bad ac
cumulative energies* guicl&d by intelligence,
which must |jfc ifc.jafeD the employing
240 Tke Prison Life
class; while the blacks, if so incapable of
thrift as he seemed to think, must remain
hewers of wood and drawers of water for ever.
The antagonisms of so violent a revolution
in the labor-system of the South were natural,
but must soon fade out There never had
been any desire North to give the negroes
social equality; but our pride, not less than
sense of justice, demanded that there should
be no political bar to their improving their
own condition to equal that of the whites, if
they possessed the capacity for such elevation.
As to the outrages upon the blacks in New
York, they were the work of a few abandoned
and maddened wretches men certainly not
representing nor belonging to the party in
control of ou^r national destinies. It was a
riot to resist the draft, and the inoffensive
fekdcs became objects of vengeance, from the
democratic cry that the war making the draft
necessary was a " war for the nigger." The
case in Connecticut was a protest in violent
illegal form of certain turbulent whites
i|pe* iBtermarryij^; of the races. It
of Jefferson Davis. 241
was lawless, of course, and one of the rioters
had lost his life at the hands of the black,
who was held justifiable. Nevertheless, the
sentiment that prompted the attack one
of the opposition to such deteriorating inter-
minglements was all but universal, and offer
ed sufficient guarantee that the dominant race
would never suffer material injury to its blood
or character from the political equality of the
negroes.
Mr. I>avis said no argument could make
us agree, for we occupied different planes of
observation. There could be no problem of
the negro at the North, for they were too, few
to be of consequence ; and each census show
ed their number diminishing. It was in the
Cotton States, where they equalled, and in
many districts largely outnumbered the whites,
that the adjustment of relationship would
prove impossible under such ideas as now
threatened to prevail in the Federal Govern
ment As for himself and Ms people, they
were now only passengers in the ship of *Statg
no longer of tibfe oor with places oil
242 , The Prison Life
*
the quarter-deck; and must take, he supposed,
whatever decision of the question the powers
that had lifted - themselves above the Consti
tution might see fit to impose.
of Jefferson Davis. 243
CHAPTER XVL
Mr. Davis on Fenianism. Highly Important.
His Views of Reconstruction.
AUGUST 2(>tk. Called upon Mr. Davis, ac
companied by Captain Evans, 3d Pennsyl
vania Artillery, Officer of the Day. * Health
slightly improved, and spirits decidedly more
cheerful.
Mr. Davis said his imprisonment had one
advantage, giving him time to re-read Ban
crofts History of the United States, and read
Macaulay s History of England the latter
something he had long wished, but could not
find time for. The system of settlement and
confiscations under Cromwell, in Ireland, was
precisely what his people were now threaten
ed with. The cry then was, "To * * * * or
Connaught!" whititer aa attempt was made
244 The Prison Life
to drive and herd together the whole- people.
Whole estates, and even counties, were con
fiscated by orders in council, on no other plea
than that the proprietors were either of the
Irish race, or, befog born on Irish soil, had 1
Irish sympathies or habits. This history now
threatened to repeat itself in the United
States, the cry only varying to read, " To
* * * * or Mexico !" and the locality changed
from Ireland to the South. There was no
excuse for it here; there had been some in
Ireland. Between the conquering forces of
Cromwell and the Irish there were essential
differences of race, religion, habits, laws, and
*
hopes. There had been war for centuries,
and no promise of future tranquillity on less
rigorous terms. Were the races the same,
though controlled by different ideas ; their
religion, habits, and laws almost identical, and
with only a single internecine war to inter
rupt the harmony of their joint occupation of
the continent: there was the further parallel
that both countries suffered for loyalty to what
regarded as the rightful government;
of Jefferson Davis. 245
Ireland, for devotion to the Royal Family of
the Stuarts ; and the South, for its fidelity
to the principles defined by the Constitution
of 1787.
The present Fenian movement for Ireland
was a farce to make angels weep. The last
attempt was in 1848, when the population
of Ireland was more than a million larger
the movement originating at home, and
all Europe in a convulsive and volcanic
condition. History gave no example of an
oppressed race that had accepted exile, return
ing with success to liberate their native land.
The aristocratic refugees of the French Revo
lution, indeed, got back to their country, but
only under the swords of a combination in
which England, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and
the German States were enlisted, with their
whole military resources. It was a mere
catch-penny clamor of designing demagogues
in its cis-Atlantic aspect; nor could he see
that in Ireland there was organization, or
even a vigorous purpose to accomplish the
object proposed. England's control of the
246 The Prison Life
sea was absolute, at least so near home,
against any less combination than the navies
of France and America. To land men or
arms in any sufficient quantity in Ireland,
would require some desperate sea-fights by
navy with navy, and a transport fleet, costing
for vessels and their equipment not less than
some hundred millions. The men engaged
in this matter must be either fools or rogues.
He had no special cause to love England, nor
dislike; but such impracticable and pigmy
threatenings of her v empire would be ludi
crous if ftot too sad. Against the rocks of
her coast, storm-clouds of a thousandfold the
Fenian power had dashed with clamo^ of
waves and mist of spray, but next morning
the sila shone bright again, the air was calm,
and only in a shore strewn with wrecks could
evidence be found of any past commotion.
Asking Mr, Davis what were his , views in
regard to the reconstruction of the Union, he
spoke pretty nearly verbatim as follows;
this report not being condensed as with other
conversations, but taken down in full from
of Jefferson Davis. 247
memory, immediately on my return to quar
ters :
" We could not otherwise define reconstruc
tion, than as a renewal to and by all the States,
of all the rights, privileges, duties, immunities,
and obligations prescribed and recognized by
the Constitution, or original compact of Union*
There were- several possible alternatives to this
plan of reconstruction :
" i st. Consolidation: the swallowing up of
all State governments by the General Gov
ernment, making the whole country one State,
only divided into provinces for easier adminis
tration, but connected as one entity of policy
and power.
"2d Territorialism : the control of the
Southern States by a Congress and Executive
representing only the Northern States that
is, colonial valsalage and- government by
authority of greater force.
" 3d. By open subversion and usurpation to
establish a despotism" over North and South,
while yet preserving a certain Republican
form*
248 The Prison Life
" In replying to one who served through the
war for no other purpose, as you avow, than
to defend and maintain the Union as defined
by 'the Constitution," continued Mr. Davis,
" there can be no necessity for considering any
other policy than that of re-establishing the
relations of all the States and their citizens to
each other and the United States Gov
ernment.
u Every man's experience must teach him
that quarrels between friends are best healed
when they are healed most promptly. The
alienation which was at first a pain, becomes
by time habitual, and the mantle of charity
being withdrawn, the faults of each become
more and more distinct to the other, and thus
the bitterest hates naturally spring from the
ashes of the closest friendship.
" It is therefore probably to be regretted
that so much delay has occurred in the work
of reconstruction, because of the enhance
ment thereby of the difficulties in the way of
sf>eecly and cordial reconciliation. This
is qualified as ' probable/ because of
of Jefferson Dams. 249
my want of recent intercourse with the people.
A short time before the close of the war, the
idea was infused into my people, as you are
well aware, that if they would cease resistance,
the Union would be restored, and all their
rights of person and property respected, save
the property held in slaves, which would be a
question for the courts. I have no doubt
that a majority a very large majority of the
Southern people accepted this proposed settle
ment with singleness of purpose ; and would,
if. confidingly and generously treated, have
been now industriously engaged in repairing
their wrecked fortunes, without any thought
of again resisting or obstructing the General
Government in its ordinary functions.
" How far the public wealth would by this
course have been increased, the public expen
ditures lessened, may be measured by many
hundred millions of dollars. If it be true that
much has been lost, morally and materially,
by delay, it would seem that tine policy indi
cates the promptest action in what is termed
Reconstruction* The North *says we have
250 The Prison Life
done evil, and when bidding us * cease to do
evil' should not prevent us 'learning to do
well.' This can only be done by removing all
impediments to the exercise of State functions
and the re-enjoyment of such civil and politi
cal rights as are left us in the Union,
" Each House of Congress is judge^of the
election and qualification of its own members.
The Constitution has settled the question of
representation. A constituency may lose its
rights for a time by selecting ineligible per
sons to be its representatives ; but the right
of representation is nbt impaired thereby, and
the mistake or abuse may be remedied by a
new election. Test-oaths are evil continually,
and only evil They restrain those honorable
men who require no fetters, while men of a
different class will either take them perjurious-
ly or with a 'mental reservation/ All history
has proved them ineffectual and something
worse.
tt Our forefathers emigrated to a wilderness,
iiacl waged the war of the Revolution, to have
to hold a government founded on the con-
of Jefferson Davis. 251
sent of the governed. They consulted and
compromised with each other to establish a
voluntary Union. If that idea is to be follow
ed, confidence, generosity, fraternity, and not
test-oaths, disabilities, and armies quartered in
the interior, must be relied upon to restore the
Union and make it re-eflfective for the ends
for which it was formed.
" Reconstruction," continued Mr. Davis,
"cannot properly involve or be made to
depend on those social problems which have
arisen from the sudden disruption of the
relations existing between the white and the
black races in the Southern States. These
problems belong to the several States, and
must have treatment according to the dif
ferent circumstances of each. No general
rule can properly be made applicable to all,
and it will prove unfortunate if the subject is
controlled by distant and but poorly-informed,
if not prejudiced authority. The self-interest
of individuals and communities, together with
the demand for labor so far exceeding the
supply, may safely be left to protect the laborer.
252 The Prison Life
The public actions of the Southern State
Conventions furnishes conclusive evidence of
the desire of the Southern people to resume
their position in the Union; and it must
strike all observers with surprise, that while
those who strove so desperately to leave the
Union, are now so earnestly endeavoring to
reassume their places in it, it is the very men
who sent fire and sword to destroy them, or
compel them to return, who now bar the
door and deny them readmission to that very
condition to which it was throughout the
war proclaimed to be their first and last duty
to return. Solitary reflection," concluded
Mr. Davis, "has given me no key to the
mysterious origin of this change in Northern
opinion, which I find evidenced ii* every
newspaper that reaches me; and perhaps
my own sad state has tinged with its gloom
the vista of the future, if, thus alienated, dis
jointed, and adrift, the country should be
visited with such trials of foreign war, either
with France or England, or both, as are now
so ften suggested in the public journals of
of Jefferson Davis. 253
America, and their extracts from the European
press."
This conversation impressed me much, and
has been recorded with peculiar care, Mr.
Davis delivering it with great deliberation
and earnestness, as though the subject were
one upon which he had been reflecting. It is
as nearly as possible reproduced in his own
words, without abridgment, and may, per
haps, be of some suggestive value perhaps
of none. Let the wise of the land determine.
254 The Prison Life
CHAPTER XVII.
Mr. Davis seriously IlL Change of Quarters
officially Recommended. The Pictures and
Poetry of the Bible. Lafayettes Impri
sonment. Marvellous Memory and great
Variety of Knowledge. Mr. Davis on
Female Lecturers. The True Mission of
Women.
SEPTEMBER ist. Was called at daylight by
Captain Titlow, Officer of the Day, to see
State-prisoner Davis, who appeared rapidly
sinking, and was believed in a critical condi
tion. The carbuncle on his thigh was much
inflamed, his pulse indicating extrerne prostra
tion of the vital forces. The erysipelas which
had subsided now reappeared, and the febrile
excitement ran very high. Prescribed such
remedies, constitutional and topical, as w^re
aicaied; but always had much trouble to
of Jefferson Dams. 255
persuade him to use the stimulants so urgently
needed by his condition. Let me here say,
however, that in docility and a stritet adhe
rence to whatever regimen was prescribed,
Mr. Davis was the model patient of my prac
tice. He seemed to regard the doctor as
captain of the patient's health, and obeyed
every direction, however irksome, disagreeable,
or painful, with military exactness.
Mr. Davis renewed his complaints of the
vitiated atmosphere of the casemate, declaring
it to be noxious and pestilential from the
causes before noticed. Mould gathered upon
his shoes, showing the dampness of the place ;
and no animal life could prosper in an atmo
sphere that generated these hyphomycetous
fungi. From the rising and falling of the
tides in the loose foundations of the casemate,
mephitic fungi emanated, the spores of which,
floating in the air, were thrown off in such
quantities, and with such incessant repetitions
of reproduction, as to thoroughly pervade the
atmosphere, entering the and blood
with every breatlv aa<J sedevelopiflg their
256 The Prison Life
poisonous qualities in the citadel of life.
Peculiar classes of these fungi were charac
teristics* of the atmosphere in which cholera
and other forms of plague were most rankly
generated, as had been established by the
Rev. Mr. Osborne, in a long and interesting
series of experimental researches with the
achromatic microscope during the cholera
visitation of 1854 ' m England- Men in robust
health might defy thtse miasmatic influences ;
Hut to him, so physically reduced, the atmo
sphere that generated mould found no vital
force sufficient to resist its poisonous inhala
tion.
Assured Mr. Davis that his opinion on the
matter had for some time been my own, and
that on several occasions I had called the at
tention of Major-General Miles to the subject
Satisfied that the danger was now serious if
he were longer continued in such an atmo
sphere, I would make an official report on the
subject to the General Commanding, recom-
laetKling a change of quarters. *
IRefeiring to the consolation he derived
of Jefferson Davis. 257
from the Bible, Mr. Davis spoke of its power
to present beautiful and comforting pictures,
full of promise and instruction, apposite to
every situation of joy or calamity in life, but
never sa well appreciated as in our moments
of deepest despondency and sorrow. No pic
ture had impressed him more than that of
Abrahan^i preparing to sacrifice Isaac, his son
the son of promise. The grim fidelity of
the narrative only heightened its irresistible
pathos. The sad journey to Mount Moriaf*
of Abraham with his two young men and
Isaac, the father only knowing the terrible
burden of the duty imposed on him by
angelic order. The halt when they came
in sight of the hill of sacrifice. Abraham's
brief, sad order to his two attendants: "Abide
ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will
go up yonder and worship." The silent
procession to the place of sacrifice, Isaac with
the wood upon his shoulders, the father strid
ing along in dumb despair, wift fee knife in
one hand and the torch in the ether. Isaac's
child-like inquiry, v BeboM the fire aad the
258 The Prison Life
wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-
offering?" and Abrahams reply of faith,
Jehovah jireh " My son, God will provide
it" Last scene of all, the son of promise
bound on the faggots his young shoulders
had so joyously borne ; the miserable father
bending over the lad he loved, the joy of his old
age, grasping the knife that was to slay him.
