On May 7, 1865, Jefferson Davis, with his family and a small escort, passed through Dublin en route south to avoid Union cavalry attempting to intercept him. That evening, the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry reached Dublin and camped at the ferry. Its commander, Lt. Col. Henry Harnden, learned nothing from Dublin’s white citizens, but late that night a Black man came to his camp and told him that the Davis party had passed through town that day going south on the river road. At dawn, Harnden began a pursuit and, after many difficulties, reached Abbeville close behind Davis. There he met the 4th Michigan Cavalry under Lt. Col. B. D. Pritchard and, after briefing him, continued pursuing Davis. Pritchard, originally headed downriver to intercept other Confederate officials, rode on about 12 miles, then abandoned his own mission, made a forced march, found the Davis camp by posing as the escort, surrounded it quietly, and waited for dawn. Unaware of his presence, Harnden moved up 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 captured Davis and his party, afterward claiming for the 4th Michigan the fruits of the 1st Wisconsin’s labors.