On May 4, 1865, Jefferson Davis arrived in Washington, Georgia, where he performed his last duties as President of the Confederate States of America. Soon afterward, with a small staff and escort, he departed en route to the trans-Mississippi Department, intending despite the surrenders at Appomattox and Durham Station to unite the forces of Generals E. Kirby Smith, Taylor, Forrest, Maury, and Magruder into an army that could continue the war until the enemy agreed to a return to the Union while acknowledging the constitutional rights of the states and guaranteeing the security of person and property. His family joined him near Dublin. On the night of May 9, after a difficult journey by way of Sandersville, Dublin, and Abbeville, he camped at this site unaware that pursuit was close behind. At dawn, his camp was surrounded by Union cavalry, and he was taken to Fortress Monroe, Virginia, where he was held as a state prisoner until May 13, 1867.