Known For : Davis was the president of the Confederate States of America. Although perhaps not as famous as Lincoln, Jefferson Davis' words still play an importa… After returning to Mississippi severely wounded, he entered the Senate and soon became chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. Davis made the inspired choice of Robert E. Lee as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia in June 1862. He was later indicted for treason, though never tried, and remained a symbol of Southern pride until his death in 1889. Jefferson Davis was never tried for treason in part because the federal government feared he may convince a jury that secession was not illegal. Died. Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi. Aaron was constantly involved in illegal activities, which Jefferson despised. Jefferson was forced to fight Turk's henchmen and was arrested when the police raided Turk's hideout, even though he had managed to overpower Turk's men. He previously served as the United States Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 under President Franklin Pierce. In the summer of 2017, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced the formation of a commission to recommend "how to best tell the real story" of the Confederate-era statues on tourist-packed Monument Avenue. Jefferson Davis. Throughout his congressional term, his support of states’ right remained unwavering. 0. President of the Confederate States of America. While investigating facts about Jefferson Davis High School and Jefferson Davis Monument, I found out little known, but curios details like:. Both of Davis' paternal grandparents had immigrated to North America from the region of Snowdonia in the North of Wales; the rest of his ancestry can be traced to England. President Of Confederate States February 18, 1861 – May 10, 1865. At the age of two, they … He preserved the Union during the U.S. Civil War and brought about the emancipation of slaves. Military Rank. By the late 1880s, he began to encourage reconciliation, telling Southerners to be loyal to the Union. After the war he was imprisoned for two years and indicted for treason but was never tried. He was injured at the Battle of Buena Vista when he blocked a charge of Mexican swords — an incident that earned him nationwide acclaim. Upon graduating from West Point, Davis was assigned to the post of second-lieutenant of the First Infantry. As a member of the Democratic Party, he represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives before the American Civil War. In 1857, after Pierce left office, Davis returned to the Senate. Jefferson Davis Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. In conjunction with the formation of the Confederacy, Davis was named president of the Confederate States of America on February 18, 1861. He was among those who believed that the newly elected president, Abraham Lincoln, would coerce the South and that the result would be disastrous. A messenger interrupted the Sunday service to deliver a sealed telegram from General Robert E. Lee, then some 25 miles to the south defending Petersburg. But at Bull Run (Manassas, Virginia) on July 21, 1861, the Confederates routed Union forces. With only one-fourth the white population of the Northern states, with a small fraction of the North’s manufacturing capacity, and with inferior railroads, no navy, no powder mills, no shipyard, and an appalling lack of arms and equipment, the South was in poor condition to withstand invasion. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/jefferson-davis United States. Heideman’s Humility Is Reflected on His Facebook Page. In 1846 Davis resigned his seat in Congress to serve in the Mexican-American War as a colonel in command of the First Mississippi volunteers. He was born Jefferson Finis Davis on 3, 1808, in Fairview, Kentucky, to Samuel Davis, and Jane Cook. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Davis' family went to Louisiana first and later to Mississippi. The topic involving Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis is so much talked about in America that it has become a favorite area for discussion in term papers. Born June 3, 1808 Southwestern Kentucky Died December 6, 1889 New Orleans, Louisiana. In December 2017, following a heated legal battle, residents of Memphis, Tennessee, managed to have a statue of Davis removed from a park. June 3, 1808, Fairview, Kentucky. After a distinguished military career, Jefferson Davis served as a U.S. senator and as secretary of war under Franklin Pierce before his election as the president of the secessionist Confederate States of America. Author of. When he was young, his family relocated first to St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, and later to Wilkinson County, Mississippi. "My daughter, sir, was a better judge of man than I was," Taylor reportedly conceded. He is also remembered for his invaluable contribution to the Army of the United States, as a soldier, the Senator of Mississippi, and the Secretary of War. Stonewall Jackson was a leading Confederate general during the U.S. Civil War, commanding forces at Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. MOST POPULAR. Capture of Jefferson Davis. 1847-12-05 Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post. Davis fought with his regiment in the Blackhawk War of 1831, during which they captured Chief Blackhawk himself. Davis enlarged the army, strengthened coastal defenses, and directed three surveys for railroads to the Pacific. Jefferson Davis was named after Thomas Jefferson. 