Jeff. Davis and party, guarded by a small force of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry. Ascertaining that the whole party were prisoners, and that my mission was ended, I prepared to return to Macon, where I arrived on the 13th of May, 1865. Of my men there were wounded Corpl. G. W. Sykes, of Company D, arm badly shattered near the shoulder; Private C. W. Seely, Company D, wounded in the leg severely; Nelson Appley, Company D, in the shoulder slightly. This affair took place about twenty-five miles from Abbeville and within one mile of Irwinville, Irwin County, Ga. Of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry two men were killed and one officer badly wounded. I will here say that I had no intimation of the presence of any Union troops nearer than Abbeville, and that I believed all the while that we were fighting with Jeff. Davis' escort. Had we not been waylaid and fired upon by the Fourth Michigan Cavalry we should without a doubt have captured Jeff. Davis even sooner than it was effected. For further information I will refer to my official report, made to General Croxton upon my return to Macon.* In view of all the facts, I do for myself and the officers and men of my command who were with me at the time of the capture claim a due share of the reward offered by the President for the capture of Jefferson Davis.

Respectfully submitted.

HENRY HARNDEN,

Late Lieutenant-Colonel First Wisconsin Cavalry.

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

Jefferson County:

Henry Harnden, being duly sworn, on oath says that in the month of May, A. D. 1865, he was in command of the First Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry, and that all the foregoing statements by him made are true.

HENRY HARNDEN. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 11th day of December, 1865. O. F. WEED, Justice of the Peace.

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

Jefferson County:

I, John C. Kelley, clerk of the circuit court in and for the county and State aforesaid, do hereby certify that O. F. Weed, justice of the peace, esquire, whose name is subscribed to the certificate or proof of acknowl edgment of the annexed instrument, was at the date thereof an acting justice of the peace, duly elected and qualified, and duly authorized by law to administer oaths, take and certify acknowledgments, &c.; and further, that I am well acquainted with the handwriting of said O. F. Weed, and verily believe that the signature thereto is genuine, and that said instrument is executed and acknowledged according to the laws of this State.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said court this 13th day of December, 1865.

JOHN C. KELLEY,

Clerk of Circuit Court, Jefferson County, State of Wisconsin.

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

Green Lake County:

James J. Aplin, being duly sworn, on oath says that he was a private in Company K, First Regiment Wisconsin Cavalry; that he acted as

*See p. 517.

orderly for Lieut. Col. Henry Harnden, and was with him in the pursuit and capture of Jefferson Davis; that he heard the conversation between Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard and Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden referred to in the statement of Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden, and that he knows of his own knowledge that all the facts set forth in the whole of said statement are true.

JAMES J. APLIN.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14th day of December, 1865. THOS. C. RYAN,

Notary Public.

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

County of Green Lake, ss:

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT.

I, Albert Long, clerk of the circuit court for the county aforesaid, do hereby certify that Thomas C. Ryan, esq., whose name is subscribed to the annexed instrument as notary public, was at the date thereof an acting notary public, duly appointed and qualified, and by law authorized to take acknowledgments and administer oaths; that I am acquainted with the handwriting of said notary, and verily believe the signature thereto purporting to be his is genuine; and I further certify that said instrument is executed and acknowledged according to the laws of this State.

Witness my hand and seal of said court at Dartford this 14th day of December, A. D. 1865.

ALBERT LONG,

Clerk.

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

Waukesha County, ss:

Orson P. Clinton, being duly sworn, on oath says that he was second lieutenant of Company B, of the First Regiment of Wisconsin Cavalry, and with Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden during the pursuit and capture of Jefferson Davis; that he has heard read the foregoing statement made by Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true of his knowledge (except the conversation referred to with Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard, which he verily believes to be true).

ORSON P. CLINTON.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of December, 1865. C. G. HEATH,

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

Justice of the Peace, Waukesha County, Wis.

Waukesha County, 88:

I, John Forbes, clerk of the circuit court in and for the county and State above named, do hereby certify that C. G. Heath, esq., before whom the foregoing affidavit was made, and who has hereunto signed his name, was at the date thereof a justice of the peace in and for the county and State aforesaid, duly elected and qualified and authorized by law to administer oaths; that all his official acts as such are entitled ⚫ to full faith and credit, and that his signature thereto is genuine.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name and affixed the seal of the said court at Waukesha this 12th day of December, A. D. 1865.

JOHN FORBES,

Olerk Circuit Court, Waukesha County, Wis.

List of officers and men of the First Wisconsin Cavalry engaged in the pursuit and capture of Jefferson Davis.

Charles Chase...
Thomas Dillon
A. B. Huxford.
Thomas Callahan.
D. P. Smith..
B. N. Castle
R. W. Keyes..
J. S. Baldwin..
J. Z. Black
C. Brandyburg.
S. C. Culver
M. Curtis'.
C. T. Clark..
L. De Vand..
George Downing
J. Dougherty
W. Gelher

a Orderly for Colonel Harnden.

List of officers and men of the First Wisconsin Cavalry engaged in the pursuit and capture of Jefferson Davis-Continued.

Reports of Col. Robert H. G. Minty, Fourth Michigan Cavalry, commanding Second Division.

HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, CAVALRY CORPS,

MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,

Macon, Ga., May 18, 1865.

MAJOR: On the evening of the 7th instant the major-general commanding directed me to make immediate arrangements to prevent the escape of Jeff. Davis across the Ocmulgee and Flint Rivers, south of Macon. I already had pickets at all fords and ferries as far south as Hawkinsville. I directed Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard, commanding Fourth Michigan Cavalry, to march at 6 p. m. with his regiment, move as rapidly as possible to Spalding, Irwin County, and there establish his headquarters, leaving pickets at all fords and ferries between Hawkinsville and that place, and also to picket from there to the mouth of the Oconee River, but if he found that Davis had already crossed the Ocmulgee to follow and capture or kill him. I also sent 150 men to Cuthbert, Randolph County. The next morning I sent Lieutenant-Colonel Howland, commanding Second Brigade, with the Seventh Pennsylvania and Third Ohio Cavalry to strengthen and extend the pickets as far down as the mouth of the Ohoopee River. At Abbeville Colonel Pritchard struck the trail of Davis and his party. This was reported to Colonel Howland at or near Hawkinsville. He immediately sent Lieutenant-Colonel Andress with the best mounted men of his regiment (the Seventh Pennsylvania) to co-operate with Colonel Pritchard, and, taking the best mounted men of his own regiment (the Third Ohio), marched rapidly toward Albany for the purpose of intercepting Davis if he attempted to escape in that direction. Colonel Pritchard found a detachment of the First Wisconsin Cavalry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden, on Davis' track ahead of him; he then took a circuitous route, and by marching until 2 a. m. on the 10th instant succeeded in gaining Irwinville while Davis was in camp three-quarters of a mile north of

that place. He immediately surrounded the camp, and shortly before daybreak closed in and captured the entire party. This had scarcely been accomplished when the First Wisconsin advanced from the opposite direction, and, by an unfortunate mishap, each party mistaking the other for the enemy, a skirmish ensued, resulting in 2 men killed and 1 officer wounded in the Fourth Michigan and 7 or 8 wounded in the First Wisconsin. Herewith I hand you the report of Captain Hathaway,* commanding the Fourth Michigan Cavalry (Colonel Pritchard having taken Mr. Davis to Washington), together with a list of names of officers and men engaged in the pursuit, and also a list of those immediately engaged in the capture. In this latter list Company H is not represented; that company was in the advance in the pursuit, and south of Abbeville was detached to guard a ford on the Ocmulgee River. In the dispatch of the honorable the Secretary of War mention is made of honorary medals and the reward offered for the apprehension of Mr. Davis. I would respectfully suggest that medals be conferred upon all the officers and men engaged under Colonel Pritchard in the pursuit of the rebel President, and that the reward be equally divided among the 153 officers and men immediately engaged in the capture.

I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,

Major BEAUMONT,

R. H. G. MINTY,
Colonel, Commanding.

Asst. Adjt. Gen., Cavalry Corps, Mil. Div. of the Mississippi.

[Indorsement.]

HDQRS. CAVALRY CORPS, MIL. DIV. OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
Macon, Ga., May 19, 1865.

Respectfully forwarded.

A comparison of the inclosed reports with that of Colonel Harnden, First Wisconsin Cavalry, will show that Colonel Pritchard acted strictly in good faith with Colonel Harnden. I would, therefore, in view of all the facts, respectfully recommend that medals of honor be given to the officers and men of both regiments actually engaged in the pursuit south of Abbeville. In the distribution of the reward the families of the two men killed should be amply provided for. J. H. WILSON, Brevet Major-General.

HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, CAVALRY CORPS,
MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
Edgefield, Tenn., July 6, 1865.

GENERAL: Many of the daily papers having published the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden, First Wisconsin Cavalry, of his pursuit of Jeff. Davis, together with the indorsement of Colonel La Grange, of the same regiment, in which Lieut. Col. B. D. Pritchard, Fourth Michigan Cavalry, brevet brigadier-general, is severely censured for the course which he pursued in capturing the rebel President, I called upon Lieutenant-Colonel Pritchard for a report covering the period from his first meeting with Lieutenant-Colonel Harnden at Abbeville, Ga., to the capture of Davis, together with affidavits from officers bearing on the unfortunate collision between his men and the detachment First Wisconsin Cavalry, in answer to which I have received a report from ↑ See pp. 541-545.

* See p. 539.