Governor Vance was arrested by Federal forces on his birthday in May 1865 and spent time in prison in Washington, D.C. Per US President Andrew Johnson's amnesty program, he filed an application for pardon on June 3, and was paroled on July 6. After his parole, he began practicing law in Charlotte, North Carolina. Among his clients was accused murderer Tom Dula, the subject of the folk song "Tom Dooley". Governor Vance was formally pardoned on March 11, 1867, though no formal charges had ever been filed against him before his arrest, during his imprisonment, nor during the period of his parole.