Representaciones sociales de la categoría dilemas morales

The Severest Penalties of Your Crime

Davis left Richmond before Lincoln’s death, intent on eluding Union forces. His conduct did not change after word of Booth’s crime reached him. Perhaps he feared being caught and put on trial for treason, but if he harbored this fear, it was not evidenced by his words. He still believed the Confederate States of America to be a viable nation. If the armies collapsed and the Confederacy died, he hoped to escape the United States mainland. These were the concerns that occupied his mind as he moved south with his cavalry escort. How he fit into Lincoln’s political plans for the future did not motivate his movements. Still, the Administration’s blueprint for the nation after the war must take into consideration what to do with Davis if he was overtaken.

Implicit in Lincoln’s comment that he would not mind if Jefferson Davis escaped capture is Lincoln’s perception that having the Confederate president in custody would bring a host of problems that could be avoided if Davis simply eluded federal authorities until he made it out of the country. By nature, Lincoln was not a blood-thirsty man. His statement might simply have been one which reflected his feeling that enough sacrifice had been made in the war. But, it betrayed Lincoln’s belief that Davis would become a

1 _{Charles Sumner to Salmon P. Chase, June 25, 1865, The Selected Letters}

of Charles Sumner, Beverly Wilson Palmer, ed., 2 vols., (Boston:

distraction to re-union of the North and South. Decisions on whether Confederate leadership should be indicted for treason would certainly lose steam if the head of the rebel government, because of his absence from the country, was not susceptible to trial. And actually putting Davis to trial for treason would divide the nation even further while exposing the federal government to the negative consequences of an acquittal.

In his work entitled, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Davis wrote that after the war’s end, “nothing remained to be done but for the sovereigns, the people of each State, to assert their authority and restore order. If the principle of the sovereignty of the people, the cornerstone of all our institutions, had survived and was still in force, it was necessary only that the people of each State should re-consider their ordinances of secession, and again recognize the Constitution of the United States as the supreme law of the land. This simple process would have placed the Union on its original basis, and have restored that which had ceased to exist, the Union by consent.”2 Sixteen years after Lee’s surrender, his suggestion was that all simply should have been forgotten and forgiven. His solution ostensibly would have permitted the same men who led the South out of the Union to lead their states back into the national government. This was a result that many in the North found unacceptable.

However, in April 1865, he was more intent on fleeing the country - reconciliation with his former nation was not paramount in his mind. With the collapse of the Confederacy, many rebel leaders were able to escape to foreign countries. He

2

Jefferson Davis, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, 2 vols. (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1881), 2:718.

hoped to join them in exile. Immediately after the war, Davis, along with his family and others, moved rapidly in an attempt to evade capture by the federal government.

As he fled Richmond and moved through North Carolina towards Georgia, Davis held out a strange hope of rallying the South. As late as April 21, 1865, Davis exhibited his intention to continue the bloody struggle. Brigadier General Thomas Munford, in command of a Confederate cavalry brigade, ordered his men to continue the war after having received a communication from Davis “ordering us again to the field in defense of our liberties.” Reliant upon the news that General Joseph Johnston still had an army in the field capable of upholding the Confederate banner, Munford urged his men to assemble once again and resume the war. The futility of his call was evident by the order

asking the men to “renew our vows, and swear again by our broken altars to be free or die.”3

Davis believed that Johnston’s army “holding its position with determination to fight on, and manifest ability to maintain the struggle, will attract all the scattered soldiers and daily and rapidly gather strength.”4 This was a fantasy. Davis continued his flight south while the Union army’s round-up of rebel leaders yielded many of the top Confederate government officials.

The stakes in Davis’ pursuit were raised by two acts of Andrew Johnson. First, on May 1, 1865, he issued an order that the Lincoln conspirators could be “lawfully

3

Thomas T. Munford, Special Orders, No. 6, April 21, 1865, O.R., ser. 97:1395.

