The accompanying map is believed to have been created by David J. Dann (1840-1902), whose signature is located in the lower right corner. David’s parents were English immigrants residing in Effingham, Illinois, during 1861 when David initially enlisted for a three-month term in Company G of the 11th Illinois Infantry. In 1864, he re-enlisted in Company I of the 38th Wisconsin Infantry. Muster rolls confirm that he enlisted on August 16, 1864, and was mustered out on June 2, 1865. At that juncture, he listed Janesville, Wisconsin, as his residence. David married Eliza Q. Holmes on November 30, 1863, although the marriage ultimately ended in divorce. In his later years, following his retirement, David referred to himself as a “Painter.”

The map does not bear a date on its front, and if a date is present on the reverse, it remains inaccessible at this moment due to the map being contained within a frame. Nonetheless, it must have been created subsequent to the Flag of Truce on 29 January 1865, during which Alexander Stephens and Robert Hunter, serving as Peace Commissioners, were permitted to cross the Union siege lines at Petersburg. It is noteworthy that just above the center of the map, the point marked “where Stephens and R. Hunter crossed” is indicated immediately above the Union picket line.

In the History of the 38th Wisconsin, it was written: “Received Rebel Peace Commissioners Stephens, Hunter, Campbell and Hatch through lines under flag of truce January 29, 1865.”

“On January 29, a Confederate officer with a flag of truce interrupted the Siege of Petersburg to announce the passage of the three Confederate peace commissioners. Soldiers from both armies cheered. On February 1, Seward dropped off a copy of the new amendment in Annapolis, then departed with the River Queen for Fort Monroe.” Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampton_Roads_Conference

History records that Confederate peace commissioners Alexander Stephens and Robert M. T. Hunter, accompanied by John A. Campbell, crossed the Union picket lines in late January 1865 at Aiken’s Landing on the James River in Virginia. They traveled under a flag of truce to meet with Union General Ulysses S. Grant at his headquarters in City Point, Virginia. Subsequently, they proceeded to Hampton Roads to engage in the historic yet ultimately unproductive Hampton Roads Conference with President Abraham Lincoln aboard the steamboat River Queen on February 3, 1865.

MYSTERY

Following the signature of David J. Dann, the letters “Del” appear to have been inscribed; however, the rationale behind this inscription remains unclear unless it constitutes a fragment of a larger word. To the best of our knowledge, he had no affiliations with the State of Delaware.