Hester's Ferry

Hester's Ferry. Jefferson Davis Enters Georgia. , Confederate President Jefferson Davis, various government officials, and a 2,500-man cavalry escort departed Abbeville, South Carolina, before midnight on May 2, 1865. Included were several Confederate cabinet members, the President's personal staff and a lengthy wagon train carrying the Confederate Treasury of approximately $250,000 in gold and silver plus other valuables. The entourage arrived at the Savannah River shortly after dawn. Relieved to find that a military pontoon bridge constructed for their use had not been discovered by Federal troops rumored to be nearby, Davis and the others immediately crossed the river into Georgia at Hester's Ferry., Once across, President Davis and his staff stopped at a farmhouse a short distance away for breakfast and to rest their horses before proceeding to Washington, Georgia. While there, Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin said farewell and left by horse and buggy to make his own way. Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge, following behind Davis with the Treasury wagons, stopped at another location to address a problem with its escort., Many of the Confederate cavalrymen, especially the South Carolinians, had wanted to go home rather than to cross the river into Georgia. They were also anxious about their personal safety and lack of pay. Secretary Breckinridge realized he needed to act quickly. “You're still Confederate soldiers; it's your responsibility to act the part,” he shouted. “You're Southern gentlemen, not highway robbers. On a hundred battlefields you have shown that you know how to face death like men. Now in these dark times, you must also show that you can live honorably. As soon as we reach Washington, you will be paid.” The troops were calmed, but not satisfied, still fearful that the Treasury might soon be captured by Federal troops. Breckinridge finally relented, using over $108,000 of the Treasury’s silver. He ordered paymasters to count out the silver coinage inside the home of Mrs. Susan Moss and directed its payout through a window. As word of the payments spread through the men their numbers swelled. Close to 4,000 soldiers were paid between $25 and $32 each in silver including a few Federal soldiers posing as Confederates., Brigadier General Basil W. Duke, commander of one of the Confederate brigades, later recalled the payout: “The quartermasters of the several brigades were engaged during the entire night in counting out the money, and until early dawn a throng of soldiers surrounded the little cabin where they were dividing ‘the pile’ into their respective quotas ... My brigade received thirty-two dollars [per man], officers and men sharing alike ... Breckenridge was paid that [same] sum ...”, One box left behind contained jewelry and other valuables. Mrs. Moss hid the box outside, but word of its existence soon led to its confiscation by Federal troops. Secretary Breckinridge rode on with a few hundred Confederate soldiers willing to continue, mostly from his native Kentucky, to Washington where President Davis had already arrived.