26 Southern Historical Society Papers.
charge of the gold, some one hundred thousand dollars, and deposited it in the treasury at Washington, where it stili re- mains, unsettled as to the ownership.
Joseph M. Broun.
When the Confederate Government abandoned Richmond as its capital all its archives and treasures were sent, under strong military escort, to Charlotte, N. C. The banks of Richmond sent away their treasure under protection of the same escort ; President Davis and his Cabinet also came to Charlotte and established temporary headquarters.
Before they reached Charlotte, Richmond and Petersburg had fallen and General Lee had surrendered, and in a verv few days Sherman and Johnston had agreed upon an armistice by their celebrated paper under which it was proposed that peace should be made and that the seceding States should resume their relations to the Government. This treaty, if it had been carried out, would have obviated reconstruction, under what is knov^'n as the Reconstruction Acts of Congress, for it covered the entire subject of restoration, of peace and return of the Southern States to the Union and of their Senators and Repre- sentatives to Congress. This armistice was repudiated by Presi- dent Johnson and his Cabinet, on the ground that these military commanders had exceeded their powers in undertaking to settle the terms on which the erring States might resume their po- litical functions with the general Government.
It may be admitted that these generals went a little further than they had the right to go, but it can not be denied that they displayed a profound statesmanship in their comprehensive yet terse settlement of a question which afterward so sorely dis- turbed Congress, so nearly caused the conviction upon impeach- ment of the President, and so completely bankrupted the South- ern States.
Mr. Davis, being advised that President Johnson had brought an end to the armistice and repudiated the Sherman-Johnston treaty, immediately began efforts to prevent the capture of him-