Then comes the Divine interference, in the
voice of the angel once again. The promise
of faith, Jehovah jireh, is redeemed, and be
hind the father, as he turns, beholds a ram
entangled in a thicket by his horns. In many
an hour of bitter calamity the words Jehovah
jireh had been his only consolation. When
troubles that seemed hopeless of extrication
encompassed him on every side, the words
Jehovah jireh were full of whispering con
solation to his spirit His mind had framed
the picture in gold, and it was but one of a
thousand.
Another beautiful picture Mr. Davis spoke
<$f as suspended in the gallery through which
thoughts, in their despondent moments,
of Jefferson Davis. * 259
loved to trace. Dark night over Jerusalem.
A little group, a Master and faithful follow
ers, emerging from the gates. As they de
scend into the valley, their mantles are drawn
more closely round their hurrying and silent
figures, for the night-wind is chill and damp.
Where the little brook Kedron runs, we see
them picking their way across the stones;
and now they move silently up the Mount of
Olives into the Garden of Gethsemane. That
night, before quitting Jerusalem, they had sat
at supper a Supper since commemorated in
all Christian lands ; and as they sat and did
eat, the Master foretold that one of these fol
lowers should betray Him. And now they
have arrived at the garden; and the Master,
calling three of His most beloved disciples,
leads them apart from the others, and breathes
into their ears as they move along in^the
double shadow^ of night and the olive grove,
that " His soul is sorrowful even unto death."
When sufficiently removed from the larger
group, and as they approach a darker cluster
of olives, the Master says to the three, " Tarry
260 The prison Life
ye here and watch." In the great agony that
Is upon Him, He longs to be alone. Already
the burden of the sins of mankind, whom He
so loves that He is about to die for them,
grows too weighty for his tenement of flesh.
About a stone's cast from the lesser group,
the Master falls upon the ground, -and prays
with thick sobs into the pitying darkness, that
if it be possible, this hour may pass from Him
the human in His nature crying out under
its intolerable burden, " Take away this cup
from me ; for with thee, O Father, all things
are possible." But again the Divine will be
comes paramount; faith reasserts her ascen
dancy; and bowing His head upon His hands,
the Master sobs, " Nevertheless, not my will,
but thine be done." And here, as with Abra
ham on the hill of Jehovah jireh, an angel
appears to strengthen and comfort the obe
dient heart Mr. Davis said he could bear
to witness the agonizing scene of the garden,
but wished to blot from his memory the un- *
faithfulness of the Catchers.
BOT$ again spoke of the wretchedness
of Jefferson Dams. 261
of being constantly watched of feeling that
a human eye, inquisitive and pitiless, was fix
ed upon all his movements night and day.
This was one- of the torments Imposed on the
Marquis de Lafayette in the dungeons of
Magdeburgh and Olmutz. Indeed, the pa
rallel between their prison lives, if not in
some other respects, was remarkable, Lafay
ette was denied the use of knife or fork, lest
he should commit self-destruction. He was
confined in a casemate, or dungeon, of the
two most powerful fortresses of Prussia first,
and then Austria. While iu Magdeburgh, he
found a friend In the humane physician, who
repeatedly reported that the prisoner could
not live unless allowed to breathe purer air
than that ef his cell ; and on this recommen
dation the Governor at first answering that
he "was not 111 enough yet" the Illustrious
prisoner was at length allowed to take die air
sometimes on foot, at other times In a car-
*
rlage, but always accompanied by 'an officer
with drawn sword and two armed guards.
Mr. Davis thea aairaied^ great spirit
262 The Prison Life
and minuteness, the efforts made by Count
Lally-Tolendal, assisted by Dr. Eric Boll-
mann, of Hanover, and Mr. Huger, of South
Carolina, to eifect Lafayette's liberation. Mr.
Huger was a young gentleman of Huguenot
extraction ; and Lafayette, upon landing near
Georgetown* South Carolina, accompanied by
Baron De Kalb, had first been a guest of
Major Huger, the father of his rescuer. Dr.
Bollmann's visit to Vienna, where he remained
six months, lulling suspicion by pretending to
study or practise medicine ; his there meeting
with young Huger, and the manner in which
these two cautious, though daring, men mutu
ally discovered to each other their similarity
of object; the code of signals which they
gradually established with the prisoner, and
his final rescue for some brief hours from cap
tivity by their exertions, together with his
re-arrest and the capture and terrible punish
ment inflicted on his rescuers all these
points Mr. Davis recited with a vividness
which made each feature in the successive
\ pass before the mental eye as though
of Jefferson Davis. 263
in the unrolling of a panorama. Huger and
Bollmann were heavily ironed round the neck,
and chained to the floors of separate dun
geons, in utter darkness. Once every half
hour the Austrian Officer of the Day entered,
flashed a dark lantern into their faces to identi
fy them and see that they still lived, and then
carefully examined every link of the chains
binding their necks to the floor and shackling
their feet and wrists. This treatment lasted,
night and day, for six months, the prisoners
being almost skeletons when finally obtaining
their release, which was secured by the repre
sentations of General Washington, the power
ful advocacy of Mr. Fox and the Liberals in
the British Parliament, and the humane sym
pathy of the Count Metrouskie, who wielded
a powerful influence in the Austrian court,
Lafayette, however, even in his second impri
sonment, was never shackled; and though
treated with the utmost cruelty, BO indignities
were offered to his person, save he was
robbed of his watch and some otter trinkets
on being recommitted, induced to a single
264 The Prison Life
suit of clothes, and stripped of every little
comfort that had been previously allowed him,
save such occasional betterments of food his
regulation diet being bread and water as
were certified by his medical attendant to be
necessary for the support of life.
It may be here remarked, that the power
of memory possessed by Mr. Davis appeared
almost miraculous a single perusal of any
passage that interested either his assent or
denial enabling him to repeat it almost verba
tim, when eulogizing its logic or combating
what he considered its errors. This wonder
ful gift of memorizing, and apparent univer
sality of knowledge, 'were remarked by every
Officer of the Day as well as myself, Mr.
Davis having kindly relations with all, and
conversation suited to each visitor. As in
stances of this at which I was not present
*,
myself, but heard related from the officers
immediately after their occurrence let me
mention two conversations.
A,u Officer of the Day, very fond of dogs,
a$4 Relieving himself well posted in all van-
of Jefferson Davis. 265
eties of that animal, once entered the prison
er's cell, followed by a bull-terrier or some
other breed of belligerent canine. Mr. Davis
at once commenced examining and criticising
the dog's points with all the minuteness of a
master, thence gliding into a general review
of the whole race of pointers, setters, and re
trievers; terriers, bull-dogs, German poodles,
greyhounds, blood-hounds, and so forth ; the
result of his conversation being best given^ in
the words of the dog-fancying officer : " Well,
I thought I knew something about dogs, but
hang me if I won't get appointed Officer of
the Day as often as I can, and go to school
with Jeff. Davis." On another occasion
" some lewd fellows of the baser sort " in the
garrison had been fighting a main of cocks ;
the Lieutenant of the Guard in the outer room
being the proud possessor of the victorious
chanticleer. It thus came to pass that the
conquering bird, with dripping plumage, was
brought under the prisoner's notice, and again
the same scene as with the dog-fancier was re
peated in regard to game-cocks and fighting-
266 Tke Prison Life
birds of all varieties Mr. Davis describing
the popularity of the sport in Mexico, and
adding, that when a boy in Mississippi, he
had seen only too much of it, until found
out and forbidden by his parents.
On quitting Mr. Davis this day, and in
compliance with the order of Major-General
Miles, I transmitted to headquarters the fol
lowing report:
Office of the Chief Medical Officer,
FORT MONROE, VA., September i, 1865.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL N. A. MILES,
Commanding Military District,
Fort Monroe^ Va.
GENERAL: I have the honor to report
prisoner Davis still suffering from the effects
of a carbuncle. The erysipelas of the face
had entirely subsided, but yesterday reap
peared. . His. health is evidently rapidly de
clining.
I remain, General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
JOHN J. CRAVEN,
BVt Lieut-Col U. S. VoPs, and C M. 0.,
Military District, Fort Monroe, Va.
of Jefferson Dams. 267
September zd. Visited prisoner early, .ac
companied by Captain Sanderson, 3d Penn
sylvania Artillery, Officer of the Day. Con
dition of Mr. Davis may be seen in the two
following reports, the first being the ordinary
one addressed to Major-General Miles, accofa-
panied by a verbal recommendation (often
previously made), for a change of quarters.
The second, a fuller report, covering the same
point, in official form, intended to be trans
mitted by General Miles to the authorities at
Washington. The routine report merely ran:
" I have the honor to report prisoner Davis's
condition not perceivably different from that
of yesterday : very feeble ; no appetite."
The second report, of same date, intended
for transmission to the War Department, ran
as follows :
Office of the Chief Medical Officer,
FtfRT MONROE VA., September a> 186$.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL N. A. MILES,
Commanding Military District^
Fort Monroe? Va.
GENERAL : I have the honor to report that .
268 The Prison Life
I was called to see prisoner Davis on the 24th
day of May last. I found him very feeble ;
prematurely old; all the evidence of an iron
will, but extremely reduced in physical struc
ture. As he continued to fail, changes were
suggested in his prison life, and kindly granted ;
his food was changed from prison food to a
liberal diet ; the guards and light were removed
from his room ; he was permitted to walk in
the open air, and to have miscellaneous read
ing. Indeed, everything was done for him to
render him comfortable as a prisoner.
Within the last week, I have noticed a great
change in the prisoner. He has become de
spondent and dull, a very unnatural condition
for him. He is evidently breaking down.
Save a small patch of erysipelas upon his face,
and a carbuncle upon one of his limbs, no
pointed disease, but general prostration.
I am of opinion that it may be in a mea
sure attributed to the dampness of his room,
for I have noticed lately a great change in the
atmosphere of the casemates, and would re-
s|*e*fblly recommend , that he be removed
of Jefferson Dams. 269
irom the room he now occupies to some other
apartment I have no other suggestions to
make as to his treatment. He has the best
of food and stimulants.
I remain, General, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) JOHN J. CRA.VEN,
Bv't Lieut-Col, and Surg. U. S. VoPs and C M. O. 7
Military District, Fort Monroe, Va.
On this occasion, Mr. Davis referred to
some remark of Miss Anna Dickenson, hos
tile to himself, which he had seen in the pa
pers ; also recalling that he had heard of the
lady's honoring Fort Monroe with her pres
ence some six weeks before he supposed to
derive her inspiration from an actual view of
his casemate, or possibly to catch a secret
view of him through the admiring favor of
Gen. Miles or some smitten officer. He had
noticed that Miss Dickenson had figured
largely upon the lecturing stage, and had un
deniable talent, but the talent ratiber of a
Maenad or Pythoness than most of the mild
virgins who worshipped V-esta and kept the
270 The Prison Life
fires of faith and charity forever burning on
her pure altars. Woman's appearance in the
political arena was a deplorable departure
from the golden path which nature had
marked out for her. The male animal was
endowed with more than sufficient belligeren
cy for all purposes of healthy agitation ; and
woman's part in the social economy, as she
had been made beautiful and gentle, should
be to soothe asperities, rather than deepen
and make more rough the cross-tracks plowed
in the road of life by the diverging passions
and opinions of men. It was a revolutionary
age ; transpositions and novelty were the fan
cies of the day, and woman on the political
rostrum was only an outcropping of the Sis-
organized and disorganizing ideas now in con
trol of the popular mind. The clamor of cer
tain classes of worsen for admission to the
professions and employments heretofore en
grossed by men, was another phase of the
same malady. They demanded to be made
self-supporting, forgetful that their most ten
der <biann and safest armor lay in helplessness.
of Jefferson Dams. 271
Woman's office embraced all the sweetest and
holiest duties of suffering humanity. Her
true altar is the happy fireside, not the fo
rum with its foul breath and distracting clam
ors. /Physically unable to defend themselves
from injury or insult, their weakness is a
claim which' the man must be utterly base
who disregards, < (The highest test of civili
zation is the ^deference paid to women/
They are like the beautiful vines of the
South, winding around the rugged forest-
trees and clothing them with beauty ; but let
them attempt living apart from this support
and they will soon trail along the ground in
muddy and trampled impurity. While woman
depends on man for everything, man's love
accepts, and his generosity can never do
enough to discharge the delicious and sacred
obligations; but let woman enter into the
ruder employments of life as man's rival, and
she passes herself as a slave under those in
exorable laws of trade which are without sex
or sentiment Perhaps in one branch of
medicine there might appear, a itness in her
272 The 'Prison Life
claim to * matriculation ; but even in that
branch, circumstances of sudden difficulty
and danger were of every-day occurrence, re
quiring the steadier nerves, cooler judgment,
and quicker action of a medical man to deal
with. If asked for his sublimest ideal of what
women should be in time of war, he would
point to the dear women of his people as he
had seen them during the recent struggle.
The Spartan mother sent forth her boy bid
ding him return with honor either carrying
his shield, or on it. The women of the South
sent forth their sons, directing them to return
with victory; to return with wounds dis
abling them from further service, or never
to return at all. All they had was, flung into
the contest beauty, grace, passion, ornament ;
the exquisite frivolities so dear to the sex were
cast aside ; their songs, if they had any heart
to sing, were patriotic; their trinkets were
flung into the public crucible; the carpets
from their floors were portioned out as
blankets to the suffering soldiers of their
;| women bred to every refinement of
of Jefferson Davis. 273
luxury wore home-spuns made by their own
handsy when materials for an army-balloon
were wanted, the richest silk dresses were sent
in, and there was only competition to secure
their acceptance. As nurses of the sick, as
encouragers and providers for the combatants,
as angels of charity and mercy adopting as
their own all children made orphans in de
fence of their homes, as patient and beautiful
household deities, accepting every sacrifice
with unconcern, and lightening the burdens
of war by every art, blandishment, and labor
proper to their sphere, the dear women of
his people deserved to take rank with the
highest heroines of the grandest days of the
greatest countries. Talking further upon
woman, Mr. Davis stated his belief that when
women prove unfaithful to their marriage
vows, it will in almost every instance be found
the husband's fault. Men throw their wives,
or allow them to be thrown, into the com
panionship of male associates whom they
know to be dissolute ; neglect them, while
the illlqit lover pays every attention, and then
274 The Prison Life
grow angry at the result of their own criminal
folly. It is either this, or that the man has
chosen, without sufficient inquiry, a woman
whose unfitness for the relations of wife might
have been readily ascertained. No woman
will err if treated properly by a husband
worthy of the name ; but she is the weaker
vessel and must be protected.
of Jefferson Dams. 275
CHAPTER XVIIL
Mr. Davis on Sensation News. The Condi
tion of the Negro. Gen. Butler at Drurys
Bluff. Bishop Lynch and the Sisters of
Charity. A Story after the manner of
President Lincoln.
