Jefferson Davis, Wilcox County

Jefferson Davis, Wilcox County is a Georgia historical marker in Wilcox County, dedicated 1957.

Across From the Courthouse in Fitzgerald in front of the Library.

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

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.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1831 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · Gen. map IX. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1924 · South Carolina. Florida. Georgia. Mississippi. Alabama. North Carolina. South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Gen. map IX, 1895, covering the location of Jefferson Davis, Wilcox County, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Gen. map IX, 1895, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Wilcox County Courthouse140 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.