Jefferson Davis Popular Books
Jefferson Davis Biography & Facts
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the first and only president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party before the American Civil War. He was the United States Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857. Davis, the youngest of ten children, was born in Fairview, Kentucky, but spent most of his childhood in Wilkinson County, Mississippi. His eldest brother Joseph Emory Davis secured the younger Davis's appointment to the United States Military Academy. Upon graduating, he served six years as a lieutenant in the United States Army. After leaving the army in 1835, Davis married Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of general and future President Zachary Taylor. Sarah died from malaria three months after the wedding. Davis became a cotton planter, building Brierfield Plantation in Mississippi on his brother Joseph's land and eventually owning as many as 113 slaves. In 1845, Davis married Varina Howell. During the same year, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving for one year. From 1846 to 1847, he fought in the Mexican–American War as the colonel of a volunteer regiment. He was appointed to the United States Senate in 1847, resigning to unsuccessfully run as governor of Mississippi. In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Secretary of War. After Pierce's administration ended in 1857, Davis returned to the Senate. He resigned in 1861 when Mississippi seceded from the United States. During the Civil War, Davis guided the Confederacy's policies and served as its commander in chief. When the Confederacy was defeated in 1865, Davis was captured, accused of treason, and imprisoned at Fort Monroe. He was released without trial after two years. Immediately after the war, Davis was often blamed for the Confederacy's defeat, but after his release from prison, he became a hero of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy. In the late 19th and the 20th centuries, his legacy as Confederate leader was celebrated in the South. In the twenty-first century, he is frequently criticized as a supporter of slavery and racism, and many of the memorials dedicated to him throughout the United States have been removed. Early life Birth and family background Jefferson F. Davis was the youngest of ten children of Jane and Samuel Emory Davis. Samuel Davis's father, Evan, who had a Welsh background, came to the colony of Georgia from Philadelphia. Samuel served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and received a land grant for his service near present-day Washington, Georgia. He married Jane Cook, a woman of Scots-Irish descent whom he had met in South Carolina during his military service, in 1783. Around 1793, Samuel and Jane moved to Kentucky. Jefferson was born on June 3, 1808, at the family homestead in Davisburg, a village Samuel had established that later became Fairview, Kentucky. He was named after then-President Thomas Jefferson. Early education In 1810, the Davis family moved to Bayou Teche, Louisiana. Less than a year later, they moved to a farm near Woodville, Mississippi, where Samuel cultivated cotton, acquired twelve slaves, and built a house that Jane called Rosemont. During the War of 1812, three of Davis's brothers served in the military. When Davis was around five, he received a rudimentary education at a small schoolhouse near Woodville. When he was about eight, his father sent him with Major Thomas Hinds and his relatives to attend Saint Thomas College, a Catholic preparatory school run by Dominicans near Springfield, Kentucky. In 1818, Davis returned to Mississippi, where he briefly studied at Jefferson College in Washington. He then attended the Wilkinson County Academy near Woodville for five years. In 1823, Davis attended Transylvania University in Lexington. While he was still in college in 1824, he learned that his father Samuel had died. Before his death, Samuel had fallen into debt and sold Rosemont and most of his slaves to his eldest son Joseph Emory Davis, who already owned a large estate in Davis Bend, Mississippi, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Joseph, who was 23 years older than Davis, informally became his surrogate father. West Point and early military career His older brother Joseph got Davis appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1824, where he became friends with classmates Albert Sidney Johnston and Leonidas Polk. Davis frequently challenged the academy's discipline. In his first year, he was court-martialed for drinking at a nearby tavern. He was found guilty but was pardoned. The following year, he was placed under house arrest for his role in the Eggnog Riot during Christmas 1826 but was not dismissed. He graduated 23rd in a class of 33. Second Lieutenant Davis was assigned to the 1st Infantry Regiment. He was accompanied by his personal servant James Pemberton, an enslaved African American who he inherited from his father. In early 1829, he was stationed at Forts Crawford and Winnebago in Michigan Territory under the command of