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An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government
In February 1865, the end was clearly in sight for the Confederate government. An Honorable Defeat is the story of the four months that saw the surrender of the South and the assassination of Lincoln by Southern partisans. It is also the story of two men, antagonists yet political partners, who struggled to achieve their own differing visions for the South: Jefferson Davis, the autocratic president of the Confederate States, who vowed never to surrender whatever the cost; and the practical and warm General John C. Breckinridge, Secretary of War, who hoped pragmatism would save the shattered remnants of the land he loved so dearly.
Noted historian William C. Davis traces the astounding flight of these men, and the entire Confederate cabinet, from Richmond. Using original research, he narrates the futile quarrels of Davis and Breckinridge as they try to evade Northern pursuers and describes their eventual--and separate--captures. The result is a rich canvas of a time of despair and defeat, a charged tale full of physical adventure and political battle that sweeps from the marble halls of Richmond to a dingy room in a Havana hotel.
Noted historian William C. Davis traces the astounding flight of these men, and the entire Confederate cabinet, from Richmond. Using original research, he narrates the futile quarrels of Davis and Breckinridge as they try to evade Northern pursuers and describes their eventual--and separate--captures. The result is a rich canvas of a time of despair and defeat, a charged tale full of physical adventure and political battle that sweeps from the marble halls of Richmond to a dingy room in a Havana hotel.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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382 people want to read
About the author
William C. Davis
319 books94 followersCurrently professor of history at Virginia Tech, William C. Davis has written over fifty books, most about the American Civil War. He has won the Jefferson Davis Prize for southern history three times, the Jules F. Landry Award for Southern history once, and has been twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
For several years, he was the editor of the magazine Civil War Times Illustrated. He has also served as a consultant on the A&E television series Civil War Journal.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
For several years, he was the editor of the magazine Civil War Times Illustrated. He has also served as a consultant on the A&E television series Civil War Journal.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 11, 2024
An honorable defeat is a very well researched book about the last weeks of the confederate government. There are some rash people that feel put off by the title for political reasons or just as a matter of general disagreement. It is rather sad that so many people these days seem not to have the patience or perhaps not the literary sensitivity necessary to understand that a title does not always necessarily state a straightforward viewpoint, and rather, one needs to read the book first to be able to fully understand the authors intentions. As in this case the title serves as a literary device and its meaning can only be interpreted after having invested in reading the book.
The main character is Jefferson Davis and several of the cabinet members feature as important minor characters. Should this have been obvious? Well, not so in my experience. Most of the books about the confederacy focus on battles and military leaders, mentioning the president and his ministers only to provide context.
This is a refreshingly new perspective. The author managed to be very objective. There is no cherry-picking, his facts are well-weighted and he portrays the confederate leaders as they were. Credit is given when deserved. Severe criticism is handed out when necessary.
The main character is Jefferson Davis and several of the cabinet members feature as important minor characters. Should this have been obvious? Well, not so in my experience. Most of the books about the confederacy focus on battles and military leaders, mentioning the president and his ministers only to provide context.
This is a refreshingly new perspective. The author managed to be very objective. There is no cherry-picking, his facts are well-weighted and he portrays the confederate leaders as they were. Credit is given when deserved. Severe criticism is handed out when necessary.
April 16, 2025
Having just read William C. Davis’s Look Away!: A History of the Confederate States of America, I turned next to the book he wrote just prior to that one, on a very similar theme but told very differently. This book tells of the final days of the Confederate government, while the other book tells the entire history of the Confederate States of America, and does so in an information-packed but not always readable and engrossing way. This book, in contrast, is much more focused, readable and accessible, and actually tells a story instead of just imparting information. So it’s possible this may have been the version for the general public, while the other book was meant to be its more academic follow-up.
One consistent aspect of both books is Davis’s depiction of Jefferson Davis as chief executive, who “seemed naturally to repel those whose support he most needed,” and yet was both dominant and domineering over a weak Confederate Congress and a constantly-shifting cast of Cabinet members, from incompetents to sycophants.
Davis’s counterpart in this tale is Confederate Secretary of War John Breckinridge, who was as much a realist as Davis was obstinate, when it came to accepting in the spring of 1865 that their cause was rapidly becoming hopeless. The more Davis tried to keep up the fight, the more Breckinridge worked various angles to try to convince him to give it up.
Richmond falls to Union forces early in the book, and Davis and his Cabinet gallantly depart the city with the initial goal of reconstituting the capital and the government further south. But very quickly, as just about everyone but Davis begins to see the writing on the wall, their move south soon turns into an increasingly desperate, more harried and less dignified effort to escape.
It’s almost laughable, if not pitiful, to see how Davis reacted as the government slowly disintegrated during their flight. As some Cabinet members parted ways from the group, some first went through the formality of resigning their posts, and Davis dutifully named replacements, still imagining that he presided over a functioning government, and all he had to do was make it to Texas to pick up the presidency and his management of the war right where he left off in Richmond.
After Lincoln’s death, Davis (the author) swiftly dismisses any conspiracy theory that Davis (the Confederate president) had anything to do with Lincoln's assassination. Davis respected Lincoln too much, he argues, he recognized that Lincoln “was only the president, not the Northern cause itself,” so killing him wouldn’t really accomplish much, and he detested Andrew Johnson, who ended up becoming president. Of course, this leaves out the fact that the conspirators’ original plan was to kill Johnson, too - which is not to say Davis may have had something to do with the plan after all, but ignoring this fact altogether does weaken the argument somewhat.
