Andrew Bee of

Martin, Michigan Martin is a village in southeastern Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 410 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2010 ...

, was a private in the 4th Michigan Cavalry, Company L. On May 7, 1865, the 4th Michigan Cavalry, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel

Benjamin D. Pritchard Benjamin Dudley Pritchard (January 29, 1835 – November 26, 1907) was a United States Army officer, most known for leading the Union cavalry regiment which captured the fugitive Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of Ameri ...

, invaded the encampment of

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

president Jefferson Davis. Private Bee discovered that Davis was in fact present and disguised in women's clothing. Davis's shawl and petticoat became the property of the War Department, which turned them over to the National Archives, where they still reside. He alerted Corporal Munger, who made the capture, ending Davis' hopes of re-establishing the Confederate government in the Trans-Mississippi. This event concluded one of the two "great man-hunts" following the war... this being the hunt for Davis, the other being the hunt for Lincoln's killer. It should here be noted that there was a $100,000 reward out for Davis's capture, and that this reward was used to build what is now

Allegan, Michigan Allegan ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 5,222 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Allegan County. It lies within Allegan Township but is administratively autonomous. History The men after whom Allegan's ...

's 'historic district" in the "water-tower hill" neighborhood. It was not until the two great man-hunts were concluded that Reconstruction really got under way.

External links

Michigan History Magazine
(.pdf)

Year of birth missing Year of death missing Union Army soldiers People of Michigan in the American Civil War {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub