Jefferson Davis collection, 1861-1883

Summary

Creator:

William L. Clements Library

Abstract:

The Jefferson Davis collection contains political and military correspondence of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America. Most of the letters are from congressmen, governors, cabinet officers, generals, and local politicians to Davis.

Extent:

0.25 linear feet

Language:

English

Sponsor:

James S. Schoff Civil War Collection

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Philip Heslip, May 2010

Background

Scope and Content:

The Jefferson Davis collection (91 items) contains political correspondence of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America. The collection consists of 10 letters written by Davis, including three to Robert E. Lee, and one document signed by Davis. The remaining 80 items are letters to Davis from congressmen, governors, cabinet officers, generals, and local politicians. They offer a variety of opinions and advice on the Confederacy and the war effort related to both political and strategic matters. Other topics discussed include military and political promotions and appointments, Southern public opinion of the war, intelligence and updates from the battlefield, prisons and prisoners, political support in Europe, and Confederate finances.

Selected items include:

• January 17, 1861: Jefferson Davis to George Lunt, stating that secession was forced upon the South by Northern aggression and not caused by Lincoln's election
• September 3, 1861: Simon Bolivar Buckner to Davis recommending that they take decisive military action in Kentucky
• November 2, 1861: James B. Chesnut to Davis explaining his part in the planning of the battle at Manassas
• April 9, 1862: Stephen Russell Mallory to Davis concerning iron-clad ships
• September 3, 1862: Robert E. Lee to Davis recommending that his army invade Maryland
• October 8, 1862: Two letters to Davis concerning the suspension of habeas corpus
• April 6, 1763: Joseph Christmas Ives to Davis containing an inspection report on Vicksburg and other forts
• July 29, 1863: James Phelan to Davis on enforcing the Conscription Act
• July 21, August 3, 8, 14, 1863: Letters concerning calls to remove John C. Pemberton from office
• October 12, 1863: John H. Reagan to Davis advising that the army cut off Rosecrans in Tennessee and predicting Union gains if they fail
• November 18, 1863: George W.C. Lee to Davis recommending that Davis visit Robert E. Lee and his army
• June 11, 1864: Davis to the Confederate Senate concerning the destruction of the gunboat Cairo
• August 9, 1864: Herschel Johnson to Davis explaining that the Confederate army must defeat Sherman and protect Atlanta, Georgia
• February 2, 1865: Act written by Thomas Bocock and Alexander Hamilton Stephens to "regulate the pay…of certain female employees of the government," signed by Davis
• March 28, 1865: George A. Trenholm to Davis arguing for the Confederate government to purchase cotton

Biographical / Historical:

United States senator and the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Finis Davis (1808-1889) had a lengthy military and political career. After graduating from West Point in 1828, Colonel Zachery Taylor assigned Davis to escort Black Hawk to prison at the end of the Black Hawk War (1832). He sat in Congress as a Democratic representative from Mississippi from 1845 to1846. At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Davis returned to the army and distinguished himself at the battle of Buena Vista (1846). Davis represented Mississippi in the senate from 1847 until 1851, when President Pierce appointed him secretary of war. He returned to the senate in 1857, but resigned with other secessionists in 1861. The constitutional convention at Montgomery, Alabama, selected Davis as provisional President of the Confederate States of America, and on November 6, 1861, the Confederacy officially elected him President. Davis held his headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, where he closely supervised the Confederate Army. Following the war, Davis was imprisoned for two years, and although he was indicted for treason, he was never tried. He spent his later years writing in defense of the Confederacy. He died in New Orleans in 1889.

Acquisition Information:

1944-1993. M-491, M-1687, M-1730, M-1759, M-1859, M-1862, M-2107, M-2132, M-2902, M-5094 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the "We the People" project.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized chronologically with undated items at the end.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Clements Library contains several collections with material related to Jefferson Davis, including correspondence and contemporary mentions of Davis (see the card catalog for details).

