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Jeff Davis dressed as a woman to escape?
Jeff Davis dressed as a woman to escape?
Item # 701628
May 16, 1865
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, May 16, 1865
* President Jefferson Davis captured
* Irwinville, Irwin County, Georgia
* Very rare illustration w/ overcoat
An interesting graphic on the front page with a full-figure print of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, as captured dressed in woman's clothes. It is headed: "JEFF. DAVIS As 'The Stern Statesman'--Last Act".
In reality, upon his capture he was wearing a long overcoat which some mistook as a woman's dress, and of course the northern press would prefer to exploit the idea he was dressed as a woman.
First column heads include: "THE CONSPIRACY!" "The Chargers & Specifications Against the Assassins" "Jeff. Davis & Booth Conspire Together" "The Murderers Incited By Davis & Company" "Aid to the Rebellion the Grand Object" "Intended Murder of Johnson, Seward and General Grant" and even more.
More on the trial of the assassins one page 4.
Eight pages, never-trimmed margins, a small library stamp in an upper corner, very nice condition.
background: On May 10, 1865, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was captured near Irwinville, Georgia, while fleeing after the surrender of Robert E. Lee. According to contemporary accounts, Davis was wearing his usual men’s clothing but had a large overcoat and a black shawl belonging to his wife, Varina Davis, draped over his head and shoulders to provide some disguise and protection from the elements. The popular story that he was captured in a full woman’s dress is a later exaggeration fueled by Northern propaganda and cartoons, which depicted him in a bonnet and gown to mock the Confederacy. In reality, the shawl and coat were intended as a modest disguise, not as cross-dressing, and Varina herself described helping him cover up with the garments. The myth persisted because the imagery fit the narrative of Confederate humiliation, but historical evidence shows Davis’s attire was far less theatrical than the legend suggests.
Category: The Civil War
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$285.00