The narrative can sometimes drag as the fugitives’ every move from place to place is described in detail, and the eventual capture of Davis is not necessarily dramatically told - this is not a “Manhunt”-style thriller, after all. And it’s told almost entirely from the fugitives’ perspective, with little about the Union efforts to track them down. But the book does provide a thorough account of the circumstances of Davis’s capture, dispelling once and for all the debunked but still widely-told tale that he had disguised himself in women’s clothing.
Davis’s capture happens about three-quarters of the way into the book, so there’s still more story to tell, about those who made it further than Davis did. Most ended up being captured, but Breckinridge’s successful escape to Cuba via sailboat is dramatically told, as is Secretary of State Judah Benjamin’s own perilous ocean journeys, from Florida to the Bahamas to Cuba to England.
These main characters can sometimes come across a bit one-dimensional. The portrayal of Davis as a stubborn, borderline delusional, unrepentant monomaniac seems accurate enough. But Breckinridge comes across as a hero, as Davis’s conscience, as the voice of reason who can do no wrong, when others might consider him a traitor to the country he once served as Vice President, who willingly placed himself on the wrong side of history. And Benjamin is constantly disparaged with gratuitous comments about his girth.
But overall, the story of the Confederate leaders - those who successfully escaped and those who didn’t - is well-told. The final chapter compares and contrasts Davis and Breckinridge, implicitly suggesting that Breckinridge’s dangerous escape may not even have been necessary. Those who were captured were eventually released, as the push to prosecute them fizzled after the war, partly due to questions about whether they could actually be successfully tried for treason, and partly just due to exhaustion and a desire by most to put the war behind them and move on. Davis was unrepentant to the end, which cemented his status as a villain to Northerners and a hero to Southerners, while Breckinridge largely kept quiet and elicits fewer strong feelings from either side today.
This book, as compared to Davis’s follow-up, is informative and insightful without being overwhelming and didactic. It’s much more narrowly focused, more well-written and I found it far more readable and enjoyable as a result.
One consistent aspect of both books is Davis’s depiction of Jefferson Davis as chief executive, who “seemed naturally to repel those whose support he most needed,” and yet was both dominant and domineering over a weak Confederate Congress and a constantly-shifting cast of Cabinet members, from incompetents to sycophants.
Davis’s counterpart in this tale is Confederate Secretary of War John Breckinridge, who was as much a realist as Davis was obstinate, when it came to accepting in the spring of 1865 that their cause was rapidly becoming hopeless. The more Davis tried to keep up the fight, the more Breckinridge worked various angles to try to convince him to give it up.
Richmond falls to Union forces early in the book, and Davis and his Cabinet gallantly depart the city with the initial goal of reconstituting the capital and the government further south. But very quickly, as just about everyone but Davis begins to see the writing on the wall, their move south soon turns into an increasingly desperate, more harried and less dignified effort to escape.
It’s almost laughable, if not pitiful, to see how Davis reacted as the government slowly disintegrated during their flight. As some Cabinet members parted ways from the group, some first went through the formality of resigning their posts, and Davis dutifully named replacements, still imagining that he presided over a functioning government, and all he had to do was make it to Texas to pick up the presidency and his management of the war right where he left off in Richmond.
After Lincoln’s death, Davis (the author) swiftly dismisses any conspiracy theory that Davis (the Confederate president) had anything to do with Lincoln's assassination. Davis respected Lincoln too much, he argues, he recognized that Lincoln “was only the president, not the Northern cause itself,” so killing him wouldn’t really accomplish much, and he detested Andrew Johnson, who ended up becoming president. Of course, this leaves out the fact that the conspirators’ original plan was to kill Johnson, too - which is not to say Davis may have had something to do with the plan after all, but ignoring this fact altogether does weaken the argument somewhat.
The narrative can sometimes drag as the fugitives’ every move from place to place is described in detail, and the eventual capture of Davis is not necessarily dramatically told - this is not a “Manhunt”-style thriller, after all. And it’s told almost entirely from the fugitives’ perspective, with little about the Union efforts to track them down. But the book does provide a thorough account of the circumstances of Davis’s capture, dispelling once and for all the debunked but still widely-told tale that he had disguised himself in women’s clothing.
Davis’s capture happens about three-quarters of the way into the book, so there’s still more story to tell, about those who made it further than Davis did. Most ended up being captured, but Breckinridge’s successful escape to Cuba via sailboat is dramatically told, as is Secretary of State Judah Benjamin’s own perilous ocean journeys, from Florida to the Bahamas to Cuba to England.
These main characters can sometimes come across a bit one-dimensional. The portrayal of Davis as a stubborn, borderline delusional, unrepentant monomaniac seems accurate enough. But Breckinridge comes across as a hero, as Davis’s conscience, as the voice of reason who can do no wrong, when others might consider him a traitor to the country he once served as Vice President, who willingly placed himself on the wrong side of history. And Benjamin is constantly disparaged with gratuitous comments about his girth.
But overall, the story of the Confederate leaders - those who successfully escaped and those who didn’t - is well-told. The final chapter compares and contrasts Davis and Breckinridge, implicitly suggesting that Breckinridge’s dangerous escape may not even have been necessary. Those who were captured were eventually released, as the push to prosecute them fizzled after the war, partly due to questions about whether they could actually be successfully tried for treason, and partly just due to exhaustion and a desire by most to put the war behind them and move on. Davis was unrepentant to the end, which cemented his status as a villain to Northerners and a hero to Southerners, while Breckinridge largely kept quiet and elicits fewer strong feelings from either side today.
This book, as compared to Davis’s follow-up, is informative and insightful without being overwhelming and didactic. It’s much more narrowly focused, more well-written and I found it far more readable and enjoyable as a result.
December 10, 2011
A decent book describing the dissolution of the Confederate government as it fled south in a desperate attempt to escape and possibly fight another day. While the reader of this book will get a good sense of Jefferson Davis and John C Breckinridge, I think that some of the other players in this story get lost in the text. Though Judah P Benjamin is also one of the main figures whose journey is chronicled, I don't ever feel that we get a good sense of the man. We get many instances of other people's bad impressions of him, and it seems to serve to elevate Breckinridge as the hero in comparison. Also, I found myself getting lost at times in the bouncing around from one journey to the other. I almost think that I would have preferred either getting it as "on such-and-such date, this person was here and that person was there" or a complete section on one person's journey followed by a complete section on another person's journey. Overall, it was an interesting subject and I think a worthy read for anyone interested in the Civil War, but I think there are some stylistic points in which it could have been done better and provided more clarity to the reader.
March 9, 2015
The last remaining months of the Confederacy is a fascinating time. This is a wonderful book that brings to life the turmoil, the politics, the larger than life characters and the complete average people that dealt with the last few months of Richmond and then the months on the run. I learned a great deal about the the Cabinet members. After the fall of Richmond, Davis kept the Cabinet in place and held meetings in each city as they stopped to try to regroup. Imagine being on the run and following a president that had the illusion that he could regroup? Thankfully, General Lee and General Johnston did the right thing by surrendering and did not go the guerrilla warfare route that Davis advocated. Even when Davis was down to 1500 men, he still had the thought that he could come back to defeat the Union. In the end, he was capture in the woods outside a tent trying to walk away in a shawl (not a dress as rumor had it).
Well written with the aftermath of the lives led after the war, I found this to be a very good book on the subject.
Well written with the aftermath of the lives led after the war, I found this to be a very good book on the subject.
August 21, 2011
William C. Davis’ book, An Honorable Defeat, chronicles the little-known last days of the Confederate government. It was a dramatic and traumatic time for the Confederacy's president and cabinet members, and the author tells the story in a well-paced, cogent manner. The book resembles an action yarn as the Confederate officials try to escape the Yankee cavalrymen.
The author, however, takes the old-school view of the Civil War: Reading the book, you’d hardly know that the South supported slavery. None of the key figures seem to own any slaves themselves (except back home). If any slaves accompanied the cabinet officers on this odyssey, they are rarely mentioned. (Though that is assuming that the men and women the author calls “servants” are indeed slaves – that isn’t made clear.) Except where mentioned below, no slave is named in the book – not as part of the group trying to escape or even seen along their escape route. There is a picture of an African American, Thomas Ferguson, who reportedly stayed with Breckinridge “on the escape,” but he’s only briefly mentioned three or four times in a 400-page book – and he’s most often described as a “servant.” (He’s called a “slave” once in the book toward the end.) Where was he the entire time? I don’t know.
Additionally, when it becomes clear that there will no longer be slavery in the South as a result of their defeat, the Confederate officials are portrayed as essentially shrugging their shoulders and saying, “Oh well.” (What in the world were they fighting for?) Did no one among the entire cabinet deeply cherish slavery? Think of it as an important institution? Profit from its existence? Think it should be preserved? Have a single racist thought or statement? Not according to this book.
Like many “popular” (i.e., non-academic) Civil War books, this volume bends over backward to be inoffensive to those with Southern sympathies (who are the likely audience for this book). The unsightly issue of slavery is flattened and, dare I say, white washed until it barely exists on the margins of the story and no one’s great-great-great-great grandfather is offended by the label “racist” or "slaveholder." It is now the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Can we be finally be honest about what the war was about?
It seems to me the only “honorable” thing about the Southern defeat was the freeing of the slaves and the generous amnesty the victorious Yankees offered to the men who took arms against their country. An “honorable victory,” yes. But “honorable defeat”? Hardly.
One additional note: The suspense of the book is built around the Confederate cabinet’s fear that the Yankees would hang them (or worse) if captured. In fact, none of them were hanged, and some didn’t even go to jail. Those who did go to jail were only there for a couple months. Jefferson Davis spent the most time in prison – a whopping two years. (Interestingly, his bail was paid by Northerners.) The worst that the author could say about Davis’ treatment was that he was manacled for a while (which is bad) and that the Yankees humiliated Davis with false stories he was captured in a dress. (How inhuman!) Overall, the North’s generous amnesty undercuts the drama and suspense at the center of the book, turning the entire desperate escape into a farce.
The author, however, takes the old-school view of the Civil War: Reading the book, you’d hardly know that the South supported slavery. None of the key figures seem to own any slaves themselves (except back home). If any slaves accompanied the cabinet officers on this odyssey, they are rarely mentioned. (Though that is assuming that the men and women the author calls “servants” are indeed slaves – that isn’t made clear.) Except where mentioned below, no slave is named in the book – not as part of the group trying to escape or even seen along their escape route. There is a picture of an African American, Thomas Ferguson, who reportedly stayed with Breckinridge “on the escape,” but he’s only briefly mentioned three or four times in a 400-page book – and he’s most often described as a “servant.” (He’s called a “slave” once in the book toward the end.) Where was he the entire time? I don’t know.
Additionally, when it becomes clear that there will no longer be slavery in the South as a result of their defeat, the Confederate officials are portrayed as essentially shrugging their shoulders and saying, “Oh well.” (What in the world were they fighting for?) Did no one among the entire cabinet deeply cherish slavery? Think of it as an important institution? Profit from its existence? Think it should be preserved? Have a single racist thought or statement? Not according to this book.
Like many “popular” (i.e., non-academic) Civil War books, this volume bends over backward to be inoffensive to those with Southern sympathies (who are the likely audience for this book). The unsightly issue of slavery is flattened and, dare I say, white washed until it barely exists on the margins of the story and no one’s great-great-great-great grandfather is offended by the label “racist” or "slaveholder." It is now the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Can we be finally be honest about what the war was about?
It seems to me the only “honorable” thing about the Southern defeat was the freeing of the slaves and the generous amnesty the victorious Yankees offered to the men who took arms against their country. An “honorable victory,” yes. But “honorable defeat”? Hardly.
One additional note: The suspense of the book is built around the Confederate cabinet’s fear that the Yankees would hang them (or worse) if captured. In fact, none of them were hanged, and some didn’t even go to jail. Those who did go to jail were only there for a couple months. Jefferson Davis spent the most time in prison – a whopping two years. (Interestingly, his bail was paid by Northerners.) The worst that the author could say about Davis’ treatment was that he was manacled for a while (which is bad) and that the Yankees humiliated Davis with false stories he was captured in a dress. (How inhuman!) Overall, the North’s generous amnesty undercuts the drama and suspense at the center of the book, turning the entire desperate escape into a farce.
October 28, 2015
William Davis wrote one of my favorite books, 1998s THREE ROADS TO THE ALAMO which I highly recommend. I have also read his 1995 A WAY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS, the Natchez trace and the civilization of the southern frontier which I recall being a bore and an unfortunately forgettable read. So here, for a long while, sat on my book shelf this book about the end of the confederate government. Which I found fits somewhere between these other two volumes. The book’s first half is well done, interesting and educational and the second half slow and mostly difficult to get through.
The thrust of AN HONORABLE DEFEAT was the personality and policy differences between Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate government and his last Secretary of War, John C. Breckinridge. As the world is crumbling around them and Richmond surrounded and Lee about to surrender Davis and Breckinridge prepare to escape Richmond and argue how the war should end, or if it should end at all. Davis comes off as a ridged and unpopular President who can’t come to terms with defeat and tries over and over again to keep Generals from surrendering and encourages a guerrilla insurgency. Breckinridge who had been the Vice President of the United States just before Lincoln’s election (Breckinridge ran against Lincoln and carried the south in 1860) is the “hero” of Davis’s book. Breckinridge was never a big advocate for succession and now does not want the war to end in a farce adding more death and destruction to his beloved South. (The real hero in all this is Lincoln, Grant and Sherman who were willing to negotiate very “honorable” terms and only hoped the leaders of the Confederacy would just escape and leave the country. Lincoln, of course, was assassinated just before this all came to an end.)
So the first part of the book is about these two men, Davis and Breckinridge and their fight over how to proceed. This is all very interesting and well done. As they escape they take the treasury and slowly the book turns into an escape adventure story. This could have been entertaining but the level of detail just undermines the momentum of the narrative. We learn almost where they slept each night on the journey, how much money was secured, distributed and perhaps most interesting was that the disbanded and deserting Confederate soldiers became the biggest threat to Davis and Breckinridge. Soon Davis is caught wearing a woman’s overcoat and shawl pretending to sneak off to get water. (For years the rumor and facts of his trying to escape in woman’s clothing would haunt Davis and his reputation.)
As Davis is captured we follow Breckinridge as he escapes to Cuba, England and eventually returns to his home in Kentucky. But when Davis and Breckinridge are no longer in conflict a lot of the story losses its steam. This is not the fault so much of the author but of how history played out the story he set out to tell.
So there you have it, a good and educational book that might be 50 to 100 pages to long. Yet, if you know nothing of the Confederate Government and its fall you will find plenty of interesting information here. One other point I would make is that I had just read OUR MAN IN CHARLESTON just before reading this book. That book was all about the Souths love of slavery and how those who pushed for succession were never going to give up the wealth of their slaves and even wanted to re-institute the slave trade. In HONORABLE DEFEAT there is very little about slavery except that the idea of having slaves fight in the southern army in exchange for their emancipation. Not till the end do we learn of a slave that traveled with Breckinridge (he had been loaned to him by a friend) and nowhere do we learn how Davis viewed slavery or if he owned any. I think this is a serious oversight in this otherwise interesting book.
The thrust of AN HONORABLE DEFEAT was the personality and policy differences between Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate government and his last Secretary of War, John C. Breckinridge. As the world is crumbling around them and Richmond surrounded and Lee about to surrender Davis and Breckinridge prepare to escape Richmond and argue how the war should end, or if it should end at all. Davis comes off as a ridged and unpopular President who can’t come to terms with defeat and tries over and over again to keep Generals from surrendering and encourages a guerrilla insurgency. Breckinridge who had been the Vice President of the United States just before Lincoln’s election (Breckinridge ran against Lincoln and carried the south in 1860) is the “hero” of Davis’s book. Breckinridge was never a big advocate for succession and now does not want the war to end in a farce adding more death and destruction to his beloved South. (The real hero in all this is Lincoln, Grant and Sherman who were willing to negotiate very “honorable” terms and only hoped the leaders of the Confederacy would just escape and leave the country. Lincoln, of course, was assassinated just before this all came to an end.)
So the first part of the book is about these two men, Davis and Breckinridge and their fight over how to proceed. This is all very interesting and well done. As they escape they take the treasury and slowly the book turns into an escape adventure story. This could have been entertaining but the level of detail just undermines the momentum of the narrative. We learn almost where they slept each night on the journey, how much money was secured, distributed and perhaps most interesting was that the disbanded and deserting Confederate soldiers became the biggest threat to Davis and Breckinridge. Soon Davis is caught wearing a woman’s overcoat and shawl pretending to sneak off to get water. (For years the rumor and facts of his trying to escape in woman’s clothing would haunt Davis and his reputation.)
As Davis is captured we follow Breckinridge as he escapes to Cuba, England and eventually returns to his home in Kentucky. But when Davis and Breckinridge are no longer in conflict a lot of the story losses its steam. This is not the fault so much of the author but of how history played out the story he set out to tell.
So there you have it, a good and educational book that might be 50 to 100 pages to long. Yet, if you know nothing of the Confederate Government and its fall you will find plenty of interesting information here. One other point I would make is that I had just read OUR MAN IN CHARLESTON just before reading this book. That book was all about the Souths love of slavery and how those who pushed for succession were never going to give up the wealth of their slaves and even wanted to re-institute the slave trade. In HONORABLE DEFEAT there is very little about slavery except that the idea of having slaves fight in the southern army in exchange for their emancipation. Not till the end do we learn of a slave that traveled with Breckinridge (he had been loaned to him by a friend) and nowhere do we learn how Davis viewed slavery or if he owned any. I think this is a serious oversight in this otherwise interesting book.
July 19, 2011
A solid book that covers the last months of the Confederate government and how it met it's rather non-glorious end. Beginning at the start of 1865, when Grant's Union army is slowly surrounding Lee's army at Petersburg, it covers the governments final attempts to help the situation. When Lee abandons Richmond in April, the government flees to the south in an attempt to keep the rebellion alive. Wagons of gold and records are taken through the Carolinas, while chased by Union Cavalry. Over time, government officials leave and the government officially surrenders more than a month after Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
I enjoyed this book because it was easy to read and covers a topic that is not frequently covered in other history books. For example, most people kind of assume that once Lee surrendered the war ended and Reconstruction began. This book covers the gap between the two.
I enjoyed this book because it was easy to read and covers a topic that is not frequently covered in other history books. For example, most people kind of assume that once Lee surrendered the war ended and Reconstruction began. This book covers the gap between the two.
September 18, 2012
If you are a student of History or you just have a love of the Civil War then this book is a good read for you. William C Davis does an excellant job in bringing the final days of the War in Northern Virginia as well as the chaotic last days of the Confederate Government to print. You will witness the Fall of Petersburg, which lead to the fall of the Confederate Capital in Richmond. Confederate President Jefferson Davis's unwilling to seek a peace with the Union and his steadfast determination to continue the fight for southern independence. I dont want to give to much away, and I can promise you will not be disappointed.
December 2, 2023
My primary takeaway from this book is that Jefferson Davis was a pig-headed nightmare.
This is a step-by-step recounting of the flight of the Confederate government from Richmond. William C. Davis's two principal characters are Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge, whom he depicts as locked in an almost-unacknowledged struggle for how the Confederacy was going to end the war. Or, in J. Davis's case, NOT end the war. He was talking up to the moment he was captured by the Yankees about going to Texas and raising another army, and the fact that he apparently could not understand that this was impossible is actually one of the things I found most frightening about him. Against him, Breckinridge's determination to end the war and end the Confederacy in a way that provided maximum protection for both soldiers and civilians does look honorable.
I think W. C. Davis is wearing rose-colored glasses in a couple of places. He asserts that Robert E. Lee waffled about telling J. Davis that the war had to end because the "old warrior" couldn't bring himself to admit defeat, whereas I've read enough about Lee to know that he waffled because that was what Lee DID---given almost any moment at which he needed to provide a clear statement of his opinion, he equivocated and sidestepped, was vague where he needed to be specific, etc. It was the nature of the beast.
And W. C. Davis is definitely wearing rose-colored glasses in his conclusion, where he tries to argue that BOTH Breckinridge AND Davis provided good examples for the South after the Civil War. Breckinridge I'll give you---when he came back to the US after the amnesty, he stayed away from political office, he supported the enfranchisement of Black men, when he said anything it was about reconciliation. But Davis?
"If the Confederate president never accepted defeat gracefully, and even if he fell into the bitter post war squabbles that helped to make so many Southerners look foolish and spiteful, still he always rose above the mendacity and rank falsehoods to which the others repeatedly sank. If he never inspired his people with love, still by his conduct as a prisoner and for twenty years afterward, he gave an example of unbending pride and refusal either to supplicate or apologize" (397), and I'm sorry, but how is this a good thing? Also, I'm not quite sure I understand the difference between "mendacity and rank falsehoods" and what he says about J. Davis's memoirs: "What he did not wish to admit, he simply wrote out of his history. Inconvenient facts he ignored, and embarrassing incidents he expunged. His failures were really those of others; his only mistakes had been putting faith in subordinates who then let him down" (395). It seems to me like W. C. Davis is splitting hairs, just as I think he's splitting hairs when he tries to argue that J. Davis wasn't a fanatic. J. Davis's complete divorce from reality seems to me to be the essence of fanaticism.