SEPTEMBER $d. Called upon prisoner, accom
panied by Captain Evans, 3d Pennsylvania
Artillery, Officer of the Day. Had passed a
comfortable night, the erysipelas again reced
ing, and the carbuncle commencing to slough
out Reported to General Miles : " Prisoner
Davis slightly better this morning." Still
complained of the unwholesome atmosphere
of his casemate, pointing to some crumbs
of bread wh&& he had thrown to the mouse
only a day or two before, now covered with
mould Made b> reply to this, not knowing
276 The Prison Life
what would be the action of the authorities on
my recommendation, though hoping, and,
indeed, fully trusting that it would be favor
able.
Mr. Davis referred to some financial frauds
in Wall Street, then exciting much attention
in the Northern press, remarking that these
insanities or epidemics of financial and other
kinds of crime appeared by some unknown
law to follow every period of great political
excitement Perhaps the .average of crime
was at all times the same in every given
population as many eminent statisticians
had maintained the apparent increase of
viciousness only arising from the fact that
during the greater excitement, whatever that
might J be, we could spare no attention to
minor matters, and now they struck us
with a sense of novelty. The Northern press
had been working with treble power and at
fever-heat for some years, and would require
another year to calm back into ordinary
journalism. Sensationalism was the neces-
ai present, and offences which woidd
of Jefferson Dams. 277
*
have been dismissed with a paragraph in
the police reports four or five years ago,
were now magnified into columns or a page
of startling capitals. The cruelty of dragging
in family history and the names of relatives
Mr. Davis dwelt upon, speaking with great
sympathy of a venerable father whose grey
hairs, heretofore without a blemish, were now
sprinkled by the reports in Northern papers
with the mire into which his son had fallen.
With the criminal, and all his conscious
aiders and abettors, the law and public
opinion were entitled to deal; but when
journalism passed beyond this limit, and
dragged before the gaze of unpitying millions
the lacerated and innocent domestic victims
of a son's or husband's crime, the act was so
inhuman that to term it brutal would be to
wrong the dumb creation. True, in tracing
out and developing a crime, we had often to
enter upon the otherwise sacred privacy of
domestic relations; and if anything therein
found could materially forward the ends of
justice, the lesser right would have to be
278 The Prison Life
sacrificed to the greater. But the practice
of dragging before the public the whole
history of a criminal in his non-criminal
relations his wife and wife's family, his
father and fathers family, their manner of
life, circle of friends, and so forth deserved
reprobation. It is the innocent and pure
and always in the exact measure of their
purity and innocence who most suffer from
such offences as the one he was noticing.
To the guilty man himself, unless hardened
beyond reach of conscience, or dread of
shame, the explosion which consigns him to
prison must be a positive relief The agony
of anxiety is over; pride has suffered its
benumbing shock, and the pain of its former
protest is paralysed. In the solitude of his
cell he is at peace, or in the companionship
of the convict-yard there are none to mock
his degradation. Mr. Davis spoke with great
feeling on this matter, mentioning several
cases which had come to his knowledge, and
in particular the default of an army officer
ha was Secretary of War. It had
of Jefferson Davis. 279
a most painful case, for, up to the moment of
the exploitation, he had been on terms of
intimacy with the defaulter's family.
Speaking of army defaults, Mn Davis re
marked that our Government seemed to have
trouble with the officers appointed to take
care of the negroes. The better plan would
be to remit their care and future to the seve
ral States. None could manage the black for
his own good and the public interest so well
as those who had been reared with them and
knew their peculiarities. Once free, the neces
sities of labor and the laws of supply and
demand would interfere to secure justice to
the black laboring class, even were there any
disposition to deny it, which he did not be
lieve. Mr. Davis said, judging from the in
evitable logic of the case and reports reaching
him during the war, that the class of civilians
who rushed South in the wake of our armies,
professing intense philanthropy for the negro
as tkeir object were about the most unsafe
clu&s to wfeo the dastwies- of any ignorant
and helpless people, out of whom money
280 The Prison Life
to be made, could have been entrusted. Men,
the most pure and upright in previous life,
when suddenly given control of wealth for
distribution to the ignorant and helpless, in
too many cases, if not the majority, will gra
vitate, by force of protracted temptation, into
corruption. He instanced the dealings of the
Department of the Interior with the Indians
a hideous history, for which the country
should blush, though not a little of the pecu
lations and extortions practised by our Indian
Agents against the various tribes, had been
placed on record. Mr. Davis then spoke of
the various Indian nations with whom he had
been thrown in contact during his earlier life
when serving in the army, giving the habits
and leading characteristics of each, but with
a rapidity and' fluency of Indian names which
(the subject being new to me) I could not
follow. The general spirit of his remarks was
kind to the Red Man, lamenting his wrongs,
and the inevitable obliteration of his race as
a sacrifice under the Juggernaut of civiliza-
of Jefferson Davis. 281
Recurring to the management of the ne
groes by professed philanthropic civilians of
the North, Mr. Davis said that all the best
men of both sections were in the armies, and
that these civilian camp-followers partook in
their nature of the buzzards who were the
camp-followers of the air. He said they re
minded him of an anecdote told in Missis
sippi relative to a professed religionist of
very avaricious temper, which ran as fol
lows:
Driving to church one Sunday, the pious
old gentleman saw a sheep foundered in a
quagmire on one side of the road, and called
John, his coachman, to halt and extricate the
animal he might be of value. John halted,
entered the quagmire, endeavored to pull out
the sheep ; but found that fright, cold, damp,
and exposure had so sickened the poor brute
that its wool came out in fistfuls whenever
pulled. With this dolorous news John re
turned to the carriage.
"Indeed, John. Is it good wool valua*
We?"
282 The Prison Life
" Fust class. Right smart good, Massa.
Couldn't be better."
a It's a pity to lose the wool, John. You'd
better go see ; is it loose everywhere ? Per
haps his sickness only makes it loose in
parts."
John returned to the sheep, pulled all the
wool, collected it in his arms, and returned to
the carriage.
"It be's all done gone off, Massa. Every
hair on him was just a fallin' when I picked
'urn up."
" Well, throw it in here, John," replied the
master, lifting up the curtain of his wagon.
" Throw it in here, and now drive to church
as - fast as 4 you can ; I'm afraid we shall be
late."
" But de poor sheep, massa," pleaded the
sable driver. " Shan't dis chile go fotch him ? "
" Oh, never "mfaid him," returned the phi
lanthropist, measuring the wool with his eye.
"Even if you dragged him out, he could
sever recover, and his flesh would be g>od
Ifor nothing to the butchers."
of Jefferson Davis. 283
ff So the sheep, stripped of his only covering,
was left to die in the swamp, concluded Mr.
Davis ; and such will be the fate of the poor
negroes entrusted to the philanthropic but
avaricious Pharisees who now profess to hold
them in special care. 1
I remarked that this story reminded me of
Mr, Lincoln's happy way of arguing his own
position, while not appearing to argue at all.
Mr. Davis said he had heard many of- Mr.
Lincoln's stories, or stories attributed to him,
but knew not how much to believe. When a
man once got a reputation of this sort, he was
given credit for all the curious stories afloat ;
nor could he conceive how a man so oppress
ed with care as Mr. Lincoln, could have had
any relish for such pleasantries. Recurring
to the subject of the philanthropic guardians
of the negro, he asked me, if ever released
from duty in Fort Monroe which he as sel
fishly hoped would not be until he also was
released, either by order of man or the sran-
HK>HS of death to visit New England and
count for myself how many doughty talkeis
284 The Prison Life
for the negro, before the war, had worn sword
on thigh or carried musket in hand during its
continuance ? For the agitators of the South,
as they were called, this could be said : that
they had veritably staked life, property, and
honor in support of their ideas.
Of the negro race Mr. Davis spoke most
kindly, saying that the irregularities into which
they had been betrayed, arose from misinfor
mation spread amongst them by these civilian
philanthropists. They were taught that the
General Government was about transferring
to them in fee the estates of the Southern
whites, thus enabling them to live in opulence
and idleness (as they hoped) through all future
time. Whatever might be the designs of the
future* this had not yet been done ; and hence
the disappointment of the negroes, who began
to regard freedom as a much less blessing than
they at first supposed. They took their idea
of freedom from what they had seen of their
masters, and imagined that to be free pure
api simple implied as a concomitant all the
and luxuries which they had seen
of Jefferson Davis. 285
their masters enjoying under the old system
of labor. He was sorry for the poor negroes
with his whole heart The future might pos
sibly better their condition in the next gene
ration, not in this; but to him, the freed
slaves seemed like cage-bred birds enjoying
their first hour of liberty, but certain to pay a
terrible penalty for it when night and winter
came, and they knew neither where to find
food or shelter.
Mr. Davis said that we himself and the
writer had once, from my account, been op
posite each other in battle. It was on May
the 1 6th, 1864, at the engagement which we
called Drury's Bluff, but not properly so, the
battle having its central point at the house of
the Rev. Mr. Friend, and both its wings rest
ing on Proctor's Creek, There were several
lines of defence between that battle-ground
and the works at Drury's Bluff. Beauregarf
had been fooling Butler for some days -by
skirmishing and falling back, in order to draw
Bbtler on. Davis was present B the foggy
morning of the decisive day the day which
286 The Prison Life
rendered Butler permanently powerless for
further evil, and hoped that morning to cap
ture our entire army. This would have been
done if General Whiting (I think) had obeyed
orders. His orders were to flank Butler, while
the battle was going on in front, and cut him
off from his base and works at Bermuda Hun
dred. This might easily have been done, but
the .orders miscarried in some manner, and
General Butler, with the loth and i8th Corps,
forming his force, escaped though Mr. Davis
heard we had hardly enough shovels in our
army to bury the dead. General Terry, with
the loth Corps, had been allowed to carry their
exterior line of rifle-pits. Then, Beauregard
massed his forces, charged out of his works,
cut the 1 8th Corps to pieces, and very badly
crippled the loth.
I replied that I remembered all the inci
dents of the day very well> having been nearly
captured by some of his cavalry bushwhack
ers while endeavoring to take care of my
woiBKjed near Chester Station, on the rail-
Richmond to Petersburg. Nothing
of Jefferson Davis. 287
but letting them count the nails in the hind-
shoes of my horse had saved me. Returned
about half an hour after that, and brought
off my wounded without difficulty. Then
related to Mr. Davis the incident of
General Walker, of Beauregard's staff,
which forms the introduction to this vol
ume.
From this point the conversation diverged
to the treatment of our wounded by .the Con
federate surgeons. I said that complaint hac
been made, and with justice, as I could per
sonally certify in some cases, that unnecessary
amputations* had been performed on wounded
Union soldiers falling into the hands of Con
federate surgeons. Mr. Davis said this was
undeniable; but not more so with our men
than with the boys of his own people. They
had been obliged to accept as surgeons in the
Southern army many lads who had only half
finished their education in Northern colleges.
Besides* their facilities for tasporfii*g and
taking care of the sick were greatly deficient ;
nor had they had proper hospital stores, nor
288 The Prison Life
appliances for cure, in any such abundance
as with us. To bunglers in the art of sur
gery, or men too hurried for scientific treat
ment, amputation is always a readier remedy
than the slow process of splints, removing
daily dressings; and all he would claim on
behalf of his surgeons was, that they had
treated all the wounded, Confederate or Union,
with impartiality; and that if too many ampu
tations had been performed on the one, they
had likewise been performed on the other.
He then referred to the courtesy of the medi
cal profession towards each other, as exhibit
ed when surgeons had been taken prisoners.
They were always treated on his side, and
so far as he knew upon our side, with the re
spect due to scientific non-combatants, whose
business was the healing, not the wounding,
art It was by these little humanities war
endeavored to soften the natural brutalities
of its nature to the educated mind.
Mentioned to Mr. Davis that I had once
had a very interesting day's service exchanging
teee or four hundred Confederates for
of Jefferson f)avi$ 289
about an equal number of our own wounded
boys. Brigadier-General James F. Hall had
been our officer of exchange, and Surgeon
Bontecue^ my associate. We steamed up
Charleston Harbor in the hospital-ship Cosmo
politan^ and were met by Bishop Lynch on
a vessel carrying our wounded. The Bishop
had been extremely kind, receiving the bless
ings of our boys, who spoke in warm terms of
his Christian humanity. So far as I could
judge from that specimen, c^r wounded had
not anything to complam of in their treat
ment at least nothing which the necessities
of their situation rendered avoidable. To this
Mr. Davis replied in warm eulogy of TBishop
Lynch, as also of the Sisters of Charity, not
one of whom he could ever pass without
raising his hat an act of involuntary rever
ence. They had indeed been the silent
angels of the war, carrying comfort and re
ligious faith to every couch of stfflferiiig. Of
what ^ey had done, history might" make no
mebtion; but it wauM^ ( J*q^aaia |1 &r ever en-
graven upon the hearts of tfoe teas of thour
290 Tk^Prison Life
sands they had helped and comforted, j Em
blems of purity and mercy, no lives in the
whole world could be more beautiful than
theirs. / Their hymns were an undertone or
diapason of sacred melody through all the
crash of arms and the harrowing chorus of
groans. If it had been possible in his estima
tion to elevate he respect for woman, the con
duct of the Sisteirs of Charity would have
done so. Meeting Bishop Lynch casually
one day, he asked him in the usual common
place how the world went with him. Never
should he forget for it was but an echo from
his own soul the tone in which the Bishop
I* 9 *, * B
replied, " This war, Mr. Davis ; this war. I
am heart-sick, heart-sick, freart-sick ! "
of Jefferson Davis. 291
CHAPTER XIX.
Treason. State and ^National The Fish-
Hawk and Bald-Eagle. Mr. Davis on Sen
ator Benton, Ex-President Buchanan, and
President Andrew Johnson. Preparations
to' remove Mr. Davis to Carroll Hall.
SEPTEMBER 6tk. Called upon Mr, Davis once
or twice, I remember, between the interval of
my last date and this, but have lost notes.
Called to-day, accompanied by Captain Tit-
low, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Officer of the
Day, and found prisoner in a more comforta
ble state of mind and body than he had en
joyed for some days. Healthy granulations
forming in the carbuncle.
Mr. Davis said the clamor abojit " treason "
in our Northern newspapers was only an evi-
denceHiow little our editors were qualified by
education for their^pqliikms. None seemed
292 The^Prison Life
to remember that treason to a State was pos
sible, no less than to the United States ; and
between the horns of this dilemma there could
be little choice. In the North, where the doc
trine of State sovereignty was little preached
or practised, this difficulty might not seem so
great ; but in the South a man had presented
the unpleasant alternatives of being guilty of
treason to his State when it went out of the
Union, by remaining, what was called " loyal "
to the Federal Government, or being guilty
t)f treason to the General Government by re
maining faithful to his State. These terms
appeared to have little significance at the
North, but were |ull of potency in the South,
and had to be regarded in every political cal-
cplation.
