Jefferson Finis Davis
President of the Confederate States of America
President of the Confederate States of America
Born: June 3, 1808
Birthplace: Christian County, Kentucky
Father: Samuel Emory Davis 1756 – 1824
(Buried: Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery, Biloxi, Mississippi)
Mother: Jane Cook 1759 – 1845
(Buried: Davis Family Cemetery, Woodville, Mississippi)
1st Wife: Sarah Knox Taylor 1814 – 1835 (Married: September 15, 1835)
(Buried: Locust Grove Cemetery, Saint Francisville, Louisiana)
2nd Wife: Varina Banks Howell 1826 – 1906 (Married: February 26, 1845)
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Children:
Isaac Cook Davis 1845 – 1863
Samuel Emory Davis 1852 – 1854
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Margaret Howell Davis Hayes 1855 – 1909
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Jefferson Finis Davis Jr. 1857 – 1878
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Joseph Evan Davis 1859 – 1864
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
William Howell Davis 1861 – 1872
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis 1864 – 1898
(Buried: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia)
Signature:
Education:
Attended Jefferson College in Washington, Mississippi
Attended Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky
1828: Graduated from West Point Military Academy (23rd in class)
Occupation before War:
1828: Brevet 2nd Lt. United States Army Infantry
1828 – 1833: 2nd Lt. United States Army 1st Infantry Regiment
1833 – 1835: 1st Lt. United States Army 1st Dragoons Regiment
1835: Resigned from United States Army on June 30th
Owner and Manager of Brierfield Plantation (900 acres of land)
1844: Democratic Party Presidential Elector
1844: Campaigned in Mississippi for James K. Polk for President
1845 – 1846: United States Representative from Mississippi
1846 – 1847: Colonel of 1st Mississippi Rifles Volunteers
1847: Declined Brigadier General in United States Army
1847 – 1851: United States Senator from Mississippi
1847 – 1851: United States Senate Chairman on Military Affairs
1851: Unsuccessful Candidate for Governor of Mississippi
1852: Campaigned in Mississippi for Franklin Pierce for President
1853 – 1857: United States Secretary of War
1857 – 1861: United States Senator from Mississippi
1861: Delivered his farewell Address in the United States Senate
Civil War Career:
1861: Major General of the Army of Mississippi
1861 – 1865: 1st & Only - President of Confederate States of America
1865 – 1866: Imprisoned at Fortress Monroe on cost of Virginia
Occupation after War:
1878: President of Carolina Life Insurance Company
1879 – 1889: Farmer in Beauvoir, Mississippi
1881: Author of “Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government”
Promoter of Society in South America to stimulate United States trade
1886 – 1887: Toured the South Promoting the book he wrote
Died: December 6, 1889
Place of Death: New Orleans, Louisiana
Cause of Death: Acute Bronchitis and Malaria
Age at time of Death: 81 years old
Original Burial Place: Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana
Final Burial Place: Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
In 1978: On October 17, President Jimmy Carter posthumously restored the full rights of citizenship to Jefferson Davis by signing an act from Congress.
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