Wisconsin History Day By Day


Related Web Sites:
The Capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis

Wisconsin Troops Help Cature Jefferson Davis

Wisconsin Veterans Museum


Read More About It

"Jefferson Davis: President of the Confederacy" by Joann Johansen Burch

"Jefferson Davis: Confederate President" by Robert Potter

"Last Train South: the Flight of the Confederate Government from Richmond" by James C. Clark

"An Honorable Defeat: the Last Days of the Confederate Government" by William C. Davis


Vocabulary:

detachment
Cavalry
disguised


Interesting Fact:

Harnden enlisted in 1861 as a private in the Company D, First Regiment, Wisconsin Cavalry. He rose through the ranks until he was a Brevet Brigadier General by the end of the Civil War.


Study Questions:

  • Who was Jefferson Davis?
  • What happened to Harnden after the Civil War?
  • What battles was the First Wisconsin Calvary involved in during the Civil War?


    U.S. historical events that occurred on May 10:

    1775: Colonial troops lead by Ethan Allen capture the British fort at Ticonderoga, New York.
    1869: The transcontinental railroad is completed when the golden spike is driven at Promontory, Utah.



  • May 10

    May 10, 1865: A detachment of the First Wisconsin Cavalry, led by Lt. Col. Henry Harnden, captured the fleeing Jefferson Davis in Irvinville, Georgia. Davis was disguised as an old woman.


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