Mr. Davis said he had been much inter
ested all the morning watching from the grat
ed embrasure, near whicfc his bed lay, the free
flight 9f fish-hawks, so plentiful during the
summer in Hampton Roads, and some of
k wMch still , lingered. t The bird was a'facred
yisiting the coast on particular days in
of Jefferson Davis 293
every season, and carrying with its appearance
the glad tidings to so many fishermen that
the shoals of shad, alewives mossbunkers he
believed we called them in the North and
blue-fish, were upon * the coast The fish-
hawk or osprey was associated with the
bald-headed eagle in such intimate relations,
that to describe the habits of the one, neces
sitated some description of the habits of the
other.
The osprey or fish-hawk visited the coast
*
in early spring, on the same day that the fish
he had named made their appearance. It
built its nest in some dead tree standing near
a barn or house, long experience having
assured it that it ran no danger from man.
Its food was upon the deep ; and from the
farm it dwelt upon, the osprey took nothing
but the support of a single decaying tree.
Here it huddled together in the forks nearest
the ground, a couple of cart-loads o| twigs
and branches to form its nest sticks varying
in thickness from a man's little finger to that
of a, cart-rung. On these were laid coatings
294 The Prison Life
of meadow-grass, and finally the feathers from
its own breast, and so the nest was made and
in it the eggs deposited. From this perch
the fish-hawk mother kept a wary eye upon
the waters, its male being close at hand, either
to bring it food or protect the eggs or young
during its absence. At the first ripple, be
tokening a shoal of fish in the distance, away
sailed the male or female parent, poising over
the surface of the waters on balanced wing
until the fish who had seen its shadow com
ing and struck for the bottom should reap
pear. Then it folded its wings and dropped
down like a bulj.et, reemerging presently with
a shad, or blue-fish, or alewife, varying in
weight from half a pound to four pounds,
cjtatched firmly in its talons the head of the
fish being always directly 'under its own head,
which was not idl^in picking out the eyes.
Thus it sailed along thfe water for half a dozen
yards until the grasp of its talons was made
more secure ; then suddenly rose on perpen
dicular wing in the air and struck off for its
near the. barn-yard.
of Jefferson Davis. 295
But there is another bird on the coast,
added Mr. Davis, for whom these fishing
operations have much interest. It is the bald
eagle, who builds on some crag, if there be
any crag within vision of the sea ; and if not,
in the tallest tree that he can find, and farthest
from the haunts of men. As he sees the
fish-hawk sail forth, the eagle rivets his far-
piercing , eyes on the bird's motions. Then,
as the osprey rises with his prey, the eagle
shakes out the broad vans of his wings, looks
at them to see that every feather is in place,
and sullenly swoop's upward into the air with
the assurance of a conqueror. There is a
wild scream from the osprey as it endeavors
to rise higher, not satisfied as yet but some
other fish-hawk with its prize may be the
eagle's quarry. A few moments more and
the hunt is certain; the fish-hawk drops its
prey, and flies out to sea with redoubled
screams, while the grave eagle rapidly de
scends with unblinking eyelids upon the prize
that has been drop^eii for his mornftig or
noon repast, often sefeifig it before it strikes
296 The Prison Life
the ground or water, and proceeds to make a
meat "This is the history of these birds,"
concluded Mr. Davis, "and I have watched
them, with the most lively interest, though
the circumscribed view from my inclosure
gave me no means of observing more than
the exploits of the gulls and fish-hawks in the
capture of their prey."
This rule of prey and being preyed on,
added Mr. Davis, appeared universal through
nature. Up to the regal footstool of man, no
beast, or bird, or fish, could be pointed out
which did not prey on some minor creation
of the animal or vegetable world, and was not
preyed on in turn. Even with man, the
strpnger by nature preyed upon and absorbed
the weaker ; "and this, though a harsh philo
sophy, was tj)?e sutn anci result of worldly
experience. * The terms virtue and vice were
comparative, not aBsoljite. The man of
natural virtue might have no virtue a all.
'It is the man who restrains* his passions when
they fte strongest, who is. entitled to wear the
.. Mr. D^vis then quoted, though rarely
of Jefferson JJavis.
quoting poetry, the well known lines from
Burns :
Who knows the heart it's he alone,
Decidedly can try us ;
He knows each chord its various tone.
Each spring, its various bias ;
Then at the balance let's be mute,
We never can adjust it
What's done we partly may compute.
But know not what resisted.
V
A remark, that I hoped to <4 see him soon
resuming his walks on the ramparts, and read
ing less continually in a recumbent posture,
called out several anecdotes from Mr. Davis
relative to Senator Benton of Missouri, who
was, he said, an incessant student, never quit
ting his .room except in necessity, but taking
all the exercise he thought needful with dumb
bells and calistheuic exercises of his own
choice. Senator Benton had one peuliarity
very amusing to those who knew him, his
desire to contradict and make a cae against
such of his associate^ as Were ab r out speiking
*S$^* " b
on some point peculiarly within their ow%.
298 The Prison Life*
province of practical observation or education.
Thus, if a Senator from California gave notice
that on such a day he would introduce a reso
lution relative to gold-mining, or the Senator
from Massachusetts gave similar notice rela
tive to the 'fisheries, Mr. Benton would imme
diately bury himself in his library and com
mence coaching up, or " cramming," as it was
called in college, for the forthcoming debate.
He would read all varieties of books on the
subject, arm himself with the most minute
and comprehensive statistics, and thus in
tellectually equipped, take the -'ffeld against
whatever view the Senator who had given
notice of the motion plight advance. The
result woufd be that a few home-thrusts from
the lance of practical experience would bar
all the deligarte . theories of Mr. Benton's
authorities fo shreds ; but these debates were
useful as giving the Senate a sketch of the
two sides which every question has that of
theory and fact
A^.Mr. Davis was speaking of the Senate,
1pm his opinion of President Johnson,
of Jefferson Davis. 299
to which for some moments he made no
reply, apparently hesitating whether to speak
on the subject or not. At length he said, that
of President Johnson he knew no more than
the papers told every one; but that of Mr.
Johnson, when in the Senate, he would as-
freely speak as of any other member. There
were, of course, differences between them,
more especially just previous to the retire
ment of the Southern representatives from
Congress. The position of Mr. Johnson with
his associates of the South had never been
pleasant, ixot from any fault or supercilious
ness on their side, but solely due to the in
tense, almost morbidly sensitive, pride of Mr.
Johnson. Sitting with associate^ many of
whom he knew pretended to aristocracy, Mr.
Johnson seemed to set up before his own
mind, and keep ever present with him, his
democratic or plebeian origin as a bar to
warm social relations. This pride for it was
the pride of having no pride his associates
long struggled to overcome, but without suc
cess. They respected Mr. Johnson's abUi-
3oo The Prison Life
ties, integrity, and greatly original force
of character ; but nothing could make him
be, or seem to wish to feel at home in
their society. Some casual word dropped in
debate, though uttered without a thought
of his existence, would seem to wound him to
the quick, and again he would shrink back
into the self-imposed isolation of his earlier
and humbler life, as if to gain strength from
touching his mother earth. In a word*, while
other members of the Senate were Democrats
in theory or as their political faith, Mr. John
son was a Democrat of pride^ conviction, and
self-assertion a man of the people, who not
only desired no higher grade of classification,
but could ijot be forced into its acceptance or
retention when friendly efforts were made to
that end. He was an immense worker and
student, but always in the practicalities of life ;
little in the graces of literature. His habits
were marked by temperance, industry, courage,
and unswerving perseverance ; also, by invete
rate prejudices of preconceptions on certain
s and these no arguments could shake.
of Jefferson Davis. 301
His^faith in the judgment of the people was
unlimited, and to their decision he was always
ready to submit One of the people by birth,
he remained so by conviction, continually re
curring to his origin, though he was by no
means the only Senator of the South in like
circumstances. Mr. Davis mentioned Aaron
V. Brown, of Mississippi, who had been Post
master-General under President Buchanan
,and several others, who were of like Demo
cratic education with Mr. Johnson, but who
seemed to forget, and in regard to whom it
was forgotten by their associates, that they
had ever held less social rank than that to
which their talents and industry had raised
them. Of Mr. Johnson's character justice
was an eminent feature, though not uncoupled
as true justice rarely fails to be with kind
liness and generosity. He was eminently
faithful to his word, and possessed a courage
which took the form of angry resistance if
urged to do, or not do, anything which might
clash with his convictions of duty. He was
indifferent to money and careless of praise or
302 The Prison Life
censure when satisfied of the necessity of any
line of action. But for his decided attitude
against secession, he would probably have
been given the place of Mr. Stephens on the
Presidential ticket of the Confederacy. Mr.
Stephens, indeed, held the same attitude up
to the last moment ; but on the secession of
his State, had two alternatives of State or
Federal "treason," as it wds called, presented,
and chose the latter.
Mr. Davis remarked that Mr. Bucnanan
more fulfilled the European ipleal of a Chief-of-
State in his social relations than, any Ameri
can since Washington. He was dignified,
polished, reticent, and suave ; fond of lady-
gossip and the atmosphere of intrigue; a
stickler for the ceremony of power. His mis
fortune was, as regarded his reputation North,
that h@ could not forget in a month, and at
the dictation of a party only fepresenting the
majority of one section, all those principles
which had been imbibed in his youth and
formed the guiding-stars of \m career through
* eer fifty years of public service. Of Mr
of Jefferson Davis. 303
Gushing, of Massachusetts, Mr. Davis spoke
in terms of praise, eulogizing his general
talents, and more especially his soundness as
an exponent of Constitutional law. He also
referred to Mr. George M. Dallas as his model
for the externals of a diplomatic representa
tive, quoting something he had once known
Mr. Cobden, of England, to say or write ; in
substance, that Dallas reminded him of some
stately courtier-portrait in an old picture-gal
lery, 'suddenly clothing itself with flesh and
stepping down from the wall to again pace
with living men, while preserving all the pas
sionless immobility of its pictorial experience.
After quitting prisoner, proceeded, by invi
tation of General Miles, and in company with
that officer, to make an inspection of the fort,
for the, purpose of selecting more healthful
quarters for the State prisoner. Decided
that rooms in "second story of the south end
of Carroll Hall would best suit a building
long used as officers' quarters, near the main
sally-port^ and "in which nearly every officer
of the old army was for some months quar-
304 The Prison Life
tered after quitting West Point, and before
being assigned to general duty elsewhere.
It i^ a tradition in and around Old Point
Comfort, that both Grant and Sherman occu
pied in their day the very chambers selected
for the second incarceration of Mr. Davis.
As with the casemate, there were to be two
rooms used for the prisoner's confinement
In the outer' one a lieutenant and two soldiers
were constantly stationed on guard, having a*
view of the interior chamber through a gfated
door. Opposite this door was a fire-place.
To its right, when facing the door, a window
heavily grated, and with a sentinel continually
on duty before it, pacing up and down the
piazza. Opposite the window a door leading
into the corridor, but permanently fastened
with heavy iron clamps, and in this door a
sliding-panel in which the face of a sentinel
'
was continually framed by nightand day, ready
to report to his officer the first sign of any
attempt on the prisoner's part to shuffle off
this mortal coil by any act of selfldolence.
It vms of this face, with its unblinking eyes,
of Jefferson Davis. 305
that Mr. Davis so bitterly qpmplained in after
days; but this is anticipating. The prisoner,
as was said of Lafayette, is perhaps " not sick
enough yet," and has to suffer some further
weeks of exposure in his present casemate.
The rooms being selected, General Miles
gave orders to the -Engineer Department for
their speedy conversion from quarters to a
prison, the piazza being prolongated and
raised by a flight of stairs, so that access
to the ramparts could be had by. Mr. Davis
without a descent to the ground-tier, which
invariably caused a crowd to collect, with its
usual unpleasant attendants of staring and
whispering commentaries.
September *]th. Called on Mr. Davis, accom
panied by Captain Corlis, aide-de-camp to
General Miles, Officer of the Day. Found
the health of prisoner not differing from the
preceding day, tnd so reported to the General
commanding in the bulletin required of me
at this time.
tu,
r. Davis, thinking it would cheer
him and help to soothe his nervousness, that
306 The Prison Life
I had reason to hope he would soon be
removed to more comfortable quarters. Was
sorry for this afterwards, as the protracted
and unforeseen delays in his removal only
made him more painfully fretful in regard to
the poisonous atmosphere of his present
casemate. Had only a brief interview with
Mr. Davis, there being much sickness in the
fort then, and many demands upon my time.
Mentioned that I thought in a few days of
paying Richmond a visit ; General Alfred H.
Terry, my old commander in the loth Army
Corps, having now his headquarters at that
place. I had spent many days in front of
the city as Chief Medical Officer of the loth
Corps, and Acting Medical Director of the
Army of the James; had once caught a
glimpse of the promised land from the Pisgah
of a battery on the south-east, and about four
miles removed, but had not then been per
mitted to enter. Mr. Davis pleasantly replied
that if Richmond were my land of promise,
the Caleb and Joshua visiting it would
carry back but slender bunches of grapes.
of Jefferson Davis. 307
His people had suffered terrible privations,
but with the severities and * necessities of war
removed, he hoped they would now be better
supplied.
308 The Prison Life
CHAPTER XX.
Visit to Richmond. General Lee. Mr. Davis
on Horseback Exercise. Macaulays Picto
rial Power.
SEPTEMBER nth. Called on Mr. Davis, ac
companied by Capt Bickly, 3d Pennsylvania
Artillery, Officer of the Day. Found him
convalescent in all respects, able to walk on
the ramparts arid in good spirits, considering
his situation. Told him, as he was well, I
was about starting that day for Richmond, to
be gone about a week, and would be happy to
carry any social messages he might wish to
send any friends in that city. Mr. Davis
asked me to call upon his former pastor, the
Rev. Dr. Minnegerode, Rector of St. Paul's ;
also upon other friends, giving me their
names, wh^ would be glad to receive me. He
of Jefferson Davis. 309
requested me to make his afflictions in prison
appear as light as possible, for they had suffi
cient troubles of their own without borrowing
more from his misfortunes. He also "said
Richmond had been a very beautiful city in
the days gone by ; but what with years of mili
tary operations and the fire, he feared its ap
pearance must now be sadly altered. " Oh,
the anxious moments I have spent in that
city I" exclaimed Mr. Davis. " Cares that none
can understand who have not been called to
fill the first positions of responsibility in revo
lutionary times. What hopes and fears, tried
by enemies without and murmurers or muti
neers within though of the latter there were
comparatively few. Taking all they suffered
into view, my dear people stood firm and
upheld my hands with a devotion and unani
mity for which I can never be ' too grate
ful. God bless them, one and all, and
grant them the sustaining influence of His
grace ! "
Mr. Davis spoke the last sentence with
great fervor, his thin hands clasped; and tears
The Prison Life
brimming up in his eyes, though not allowed
to run over. It was in such moments that
his face, though not handsome, judged by any
mere artistic standard, became very striking
and noble in the. delicate expression of its in
tellectual power and fervor.