So I think W. C. Davis needed to think through what he was saying about J. Davis a second time. I would also have liked a slightly more heads-on acknowledgement of chattel slavery as a primary cause of the Civil War---he doesn't deny it, or try to ignore it out of existence, but he doesn't address it, either. I know, it's so much easier to talk about the Confederacy if you don't, because then it DOES almost look as simple as a disagreement over the Constitution, and words like "honor" don't have such an uneasy footing, but the fact is that the liberty that white Southerners were so loud about wanting was specifically the liberty to own other people, and while I understand that most of them didn't see it that way, I also don't think it's something that we should move past. We have the example of the abolitionists to show us that it's also NOT simply a matter of imposing 21st century values on 19th century people, and as I said in some other review, I think about Frederick Douglass and what HE would say. And that tends to cut through the rhetoric pretty quickly.
This is a step-by-step recounting of the flight of the Confederate government from Richmond. William C. Davis's two principal characters are Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge, whom he depicts as locked in an almost-unacknowledged struggle for how the Confederacy was going to end the war. Or, in J. Davis's case, NOT end the war. He was talking up to the moment he was captured by the Yankees about going to Texas and raising another army, and the fact that he apparently could not understand that this was impossible is actually one of the things I found most frightening about him. Against him, Breckinridge's determination to end the war and end the Confederacy in a way that provided maximum protection for both soldiers and civilians does look honorable.
I think W. C. Davis is wearing rose-colored glasses in a couple of places. He asserts that Robert E. Lee waffled about telling J. Davis that the war had to end because the "old warrior" couldn't bring himself to admit defeat, whereas I've read enough about Lee to know that he waffled because that was what Lee DID---given almost any moment at which he needed to provide a clear statement of his opinion, he equivocated and sidestepped, was vague where he needed to be specific, etc. It was the nature of the beast.
And W. C. Davis is definitely wearing rose-colored glasses in his conclusion, where he tries to argue that BOTH Breckinridge AND Davis provided good examples for the South after the Civil War. Breckinridge I'll give you---when he came back to the US after the amnesty, he stayed away from political office, he supported the enfranchisement of Black men, when he said anything it was about reconciliation. But Davis?
"If the Confederate president never accepted defeat gracefully, and even if he fell into the bitter post war squabbles that helped to make so many Southerners look foolish and spiteful, still he always rose above the mendacity and rank falsehoods to which the others repeatedly sank. If he never inspired his people with love, still by his conduct as a prisoner and for twenty years afterward, he gave an example of unbending pride and refusal either to supplicate or apologize" (397), and I'm sorry, but how is this a good thing? Also, I'm not quite sure I understand the difference between "mendacity and rank falsehoods" and what he says about J. Davis's memoirs: "What he did not wish to admit, he simply wrote out of his history. Inconvenient facts he ignored, and embarrassing incidents he expunged. His failures were really those of others; his only mistakes had been putting faith in subordinates who then let him down" (395). It seems to me like W. C. Davis is splitting hairs, just as I think he's splitting hairs when he tries to argue that J. Davis wasn't a fanatic. J. Davis's complete divorce from reality seems to me to be the essence of fanaticism.
So I think W. C. Davis needed to think through what he was saying about J. Davis a second time. I would also have liked a slightly more heads-on acknowledgement of chattel slavery as a primary cause of the Civil War---he doesn't deny it, or try to ignore it out of existence, but he doesn't address it, either. I know, it's so much easier to talk about the Confederacy if you don't, because then it DOES almost look as simple as a disagreement over the Constitution, and words like "honor" don't have such an uneasy footing, but the fact is that the liberty that white Southerners were so loud about wanting was specifically the liberty to own other people, and while I understand that most of them didn't see it that way, I also don't think it's something that we should move past. We have the example of the abolitionists to show us that it's also NOT simply a matter of imposing 21st century values on 19th century people, and as I said in some other review, I think about Frederick Douglass and what HE would say. And that tends to cut through the rhetoric pretty quickly.
October 25, 2025
This is a history book that demonstrates well how a smart author can take certain facts and weave a questionable and sometimes misleading narrative.
Davis is a good writer, although in sections it was hard to keep the dots connected between towns and characters that passed through the story of the flight southward. For large sections, the facts alone carry the narrative to great excitement, especially the incredible survival story of Breckenridge and his crew through Florida and to Cuba. Here the author shines, down to the description of mosquito attacks and squalls. Even some Seminoles make an appearance. That part of the story would make a riveting movie. Indeed, I learned a lot about these final scenes of flight by the Confederate officials (and was glad not to receive long summaries of the final weeks of the military fighting and surrenders).
But Davis, Benjamin, Breckenridge, Mallory, etc — these were cowardly rats on the run. Stephens was far braver and honorable, simply standing at his doorstep awaiting arrest. The author barely mentions the reality of slavery, and the awful consequences of the rebellion led by Jefferson Davis.
Then at the end the author interjects his admiration for Davis, Breckenridge, and the Confederacy as a whole. It’s ridiculous after all that factual detail so painstakingly arranged. Another way to describe Breckenridge would be scared and cowardly to the end, a traitor skulking on the Canadian border until late 1868. But my goodness, the author swoons over him.
Then there is the vignette of Davis’ capture. The facts support the conclusion that he was trying to skulk away as a woman going to fetch water. Between two wraps and Varina arguing he was her “mother,” it is a plausible view that this was indeed the rouse, even if not to the hoopskirt exaggerations that hit the press. But the author shrugs it off as just a misunderstanding. Not that it matters much, but the author is clearly on Davis’ side.
The Union officers and soldiers are always presented in a dark light, as ruffians and robbers. There is some serious bias in this regard. The book nearly becomes a work of historical fiction told from the perspective of the rebels on the run — good guys being chased by bad ones. When in fact exactly the opposite was the case.
