Jefferson Davis-GHM 077-6-Irwin Co
Posted by: 
Sprinterman
N 31° 39.841 W 083° 23.215
17R E 273694 N 3505671
Jefferson Davis Memorial State Park near Irwinville
Waymark Code: WMAG60
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 01/11/2011
Views: 8
Late on May 8th, the night before his arrival at this site, Mr. Davis and his party had camped at Abbeville (26 miles NE), unaware that pursuit was close behind. Their pursuers, the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry, Lt. Col. Henry Harnden, had learned in Dublin of their passage, and after many hours of trailing through swamps and over boggy roads, reached Abbeville shortly after Mr. Davis' departure. Stopping only to feed and water, Harnden's men were resuming the pursuit when the 4th Michigan Cavalry, Lt. Col. B.D. Pritchard, arrived and learned Mr. Davis' probable route.
Pritchard was bound down-river to intercept other Confederate officials. After Harnden had departed, he rode on some 12 miles, then, abandoning his own mission, he made a forced march and, after finding the Davis camp late that night by posing in Irwinville as the escort, he surrounded it quietly and waited for dawn. Harnden had camped a few miles away. Unaware of Pritchard's prescense, he moved up just before dawn to surround the camp. His advance was fired upon and, in the fight that followed, two Michigan soldiers were killed before a prisoner taken by Harnden's men revealed the identity of the "enemy."
During this unfortunate collision, Pritchard closed in and seized Mr. Davis and his party, thereafter claiming for the 4th Michigan the fruits of the 1st Wisconsin's labors.
077-6 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1957
Type of Marker: Highway
Marker #: 077-6
Date: 1957
Sponsor: GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, yourself at the marker, your gps at the marker, or anything specific to the text on the marker. And don't forget to enjoy your visit.