Mr. Davis became solicitous for removal
from his casemate, and wished to know when
his new quarters in Carroll Hall would be
ready ? Would he be likely to be transferred
there before my return ? Told him I hoped
to find him there on coming back, but could
give no definite assurance the engineers
-having to make some alterations in the rooms,
and possibly some authorizing order being
required from Washington.
To question of Mr. Davis, replied that Mr.
Clay was far froin well, extremely nervous, a
prey to dyspepsia and " want of sleep, but not
in any immediate, danger. Clay was my com
plaining patient, but Mr. Mitchel was a. model
of patience and good-humor, though terribly
afflicted at times with asthmatic difficulties.
Mr. .J^visj^wered with a wile, that Mitch-
of Jefferson Davis. 311
el was used to it had been in this or a
worse strait before; but allowance must be
made for himself and Clay, who were only serv
ing their apprenticeship to Baron Trenck's
profession. Took leave of prisoner, assuring
him I would call on the friends he indicated
in Richmond, deliver his messages of affec
tionate remembrance, and bring back all the
social news.
September 22</. Called on Mr. Davis for
the first time since returning from Richmond,
accompanied by Captain Titlow, 3d Pennsyl
vania Artillery, Officer of the Day. Found
he had been inquiring for me several days, in
consequence of suffering premonitory symp
toms of a return of the erysipelas to his face.
Reported his condition to Major-General
Miles, respectfully asking permission to call
in Colonel Pineo,; Medical Inspector of the
Department, for consultation.
Mr. Davis inquired about friends : in Rich
mond, asking, with a smile, was ,he ; still re
membered there, or whether it had been found
convenient to erase his name fronj^tbe tablets
312 The Prison Life
of memory ? Assured him that his /friends
appeared most solicitous for his welfare, espe
cially the ladies, who had overwhelmed my wife
wifli attentions during our brief visit, as the
only means of expressing their gratitude for
any alleviations of his situation which my duty
as his medical attendant had imposed. Told
him the destruction from the fire had been
great, but in less than two years the city would
have retrieved a prosperity not only equalling,
but surpassing any it had yet known. Over
looking Richmond from the top of Gamble
Hill, the clamor of trowels and hammers
everywhere resounded beneath me, and it
seemed like an enormous beehive, so inces
sant w^s the industry. Mentioned that Gene
ral * Terry, my old commander, had kindly
placed the carriage of Mr. Davis at my dispo
sal diariBfl the visit; and that I had visited
with mucJbinterest, and not without sympathy
tfee beautiful ground of Hollywood Cemetery,
wfeere General J. E. B. Stuart and so many
other distinguished officers of the late South
ern army tew lie in graves, not nameless
of Jefferson Davis. 3 1 3
indeed, but as yet with no enduring monu
ments. Also spoke of having seen Mr. Lyons,
Judge Ould, the Grants, and many other
friends of his during my stay at the Ballard
House.
Mr. Davis laughed about his carriage, and
said that since some "Yankee" had to ride in
it, he would prefer my doing so to another.
During the war they had no time to build
monuments to the illustrious dead scarcely
time enough or means enough to take care of
the wounded living, If their cause had been
successful, the gratitude of a new nation would
have built splendid mausoleums and trophies
to those who had lost their lives in founding
it ; but with the failure of the cause, this duty
of piety and gratitude must now devolve on
private associations of patriotic gratitude.
General Jackson ("Stonewall") appeared to
have some lively presentiment of death shortly
before its occurrence, and had asked that his
only monument might be a battle-flag hoisted
over his grave until such time as the cause for
which he fought was crowned with victory
314 The *Prison Life
and secure from aggression. Speaking of a
message of condolence and cheer the Rev.
D. Minnegerode had sent him, Mr. Davis
spoke in warm terms of the learning, zeal, elo
quence, fidelity, and Christian courage of that
gentleman. General Lee had occupied a pew
in the same church, and unless when absent
unavoidably in the public service, was one
of the most regular and devout attendants.
General Lee was, undoubtedly, one of the
greatest soldiers of the age, if not the very-
greatest of this or any other country ; but had
he drawn sword on the Federal side, must
have been remitted to obscurity, under our
system, in the first six months of the war.
Nothing, however, shook the confidence of
military men, competent to form a just opin
ion, in his superior qualifications for high
command, and his career had nobly vindicated
the calm estimate of professional judgment.
Mr. Davis inquired anxiously what signs
there were, if any, of his removal to the new
quarters I had mentioned before my Rich
mond visit ? He was more than ever satisfied
of Jefferson Davis. 315
of the unhealthiness of his casemate, and the
nights were now growing so chill, that one
might as well be condemned to sleep in a
stone coffin a little better, for when the coffin
comes the body has no feeling.
September 2$d. Called with Lieutenant
A. H. Bowman, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery,
Officer of the Day. Found the condition of
Mr. Davis not materially changed, and so
reported to General Miles.
Prisoner renewed his questions about the
proposed change in his place of confinement, .
begging me, if I knew anything, even the
worst, that he was to be kept as now until
death put an end to his sufferings, not to
conceal it from him any longer ; that suspense
was more injurious to him than could be the
most painful certainty. Assured him that I
had no further information. A place had been
selected for his incarceration in Carroll Hall,
the requisite changes in the rooms made, and
I heard no reason for his non-transfer. If I
did so, he should be informed immediately.
Recurring to my Richmond visit, Mr. Davis
316 The Prison Life
made many minute inquiries relative to for
mer friends, the apparent condition of the
trades-people in regard to prosperity, the
social relations, if any were allowed, between
the occupying army and the inhabitants. He
said ( his people, having done all their duty in
war, had now the two duties of forgetting the
past, preparing to accept the future. One of
their great troubles in agricultural districts
must be the difficulty of getting draft animals
horses, mules, and oxen having been so
nearly swept away by the war. With nothing
to regret in the past but its failure, the fail
ure and its consequences should be accepted
in good faith, and without a murmur. The
future is always under the control of resolute
men ; and with industry and the influx of
Northern and European capital, which must
soon be tempted by the preabundant natural
resources in the South, there could TDe no
reason why national prosperity should not be
fully reestablished within half a dozen years
that is, if the Federal Government pursued
a wise and generous course, allaying irrita-
of Jefferson Davis, 317
tions, and diverting the minds of the people
from their unsuccessful sacrifices, by pointing
out and encouraging the splendid rewards of
industry.
Mr. .Davis renewed my attention to the
steady deterioration of his health, which he
regarded as chiefly due to the unfitness of his
cell for a human habitation. His head had
a continual humming in it, like the whizzing
of a wound watch when its main-spring is
suddenly broken. Little black motes slowly
ascended and descended between his sight
and whatever page he was reading, or object
inspecting; and his memory likewise gave dis
tinct indications of losing its elasticity. The
carbuncle, however, was quite well, having left
a deep-red cicatrice where it had been, ^ pre
cisely like the healed wound of a Minie bullet.
Mr. Davis had not much flesh to lose on
entering the fort ; but believed he must have
lost what little of it could be spared while still
preserving life. Was glad to see from the
papers that General Lee had accepted the
presidency of Washington College, in Vir-
318 The Prison Life
ginia. Happy would be the pupils who
would grow up under the tutelage, and with
the noble exemplar before them of his pure
life, Christian faith, stainless integrity, and
varied acquirements. The crying sin of our
present educational system is a neglect of the
moral nature, while overloading the intellec
tual with premature food, which it must be
strained in digesting.
September 2\th. Called on Mr. Davis,
accompanied by Captain Bickley, 3d Penn
sylvania Artillery, Officer of "the Day. Pri
soner much better. The symptoms of a
return of erysipelas gone. Had enjoyed his
walk on the ramparts, and had 'seen a young
lady on horseback who saluted him prettily as
she passed. Did not know when raising his
hat that he was bowing to his young hostess,
but was informed she was my daughter.
Remarked that she rode gracefully, sending
her his compliments, and then commented on
the little attention paid to horseback the
most healthful and delicious form of exercise
in the Northern States, and more especially
of Jefferson Davis. 319
amongst the ladies, who from their sedentary
habits uould derive most benefit from its
practice. When ladies unaccustomed to the
saddle did begin horseback, they had some
thing like a mania for fast cantering, or even
galloping, it being not only a pride but
wonder to them at the termination of each
ride that they were still in their seats. This
was ungraceful, which should be a sufficient
bar to its continuance ; it was also a strain
both on the rider and beast. A short burst
now and then along good parts of the road
was very well occasionally, to warm the horse
and quicken the rider's blood ; but a gentle
trot or rack was the true gait for all who
wished to derive health from "this exercise
more especially ladies ; and yet the canter or
gallop was their favorite pace. The Texan,
Mexican, and Indian riders were among the
best he had ever seen ; the men of these
countries for the women never ride, except
on journeys of necessity, horseback ^as a
pleasure or for health being several grades
beyond their advance of civilization. Mr.
320 The Prison Life
Davis then spoke of Indians dismounting
and remounting while their ponies were in
full gallop, swinging their bodies down and
picking up stones, etc. ; but added there were
none of these feats which he had not seen
some of our dragoons do better and more
certainly when once taught by the Indians.
As a general rule, his people were better
horsemen than those of the North. This
was due partly to some remnant of cavalier
origin in their education and sentiments, but
still more to the distance between plantations,
the want of good^roads, and their devotion to
agricultural pursuits. Their cavalry had been
superior to ours in the commencement of
the war .for these reasons, but their stock of
horses gave out sooner, and towards the close
of the struggle it became difficult to mount a
Confederate regiment, except by capturing a
regiment of their enemies. General R. Stuart
had been styled the Prince Regent of the
South; but the name, as in many other cases,
had not been to his advantage. He was a
rarely gallant and noble gentleman, well sup-
of Jefferson Davis. 321
porting by his character the tradition that
royal blood flowed in his veins, > Subsisting
his command gave him great difficulty the
cavalry having to be scattered for winter
quarters in the Shenandoah valley, and other
places more remote, where forage was plenti
ful, thus relaxing its discipline and bringing
it already somewhat jaded into the field on
the return of spring.
Mr. Davis then spoke of Macaulay's History
of England with a freedom and unreserved-
ness of admiration such as he rarely expressed.
The portrait paining it contained was more
vivid and subtle than anything on this side of
Plutarch, and gave the surrounding circum
stances to serve as a frame with broader scope
and more liveliness of panoramic effect. The
sketches of Clarendon, Shrewsbury, Marlbo-
rough, etc., etc., were not lifeless simulathre,
but instinct with the turbulence and intrigues
both of the social and political atmospheres in
which they moved. No events of his actual
life seemed more real than the life into which
he was transferred by the absorbing power of
322 The Prison Life
Macaulay's genius. The portrait of Marlbo-
rough, Mr. Davis thought the great master
piece of the work, though drawn with a pencil
not sufficiently tempered by allowance for
the unsettled, revolutionary, and conspiratorial
times in which the scenes were laid.
of Jefferson Davis. 323
CHAPTER XXL
Removal to Carroll HalL Some Curious
Coincidences. A Foolish Precaution. In
teresting Letter from Mrs. Davis. Adven
tures of the Family from Incarceration of
Mr. Davis up to date.
OCTOBER $th. Visited Mr. Davis once or
twice in the interval between this date and
my last; but the memoranda of such calls
cannot be found. Remember, however, that
the fort was visited during the interval by
Colonel Louis H. Pelouze, U. S. A., of the
War Department an' able, kind, and gallant
young officer, whom I had previously known
as Assistant Adjutant-General of- the Sherman
expedition at Port Royal. Colonel Pelouze
called for a report of the health of the pris
oner, with my opinion as to the advisability
or necessity of a change in his place of con-
324 The Prison Life
finement; visited the new quarters in Car
roll Hall, and directed General Miles being
thereto empowered by his instructions to
remove Mr. Davis from the casemate to his
new and more pleasant abode.
Called this day (October 5) with Captain
Korte, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Officer of
the Day, and found Mr. Davis already look
ing much brighter, exclaiming as I entered,
" The' world does move, after all." The panel
in the side-door opening on the corridor, in
which a sentry's face was framed, gave him
some annoyance, and he referred again to
Lafayette in connection with the torture of
a human eye constantly riveted on his move
ments. If his wish were to commit suicide,
such a precaution would prove wholly un
availing. It looked rather as if the wish were
to drive him to its commission. He then re
ferred to some eminent French general, who,
while a prisoner in England, procured and
studied anatomical diagrams for the purpose
of learning how life could be most certainly
and painlessly lost, or with least disfigurement.
of Jefferson Davis. 325
He discovered that precise part of the breast
in which the heart, unprotected by any rib,
lay nearest the surface. Sticking a small pin
through this spot in the diagram, he next
applied the diagram to his breast, and mark
ed, by a puncture, the exact place in which
even the slight wound of a pin-prod would be
fatal Some time after, being transferred to
France, and reincarcerated for a conspiracy
against the life of the Emperor, he was found
dead in his cell the pin sticking in his heart,
and the diagram, which he had never parted
with, lying at his feet. This was an instance
of how absurd it was to attempt preventing
suicide by watchfulness. Even before being
allowed knife or fork, there was no moment
in which Mr. Davis could not have thrown
down his v burden of life, if wicked enough to
have wished so rushing into the presence of
his Creator.
Mr. Davis said his transfer to Carroll Hall
had brought back many curious reminiscences
of his past life. In the very building he now
occupied, he had once, as Secretary of War,
326 The Prison Life
extended the prerogative of clemency to an
officer, since eminently distinguished on the
Federal side, who was before (er sentenced by)
a court-martial under grave charges as an
officer, though not affecting his honor as a
man. The coincidences of life are very strik
ing ; of which he gave several curious exam
ples, specially mentioning the simultaneous
deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
on the 4th of July, 1826, the half century
anniversary of the Declaration of Independ
ence, which had been so largely their joint
work. Jefferson's only wish when failing was
to live to that morning, on waking up to which
his first exclamation was : " It is then Inde
pendence Day; Lord, now lettest thou thy
servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have
seen Thy salvation ;" while the last words of
Adams, his illustrious coadjutor, were : " It is
a great and a good day Jefferson yet sur
vives." To many similarly strange coinci
dences Mr. Davis called rny attention;
but only those are preserved, though I
vaguely remember his reciting some curi-
of Jeffersbn Davis. 327
ous facts about the anniversaries of his birth
day.