Colonel Zachary Taylor, who later became president of the United States. Throughout his life, Davis regularly suffered from ill health. During the northern winters, he had pneumonia, colds, and bronchitis. He went to Mississippi on furlough in March 1832, missing the outbreak of the Black Hawk War, and returned to duty just before the Battle of Bad Axe, which ended the war. When Black Hawk was captured, Davis escorted him for detention in St. Louis. Black Hawk stated that Davis treated him with kindness. After Davis's return to Fort Crawford in January 1833, he and Taylor's daughter, Sarah, became romantically involved. Davis asked Taylor if he could marry Sarah, but Taylor refused. In spring, Taylor had him assigned to the United States Regiment of Dragoons under Colonel Henry Dodge. He was promoted to first lieutenant and deployed at Fort Gibson in Arkansas Territory. In February 1835, Davis was court-martialed for insubordination. He was acquitted. He requested a furlough, and immediately after it ended, he tendered his resignation, which was effective on June 30. Planting career and first marriage Davis decided to become a cotton planter. He returned to Mississippi where his brother Joseph had developed Davis Bend into Hurricane Plantation, which eventually had 1,700 acres (690 ha) of cultivated fields with over 300 slaves. Joseph loaned him funds to buy ten slaves and provided him with 800 acres (320 ha), though Joseph retained the title to the property. Davis named his section Brierfield Plantation. Davis continued his correspondence with Sarah, and they agreed to marry with Taylor giving his reluctant assent. They married at Beechland on June 17, 1835. In August, he and Sarah traveled to Locust Grove Plantation, his sister Anna Smith'.... Discover the Jefferson Davis popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jefferson Davis books.
Best Seller Jefferson Davis Books of 2024
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Two Miserable Presidents
Steve SheinkinNew York Times bestselling author and Newbery Honor recipient Steve Sheinkin gives young readers the causes and curses that divided America into Union and Confederate nations in Tw...
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Embattled Rebel
James M. McPhersonFrom the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, a powerful new reckoning with Jefferson Davis as military commander of the Confederacy“The best concise book we hav...
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The Memoirs of the Civil War Commanders
Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, Jefferson Davis & Raphael SemmesMadison & Adams Press presents the collection of Civil War memoires, diaries and journals. This meticulous selection of the firsthand accounts, memoirs and diaries is specially...
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An Unconditional Freedom
Alyssa ColeFrom the awardwinning author of the instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller When No One Is Watching, love war, and racial justice collide in Alyssa Cole’s third buzzworthy,...
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Stamped from the Beginning
Ibram X. Kendi & Joel Christian GillA striking graphic novel edition of the National Book Awardwinning history of how racist ideas have shaped American lifefrom the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be a...
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Sometimes I Never Suffered
Shane McCraeSpanning religious, historical, and political themes, a new collection from the awardwinning poet I think now more than halfOf life is death but...
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The Life and Work of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis & Frank H. AlfriendJefferson Davis was an American politician who served as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. This collection presents to you a well...
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The Free State of Jones and The Echo of the Black Horn
Thomas Jefferson Knight, Ethel Knight & Jim KellySubject of the upcoming film Free State of Jones, this book provides recollections of the man who took on the Confederacy during the Civil War and established the liberated Mississ...
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Beauvoir Jefferson Davis Shrine
AnonymousBEAUVOIR Jefferson Davis Shrine Beauvoir, freely translated “beautiful view,” is located on U. S. Highway 90 about halfway between Gulfport and Biloxi on the Mississippi Gulf Coast...
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Jefferson Davis, American
William J. CooperFrom a distinguished historian of the American South comes this thoroughly human portrait of the complex man at the center of our nation's most epic struggle. Jefferson Davis ini...
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Jefferson Davis Gets His Citizenship Back
Robert Penn WarrenIn 1979 Robert Penn Warren returned to his native Todd Country, Kentucky, to attend ceremonies in honor of another native son, Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, whose ...
