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Sale 58
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Lot 61
[Davis, Jefferson] (1808-1889) President of the Confederate States of America. Pierce's Secretary of War and a Mississippi Senator. After the war, he was captured and imprisoned for two years. Never tried for treason, he was released and wrote The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. Letter Signed "Nelson A. Miles" as "Bvt Maj Gen U.S. Vols / Comdg Dist.," two conjoined pages, 9¾ x 7¾ in., Head Quarters Military District, Fort Monroe, August 22, 1865. To an unnamed General, undoubtedly Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend, to whom Miles sent all his reports about the prisoners and mail to be forwarded. Ink stain at top right of first page. Expertly strengthened on verso at folds. Fine condition.
In full, "I have the honor to state that the prisoner ‘Davis’ is feeling quite comfortable this morning, complaining a little however of erysipelas in the face and a carbuncle on his leg. I also enclose a communication from [Clement] Clay to the ‘Sec of War’ together with a letter to his wife which he desires, forwarded. In regard to the Sentinels, when they were taken out of his room he said they did not disturb or waken him, lately they have been required to make as little noise as possible and not to walk around in the room. I do not think it possible for him to escape, even if the sentinels are taken out of the front room, he will still be under two locks, aside from the Guard in front of his cell."
On May 19, 1865, the propeller vessel "William P. Clyde" arrived at Hampton Roads, Virginia, with Confederate prisoners aboard, including Jefferson Davis and Confederate Senator and diplomatic agent Clement Claiborne Clay. On May 22nd, Major General Nelson A. Miles arrived to take command of Fort Monroe.
From "Prison Life of Jefferson Davis" by Bvt. Lt. Col. John J. Craven, M.D., "Late Surgeon U.S. Vols., and Physician of the Prisoner during his Confinement in Fortress Monroe, from May 25, 1865, up to December 25, 1865" (New York: G.W. Dillingham Co., 1866): "The procession into the fort was simple though momentous … 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 Prichard [Michigan Cavalry] accompanying Mr. Clay, with a guard of soldiers in their rear … Mr. Davis was shown into casemate No. 2 and Clay into No. 4, guards of soldiers being stationed in the cells numbered 1, 3, and 5, upon each side of them. They entered; the heavy doors clanged behind them, and in that clang was rung the final knell of the terrible, but now extinct, rebellion …".
Estimated Value $2,500 - 3,500.
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