Mentioned to him that I had received an
order from General Miles, through Captain
Church, that morning, directing "the meals
for prisoner Davis to be furnished him punc
tually at 8 A. M., and 3 and 8 o'clock p. M., until
further orders." These hours, I knew, did not
suit his wishes or appetite, but of course must
be accepted. He never ate more than two
meals a day, and desired them more equably
distributed.
Mr. Davis asked me some questions about
the little young, big-headed, black boy, re-
christened "Joe," though his true name
was Thomas Bailey, who now carried over
and delivered his meals. The boy was from
the vicinity of Richmond, and had been for
some time, with other members of his family,
a refugee within our lines. It seemed natu
ral to him to be so served, and the food came
kindlier than from the hands of a soldier,
though indeed, upon the whole, he had^been
most kindly and considerately treated by offi-
328 The Prison Life
cers and men. Between the fighting men on
both sides there was a generous and appre
ciative spirit ; it was the rancorous non-bellige
rents of the different sections they who had
skulked the test of manhood who would
now prove most difficult to be appeased.
What they lacked of honorable record during
the progress of the struggle, they would en
deavor to make up by ferocious zeal after the
victory had been decided. The principle of
compensation prevailed everywhere through
nature ; and for the immense theoretical boon
of freedom, with its consequent incalculable
destruction of property, he feared his poor
friends of " Joe's " race would have to suffer
fearfully in material privations and an in
creased hostility of race.
Something I cannot tell what, but proba
bly the constituents of his breakfast, for he
was very fond of fish led Mr. Davis to speak
of the manner in which our fresh-water fish "
are disseminated ; and his views, though pos
sibly old, were new to me and of much inter
est We are often astonished by finding
of Jefferson Davis. 329
various breeds of fish appear in some acciden
tal cavity of the ground which was filled with
water; also, water-lilies and other aquatic
plants, though the new pond has no visible
connection with any old pond supplied with
such production. Mr. Davis explains this by
supposing that the quawk, poke, bittern, and
the various fresh-water d_ucks, play in the
economy of nature's pisciculture a part simi
lar to that played by bees and butterflies in
the world of flowers. Bathing and feeding
in some older pond frequented by fish, their
feathers become impregnated with the fecun
dated spawn, the seed of the water-lilies, and
so forth, and these are transferred to the
new pond on their first visit. The supposi
tion of spawn being sucked up into the clouds
and descending in rain was not worthy of re
gard, though so generally accepted. If no
thing else, the cold of the atmosphere at the
height of the clouds would kill whatever ani
mal life the spawn contained. The analogy
of flower-life was entirely in favor of his ex
planation.
33 The Prison Life
October I3/A Called with Capt Theo
dore Price, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, serving
on the staff of Major-General Miles, Officer
of the Day. Mr. Davis in good health, but
complained of being treated as though he
were a wild beast on exhibition, not a prison
er of state awaiting trial. Ladies and other
friends of persons in authority at the fort,
were let loose on the ramparts about the hour
of his walk, to stare at him as though he were
the caged monster of some travelling menage
rie. He had endeavored to 'rebuke this dur
ing his last walk, when he saw a group of
ladies waiting for his appearance, by turning
short round and reentering his cell. Dear
and valuable as was the liberty of an hour's
exercise in the open air, there were prices at
which he could not consent to purchase it,
and this was of the number. His general
treatment Mr. Davis acknowledged to be
good, though there were in it many annoy
ances of detail such as the sentry's eye al
ways fastened on his movements, and the
supervision of his correspondence with his
of Jefferson Davis. 331
wife unworthy of any country aspiring to
magnanimity or greatness;
The following letter will be read with inte
rest as giving a most graphic view of what the
prisoner's wife and family had to endure from
his quitting them on board the Clyde, in
Hampton Roads, down to the day of its date ;
certain parts, reflecting upon individuals by
name, I have taken the liberty to strike out,
but the remainder of the letter is as written :
MILL VIEW (NEAR AUGUSTA, GA.), October 10, 1865.
COLONEL JOHN J. CRAVEN, - *
Chief Medical Officer, Fort Monroe, Va*
MY DEAR COLONEL, Though you remain
irrevocably dumb I am sure you hear me, and
in addressing you I feel as if writing to one
of my oldest and most reliable friends. Every
letter from my husband comes freighted with
good wishes for you, ^nd thanks for all your
kindness to him in his hours of anguish and
solitude. Can you doubt that my prayers for
you, and appreciation of your goodness, have
been even greater than his, for I could do
nothing but pray ? Mr. Davis sent me a carte
33 2 The Prison Life
de visite of your dear Anna, whose sweet face
my baby knows and has been taught to kiss
as her father's friend. The baby sends her a
little fan, and a few white flowers, made in
Augusta. I hope she may like them. Mr.
Davis writes me that she has gone to the
Moravian school, near Easton, where, I trust,
our niece may have the pleasure of seeing her.
I am rendered very anxious by the obsti
nacy of the erysipelas with my suffering hus
band. He complains in answer to entreaties
for an account of his condition without con
cealment of a loss of sleep. I dread para
lysis for him, his nerves have been so highly
strung for years without relief. If you can,
dear Doctor Craven, do entreat, and perhaps
you may prevail upon the authorities to let
him sleep without a light He is too feeble to
escape, and could not bear a light in his room
when in strong health. The sequel of these
attacks has always been an attack of amauro-
sis, and in one of them he lost his eye. It
first came on with an attack of acute neu
ralgia ; but it is useless for me to begin to tell
of Jefferson Davis. 333
you of his constitution. You must have seen
pretty well its peculiarities, in the long and
kind watches you have kept with him.
I had hoped to relieve his mind by a full
letter of personal narrative, but that letter he
has not received. * * * * *
When he was taken from me on the ship,
the provost-guard and some women, detectives
came on board, and after the women searched
our persons, the men searched our baggage.
Either they or the soldiers standing around
took everything they fancied, and some things
so large that I did not see how their conduct
could escape the eye of the guard, and of the
officer who superintended the search. They
then told my servants that they could go
ashore, if they did not desire to go to Savan
nah. The husband of my negro nurse forced
her to go, and the white girl left from an un
willingness to be exposed to a Southern cli
mate. I entreated to be permitted to debark
at Charleston, as my sister, Miss Howell, still
continued to be ill, and I feared to return on
the ship with a drunken purser, who had pre-
334 The Prison Life
viously required Colonel Pritchard's authority
to keep him in order ; and going back, Mrs.
Clay, my sister, and myself, would be the only
women on the ship but this was refused.
Acting as my own chambermaid and nurse,
and the nurse also of my sister and Mrs. Clay,
who were both ill, we started for Savannah.
We had a fearful gale, in which the upper
decks once or twice dipped water, and no one
could walk ; but as I felt as wretched as could
be, I did not fear a future state.
God protected us from the fury of the ele
ments; but the soldiers now began to open
and rob our trunks again. The crew, how
ever, gave us some protection, and one of the
officers in the engine-room gave up his cabin
and locked everything we had left up in it
The Lieutenant of the I4th Maine, Mr. Grant,
though a plain man, had the heart of a gentle
man, and took care of us with the greatest
assiduity. Some of the soldiers and crew
helped me to nurse, and saved me many an
hour of wakefulness and fatigue/ My little
daughter Maggie was quite like an old woman ;
of Jefferson Davis* 335
she took her sister early every morning for
the nights were so rough L could not sleep,
because it was necessary to hold the infant to
avoid bruising it and with the assistance of
our faithful servant Robert, who held her still
while she held her sister, she nursed her long
enough for me to rest Little Jeff and I did
the housekeeping; it was a fair division of
labor, and not unpleasant, as it displayed the
good hearts of my children.
At the harbor of Charleston the sick began
to improve. We procured ice and milk, and
the day's rest, which the ship at anchor gave
them, improved them much.
Arrived, at Savannah, we trudged up to the
hotel quite in emigrant fashion, Margaret
with the baby and Robert with the baggage ;
I, with Billy and Jeff and Maggie in quite an
old-fashioned manner, keeping all straight and
acting as parcel-carrier, for we could not
procure any carriage and must walk until we
reached the Pulaski House, where, after a
day and night, we procured comfortable
rooms. The innkeeper was a kind man,
336 The Prison Life
and 'felt for my unfortunate condition. He,
therefore, did everything in his power to make
us comfortable. A funny incident happened
the day I arrived there.
A black waiter, upon answering my bell,
and being told to call my man-servant Robert,
replied very impertinently that " if he should
see Robert he would give the order, but did
not expect to see him." When Robert heard
it, he waited till all the black servants had
assembled at dinner, and then remarked that
he should hate to believe there was a colored
man so low as to insult a distressed woman ;
but if so, though a peaceable man, he should
whip the first who did so. The guilty man
began to excuse himself, whereupon Robert
said : " Oh, it was you, was it ? Well, you
do look mean enough for that or anything
else." /From that time all the greatest assi
duity could do was don'e for me, first from
esprit de corps, and then from kind feeling /
The people of Savannah treated me with
the greatest tenderness. Had I been a sister
long absent and j ust returned to their home, I
of Jefferson Davis. 337
could have received no more tender welcome.
Houses were thrown open to me, anything
and everything was mine. ' My children had
not much more than a change of clothing after
all the parties who had us in charge had done
lightening our baggage, so they gave the baby
dresses, and the other little ones enough to
change until I could buy or make more.
Unfortunately for me, General * * * * *,
who, I hear, was " not to the manor born," was
in command of the district at the time. I
asked permission to see him, and as I was so
unwell that I could not speak above my breath
with a cold, and suffered from fever constantly
the result of exposure on the ship I wrote
to beg that he would come to see me, for his
aide had told me the night before that I could
not be permitted to leave Savannah, and hav
ing been robbed of nearly all my means, I
could not afford to stay at the hotel; and,
besides, as soon as I reached the, hotel, detec
tives were placed to watch both me and my
visitors, so I did not feel at liberty, thus
accompanied, to go to private houses.
338 The Prison Life
General * * * * 5 s aide, whose animus was
probably irreproachable, but whose orthogra
phy was very bad, was directed to tell me that,
except under very extraordinary circumstan
ces, he did not go out of his office, and " all
such" (which I afterwards found to mean my
self) u as desired to see him would call at his
office." To which I answered, that I thought
illness and my circumstances constituted an
extraordinary case ; but that I was sorry to
have asked anything which he "felt called
upon so curtly to refuse," and requested to
be informed what hour would please him on
the following day, and I would do myself the
'honor to call upon him. Whereupon the same
unfortunate, well-meaning, ill-spelling young
gentleman wrote to me that " all such as de
sired might draw nigh from nine until three."
I went, accompanied by General Mercer of
Savannah. Need I say that General * * * *
did himself justice, and verified my precon
ceived .opinion of him in our interview, in
which Jie told me he " guessed I could not
telegraph^ to Washington, write to the heads
of Jefferson Davis. 339
of Departments there, or to anybody, .except
through the regular channel approved ; " and I
could not write to my friends, " except through
the Provost-Marshal's office ; " and that I was
*
permitted to pay my expenses, but must re
main within the limits of Savannah.
With many thanks for this large liberty
accorded so graciously, I bowed myself out,
first having declined to get soldiers' rations by
application for them to this government
In this condition I remained for many
weeks, until, fortunately for me, General Birge
relieved him; who had it not in his power,
however, to remove the restrictions any fur
ther than to take the detectives away, of whom
I heard, but did not see. But General Birge
permitted me to write unrestrictedly to whom
I pleased, and appeared anxious, in the true
spirit of a gentleman, to offer all the courte
sies he consistently could. *
My baby caught the whooplng<:ough, and
was ill almost unto death for some days with
the fever which precedes the cough ; and then
she slowly declined. I -did what I could to
34O The Prison Life .
give her fresh air; but the heat was so intense,
the insects so annoying, and two rooms such
close quarters, that she and I suffered much
more than I hope you or yours will ever know
by experience.
My most acute agony arose from the pub
lication and republication in the Savannah Re
publican of the shackling scene in Mr. Davis's
casemate, which, to think of, stops my heart's
vibration. It was piteous to hear the little
children pray at their grace, " That tfie Lord
would give father something which he could
eat, and keep him strong, and bring him back
to us with his good senses, to his little chil
dren, for Christ's sake ; " and nearly every day
during the hardest, bitterest of his imprison-
ment^our little child Maggie had to quit the
table to dry her tears after this grace, which
was of her own composition.
I believe, Doctor, I should have lost my
senses if these severities had been persevered
in, for I could neither eat nor sleep for a week ;
but opiates,, and the information of the change
effected, by your advice, relieved me; and I
of Jefferson Davis. 341
have thanked God nightly for your brave
humanity. It is easier to fight with a revol
ver than to repeat unpleasant truths to a hos
tile and untrammelled power in the full indul
gence of its cruel instincts. All honor to the
brave men who fearlessly did so.
Though I ate, slept, and lived in my room,
rarely or never going out in the day, and only
walking out late at night, with Robert for pro
tection, I could not keep my little ones so
closely confined. Little Jeff and Billy went
out on the street to play, and there Jeff was
constantly told that he was rich; that his
father had " stolen eight millions," etc. Billy
was taught to sing, "We'll hang Jeff Davis
on a sour apple-tree," by giving him a reward
when he did so ; and he made such good
friends with -the soldiers, that the poor child
seemed to forget a great' deal of his regard for
his father. The little thing finally told me one
day, " You thinks Fse somebody ; so is you ;
so is father; but you is not; so is not any
of us, but me. I am a Yankee every time."
The rough soldiers, doubtless, meant to be
34 2 The Prison Life
kind, but such things wound me to the quick.
They took him and made him snatch apples
off the stalls, if Robert lost sight of him for a
-moment
Finally, two women from Maine contem
plated whipping him, because they found out
that he was his father's son; but "a man
more wise did them surprise," arid took him
off just in time to avoid a very painful scene
to them as well as to me. These things went
on in the street I refer only to the street-
teachings though these women were, with
one other, dishonorable exceptions to the
ladies in the house, until Captain * * *
was ordered to Savannah on duty. He
brought with him a person who I heard was
his wife. As I never went into the parlor I
did not see her, but my little son Jeff went
accidentally into the room one day and inter
rupted a conversation she was indulging her
self in with * one of the negro waiters, in
which she was laying down " the proper pol
icy to be pursued towards Mr. Davis."
servant, having been brought up by
of Jefferson Davis-. 343
a lady, felt very uncomfortable, and said,
" Madam, there is his son." She called little
Jeff up to her and told him his father was
" a rogue, a liar, an assassin, and that means
a murderer, boy ; and I hope he may be tied
to a stake and burned a little bit at a time
with light-wood knots. God forbid you
should grow up a comfort to your mother.