4

triable before a Military Commission.”5 And second, he issued a presidential proclamation on May 2, 1865, stating that the Bureau of Military Justice had evidence that linked Davis and others to the conspiracy that resulted in the murder of Lincoln. A reward of $100,000 was offered for the arrest of Davis.6 Over the next week, the Union army worked tirelessly to cut off Davis’ possible routes of escape and capture him. Orders went out to those involved in the search to “make every endeavor to capture or kill Jeff. Davis, the rebel ex-President.”7 Their efforts even extended to suggestions that federal military officers “use every persuasion to induce the disgusted secesh to join in hunting him.”8 Just the day before the presidential proclamation, James Speed had given Johnson a written opinion that person implicated in Lincoln’s murder “not only can, but ought to be tried before a military commission.”9

The treatment of individual rebel leaders was haphazard. Henry S. Foote, a member of the Confederate Congress, was ordered in January 1865 to be arrested by James A. Seddon, the Confederate Secretary of War as he traveled to Washington, D.C., ostensibly to negotiate a peace treaty.10 He was taken prisoner by Union officials and

5 _{The Papers of Andrew Johnson, “Order for Military Trial of Presidential}

Assassins,” May 1, 1865, 8:12.

6

Ibid. Andrew Johnson, A Proclamation, May 2, 1865, ser. 104:566-567.

7

Ibid. Thomas W. Scott to Horace N. Howland, May 8, 1865, ser. 104:665.

8

Ibid. Christopher C. Washburn to Otto Funke, May 8, 1865, ser. 104:677. 9 _{James Speed, “Opinion on the Constitutional Power of the Military to} Try and Execute the Assassins of the President,” (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1865), 16.

10

H. S. Doggett to Isaac H. Carrington, January 13, 1865, O.R., ser. 121:68-69.

paroled. On May 1, 1865, Foote wrote President Johnson from New York City requesting a modification of the parole given him by the Union to permit him to travel to the Pacific coast via Ohio, where he wanted to visit an old friend. Johnson referred the request to Edwin Stanton “with the suggestion that unless Mr. Foote goes beyond the

limits of the United States proceedings be had with a view to his indictment for treason.”11 Stanton telegraphed that Foote had 48 hours to leave the United States. Foote left the country within the specified time frame.12 Clearly, some prizes were bigger than others.

Meanwhile, Southern state leaders found out that their state’s comity vis-a-vis the federal government was to be re-defined. Once defeated, they would not simply rejoin the Union. Georgia governor Joseph E. Brown attempted to call the Georgia state legislature into session to address “the complete collapse in the currency and the great destitution of provisions among the poor,”13 but was told by military authorities that he must first seek authorization from Washington. His letter to Andrew Johnson was met with a response drafted by Stanton who indicated that the response to Governor Brown should be, in part, as follows:

That the collapse in the currency and the great destitution of provision among the poor of the State of Georgia mentioned in his telegram have been caused by the treason, insurrection, and rebellion against the authority, Constitution, and laws of the United States, incited and carried on for the last four years by Mr. Brown and his confederate rebels and traitors, who are responsible for all the want and destitution now existing in that State. Second. What Mr. Brown calls the result which the

11

Ibid. Andrew Johnson to Edwin M. Stanton, May 4, 1865, ser. 121:526.

12

Ibid. John A. Dix to Edwin M. Stanton, May 16, 1865, ser. 121:557.

13

misfortunes of war have imposed upon the people of Georgia and all the miser, loss, and woe they have suffered are chargeable upon Mr. Brown and his confederate rebels, who usurped the authority of the State and, assuming to act as its Governor and Legislature, waged treasonable war against the United States, and by means of that usurped authority protracted the war to the last extremity, until compelled by superior force to lay down their arms and accept the result which the fortunes of war have imposed upon the people of Georgia as the just penalty of the crimes of treason and rebellion. Third. That the restoration of peace and order cannot be intrusted to rebels and traitors who destroyed the peace and trampled down the order that had existed more than half a century and made Georgia a great and prosperous State.14

A warrant was issued for Brown’s arrest.

R. M. T. Hunter, a Confederate Senator, was arrested by order of Grant on May 11, 1865, as was Judge John Campbell, the former United States Supreme Court justice and one of the Confederate emissaries at the Hampton Roads Conference shortly before the end of the war. Hunter immediately wrote “to know if I could obtain the amnesty upon the conditions mentioned in the amnesty proclamation.”15 According to Major General Henry Halleck, Campbell, “very destitute and much broken down,” surrendered himself “to such punishment as the Government may see fit to impose.”16 Stanton responded to Halleck that Judge Campbell had “labored as far as he dared to keep the rebellion alive. This impression is very strong in the North.”17 Fantastic rumors spread, frightening people in the North and leading Union authorities to investigate wild claims. For instance, Joseph Holt requested proof that Libby Prison had been mined with

14

Ibid. Edwin M. Stanton to J. H. Wilson, May 7, 1865, ser. 104:646-647.

