| From the beginning of recorded military history,
victory was never really considered complete unless the enemy commander was captured or
killed. Certainly, the death of Hitler in May, 1945 added a touch of finality to World War II. However, the escape of Saddam Hussein
ended the Persian Gulf War with a hollow ring. As the Civil War moved to a close with the events
at Appomatox Courthouse in May, 1865, the northerners were seeking that same feeling of
closure. Some just wanted Confederate President Jefferson Davis captured, but many others
expected his execution to follow a speedy trial for treason . But where was Davis? As the news spread that he had escaped
with members of his family, the union army launched a manhunt that captivated the entire
country. Among the key figures in this drama was a young soldier from Sidney. This is his
story.
Jeremiah Dixon Ferree was
a bright young man. By early 1864 seventeen year old J. D. Ferree, as his friends called
him, was teaching school at the Line School in Sidney. All that changed when the dashing
young Major Frankenberger of the First Ohio Cavalry stopped in Sidney on a recruiting
trip. Ferree immediately enlisted and dismissed his classes. It was February 21, 1864. He
was off to be a horse soldier.
The unglamorous reality of war soon set in. The First Ohio participated in the battle
of Nashville and numerous other engagements. The fighting conditions were miserable.
Ferree and his men lived on parched corn only for eight days straight as they fought their
way to Macon, Georgia. During one stretch, they engaged the Rebels for 30 consecutive
days. It was late April, 1865 when the news of the assassination of Lincoln and the fall
of Richmond was received. Soon they would be going home!
On May 1, 1865 a call went out for volunteers. Men of "discretion and
courage" were needed for one last assignment. "We were told it would be a
secret and dangerous expedition" Ferree would later recall. The thirty-five men
were given confederate uniforms and revolvers. Their mission: capture President Jefferson
Davis. Captain Yeoman, the leader of this band of daring soldiers, addressed them as
follows: "President Johnson has offered a $100,000 reward for his (Davis')
capture, dead or alive...Now if we run onto him and he has less than 200 men with him, by
the eternal I am going to attack him. If there is anyone here who will not ride where I
lead, let him come forward." No one did. Final plans were made.
Ferree and the others met at night, but during the day they mingled among the rebel
soldiers and gathered information. Their first narrow escape came when they were
confronted by a confederate Calvary major. The men were asked to identify their unit. When
Captain Yeoman reported they were the Fourth Mississippi, the major replied: "I
guess not, Captain, that is my regiment. I'll see about this." The disguised
Yanks beat a hasty retreat.
Each day brought them closer
to Jefferson Davis and his family. Disaster was narrowly averted again when they entered
Covington, Georgia. Ferree and the other men mingled among many armed confederates. After
leaving, they traveled out of town for a short distance when they decided to return and
take another road. Ferree later recalled: "Just before we were about to enter the
town, we met a negro who said: 'The Rebs think youse is Yanks and they are waiting for
you.' He directed us to another road and we missed them."
Yeoman's group
encountered more trouble from union troops than the confederates. They were arrested
several times. They were released when Captain Yeoman produced a copy of their orders,
which only he carried. This slowed their pursuit of Davis. On another occasion, Ferree and
two others were captured by the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry when Yeoman was not with them. Lady
Luck intervened again. Ferree remembered: "Fortunately the company (that captured
us) was from Shelby County. I recalled the name of Daniel Clark, a member of the campany
who was raised west of Sidney. I asked for him and he rode out and recognized me."
Ferree and his men were released.
Captain Yeoman would send a courier back to the general staff every day with new leads.
Ferree and the others drew closer to Davis. One night J.D. and several others made the
acquaintance of a family of confederate supporters. Passing themselves off as South
Carolina soldiers, Ferree and his cohorts received a warm reception from the family
(including their two very beautiful daughters). When supper was finished, they retired to
the parlor to sing the most popular confederate ballads. Afterwards, the father began to
question them. Ferree remembered "We had to be at our wits end all the time he
talked with us." Although they accepted an invitation for breakfast, by the next
morning the men were many miles away. As the noose around Jeff Davis drew tighter, Ferree
and the others got within twenty miles of him. On May 10, 1865 Davis was captured by
elements of the First Wisconsin and Fourth Michigan near Irwinville, Georgia. He was alone
except for his family and a few friends.
A grateful government did not forget. Ferree was promoted to 1st Sargent of his company
for his service. Several years after the war, Congress passed legislation rewarding those
who participated in the capture of Davis. By that time J.D. Ferree was home in Sidney
teaching school. He explained to his comrades at the Neal Post of the G.A.R.: "Our
squad was placed on an equality with those who captured (him) because we had run all the
risk in securing the information that resulted in his capture. Captain Yeoman received
$3000. I received $366.25." While teaching school, Ferree enrolled a new pupil
named Arvesta Line. The attraction was apparently immediate. Ferree left teaching. The two
were married on September 29th, 1870. They spent sixty-one happy and companionable years
together, raising six children along the way.
J. D. and his brother Edwin opened up a saw mill just east of Pasco which they operated
for many years. After retiring in 1915, Ferree moved to Sidney and bought the residence at
722 S. Main Avenue. He lived there until his death in 1932. Incredibly, of the 35 men who
volunteered for this dangerous mission, another besides Ferree was from Shelby County.
Private James H. Jeffries grew up near Houston. After the war, he moved to Fort Scott,
Kansas, and was never heard from again. Time healed many of the wounds of war. Jefferson
Davis spent two years in prison but never stood trial for treason. To the last of his
days, he tried to win by his pen what he could not accomplish on the battlefield by
working on his memoir, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate
Government. Davis survived both Lee and Grant, dying penniless in 1889 at the age of
81.
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