A few notable selections are listed below:

• The Lewis Cass papers contain six letters concerning Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina Davis:
  • Davis to Cass (1855 February 24; 1857 March 10, August 3)
  • Cass to Davis (1855 February 27; 1856 July 2)
  • Varina Davis to Goddard (undated)
• The Clinton H. Haskell collection contains a letter from Davis to Braxton Bragg (May 29, 1861)
• The Samuel B. Morse journal contains information concerning an assassination reward for Davis

The Clements Library Book Division holds many volumes written by or related to Davis. Search the Library catalog for a complete list.

Below are a few notable selections:

• Davis, Jefferson. Autobiography of Jefferson Davis. Chicago, Ill.: Belford, Clarke & co., 1890.
• Davis, Jefferson. The Rise And Fall of the Confederate Government. New York: D. Appleton and co., 1881.
• Message Du Président Jefferson Davis Au Sénat Et à La Chambre Des États Confédérés le 12 Janvier 1863. Paris: Imprimerie de Dubuisson, 1863.
• Message Du Président Jefferson Davis Au Sénat Et à La Chambre Des États Confédérés Le 7 Décembre 1863. Paris: Imprimerie de Dubuisson, 1864.
• Davis, Jefferson. Relations of States: Speech of the Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Delivered In the Senate of the United States, May 7th, 1860, On the Resolutions Submitted by Him On the 1st of March, 1860. Baltimore: John Murphy & co., 1860.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Armored vessels.
Bull Run, 1st Battle of, Va., 1861.

Formats:

Letters (correspondence)

Names:

Cairo (Gunboat)
Castle Thunder Prison (Richmond, Va.)
Crittenden, George Bibb, 1812-1880.
Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821-1877.
Pemberton, John C. (John Clifford), 1814-1881.
Rosecrans, William S. (William Starke), 1819-1898.
Barksdale, E. (Ethelbert), 1824-1893.
Barnwell, Robert Woodward, 1801-1882.
Barry, William T. S. (William Taylor Sullivan), 1821-1868.
Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893.
Benjamin, J. P. (Judah Philip), 1811-1884.
Bocock, Thomas S., 1815-1891.
Bragg, Braxton, 1817-1876.
Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914.
Caperton, Allen Taylor, 1810-1876.
Chesnut, James, 1815-1885.
Clay, Clement Comer, 1789-1866.
Davis, George, 1820-1896.
Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889.
Davis, Reuben, 1813-1890.
Dargan, Edmund Strother, 1805-1879.
Floyd, John B. (John Buchanan), 1806-1863.
Foote, Henry S. (Henry Stuart), 1804-1880.
Garland, A. H. (Augustus Hill), 1832-1899.
Hampton, Wade, 1818-1902.
Heth, Henry, 1825-1899.
Hill, D. H. (Daniel Harvey), 1821-1889.
House, John Ford, 1827-1904.
Ives, J. C.
Johnson, Herschel V. (Herschel Vespasian), 1812-1880.
Johnston, Joseph E. (Joseph Eggleston), 1807-1891.
Keyes, Wade, 1821-1879.
Kirby-Smith, Edmund, 1824-1893.
Lee, George Washington Custis, 1832-1913.
Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870.
Letcher, John, 1813-1884.
Lovell, Mansfield, 1822-1884.
McRae, John J., 1815-1868.
Magruder, John Bankhead, 1807-1871.
Malloy, Stephen Russell, 1812-1873.
Marshall, Humphrey, 1812-1872.
Mason, J. M. (James Murray), 1798-1871.
Phelan, James, 1821-1873.
Randolph, George Wythe, 1818-1867.
Reagan, John H. (John Henninger), 1818-1905.
Rives, William Cabell, 1825-1889.
Seddon, James A. (James Alexander), 1815-1880.
Semmes, Thomas J. (Thomas Jenkins), 1824-1899.
Slidell, John, 1793-1871.
Smith, Gustavus Woodson, 1822-1896.
Smith, M. L. (Martin Luther), 1819-1866.
Stephens, Alexander Hamilton, 1812-1883.
Trenholm, George Alfred, 1806-1876.
Yancey, William Lowndes, 1814-1863.

Places:

Arkansas--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Charleston (S.C.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Georgia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Kentucky--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Mississippi--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
New Orleans (La.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Tennessee--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Vicksburg (Miss.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Vicksburg (Miss.)--History--Siege, 1863.
Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.