The Fallen President

The Fallen President. The Humiliation of Captivity. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, his family and entourage, guarded by the 4th Michigan Cavalry Regiment led by Union Lieutenant Benjamin D. Pritchard, passed through this area on Saturday, May 13, 1865. The area was then a small farming community known as Wellston. They were heading north to Macon after Davis and the other Confederates had been captured near Irwinville, Georgia on May 10th. Davis rode in an ambulance wagon with his wife, Varina, and their four young children. Davis was pale, proud and depressed. Federal soldiers shouted taunts at him, including “Get a move on, Jeff.” The procession encountered numerous paroled Confederate soldiers making their way home after their armies recent surrenders. “Hey, Johnny Reb,” the Federals shouted, “We've got your President!” The Northern troopers' constant jibes greatly amused themselves, except when one unrepentant Southerner responded, “Yes, and the devil's got yours!”, Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan of Texas was the only member of Jefferson Davis's presidential cabinet to be captured with him at Irwinville. Upon his capture some of Reagan's personal property was stolen, including his saddlebags. While in Wellston, he accused Colonel Pritchard of the theft, and the two began to argue. But the confrontation ended quickly when Pritchard threatened to put Reagan in irons, further proof of the defenseless situation confronting Jefferson Davis and the other “fallen” Confederates., Many years later Varina Davis was still angered by their treatment, writing, “Within a short distance of Macon we were halted and the soldiers drawn up in line on either side of the road. Our children crept close to their father, especially little Maggie, who put her arms about him and held him tightly, while from time to time he comforted her with tender words from the psalms of David.” She added, “It is needless to say that as the men stood at ease, they expressed in words unfit for women's ears, all that malice could suggest.” Varina recounted that her husband was “subjected to every coarse jest and word unfit for women's ears that can well be imagined” and that the constant stream of insults were shouted “in the rudest manner.”, The modern City of Warner Robins was founded in 1942 during World War Two when a new U.S. Army Air Corps (U.S. Air Force) facility was constructed. The city is named for U.S. Brigadier General Augustine Warner Robins, a pioneer in air logistics., [Captions] , . (Left, top) Ambulance wagon similar to the one used to transport Jefferson Davis and his family. , . (Left, bottom) Children of Jefferson and Varina Davis circa 1867 (From L to R) Jeff, Maggie, Billy, Winnie) , . (Center, top) John H. Reagan, Confederate Postmaster General , . (Center, bottom) Union Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin D. Pritchard , . (Right, top) Route of Jefferson Davis through South Carolina and Georgia , . (Right, bottom) Varina Davis