'Four score and seven years ago. Jefferson Davis. He graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1828. On May 10, 1865, he was captured by Union forces near Irwinville, Georgia, and charged with treason. (Submitted on October 2, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1807 or 1808, on the Davis homestead in Fairview. Heideman’s humble attitude is reflected on … In this lesson, learn about Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America (1861-1865). Zebulon Vance, who objected vigorously to the conscription law he had enacted over much opposition in 1862. Heideman is black leading a mainly black band. As a young man he served as an officer in the U.S. Army, and in the mid-1830s he became a cotton planter. Jefferson Finis Daviswas born on June 3, 1808, in Kentucky. Jefferson Davis lived with his brother Aaron Davis in Brooklyn. The marriage helped further forge his connection with Mississippi planters, as Varina’s family was of that class. His body was temporarily interred at New Orleans’s Metairie Cemetery. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. As president of the Confederate States of America throughout its existence during the American Civil War (1861–65), Jefferson Davis presided over the South’s creation of its own armed forces and acquisition of weapons. Two days later Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, a move that brought about the secession of Virginia and three other states from the Union. Jefferson Davis served as the president of the Confederate States of America during its four years of existence. In 1847, following Davis’ heroic feat, Taylor appointed him U.S. senator from Mississippi — a seat that had opened as a result of Senator Jesse Speight’s death. In 1851 Davis ran unsuccessfully for governor of Mississippi. 2. https://www.sunsigns.org/famousbirthdays/d/profile/jefferson-davis Mar 28, 2015. Thomas Jefferson. In 1853, Davis was appointed secretary of war by President Pierce. It is interesting to n… One of the greatest cavalrymen of the Civil War, Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest allegedly permitted the massacre at Fort Pillow during the war and was associated with the Ku Klux Klan afterward. Unlike many Southern leaders, he had expected war and hoped to become the commander in chief of the Southern armies. At the Battle of Monterrey, he led his men to victory in an assault at Fort Teneria. (Submitted on October 2, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) Inauguration of Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederate States of America, in front of the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 18, 1861. One year later, he became an elector for Polk and Dallas, taking the stance of state protection against federal interference and supporting Texas’ annexation in the process. I enter upon the duties of the office to which I have been chosen with the hope that the beginning of our career as a Confederacy may not be obstructed by hostile opposition to our enjoyment of the separate existence and independence we have asserted, and which, with the blessing of Providence, we intend to maintain. Population estimates, July 1, 2019, (V2019) 11,128. At age seven he was sent for three years to a Dominican boys’ school in Kentucky, and at age 13 he entered Transylvania College, Lexington, Kentucky. He was named after the third U.S. president Thomas Jefferson. Davis was imprisoned at Fort Monroe in Virginia from May 22, 1865, to May 13, 1867, before being released on bail paid partly by abolitionist Horace Greeley. Perhaps Davis’s most serious mistake as commander in chief was the excessive importance he attached to defending the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia, at the expense of operations farther west, including the defense of the key Confederate fortress at Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was the youngest of ten children of Samuel Emory Davis and Jane Cook Davis both from Pennsylvania. Jefferson Davis summary: Jefferson Davis was one of ten children born to his parents, Jane and Samuel Davis. June 13, 2011. Samuel was an ardent admirer of Thomas Jefferson and hence he named his last child after the third President of the United States. On January 21, 1861, 12 days after Mississippi seceded, Davis made a moving farewell speech in the Senate and pleaded eloquently for peace. After graduating, Jefferson Davis served six years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Davis served as a lieutenant in the Wisconsin Territory and afterward in the Black Hawk War under the colonel and future president Zachary Taylor, whose daughter Sarah Knox would become Davis’s wife. Jefferson Davis facts: Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Davis had innumerable troubles during his presidency, including a squabbling Congress, a dissident vice president, Alexander H. Stephens, and the constant opposition of extreme states’ rights advocates, such as North Carolina Gov. He held the rank of colonel under his former father-in-law, General Taylor. His first act was to send a peace commission to Washington, D.C., to prevent an armed conflict. In 1824, President James Monroe appointed Davis to a cadetship at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. When Jefferson Davis, who was named for Thomas Jefferson, was age three, his family settled on a plantation called Rosemont in Woodville, Mississippi. He grew up in Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. Jefferson Davis Facts Jefferson Davis was as an American politician most well-known for serving as President during the American Civil War for the Confederate States of America. Some of you may have even recited them in grade school. Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. Davis' father and uncles were soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, and three of his older brothers fought in the War of 1812. Because his commanding officer, none other than future president Zachary Taylor, was opposed to the marriage, Davis abruptly resigned his military post to take up civic duties prior to the wedding. He later spent four years at the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating 23rd in a class of 33 in 1828. Jefferson Finis Davis was born on June 3, 1808, in Christian County, Kentucky (now called Fairview). Grief-stricken, Davis stayed in virtual seclusion for seven years, creating a plantation out of a wilderness and reading prodigiously in constitutional law and world literature. Around 1 a.m. on December 6, 1889, Davis died of acute bronchitis in New Orleans, Louisiana. Davis was born on June 3, 1808 in Christian County, Kentucky, the last child of ten of Jane (née Cook) and Samuel Emory Davis. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War. A messenger interrupted the Sunday service to deliver a sealed telegram from General Robert E. Lee, then some 25 miles to the south defending Petersburg. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. After completing his boarding school education, Davis enrolled at Jefferson College in Mississippi, later transferring to Transylvania University in Kentucky. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. At dawn on May 10, 1865, Davis was captured near Irwinville, Georgia. Additionally, he remarried, this time to a woman named Varina Howell. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Lydia had two sons from a previous marriage. Students also write several essays telling about their personal stand on how the two lived their lives as well as how they changed America. In June 1835, Davis married his commanding officer’s daughter, Sarah Knox Taylor. Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky. Davis faced a dire crisis. Jefferson Davis Facts Born. Share on Facebook. Then, as afterward, I regarded the separation of the states as a great, though not the greater evil.". From 1828 to 1833, he carried out his first active service with the U.S. Army. Abraham Lincoln Vs Jefferson Davis. Name Meaning. He came from a military family. Sadly, Sarah died of malaria just a few months later, in September 1835. In 1843, he participated in the gubernatorial campaign and served as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. Jefferson Finis Davis was born on June 3, 1808, in Christian County, Kentucky (now called Fairview). . Even during the siege of Petersburg, when Lee’s army was immobilized and starving, Davis asserted to an audience in Richmond on February 6: Let us then unite our hands and our hearts.…We may well believe that before another summer solstice falls upon us, it will be the enemy who will be asking us for conferences. In March 1833, Davis was promoted to first lieutenant and transferred to the First Dragoons, a newly formed regiment. Prior to that, Davis served in the army and represented Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives (1845–46) and the Senate (1847–51 and 1857–61). Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Davis was the tenth and youngest child of Revolutionary War soldier Samuel Davis and his wife Jane Cook Davis (Finis in Latin means finalthe couple wanted no more children after Jefferson). He was the South's political leader during the Civil War and the counterpart of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln … Jefferson Davis, in full Jefferson Finis Davis, (born June 3, 1808, Christian county, Kentucky, U.S.—died December 6, 1889, New Orleans, Louisiana), president of the Confederate States of America throughout its existence during the American Civil War (1861–65). He was also a forceful advocate for what became the Gadsden Purchase. Within three months his bride died of malarial fever. Davis’s “many deficiencies” had in fact been apparent long before his political rise, William C. Davis writes in his book, “Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour.” AD Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky. Franklin Pierce made him secretary of war in 1853. In restored naval yards gunboats were constructed, and the South’s inadequate railroads and rolling stock were patched up repeatedly. In June 1846, Jefferson Davis resigned from his position in Congress to lead the First Regiment of the Mississippi Riflemen in the Mexican-American War. But how many of you can quote an excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy? Jefferson Davis, love him or hate him, was an unusual man. 1811: The family moved twice and settled in Mississippi (1811-1813). Other recommendations included designing more elaborate exhibits to provide context for the statues of Generals Robert Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as well as creating a memorial to slaves and to soldiers of the United States Colored Troops who fought in the Civil War. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Justin Heideman is Vanilla Funk the drum major from Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery, Alabama. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Black Hawk War Mexican-American War. During the period of mounting intersectional strife, Davis spoke widely in both North and South, urging harmony between the sections. During a long and frequently cataclysmic life, his favorite job, according to his wife Varina, was serving as a U.S. senator from Mississippi from 1847 to 1851 and again from 1857 to 1861. Jefferson Davis was the 10th and last child of Samuel Emory Davis, a Georgia-born planter of Welsh ancestry who had fought in the American Revolution. During the Mexican-American War, Davis fought in the Battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista, in 1846 and 1847, respectively. His bail was paid by Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., who w… Capture of Jefferson Davis. James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. Overview of the life of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America (1861–65) during the American Civil War. History has served Jefferson Davis badly by placing him opposite Abraham Lincoln. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Davis held his Senate seat until 1851 and went on to run for the Mississippi governorship, but lost the election. Omissions? Born June 3, 1808, he was heavily influenced by his oldest brother, Joseph, … William Seward was a New York governor and U.S. senator before serving as secretary of state under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. His father Samuel Emory Davis served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. 1861-01-21 Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and 4 other southern senators resign (U.S Civil War) Davis was surprised at the news of his election. 1811: The family moved twice and settled in Mississippi (1811-1813). And he used to attend the annual memorial ceremonies in Washington to mark the birthday of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. When the end came, on April 2, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was sitting in his customary pew at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. He became a national hero for winning the Battle of Buena Vista (1847) with tactics that won plaudits even in the European press. The surname means “son of … Tweet on Twitter. Davis remained in the Senate until January 1861, resigning when Mississippi left the Union. A powerful and influential statesman, Davis left behind a legacy that is similar in some ways to other U.S. presidents. Only two of his six children were alive when he died. Jefferson Davis … Jefferson Davis was the last of ten children born to Samuel Emory Davis and Jane Cook. Jefferson Finis Davis, the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, was a planter, politician and soldier born in Kentucky and raised in Mississippi. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. One of 10 children born into a military family, his … At age 7 Jefferson Davis was sent for three years to a Dominican boys’ school in Kentucky, and at age 13 he entered Transylvania College, Lexington, Kentucky. One night, Jefferson accompanied his brother to meet Turk Barrett. .' Jefferson Davis was never tried for treason in part because the federal government feared he may convince a jury that secession was not illegal. Jefferson Davis Articles. Lincoln refused to see his emissaries and the next month decided to send armed ships to Charleston, South Carolina, to resupply the beleaguered Union garrison at Fort Sumter. He had other vocations, of course. He later spent four years at the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating 23rd in a class of 33 in 1828. Office Held. While Davis’s military judgment was occasionally at fault, he wisely gave Lee wide scope in conducting the war over the next three years. Davis called the surrender “something unparalleled, without good reason or authority.” According to a contemporary description, Davis in his mid-20s was “handsome, witty, sportful, and altogether captivating.” After being posted in Arkansas for two years, Davis resigned his commission in 1835, married Knox, and became a planter near Vicksburg, Mississippi, on land given to him by his wealthy eldest brother, Joseph. Name Meaning. There is confusion regarding the year of his birth because Davis gave it as 1807 in the early part of his life, then later on he gave it as 1808 and finally in his last years he settled on 1807 again. June 13, 2011. As U.S. president, he completed the Louisiana Purchase. William Tecumseh Sherman was a U.S. Civil War Union Army leader known for "Sherman's March," in which he and his troops laid waste to the South. president of Confederate States of America. Professor of English, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, 1924–63. By 1836 Davis was a plantation owner, and in the 1840s he owned over 70 slaves. We strive for accuracy and fairness. He and his wife Jane had ten children, of whom Jefferson was the youngest one. Jefferson Davis was a 19th century U.S. senator best known as the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Born in a log cabin in 1808, Davis would grow up in Mississippi on a small farm. 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 entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. Before the Civil War, he was a U.S. December 6, 1889, New Orleans, Louisiana. In the class behind Davis at West Point were two other cadets who would become prominent Confederate generals, Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston. Davis lived out his retirement years at an estate called Beauvoir in Mississippi. 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