America's Civil War

UNCLOAKING THE JEFF DAVIS MYTH

After a long trip from New Orleans in mid-July 1865, former Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor walked into a jail cell at Fort Monroe, Va., where its occupant, Jefferson Davis, welcomed him with a silent handshake. Taylor had earlier been in Washington, D.C., where he met with President Andrew Johnson, as well as numerous congressmen and generals, to obtain permission to make contact with Davis, the imprisoned former president of the dissolved Confederate States of America and also Taylor’s brother-in-law. At the time of the meeting with Johnson, a standing order prohibited ex-Confederates from entering the nation’s capital—a restriction spurred by rumors circulating throughout the city that another presidential assassination plot was in the works. But Taylor, son of former President Zachary Taylor, knew how to finesse politicians and soon managed to persuade his way into seeing Davis.

Until Taylor arranged to speak with Davis, the latter was forbidden to have any visitors, including family members. President Johnson had been very hands-on early during Davis’ incarceration, permitting only guards inside his cell, so Taylor’s unannounced appearance was quite welcome. “This is kind,” exclaimed the “pallid, worn, gray, bent, [and] feeble” Davis, “but no more than I expected of you.” The two men began discussing the condition of the war-torn South, with Davis asking whether he was being

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