The Capture of Jefferson Davis: The History of the Confederate President's Attempt to Escape the Union Army

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of Davis' escape and his correspondence with Southern generals *Includes accounts of Davis' capture and imprisonment *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents On April 1, 1865, the Union army finally broke the Confederate army’s siege lines around Petersburg at the Battle of Five Forks. When fighting across the siege lines erupted the next day, it forced Lee to make a disorderly retreat of both Petersburg and nearby Richmond. Left no choice with Lee’s retreat, the Confederate government hurriedly evacuated Richmond, taking as many papers as they could, and Confederate president Jefferson Davis moved his headquarters to Danville, Virginia on April 3. On April 4, President Lincoln entered Richmond and famously toured the White House of the Confederacy, sitting at Davis’s desk. To most observers, the South was clearly reaching its end, but Davis had no intention of quitting the war. Even while he w