Year Erected: 1957

Image credit: Judge B. Shawn Rhodes

Marker Text: Jefferson Davis spent his last days as Confederate President in Georgia fleeing capture by US troops. After stopping in Washington, Georgia, with his advisors, he left with a small staff and escort for the trans-Mississippi Department to regroup and continue fighting if possible. On May 7, Davis traveled southwest towards Abbeville under the pursuit of the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry (US). After joining his family earlier that morning, he reached Dublin (50 miles NE). On May 8, his party crossed the Ocmulgee River toward Irwinville (26 miles SW). He camped a mile north of the town in present-day Jefferson Davis Memorial Historic Site. On May 10, Davis’s camp was surrounded, and he was captured by the 1st Wisconsin and 4th Michigan cavalry regiments (US). Davis was taken to Macon and later imprisoned at Fort Monroe in Virginia.

Re-erected by the Georgia Historical Society in 2024