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According to the report of the chief of ordnance, less than eight thousand armed men surrendered,exclusive of cavalry.The others who were present were unarmed, having been unable to carry their arms from exhaustion and hunger. Many had fallen from the ranks during the arduous march, and unarmed men continued to arrive for several days after the surrender, swelling the number of paroled prisoners greatly beyond the actual effective force. 45 An Effort to Rescue Jefferson Davis Joseph Wheeler, Major General, C.S.A. on april 27, 1865—I think that was the date—I arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina,where Mr.[Jefferson] Davis had summoned me.This was about a fortnight after Appomattox, and the president,accompanied by officers of his staff and by several members of his cabinet, with a number of other officers of government and many clerks of department, had recently reached this point, traveling by rail to Greensboro, thence in the saddle.While he saw the necessity of further retreat, he did not yet realize the completeness of our undoing. He still hoped that the tide of calamity might be turned.Around him was preserved the semblance of power and routine of government, and on the day of my arrival I remember that a young cadet underwent a regular form of examination for promotion to the office of lieutenant. One of the first questions put to me by Mr.Davis was how many men I could bring from my command to serve as a guard for him in the execution of new plans. He was surprised and disappointed when, speaking with the authority of one just come from the army, I told him it was very evident that our soldiers regarded the war as over, and their allegiance to the Confederate government as no longer binding. I think I was the first officer to bring him authentic news of the situation. He had supposed that our army was in better shape. We had with us at this time [Lieutenant General] Wade Hampton,who had also been summoned for counsel,and he was not less disconcerted by my words than President Davis. The general had left with the army twoVirginia brigades, but, having been absent from his command for some days, was not well informed as to what had happened.I told him that only the day before I had passed through the camps of these brigades, and had found the artillery dismantled and many of the men gone. An Effort to Rescue Jefferson Davis • 543 08.499-564_Cozz 12/2/03, 8:58 AM 543 544 • part 8: the war in 1865 “I can do this,Mr.President,” I suggested; “that is,gather from my command a body of new men who will stand by you in a new enterprise.” At this he brightened up, and said he wished I would do so. It then became a question whether I should get him a large or a small force, my own preference being for the latter, provided they were picked men. Mr. Davis, however, preferred a more considerable number, and I proceeded to carry out his wishes to the best of my power. That night General Hampton and I left President Davis,and,riding all night in a box car, reached Greensboro the next morning. There I said goodbye to General Hampton, who set out for his command to see what forces he could muster. My troops, numbering about three thousand men, were encamped at Company’s Shops, a little place some distance east of Greensboro, and immediately on my arrival I gathered them about me,and in a short speech told them plainly that I wanted volunteers for a desperate venture—men who would be willing to stand by Jefferson Davis to the death.They listened with solemn faces, and there was no cheering to speak of, but about six hundred men came forward and agreed to cast their lot with me. There was not an hour to waste,and before noon we had started southward, our objective point at first being Cokesboro, South Carolina, where Mr. Davis had instructed me to join him, and where he had ordered supplies sent. In my interview with Mr. Davis at Charlotte, I had explained to him that [Major General George] Stoneman was then in the western part of North Carolina with a large cavalry force, which would make the establishment of a rendezvous at Cokesboro of very doubtful expediency; and very...

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