 Vance intercepted a major supply train going to General Ambrose Burnside's troops near Knoxville, but when he tried to take the wagons to North Carolina, Vance, and nearly all of his troops, were captured by Sergeant Everett W. Anderson of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry.Vance was detained at various Union prisons in Nashville, Louisville, Fort Chase (Ohio), and Fort Delaware until a former prisoner of Vance's, Reverend Nathaniel G. Taylor, intervened on Vance's behalf, as Vance had treated him well and, eventually, released him

President Lincoln issued Vance a special parole, allowing him to buy clothes for other Confederate soldiers.On March 10, 1865, Lincoln granted Vance a conditional full pardon, allowing him to return to North Carolina, but requiring him not to fight again.