Remember, you can never be a gentleman
while this country lasts. Your father will
soon be hanged, but that death is too quick."
The negro retired mortified, and sent my
nurse to call little Jeff; and so, with his little
face purple with mortification, and wet with
tears from his streaming eyes, he came up to
me, leaving the pious and patriotic lady to
find another audience as congenial to her
tastes as the first had been.
I commended Jeffs gentlemanly conduct
in making no reply ; /cautioned him against
ever persecuting, or distressing a woman/ or
a friend, if it took that shape; made applica
tion for permission the next day to go away
to Augusta ; was refused, and then prepared
344 The Prison Life
the children to go where they would not see
such indignantly patriotic and prophetic
females. Nothing, however, but the dread of
intruding into a secret and sacred grief pre*
vented my writing poor Capt * % * a sym
pathetic note, to condole with him upon the
dispensation of Providence under which, in
the person of his wife, he groaned.
Hourly scenes of violence were going on
in the street, and not reported, between the
whites and blacks, and I felt that the chil
dren's lives were not safe. During General
* * * 's regime^ a negro sentinel levelled his
gun at my little daughter ,to shoot her for call
ing him u uncle." I could mourn with hope
if my children lived, but what was to become
of me if I was deprived of them ? So I sent
them off with many prayers and tears, but
confidant of the wisdom of the decision. On
the ship I understood a man was very abusive
in their hearing of Mr. Davis, when my faith
ful servant Robert inquired with great inter
est, " Then you tell me I am your equal ?
You put me alongside of you in everything ? "
of Jefferson Davis. 345
The man said " Certainly." '/Then," said Rob
ert, " take this from your equal," and knocked
him down. I The captain was appealed to,
and upon a hearing of the case, justified Rob
ert, and required an apology of the levelled
leveller.
Little Jeff is now at the endowed grammar-
school, near Montreal, in charge of a Mrs.
Morris, who -has the care of ten*little boys of
good family, some of them Southern boys,
and is happy, so he writes me. Mrs. Morris
superintends his clothes and person, and
teaches him his lessons. She was chosen by
the faculty of the college for her high charac
ter. Maggie is at the Convent of the Sacred
Heart, in the same place, where Gen. William
Preston's little girls are, and very kind they
are to her. A nun is always present with
the small girls, who are separated from the
large girls. Little Billy is his grandmother's
one pet and idol, always with her, and in pret
ty good health, I have sent their dear father
a picture of Maggie's school, and a little
scribbled letter from his big boy to me.
346 ' The Prison Life
As soon as the dear children were gone, I
hoped with my little weak baby (you see I am
very honest with you) to make my escape out
of the country to them ; but when, upon com
ing to Augusta which General Steadman
gave me leave to do immediately upon his
accession to command, through the very kind
intercession of General Brannen, who suc
ceeded Genefal Birge I was informed by a
gentleman who said he' had been told so au
thoritatively, that " if I ever quitted the coun
try under any possible object, I would no
matter what befell Mr. Davis never be al
lowed to return." I abandoned the inten
tion. As might makes right in my case, and
as my sister's health had failed rapidly in the
South, and as she is a girl of rare judgment
and good feeling, I sent her with my nephew
to New York en route for Canada to take care
of my devoted mother, who is now too old
and delicate to be left alone,
My two nephews joined me here about a
naoctth ago. and desired to take'me-home with
them ; but finding |hat the length of my tether
of Jefferson Davis. 347
only permitted me to browse " in Georgia,"
they stayed two days and were then forced to
go home to their families. My baby has
grown fat and rosy as the " Glory of France :"
a rose which Mr. Davis recollects near the
gate of our home. Under the kind treat
ment I have received, the fine country air
(five miles from Augusta) and the privacy, I
have also grown very much better ; "can sleep
and eat, and begin to feel alive again with the
frosty air, and loving words, and letters which
meet me here as in Savannah.
Mr. Geo. Scheley is my host, and never
had a child in her father's home a warmer
welcome. I am at no expense, and entirely
gladly welcome. The little baby eats hominy
and drinks fresh milk; grows in grace and
weight ; talks a little, and being more gentle
than little Jeff's friend, Mrs. .* * * * is a
great pet with all. The difficulty is to accept
ail the invitations I get, or to refuse them
rather the whole Southern country teeming
v
with homes, the doors of which open wide to
receive me; and people ipxe so loving, talk
348 The Prison Life
with such streaming eyes and broken voices
of him who is so precious to them and to me,
that I cannot realize I do not know them inti
mately. Mr. Davis should dismiss all fears
for me. Money is urged upon me every
thing. I only suffer for him. I do not meet
a young man who fails to put himself at my
disposal to go anywhere for me. I cannot
pay a doctor's bill, or buy of an apothecary.
" All these things are added unto me."
If I have written you too long a letter, my
dear sir, it is because I have not collected my
facts, but sought "quid scribam, non quern
ad modum." Please give your good wife as
much gratitude as she will receive from me ;
and I cannot permit you to measure it for
yourself. My children shall rise up and call
her blessed. May God show her and hers
that mercy which you have been the means
of bringing to my poor husband, and you will
be blessed indeed. This is the constant
prayer of yourgrateful friend,
VARINA DAVIS.
of Jefferson Davis. 349
CHAPTER XXII.
A New Regiment on Guard, Ordered not to
Communicate with Mr. Dams, save on
" Strictly Professional Matters? The Cor
respondence about Prisoner's Overcoat.
OCTOBER 2&tk. Called on Mr. Davis, accom
panied by Captain Titlow, 3d Pennsylvania
Artillery, Officer of the Day. His health ap
peared satisfactory, and his change of quarters
had already been of evident benefit
Some remarks in the papers led him to say,
that nothing could be more unjust than to ac
cuse the South of having wished the destruc
tion of the Constitutional Union of the States.
It was not amongst his people that the Con
stitution had been continually denounced as
a " bond with death and covenant with hell"
To them the government had invariably been
described as the "most beneficent and just
350 The Prison Life
government upon the face of the earth ; " and
it was only when what they regarded as a sec
tional Presidential ticket had been elected, and
their rights of liberty and property threatened,
that they rose to vindicate the reserved rights
of State sovereignty, under a constitution
which they believed to have been subverted.
Speaking of Mr. Bancroft, whose history of
the United 1 States he much read and admired,
frequently marking passages of ^it with his
finger-nail, as a pencil was denied him, Mr.
Davis said it was appalling to contemplate the
extra labors which must be imposed on future
historians by the increased activity of the press
in these latter days, and the looseness with
which their reports were made. It will require
the labors of several lives to make the mere
sifting of materials from the columns of the
prefe, unless the historian shall boldly go to
work by discarding all such authorities, and
confining his scrutiny to the official reports on
either side. He was glad to see that the vari
ous provisional State governments of the
South were accepting the reconstruction policy
of Jefferson Davis. 351
of President Johnson, practically and in good
faith. Universal amnesty though he did not
ask it for himself with restoration of property
and civil rights to all willing to take the oath
of allegiance, would speedily restore to the
whole country so much of harmony and homo
geneity as was now possible, and so much
needed by its political and financial interests,
No apprehensions need be felt from any war
with England or France, unless the South
should be permanently alienated by despair
of tolerant terms. Even then, as an American
with no other country left him, he would be
for unanimous support of the country against
its European enemies, but the same sentiments
might not be likely to prevail amongst the
masses of his people. They had in their blood
the faults of a Southern sky, "sudden and
quick in quarrel, jealous of honor." ^he
question of negro soldiers was not a new one
in this war. Such class of soldiers had twice
before been* enlisted in the history of the
country, but not trusted upon active service
on either occasion ; and when he had been in
352 The Prison Life
the' War Department, a proposition had been
urged by several eminent officers of the regu
lar army for garrisoning the defences of the
Southern coast with- regiments of blacks, on
the ground that they could resist the exposures
of the climate better,
October 2$th. Called upon Mr. Davis,
accompanied by Captain Korte, 3d Pennsyl
vania Artillery, Officer of the Day. Mr.
Davis had been for some time complaining
that his light suit of grey tweed was too thin
for the increasing cold of the days on the
ramparts of the fortress, and finding that his
measure was with a tailor in Washington, I
requested a friend of mine to call there and
order a good heavy black pilot-cloth overcoat
for the prisoner, and that the bill should be
sent to rne. Also, ordered from a store in
New York some heavy flannels to make Mr.
Davis comfortable for the winter. These
acts, to me appearing innocent, and even
laudable, caused great trouble, as may be seen
by the following correspondence, finally lead
ing tt a peremptory order which almost alto-
of Jefferson Davis 353
gether Broke off the previously free relations
I had exercised with Mr. Davis. This, how
ever, will more properly appear further on,
when the various letters on the subject are
inserted under their proper date.
October zgtk. Called, accompanied by
Captain R. W. Bickley, 3d Pennsylvania
Artillery, Officer of the Day, who announced
that his regiment was under orders to quit
the fort on the last day of the month, pre
paratory to being mustered out of the service.
Mr. Davis replied with much feeling, express
ing his regret that a regiment whose officers
had shown him so much genuine kindness
within the limits of their duty, and whom he
had come to regard more as friends than
custodians, should be about quitting him
though he had no doubt of being treated with
equal consideration by the officers of the :;in-
coming regiment, the 5th United States
Artillery, with many of whose officers he had
been acquainted before the war. To a pri
soner new faces were never pleasant, unless
the old faces had become intolerable from
354 The Prison Life
cruelty, which had been the reverse of this in
his case. No matter what his fate might be
in the future, he could never forget the 3d
Pennsylvania Artillery.
Mr. Davis also referred to the kindness of
Captain Grisson, of the staff of General Miles,
in regard to a little matter which, though
trivial in itself, had given him much annoy
ance. It arose in this manner: he had re
quested a barber to be sent to him, as his hair
was growing too long. Captain Grisson
brought a hair-dresser, but on the termination
of the operation said it was the order of
General Miles that the lopped hair should be
carried over to headquarters. To this Mr.
Davis objected, first from having a horror of
having such trophies or "relics" paraded
around the country, and secondly because he
wished to send it to Mrs. Davis ; this latter
probably an excuse to avoid the former dis
agreeable alternative. Captain Grisson replied
that his orders were peremptory, but if Mr.
Davis would fold the hair up in a newspaper,
and leave it on a designated shelf in the case-
of Jefferson Davis 355
mate, the Captain would step over to head
quarters, report the prisoner's objections, and
ask for further orders. This was done, and
Captain Grisson soon returned with the glad
tidings that the desire to obtain possession of
these "interesting relics" had been abandoned.
Mr. Davis also spoke with great interest of a
volume called the Schonburgh Cotta Family,
which had been sent for his perusal by a lady
in Richmond, It had been brought, I believe,
by the Rev. Mr. Minnegerode, when that gen
tleman called at Fort Monroe on the day of
my return from Richmond to administer the
Sacrament to his former parishioner.
October $\st. Called with Captain Titlow,
Officer of the Day, the last officer of the 3d
Pennsylvania Artillery who had charge of the
prisoner. Mr. Davis renewed his friendly and
grateful messages to the officers of the regi
ment, specifying several by name, and desiring
to be remembered by them. As it stormed,
there had been a fire built in the grate, and
Mr. Davis spoke of its cheering effect both on
body, eye, and mind; ,the stove being both
356 The Prison Life
injurious and unpleasant, as it concealed the
best part of the fire, which was its rich, home
like, and enlivening appearance. It had al
ways appeared natural to him that savage
nations, in the absence of revealed religion,
should adopt fire as their god. It was the
nearest approach in the material world to the
invisible spirit of life. Negroes and Indians,
even in summer-time, would build a fire and
squat down around it, forgetting all the
demands of labor and amusement Indeed,
one of the earliest instincts of humanity,
whether civilized or savage, was to collect
around a bonfire in our childhood.
The change to Carroll Hall had been of the
greatest benefit to the prisoner's health, the
air being purer as it w^p loftier, his own room
more cheerful, and only subject to the draw
back that he had human eyes from three di-
fections continually fixed upon him through
the grated door entering his room, the win
dow opening on the piazza at his left, and the
door opposite the window, with an open panel
m it, opposite which stood a sentry.
of Jefferson Davis. 357
November ist. Called with Brevet-Captain
Valentine H, Stone, 5th U. S. Artillery, First
Officer of the Day, from the new regiment
garrisoning the fort. Mr. Davis appeared out
of sorts not body-sick, but heart-sick, as he
said himself. He appeared to scrutinize Cap
tain Stone with great care, asking him all
about his term of service, his early education,
etc., as if anxious to find out everything ascer-
tainable about the new men into whose hands
he had fallen an operation repeated with
each new Officer of the Day who called to
see him. Indeed this habit of analysis ap
peared universal with the prisoner. It seem
ed as if he put into a crucible each fresh
development of humanity that crossed his
path, testing it therein for as long as the in
terview lasted, and then carefully inspecting
the ingot which was left as the result That
ingot, whether appearing to him pure gold or
baser metal, never lost its character to his
mind from any subsequent acquaintance,' He
never changed his opinion of a man, or so
rarely as merely to prove th rule by its ex-
35 8 The Prison Life
ception ; and this was one of the faults alleged
against him as a leader by his opponents. It
may have been pride that would not abandon
a judgment once formed; or, more probably,
that Mr. Davis had been taught by his expe
rience of the world, how rarely we improve
the correctness of such estimates by subse
quent alterations. In our first judgment, it is
the nearly infallible voice of instinct, un
biassed by any other causes, which delivers the
verdict; while in closer acquaintance after
wards, the acts of the hypocrite, or the fami
liarity which so blunts and deadens our per
ceptions, may interfere to lead us astray.
Mr. Davis said it was scandalous that gov
ernment should allow General Miles to review
his letters to his wife. They had to pass
through the hands of Attorney-General Speed,
who should be a quite competent judge of
offensive matter, or what was deemed offen
sive. General Miles had returned to him
several pages of a letter written to Mrs. Davis,
containing only a description of his new prison
ia -answer t<?~ her inquiries, the General de-
of Jefferson Davis. 359
claring such description to be objectionable,
perhaps suspecting that if told where he was
confined, Mrs. Davis would storm the fort
and rescue him vi et armis. This was both
absurd and cruel one of those acts of petty
tyranny which was without excuse, because
without any sufficient object In regard to
attempts at escape, General Miles might give
himself no uneasiness. Mr. Davis desired a
trial both for himself and cause, and if all the
doors and gates of the fort were thrown
open he would not leave. If anywhere in the
South the Confederate cause yet lived, the
thing would be different; but as that cause
was now wrapped in the shroud of a military
defeat, the ojily duty left to him his only
remaining object was to vindicate the action
of his people, afid his own action as their
representative, by a fair and public trial.