15

Ibid. R. M. T. Hunter to H. W. Halleck, May 11, 1865, ser. 121:551.

16

Ibid. H. W. Halleck to Edwin M. Stanton, May 11, 1865, ser. 121:550.

17

explosives to kill all the prisoners prior to their release.18 Emotions ran high in the North because it appeared that the South was capable of any atrocity because of Lincoln’s assassination. In the atmosphere of May 1865, no action seemed too vile for the South to commit. It was under these conditions that Southern leaders were being pursued and apprehended.

The net was wide. Not only was Captain Henry Wirz, the commander of Andersonville ordered arrested, but so was Colonel George C. Gibbs, who denied having anything to do with maltreatment of any Union soldier held at the prison. In a post-script denying any ability to influence events at the prison, Gibbs related that “Wirz commands by order of the Secretary of War.”19 Since the Secretary of War was in Jefferson Davis’ cabinet and appointed by Davis, Wirz derived his authority directly from Richmond. As the conditions at Andersonville were uncovered, Davis would find himself implicated in the atrocities found at that camp. But Davis’s sole interest was getting away from the reach of federal forces.

As Davis fled through Georgia, he found it more and more difficult to proceed with his cavalry escort. By May 7, federal officials were able to report that they were so close on his heels that Davis had disbanded his escort. Three of the regiments that had served as his protection surrendered themselves to Union officials in northern Georgia.20 Telegraphic inquiries into the whereabouts of Davis now rushed over the wires several

18

Ibid. Edwin M. Stanton to H. W. Halleck, May 11, 1865, ser. 121:551.

19

Ibid. George C. Gibbs to Edward M. McCook, May 12, 1865, ser. 121:552-553.

20

times a day. Brevet Major-General J. H. Wilson, part of William Tecumseh Sherman’s command, and officer whose troops were bearing down on Davis, pressed his subordinates to keep him informed and to “watch every train closely; he might try that way.”21

The pressure from Washington to capture the Confederate was intense and Union officials pushed the officers in the field relentlessly.

Stanton’s micromanagement began to grate on the nerves of the high-strung Sherman. At midnight on May 8, 1865, Sherman telegraphed Ulysses S. Grant updating him on Davis’s flight and Wilson’s pursuit. Sherman told Grant that Davis “cannot escape save in disguise,” and then posed the question, “Does the Secretary of War’s newspaper order take Wilson from my command or shall I continue to order him? If I have proven incompetent to manage my own command let me know it.”22 Even Wilson began to sense a straining of his relationship with Sherman caused by Stanton’s intervention. Wilson wrote to Sherman, who was hundreds of miles away, to tell him that Wilson’s three divisions had marched over 220 miles in six days and that while Davis was a fugitive, the rebel president had been forced to drop the treasure that he had been carrying while Wilson’s men were “looking for him in all directions.”23 That same day, Wilson ordered the publication and distribution of the presidential proclamation offering

21

Ibid. James H. Wilson to Beroth B. Eggleston, May 7, 1865, ser. 104:654.

22

Ibid. William T. Sherman to U. S. Grant, May 8, 1865, ser. 104:662.

23

Ibid. James H. Wilson to William T. Sherman, May 8, 1865, ser. 104:663.

rewards for Davis’s capture as hand-bills and broadsides to encourage civilians to assist in the location of Davis.24

The annoyance that Sherman felt in Stanton’s hand in the pursuit was well- founded. Stanton routinely telegraphed Wilson directly, bypassing Wilson’s commander, Sherman, and issued orders, such as those issued for the arrest of Governor Brown and the seizure of his papers, an order that should have gone through Wilson’s chain of command. As might be expected, Wilson responded directly back to the Secretary of War.25 Stanton, to the annoyance of many, filled the power vacuum at the top of the Executive branch of the nation’s government whenever he could. He used every ounce of energy to drive his subordinates in an effort to abort Davis’s escape.