Davis was vindictive and petty to the end. The author does give us a fair taste of this, and says so himself in the context of describing Davis’ memoirs. But then the author applauds Davis for his undying loyalty and commitment to the cause to the end of his sad days. Then the author gives Davis a parting round of applause.
We also find out at the end that Breckenridge’s trusty “servant” Ferguson was a slave, a begrudging revelation that slavery was a reality. And even then, Breckenridge is heroic because he gave Ferguson a letter of recommendation to help him on his journey back to Kentucky to find his loved ones. Ferguson doesn’t earn an epilogue or any applause.
I wish this book could be re-written to tell the riveting story of the escapes, but with a historically accurate description of the context, cause, and consequences of the Union and Rebel actors.
For writing such excellent portions of the story based on historical records, yet being selective and opinionated, I have to go two stars when it may have been four.
Davis is a good writer, although in sections it was hard to keep the dots connected between towns and characters that passed through the story of the flight southward. For large sections, the facts alone carry the narrative to great excitement, especially the incredible survival story of Breckenridge and his crew through Florida and to Cuba. Here the author shines, down to the description of mosquito attacks and squalls. Even some Seminoles make an appearance. That part of the story would make a riveting movie. Indeed, I learned a lot about these final scenes of flight by the Confederate officials (and was glad not to receive long summaries of the final weeks of the military fighting and surrenders).
But Davis, Benjamin, Breckenridge, Mallory, etc — these were cowardly rats on the run. Stephens was far braver and honorable, simply standing at his doorstep awaiting arrest. The author barely mentions the reality of slavery, and the awful consequences of the rebellion led by Jefferson Davis.
Then at the end the author interjects his admiration for Davis, Breckenridge, and the Confederacy as a whole. It’s ridiculous after all that factual detail so painstakingly arranged. Another way to describe Breckenridge would be scared and cowardly to the end, a traitor skulking on the Canadian border until late 1868. But my goodness, the author swoons over him.
Then there is the vignette of Davis’ capture. The facts support the conclusion that he was trying to skulk away as a woman going to fetch water. Between two wraps and Varina arguing he was her “mother,” it is a plausible view that this was indeed the rouse, even if not to the hoopskirt exaggerations that hit the press. But the author shrugs it off as just a misunderstanding. Not that it matters much, but the author is clearly on Davis’ side.
The Union officers and soldiers are always presented in a dark light, as ruffians and robbers. There is some serious bias in this regard. The book nearly becomes a work of historical fiction told from the perspective of the rebels on the run — good guys being chased by bad ones. When in fact exactly the opposite was the case.
Davis was vindictive and petty to the end. The author does give us a fair taste of this, and says so himself in the context of describing Davis’ memoirs. But then the author applauds Davis for his undying loyalty and commitment to the cause to the end of his sad days. Then the author gives Davis a parting round of applause.
We also find out at the end that Breckenridge’s trusty “servant” Ferguson was a slave, a begrudging revelation that slavery was a reality. And even then, Breckenridge is heroic because he gave Ferguson a letter of recommendation to help him on his journey back to Kentucky to find his loved ones. Ferguson doesn’t earn an epilogue or any applause.
I wish this book could be re-written to tell the riveting story of the escapes, but with a historically accurate description of the context, cause, and consequences of the Union and Rebel actors.
For writing such excellent portions of the story based on historical records, yet being selective and opinionated, I have to go two stars when it may have been four.
October 20, 2019
William C. Davis gives us a wonderful look at the Confederate government during its last days in Richmond and on to the final escape of two of its top officals to England while the President was chained in prison. We get a view of Davis as he moved to carry on the war by whatever means, never accepting that the "cause" was lost. We also see Sec. of War Breckinridge trying to stop Davis' madness and checking the President's plans at every turn. I doubt Davis could have carried on the war even without Breckinridge's efforts but the man from Kentucky has to be given credit for looking to the South's future and the Confederacy's legacy at a time when the end could have well been the farce he feared.
Two of the more interesting parts of the book show both Breckinridge's skill and his and the rest of these historical figures human nature. In the first instance it is amazing just how close Breckinridge came in dealing with Sherman to gaining for the South a peace that no one could have ever thought possible. The Sec. of War almost got the South back in the Union with no sanction except the loss of slavery. Davis himself seemed shocked at the terms Breckinridge and Sherman worked out. The other story from this book that sticks in one's mind is the sight of the President, Sec. of War, Postmaster General, and other top Confederate officals down in the dirt playing marbles. These men were indeed human.
Finally, I rather liked the stories of the escape paths taken by Benjaman and Breckinridge. While it added little to the point of the book except to show Breckinridge's strong desire to get to England and settle as many of the Confederacy's debts as possible in an honorable manner it was still a study in endurance.
Bravo Mr. Davis. This book is well worth all five stars I gave it.
Two of the more interesting parts of the book show both Breckinridge's skill and his and the rest of these historical figures human nature. In the first instance it is amazing just how close Breckinridge came in dealing with Sherman to gaining for the South a peace that no one could have ever thought possible. The Sec. of War almost got the South back in the Union with no sanction except the loss of slavery. Davis himself seemed shocked at the terms Breckinridge and Sherman worked out. The other story from this book that sticks in one's mind is the sight of the President, Sec. of War, Postmaster General, and other top Confederate officals down in the dirt playing marbles. These men were indeed human.