November ioz& This day, in consequence
of reports in some of the papers that an over
coat had been ordered for Mr. Davis frofti
Mr. S. W. Owen, his former tailor, doing
business at Washington, and a further report
360 The Prison Life
that I had been the medium for ordering it,
the following letter was sent to me :
Headquarters, Military District of Fort Monroe, )
Fort Monroe, Va , November 18, 1865. )
SIR: The Major-General commanding di
rects me to inquire of you if any orders have
been given by you, or through you, for an
overcoat for Jefferson Davis ?
Such a report has appeared in the papers
Very respectfully,
A. V. HITCHCOCK,
Captain and Provost-Marshal.
To which, on the same date, I returned the
following answer :
Office of Post Surgeon, Fort Monroe, Va., )
November 10, 1865. J
CAPTAIN : I have received the communi
cation dated November loth, Headquarters
Military District, Fort Monroe, in which the
Major-General commanding, directs you to
inquire if any orders have been given by me,
m through me, for an overcoat for Jefferson
Davis.
In ipply, I would respectfully state that I
of Jefferson Davis 361
did order a thick overcoat, woollen drawers,
and under-shirts, for Jefferson Davis. I found
as the cold weather approached he needed
thick garments, the prisoner being feeble in
health, and the winds of the coast cold and
piercing. I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) JOHN J. CRAVEN,
B'vt Lieut-Col, Surg. U.S.V.
Capt A. O. HITCHCOCK, A. D. C
That any objection to my action in the
matter should have been made, was about the
last thing I should have expected the pris
oner's health being under my charge, and
warm clothing for cold weather being obvi
ously one of the first necessities to a patient
in so feeble a condition. Let me add, that
Mr. Davis had never asked for the warm
clothing I deemed requisite, and t}iat sending
for it, and insisting upon its acceptance, hit
been with me a purely professional act ^ In
the valise belonging to Mr. Davis, whlifa was
362 'The Prison Life
kept at the headquarters of General Miles, no
heavy clothing could be found, merely con
taining a few articles of apparel chiefly de
signed for the warm climate of the South.
General Miles, however, took a different view
of my action, to judge from the following
letter:
Headquarters, Military District, Fort Monroe, Va , >
Fort Monroe, Va , November 18, 1865. f
COLONEL: The Major-General command
ing directs that, in future, you give no orders
for Jefferson Davis, without first communi
cating with these Head Districts.
Also, that in future, your conversations
with him will be confined strictly to profes
sional matters, and that you comply with the
instructions regarding the meals to be fur
nished to prisoners Davis and Clay, and have
them delivered more promptly. Also, report
the price paid for Mr. Davis's overcoat, and
by whom paid.
- A. O. HITCHCOCK,
CaptandA.D.C
BVt Lieut-Col. J. J. CRAVEN,
1?ost Surgeon,
of Jefferson Davis. 363
This order I then regarded as cruel and
unnecessary, nor has subsequent reflection,
changed my opinion. The meals foi; Mr.
Davis I had sent at hours to suit his former
habits and present desires two meals* a day
at such time as he felt most appetite. I was
now ordered to send his meals three times a
day, and at hours which did not meet his
wishes, and were very inconvenienjt to my
family, his meals being invariably sent over
at the same hour I had mine. The order to
abstain from anything but professional conver
sation was a yet greater medical hardship, as
to a man in the nervous condition of Mr.
Davis, a friend with whom he feels free to
converse is a valuable relief from the mpodi-
ness of silent reflection. The orders, how
ever, I felt bound to accept and carry out in
good faith ; and hence, from this point, my
memoir must unavoidably lose much of its
interest. The next step in this difficulty
be seen in my annexed letter, dated the day
following the receipt of my last comnfunica-
tion from General Miles :
364 The Prison Life
CAPT. A. O. HITCHCOCK, A. D. C:
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your communication dated Head
quarters, Military District, Fort Monroe, Va.,
Nov. 1 8, 1865; and in answer to your inquiry
concerning the cost of the coat ordered by me
for Mr. Davis, I would say:
That I do not know the cost of the coat ; I
have not yet received the bill. As soon as
received, I will forward it to the Major-Gene
ral commanding. I do not know that any
person paid for the coat, having directed tftat
the bill should be sent to me when order
ing it
I remain, Captain, very respectfully,
JOHN J. CRAVEN,
Bv't Lieut-Col and Post Surg. and Chief Medical Officer,
Military District, Fort Monroe, Va.
The next day on the 2^oth, though dated
the 1 7th I received from Mr. Owen the sub-
note in reply, as will be seen, to a letter of
inquiry addressed to him some nine or ten
days previously:
of Jefferson Davis. 365
DR. J. J. CRAVEN, U. S. A.,
Chief Medical Director,
Fortress Monroe, Va. : ,
DEAR SIR, In reply to your favor of the
1 4th inst, I would say the price of the coat
sent you was $125 ; and as regards the ques
tion you ask about who paid for the coat, par
ties called at the store and desired to pay
for it. Not knowing your wish on that sub
ject, the money was left here until such time
as I should hear from you about payment
for it.
Yours respectfully,
(Signed) S, W. OWEN,
Per RUSSELL.
To conclude this correspondence, the two
following letters will explain themselves :
Headquarters, Mil. Dist, Fort Monroe, Va.,
J>ecember 14, 1865. ;
Bv't Lt-Col. J. J. CRAVEN,
Surgeon U. S. V. : .
SIR : The General commanding directs me
3^6 The Prison Life
to ask if the overcoat furnished the prisoner
Davis has been paid for.
I am, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
JOHN S. McEwAN,
Capt, A.D. C.,andA. A. A. G.
Fort Monroe, Va., December 15, 1865.
Capt JOHN S. McEw&N,
A. D. C, and A. A. A. G. :
SIR : I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your communication, bearing date
December i4th, 1865, stating that the Major-
General commanding directs you to ask if
the overcoat furnished Jefferson Davis has
been paid for. In reply, I would respectfully
state, that parties, without my approval, know
ledge, or consent, called upon S. W, Owen,
the tailor, interfered and interested themselves
in the coat, leaving on deposit the price for
the same. Seeing the coat was unlike the
one I had ordered (a plain, black, pilot over
coat), I interested myself no further in the
matter, leaving Owen, the tailor, to receive or
refuse the money as he saw fit. He has re-
of Jefferson Davis. 367
ceived no money from me, neither did I au
thorize him to receive the pay for the over
coat from another.
I am, sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
JOHN J. CRAVEN,
Brevet Lieut-CoL, Surg. U. S. V., and Post Surgeon.
368 The Prison Life
CHAPTER XXIII.
General Summary in Conclusion. The Cha
racter of Mr. Davis. Let us be Merci
ful !
AND now my diary of a most interesting
patient ceases, for under the orders dated
November i8th, contained in the close of the
preceding chapter, I could hold no conversa
tion with him except on " strictly professional
matters," up to the date of my being relieved
from duty at the fort, which took place near
the end of December, 1865, and these would
be of no interest to the public, even were I at
liberty to reveal them. Mr. Davis occasion
ally suffered in health during the last month
of my remaining his medical attendant, but
the history of his .trifling ailments per se, and
unrelieved by any conversation, would not
of Jefferson Davis. 369
form either a pleasant or amusing record.
With the officers of the 5th U. S. Artillery,
as with his previous friends of the 3d Penn
sylvania, he continued to have most agreeable
relations Major Charles P. Muhlenburgh,
Captain S. A. Day, and many others, display
ing both generosity and consideration in their
treatment of the distinguished captive. In
deed, it was a remark which must have been
forced on every observer, both during the wai;
and since, that it is amongst -the non-belli
gerents of the North the men, one would
think, with least cause to hate or oppress our
recent Southern enemies that we must look
for those who appear actuated^ by the most
vindictive feelings.
It was not my intention to have published
this narrative until after the trial of the pri
soner; b&t on submitting the matter to friends,
whose judgment I -relied upon, it was decided
that there was 110 material in these pages
which could bias or improperly interfere with
public opinion, or the due course of justice.
It must be remembered that during the past
370 The Prison Life
year Mr. Davis has lain a silent prisoner in
one of our strongest forts, unable to reply by*
so much as a word to the myriad assaults
which have been made both on his private
character and public course. This is abso
lutely the first statement in his favor if so it
can be regarded which the Northern press
has yet given to the world ; and the case
against that prisoner must indeed be weak
which cannot bear allowing a single voice to
be raised in his defence, while seven-eighths
of the Northern journals have been industri
ously engaged in manufacturing public senti
ment to his injury. I know my notes are
very imperfect that I have lost much which
would have been valuable to history; but such
brief memoirs as I made were not originally
intended for publication, but for my own
pleasure or instruction, and that of my family;
and it has been my conscientious effort to
report him as he was, neither inventing- any
new sentiments to put in his mouth, or sup
pressing any material views on public ques
tions which appeared in my note-book. In
of Jefferson Davis. 371
many of the important political conversations,
let me add, the words are as nearly as possible
the exact language used by Mr. Davis, my
memoranda upon such matters having been
made as full as possible.
His self-control was the feature of his char
acter, knowing that his temper had been high
and proud, which most struck me during my
attendance. His reticence was remarked on
subjects where he knew we must differ ; and
though occasionally speaking with freedom of
slavery, it was as a philosopher rather than as
a politician rather as a friend to the negro,
and one sorry for his inevitable fate in the
future, than with rancor or acrimony against
those opponents of the institution whom he
persisted in regarding as responsible for the
war, with all its attendant horrors and sacri
fices. Of the "abolitionists," as such, he
never spoke, though often of the anti-slavery
sentiment ; and he impressed me as having in
good faith accepted the new order of things
which the late struggle and its suppression
have made necessary.
372 The Prison Life
The Southern States have been essentially
conquered by military force, and now taking
the worst view of the case await such terms
as the conqueror may see fit to impose. The
problem before all good men in the country
that for which our soldiers and sailors poured
out their blood, and all loyal men labored and
made sacrifices in their respective spheres is
the restoration of the Union as it existed in
harmony, glory, and prosperity before the
recent war, with, of course, such changes and
modifications as the rebellion may have
proved necessary. The writer believes it
will be found that the men who were chief
actors in the late rebellion, are now the
promptest and most clear-headed in accept
ing its results ; are not only willing but soli
citous to accept and forward all such changes
as the new order of things may render requi
site ; passing a sponge over the political
errors of the past, and now only aiming to
direct their people in the road by which the
material prosperity and glory of the Union,
one and undivisible, may be most quickly
of Jefferson Davis. 373
secured for the benefit of all interests and
sections.
Mr. Davis is remarkable for the kindliness
of his nature and fidelity to friends. Of none
of God's creatures does he seem to wish or
speak unkindly; and the same fault found
with Mr. Lincoln unwillingness to sanction
the military severities essential to maintain
discipline is the fault I have heard most
strongly urged against Mr. Davis.
As for the rest, the character of Mr. Davis,
we believe, will receive justice in history.
Mistaken in devotion to a theory of State
sovereignty, which, before the recent war,
was all but universally accepted by the peo
ple of both sections, he % engaged reluctantly
(as he says) in a rebellion for the sustainment
of his faith. He and those who thought and
acted with him have suffered terribly for that
error; but it can be neither magnanimity nor
wisdom to slander or oppress them in their
moment of misfortune. It is by the concilia
tory and generous policy of President An
drew Johnson that the bleeding gashes of
374 27^ Prison Life
the body politic are to be bound up and
healed ; and in a restoration of the Union as
it existed before the late sad conflict with
-*,
only slavery abolished, the rebel debt repudi
ated, and the national debt accepted in good
faith the aspirations of those who served in
our army and navy will be most happily real
ized. If Mr. Davis has been guilty of any
private crime, such as connivance with the
assassination of Mr. Lincoln or unauthorized
cruelties to our prisoners, no punishment
can be too heavy for him ; but let the fact of
his guilt be established in fair and open trial.
If, on the other hand, his only guilt has been
rebellion, let a great nation show the truest
quality of greatness magnanimity by includ
ing him in the wide folds of that act of am
nesty and oblivion, in which all his minor
partners, civil and military, in the late Con
federacy are now so wisely enveloped. Make
h*n a martyr and his memory is dangerous ;
treat him with the generosity of liberation, and
he both can and, we think, will be a power
for good in the future of peace and restored
* f Jefferson Davis. 375
prosperity which we hope for the Southern
States.
Believing that the views of Mr. Davis may
throw important light on the true policy to
be pursued, the author noted down all such
as he could remember, or has had made notes
of, as faithfully and as conscientiously as if
giving his evidence under oath in a court of
justice. Nowhere has he sought to better by
concealment or misrepresentation the actual
character or views of the person for whom he
confesses that his professional, and finally his
personal sympathies, have been warmly' en
listed; and the only points he has been led
to suppress and they have been very few
were such merely medical details as neither
the public would care for, nor any physician be
authorized to expose. " Be just even to your
enemies," is not only one of the noblest, but
wisest maxims which antiquity has left us ;
and there is another like unto it : " It is law
ful, even from your enemies, to learn wis
dom."
And now with some few suggestive ques-
376 The Prison Life
tions, this final chapter will be brought to a
close.
Has any evidep.ce yet brought before the
Reconstruction Committee of our Congress
been franker, clearer, more evidently honest,
or more heartily aiming to bring before the
country the actual needs, wishes, and aspira
tions of the South than that of such gentlemen
as Robert E. Lee, Alexander H. Stephens, and
the other late leaders of the rebellion, who
have been examined, and whose testimony
has been spread before the public ? And has
there not been manifest in all such testimony
yet taken, an unreserved acquiescence in the
results of the recent war, and a very earnest
desire to restore the relations of the Union
on a basis of harmony, good faith, and future
complete assimilation of interests and institu
tions which shall endure for ever? The in
telligent of the beaten rebels are to-day, and
likely to remain, as faithful supporters of the
Union as can be found on the face of the
globe is not this conceded ? And while the
opinions of the gentlemen examined have been
of Jefferson Davis. 377
regarded and treated by the highest authority
as of deserved importance in aiding us to
solve the problem of reconstruction can it
be wise, we ask, that those of Mr. Davis, their
confessedly ablest leader in the political field,
and the man most powerful over the affec
tions and confidence of the Southern masses,
should be now ignored in silence, or for ever
suppressed in the silent cell of an untried and
unconvicted imprisonment? For the crime
of treason, not one of these not the humblest
official under the late rebellion was one whit
more or less guilty than the man whom they
elected their titular President; and if any
other crimes can be alleged against him, in
the name of justice, and for the honor of our
whole country, both now and in the hereafter,
are not his friends and suffering family enti
tled to demand that he may have an early
and impartial trial as provided by the laws of
our country?
THE END.
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