Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis. . On May 7, 1865, Jefferson Davis, with his family and a small escort, passed through Dublin enroute south to avoid a screen of Union cavalry attempting to intercept him. That evening, the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry [US] reached Dublin and camped at the ferry. Its commander, Lt. Col. Henry Harnden, could learn nothing from the white citizens of Dublin; but late that night a negro visited his camp and told him that the Davis party “had passed through the town that day, going south on the river road.” , At dawn, Harnden began a pursuit. After many difficulties, he reached Abbeville (50 miles SW) close behind his quarry. There, he met the 4th Michigan Cavalry [US], Lt. Col. B. D. Pritchard, and, after briefing Pritchard, continued his pursuit of Mr. Davis. , Pritchard, bound down-river to intercept other Confederate officials, rode on some 12 miles; then, abandoning his own mission, he made a forced march and, finding the Davis camp by posing as the escort, he surrounded it quietly and waited for dawn. , Unaware of his presence, Harnden moved up before dawn to surround the camp. His advance was fired upon and, in the fight that followed, two Michigan soldiers were killed before a prisoner taken by Harnden’s men revealed the identity of the “enemy.” , During this unfortunate collision, Pritchard closed in and captured Mr. Davis and his party, thereafter claiming for the 4th Michigan the fruits of the 1st Wisconsin’s labors.