BOOK REVIEW: “Pursuit: The Chase, Capture, Persecution & Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis”

In Pursuit: The Chase, Capture, Persecution & Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, historian Clint Johnson covers a fascinating three-year period in American history with the story of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from 1865-1868.  As the Civil War draws to a close and the Union army converges on Richmond; Davis receives an urgent appeal from General Robert E. Lee that he must evacuate the capital city immediately.  Davis and the Confederate cabinet gather important records and the federal treasury and begin a march towards the “new” capital of Danville, Virginia.  Their stay there is short-lived as they must continue deeper south into North Carolina.  Eventually, some of the cabinet members resign and commence their own flight, while Davis is reunited with his wife and children whom he had sent ahead.  The chase of Davis ends in Georgia where Federal cavalry catch up with and capture Davis in an early morning raid upon his camp. 

Davis spends the next two years imprisoned; awaiting trial from a Federal government that is uncertain with what to charge him.  Some want him tried for treason; but this charge falls apart because he never actually made an attempt to overthrow an existing government.  Rather, he led a secession away from a government that then proceeded to invade the South.  Others wanted Davis tried for conspiracy in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; but this also fell apart when the Federal government’s three star witness’s testimonies were found to be riddled with lies.

            Eventually, Davis was released on bail and charges were dropped in 1868 by outgoing President Andrew Johnson.  In the end, the Federal government feared the bad publicity that would result if they tried Davis and he was acquitted, which would give a certain amount of legal credence to the Confederate States of America.

            Clint Johnson’s book is well-researched and written.  Though writing from a Southern perspective, he adequately portrays Davis as he was; warts and all.  Though a brave and valiant man, Davis could be extremely stubborn and was unwilling to surrender when surrender was really the only option.  All of Davis’ generals and cabinet members eventually see this before Davis does…and he stays defiant to the end.

            One of the greatest arguments that arise out of a study of Davis is whether or not secession is treasonous.  Perhaps the greatest argument that secession was not only legal, but indeed constitutional was the fact that Davis ultimately went uncharged for the crime.  It seems that even a Federal government highly belligerent towards Davis knew deep down that the Confederacy had the legal right to exist.

            I would recommend the reading of this book, not only for the politically incorrect, though accurate, historical data; but also for the exciting story that it tells.  Davis was an extremely polarizing figure in both the North and the South; but polarizing doesn’t necessarily mean wrong. 

This book also tells of some of the uncalled for persecutions Davis endured while incarcerated.  And of some unlikely Davis sympathizers in the North, including some within the Federal government.  Johnson ends the book by briefly writing of Davis’ post-war defense entitled The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, where he defends himself, and often maligns his generals for the ultimate demise of the Confederacy.  Pursuit is an entertaining and informative read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in history, war, or just an interesting true story.

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