The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis

by Donald E. Collins

When the Civil War ended, Jefferson Davis had fallen from the heights of popularity to the depths of despair. In this fascinating new book, Donald E. Collins explores the resurrection of Davis to heroic status in the hearts of white Southerners culminating in one of the grandest funeral processions the nation had ever seen. As schools closed and bells tolled along the thousand mile route, Southerners appeared en masse to bid a final farewell to the man who championed Southern secession and ardently defended the Confederacy.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2005

Reviews

[J. Alfred · Rating 2 out of 5]

In his fantastic "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words," which you should absolutely use in your Writing Class and you're welcome, Paul Roberts says, "It is no doubt possible to be too concrete, too illustrative or anecdotal, but few inexperienced writers will err this way." Donald Collins has erred in this way. This book is an astonishing collection of details about Jeff Davis's importance, as expressed in the adulation he received at the end of his life and in his two funerals (yes, strange), but it cries out for editorial comment on that importance, and the cry is not met. What does it mean that Southerners gave him near Christlike devotion and sloganeering ("He was manacled for us"!); what does it mean that his body is surrounded by thousands of flower-scattering people carrying American Flags at the end of Reconstruction? I have things to say, but I'd like a learned voice to offer some conjecture, you know?
Anyway, the info, such as it abundantly is, is very interesting. Few people have had as much a roller coaster of public sentiment-- from a potential president of the United States, to the most hated and scorned person in the divided countr(ies) at the end of the Civil War, to getting roads named for him in Washington State, for goodness' sake. This is, apparently, one of the things that happens when you are the figurehead behind the largest traitorous action this continent has ever seen, one in which over half a million Americans died. (Just saying.)

[Ohit's Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitive in some parts, but pretty enlightening on JD post-war.

Like most folks, I did not know much about him as I should. Seems like most people know more about the military aspects of the war than they do the political side of it.