Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America : A Memoir by His Wife

by Varina Howell Davis

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Own, History, Biography, American, 19th Century

2 pages, Hardcover

First published February 5, 1990

About the author

Varina Anne Banks Howell Davis (May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the only First Lady of the Confederate States of America, and the longtime 2nd wife of President Jefferson Davis. She moved to the Presidential Mansion in Richmond, Virginia, in mid-1861, and lived there for the remainder of the Civil War. Born and raised in the South and educated in Philadelphia, she had family on both sides of the conflict and unconventional views for a woman in her public role.
She did not support the Confederacy's position on slavery, and was ambivalent about the war.

Davis became a writer after the war, completing her husband's memoir. She was recruited by Kate (Davis) Pulitzer, a purportedly distant cousin of Varina’s husband and wife of publisher Joseph Pulitzer, to write articles and eventually a regular column for the New York World. Widowed in 1889, Davis moved to New York City with her youngest daughter Winnie in 1891 to work at writing. She enjoyed urban life. In her old age, she attempted to reconcile prominent figures of the North and South.

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of this was extremely detailed about battles and events of the Civil War and of interest only to historians or Civil War buffs. However, the more personal parts were quite interesting, especially when Varina Davis details his sufferings during his imprisonment. She is successful in painting a picture of a very high principled, religious man (excluding the issue of slavery) who was much admired by his contemporaries. However, it is her effort in assembling letters, documents, etc., and writing this voluminous tribute to her husband which is to be admired most.