Finally, I rather liked the stories of the escape paths taken by Benjaman and Breckinridge. While it added little to the point of the book except to show Breckinridge's strong desire to get to England and settle as many of the Confederacy's debts as possible in an honorable manner it was still a study in endurance.
Bravo Mr. Davis. This book is well worth all five stars I gave it.
March 19, 2024
I learned an enormous amount from this book. The book is about the end if the Civil War, but really about the battle between teo men iver how it would end. Jefferson Davis wanted the South to fight to the last man -- blood and treasure be damned. John Breckenridge wanted it concluded with the least meaningless loss of life, destruction and pilleging.
"Jefferson Davis was never loved by his people during the war the way Northerners revered Lincoln, nor did former Confederates treat him with the sort of veneration they felt for Robert E Lee ... Yet in spite of himself over the years he gradually won respect, even admiration, from former Confederates, based not on his human qualities -- which he rarely let them see -- but on what he had suffered on their behalf. During his imprisonment Jefferson Davis became a martyr for them all, a role he was quite ready to play and play well. Southerners saw in his imprisonment and the manacles and the other indignities a Christ-like figure suffering for their sins ... by the time he died in New Orleans in 1879, he had acquired an enormous popularity in the South, not for the man he was but for the symbol he had become."
"Jefferson Davis was never loved by his people during the war the way Northerners revered Lincoln, nor did former Confederates treat him with the sort of veneration they felt for Robert E Lee ... Yet in spite of himself over the years he gradually won respect, even admiration, from former Confederates, based not on his human qualities -- which he rarely let them see -- but on what he had suffered on their behalf. During his imprisonment Jefferson Davis became a martyr for them all, a role he was quite ready to play and play well. Southerners saw in his imprisonment and the manacles and the other indignities a Christ-like figure suffering for their sins ... by the time he died in New Orleans in 1879, he had acquired an enormous popularity in the South, not for the man he was but for the symbol he had become."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2018
Interesting and very detailed, but unfortunately rather plodding at times. Davis did very well illustrating the logistical nightmare of the final weeks of the war and the Confederate cabinet's scramble to hold onto the tiniest shred of hope. However, the narrative of the various individual escape routes of the cabinet members seemed hard to follow and a bit tedious. Altogether, this was a worthwhile read for the Civil War scholar, but likely not something I would suggest to a casual reader of history.
May 9, 2023
A long, detailed book about the final days of the CSA. William C. Davis gives us an hour-by-hour account of Jefferson Davis's government as it flees Richmond and tries to make its way to the trans-Mississippi theatre. Jefferson Davis was delusional throughout about the South's ability to resist further. The book is often a difficult read, but worth the effort. Overall the CSA disintegrated before the Union onslaught. Its end is at once joyous, sad and pathetic.
April 20, 2021
Very interesting history. I’ve always heard the general story of Jefferson Davis being captured in Georgia. Some stories claiming the “dressed as a woman” tale being a fact. I never knew the important role J C Breckinridge had in the closing days of the Confederacy. This book provides very detailed history of those events.
September 1, 2023
An engaging, detailed read on the fall of the Confederate government. Davis follows the President Davis and the rest of the Confederate cabinet in their flight from Richmond through the Carolinas before they go their separate ways in Georgia.
June 21, 2021
Great book on the end of the Confederacy.
March 13, 2024
An interesting look at the final days of the Confederacy from the Rebels side of the conflict.
February 6, 2020
It was a fairly entertaining and informative read - I was impressed at the level of detail provided. However, the author seemed altogether too enthralled with the Confederacy and its primary actors. Any account of the Confederacy - even its death - that leaves out the fact that the sole purpose of its existence was to perpetuate the existence of slavery is only ever a half-truth. Here the author sought to paper over the politics and casted the Confederate leadership more as victims rather than the villains they were. This does not mean the book must change its focus, but an account of their flight and the governmental collapse would have been much more beneficial (at least in terms of a historian’s duty) if kept in context of why they had to flee in the first instance.
December 19, 2007
This book wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be or as good as some of the reviews make it sound. I felt like this author tried to make a story of it but he didn't have enough factual evidence and background about what happened to truly make it interesting. I felt his writing style dragged on and he was repetitive. He rambled a lot at the end of the book and flipped around to the different players in the Confederacy without really getting anywhere. Just wasn't what I thought the book was going to be or should be.
August 7, 2024
A fascinating book about the fall of the Confederacy and the chase to capture Jefferson Davis. Davis is the main focus of the book, but it also follows John C. Breckenridge and his attempts to escape Federal capture.
I found this narrative to be interesting, engaging and entertaining. There was a lot of research done here by the author and it showed. However the author was able to keep the information interesting which made for an enjoyable reading and learning experience.
I found this narrative to be interesting, engaging and entertaining. There was a lot of research done here by the author and it showed. However the author was able to keep the information interesting which made for an enjoyable reading and learning experience.
September 9, 2011
There are historical myths I prefer to keep, one of them is Jefferson Davis being caught disguised as a woman. So what if it isn't true?
The scheming of Breckinridge to bring the war to a quick end while Davis wanted the armies to take to the hills was an aspect of the war I wasn't too familiar with. That and the subsequent escape attempts of the Confederate cabinet make for an exciting tale.
The scheming of Breckinridge to bring the war to a quick end while Davis wanted the armies to take to the hills was an aspect of the war I wasn't too familiar with. That and the subsequent escape attempts of the Confederate cabinet make for an exciting tale.
October 27, 2008
Another of those books that makes you slap your head and wonder aloud "Why didn't they teach me that when I was in school?"
October 13, 2009
Great fast & interesting read
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