Journey to Asylum

Judah Benjamin's Great Escape

As the Civil War neared its end, Judah Benjamin of Louisiana stood accused of high crimes against the Federal Government. A leader in the Confederate Cabinet, Benjamin was often called the "brain of the Confederacy." He was a loyal friend of President Jefferson Davis and an enemy of the Union. To evade certain imprisonment and possible execution for his crimes, Benjamin embarked on a great escape from the fallen Confederate capital at Richmond. Benjamin's goal was to go as far away from the United States as he could—if need be, to "the middle of China," he told friends. Along the way, Judah Benjamin faced hardships and the constant threat of capture by Federal patrols combing the South. Twice he was shipwrecked and three times he was nearly apprehended. Judah Benjamin's great escape is a great adventure—a real-life drama in American history.