The camp of Jeff. Davis was near at hand, and his capture was effected shortly after the collision took place.

Not having any intimation of the presence of Union troops in that vicinity, and after being so strictly cautioned by the Colonel to look out for the enemy, I feel that I should have been derelict in duty had I obeyed the challenge to dismount and gone forward and surrendered myself and men, and thus let the column go on into a trap and been slaughtered, as certainly would have been the case had our opponents been enemies, as we had every reason to suppose they were. I have since learned that some of the officers of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry, those that so wickedly waylaid us, in their report say, that the collision was caused by the improper conduct of the

BOOKS: The Capture Of Jefferson Davis