Letter reporting on prisoner Jefferson Davis, 1865
This letter from General Nelson A. Miles, commander of Fort Monroe, Hampton, Virginia, reports on the condition of prisoner Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States. The letter was written on August 22, 1865, several months after the Civil War ended. The letter also mentions [Clement] Clay, who desired that a letter be sent to the Secretary of War, and another to be forwarded to his wife. Clement Clay was a Confederate spy who lived in St. Catharines for a time during the American Civil War.
Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was an American soldier, plantation owner, and politician. He served as the American Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 under President Franklin Pierce. Davis then served in the U.S. Senate representing Mississippi. At this time, tensions between the North and the South were high, and Davis joined the “Committee of Thirteen” in an effort to find a compromise and avoid war. However, Mississippi left the Union and Davis resigned in January 1861. The following month, he was elected President of the Confederate States. He remained in this position during the American Civil War. In 1865, Davis was captured by Union troops. He was indicted for treason and sent to prison for two years. Davis and his Confederate associates were known to vacation in Niagara before and after the American Civil War.
RG 810 Letter by Gen. Nelson Miles reporting on prisoner Jefferson Davis, August 22, 1865
