Forks of the Ohio
Sergeant
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2019
So, I listened to "Varina" by Charles Frazier on Audible. This is a historical fiction novel about Jefferson Davis' wife, Varina Davis.
The book claimed that right before Varina Davis evacuated from Richmond, her husband gave her a small pistol. The book repeatedly referred to the gun as the "suicide gun." At one point in the novel, Varina explained to a new acquaintance that her husband gave her the gun so that she could shoot herself if a Yankee tried to dishonor her. The acquaintance said, "Does Mr. Davis know which direction you're supposed to point a gun?"
I haven't yet found any other source that references Varina Davis' gun. When I Googled this, all of the links that mention this also reference Charles Frazier's book. So, I haven't yet determined whether Jefferson Davis actually instructed Varina to shoot herself to prevent a sexual assault.
Has anybody else seen this story anyplace else?
Also, has anybody read about any other woman of the Civil War walking around with a pistol and instructions to shoot herself in order to prevent an assault?
I'm thinking that even if any other woman had been instructed to do this, this would not have been something that she would have spoken about or written about to others, or even written in her diary. I'm just curious about how common it was for the men of the Civil War to give their wives guns and instructions to shoot herself as an alternative to being assaulted.
The book claimed that right before Varina Davis evacuated from Richmond, her husband gave her a small pistol. The book repeatedly referred to the gun as the "suicide gun." At one point in the novel, Varina explained to a new acquaintance that her husband gave her the gun so that she could shoot herself if a Yankee tried to dishonor her. The acquaintance said, "Does Mr. Davis know which direction you're supposed to point a gun?"
I haven't yet found any other source that references Varina Davis' gun. When I Googled this, all of the links that mention this also reference Charles Frazier's book. So, I haven't yet determined whether Jefferson Davis actually instructed Varina to shoot herself to prevent a sexual assault.
Has anybody else seen this story anyplace else?
Also, has anybody read about any other woman of the Civil War walking around with a pistol and instructions to shoot herself in order to prevent an assault?
I'm thinking that even if any other woman had been instructed to do this, this would not have been something that she would have spoken about or written about to others, or even written in her diary. I'm just curious about how common it was for the men of the Civil War to give their wives guns and instructions to shoot herself as an alternative to being assaulted.