Stanton’s efforts paid off when the Union forces closed in on Davis. As the dragnet tightened, the fear that he might escape mounted. Wilson confessed that “my scouts have not yet been able to get upon a substantial trail since Davis left Washington, [Georgia].”26

A rumor circulated that he had reached a rebel ship and sailed away from Florida, perhaps for Cuba.27 In fact, federal soldiers were rapidly bearing down on his party. Finally, early on the morning of May 10, 1865, members of the Fourth Michigan

24

Ibid. James H. Wilson to Beroth B. Eggleston, May 8, 1865, ser. 104:666.

25

Ibid. James H. Wilson to Edwin M. Stanton, May 9, 1865, ser. 104:680.

26

Ibid. James H. Wilson to John M. Palmer, May 9, 1865, ser. 104:690.

27

Cavalry surprised and arrested Davis at Irwinville, Georgia. They overtook him and his party, along with five wagons and three ambulances.28

The capture of Davis has been well documented by historians and by his contemporaries. To Davis and his family, the federal government’s colossal efforts to capture him were completely unwarranted. A Union officer present at his capture reported that “he expressed great indignation at the energy with which he was pursued,

saying that he had believed our Government more magnanimous than to hunt down women and children.”29 The vigorous nature of the search for Davis should have indicated to him that the perception of him in the North was not what he understood it to be. He later admitted to being perplexed at why the Union forces would pursue him so aggressively. It should also have revealed to him a glimpse of the long and dangerous road on which he was now to travel. In his exhaustion and embarrassment it does not seem to have occurred to him that the pursuit was more than simply an attempt to capture him for his role as president of the Confederacy. Instead, he was thought to be a notorious traitor, assassin and war criminal.

Not everyone who was fleeing during the fall of the Confederacy failed to see the implications of their pursuit by federal officials. Clement C. Clay, Jr. wrote to Major- General J. H. Wilson from La Grange, Georgia on May 1, 1865. “I have just seen a proclamation by the President of the United States offering a reward of $100,000 for my

28

Ibid. Benjamin D. Pritchard to Thomas W. Scott, May 11, 1865, ser. 104:721-722.

29

Ibid. James H. Wilson to Edwin M. Stanton, May 13, 1865, ser. 104:743.

31

Ibid. Edwin M. Stanton to Rev. Breckinridge, May 14, 1865, ser. 121:555.

arrest on a charge of having, with others therein named, incited and concocted the murder of the late President,” he wrote. “Conscious of my innocence, unwilling even to seem to fly from justice, and confident of my entire vindication from so foul an imputation upon a full, fair, and impartial trial, which I expect to receive, I shall go as soon as practicable to Macon to deliver myself up to your custody.”30 Clay, unlike Davis, understood the grave criminal allegation under which he was cast. Clay’s sense of honor impelled him to stop his flight and turn himself in to Union authorities and underscored the realistic view he had of the accusations against him. Two days after sending this telegram, Clay gave himself up. If flight could be construed as an indication of a person’s guilt, Clay wanted nothing of it.

The anxiety of Union officials concerning the transport of Jefferson Davis on the steamer Clyde to his destination at Fort Monroe reveal how federal officials considered this to be a trip fraught with danger. Stanton, who had been closely involved in most of the decisions regarding the detention of Confederate leaders, orchestrated virtually every detail of Davis’ movement from Georgia and his incarceration at Fort Monroe. His animus towards Davis became evident by written statements in official documents. For instance, he wrote in a postscript on May 14, 1865 that “Jeff. Davis was caught three days ago in Georgia trying to escape in his wife’s clothes.”31 It was also revealed in his undeniable obsession with the rebel commander-in-chief’s imprisonment. The

30

Ibid. Clement C. Clay, Jr. to James H. Wilson, May 10, 1865, ser. 104:733.

35

Ibid. Edwin M. Stanton to Benjamin D. Pritchard, May 14, 1865, ser. 104:761-762.

willingness to humiliate Davis permeated the North. Major-General Henry W. Halleck telegraphed Stanton that “if Jeff. Davis was captured in his wife’s clothes I respectfully suggest that he be sent north in the same habiliments.”32

The next day Stanton telegraphed Halleck ordering him to bomb-proof Fort Monroe