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Reveille in Washington
Margaret Leech & James McPhersonWinner of the Pulitzer PrizeFeaturing a foreword by Battle Cry of Freedom author James McPhersonA vibrant portrait of Civil Warera Washington, D.C. that is “packed and running over...
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Stamped from the Beginning
Ibram X. KendiThe National Book Award winning history of how racist ideas were created, spread, and deeply rooted in American society. Some Americans insist that we're living in a postraci...
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Bloody Times
James L. SwansonNew York Times bestselling author James L. Swanson brings to life the fastpaced, suspensefilled story of Abraham Lincoln's and Jefferson Davis's final jour...
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Secession on Trial
Cynthia NicolettiThis book focuses on the postCivil War treason prosecution of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, which was seen as a test case on the major question that animated the Civil War...
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Lincoln and the Irish
Niall O'DowdAn unprecedented narrative of the relationship that swung the Civil War. When Pickett charged at Gettysburg, it was the allIrish Pennsylvania 69th who held fast while the surroundi...
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Arguing until Doomsday
Michael E. WoodsAs the sectional crisis gripped the United States, the rancor increasingly spread to the halls of Congress. Preston Brooks's frenzied assault on Charles Sumner was perhaps the most...
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A Diary from Dixie
Mary Boykin ChesnutWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War
H. W. CrockerThe Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War is a joyful, mythbusting, rebel yell that shatters today’s Leftist and demeaning stereotypes about the South and the Civil War.
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The Ultimate Jefferson Davis Collection
Charles River Editors & Jefferson DavisIncludes: Charles River Editors’ original biography of Jefferson Davis Davis’ The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government: All Volumes The True Story of the Capture...
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Soldier, Spy, Heroine
Debra Ann Pawlak & Cheryl Bartlam du BoisThe Story of the Woman Who Fooled the Yankees and Rebels Alike.As a child, Sarah Emma Edmonds dreamed of faraway places and adventure, often picturing herself as a man. When her ab...
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Works of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis3 works of Jefferson Davis American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War (18081889) This ebook presents a collection of 3 works of Jefferson Davis....
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1858
Bruce ChadwickPRAISE FOR 1858“Highly recommendeda gripping narrative of the critical year of 1858 and the nation’s slide toward disunion and war…Readers seeking to understand how individuals are...
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Jefferson Davis
Allen TateWritten early in Tate’s career, this study of the Confederacy’s fallen leader is highly critical of his flaws yet ultimately sympathetic to the Southern cause.
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Speeches of the Honorable Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, Delivered During the Summer of 1858
Jefferson DavisAccording to Wikipedia: "Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its enti...
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Murder at the Capitol
C. M. GleasonIn July 1861, just months after the Battle of Fort Sumter plunges the young nation into civil war, President Lincoln’s top priority is to unite the country, while Adam Quinn finds ...
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The Life and Work of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis & Frank H. AlfriendJefferson Davis was an American politician who served as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. This collection presents to you a well...
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Secret Lives of the Civil War
Cormac O'Brien & Monika SuteskiLegendary Heroes of U.S. HistoryAs You’ve Never Seen Them Before! Secret Lives of the Civil War features irreverent and uncensored profiles of men and women from the Union a...
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The Real Jefferson Davis
Landon KnightPublished in 1904, this illustrated biography describes the life and character of Jefferson Davis, from his birth through his tenure as president of the Confederate States of Ameri...
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Bloody Crimes
James L. SwansonIn Bloody Crimes, James L. Swansonthe Edgar® Awardwinning, New York Times bestselling author of Manhuntbrings to life two epic events of the Civil War era: the thrilling chase to a...
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In the Pines
Grace Elizabeth Hale & John GrishamWinner of the Mississippi Historical Society Book of the Year Award In this “courageous and compelling … essential and critically important” book (Bryan Stevenson), an awardwinning...