Jefferson Davis Events

1808 Jun 3 Jefferson Davis is Born
Davis was the youngest of the ten children of Samuel Emory Davis (Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, 1756 – July 4, 1824) and wife (married 1783) Jane Cook (Christian County...
1812 The Davis Family Settles in Wilkinson County in southwestern Mississippi
During Davis' youth, the family moved twice; in 1811 to St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, and in 1812 to Wilkinson County, Mississippi near the town of Woodville. In 1813, Davis began his educa...
1813 Davis Attends Wilkinson County Academy
DAVIS, Jefferson, (son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor), a Representative and a Senator from Mississippi; born in what is now Fairview, Todd County, Ky., June 3, 1808; moved with his p...
1816 Jul 10 Davis Enters the Catholic School of Saint Thomas at St. Rose Priory
One thing Samuel preached to his children was “knowledge is power.” Perhaps as the result in the break in his own education, Samuel stressed the importance of studies. When he was six or ...
1818 Davis Attends Jefferson College in Mississippi
Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Kentucky on June 3, 1808. He was the youngest of ten children. In 1818, Davis attended Jefferson College in Mississippi, before transferring ...
1821 Davis Attends Transylvania University
Davis went on to Jefferson College at Washington, Mississippi, in 1818, and to Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1821. In 1824, Davis entered the United States Military A...
1824 Davis Secures an Appointment to West Point
Jefferson Davis attended West Point along with notable US Military Academy members of his Class and others Classes who would later play a major part during the "War of Northern Aggression...
1828 Jul Davis Commissioned as Second Lieutenant of the U.S. Army
As of the publication of Davis' appointment as second lieutenant of Dragoons on May 4, 1833, the "F." had disappeared from official documents as well. At the time the initial was in use, ...
1829 Davis Takes First Assignment on the Banks of the Red Cedar River
Davis was assigned to the 1st Infantry Regiment and was stationed at Fort Crawford, Wisconsin. His first assignment, in 1829, was to supervise the cutting of timber on the banks of the Re...
1831 Davis Contracts Pneumonia
After graduating from West Point in 1828, Jefferson Davis, future president of the Confederacy, was assigned to the 1st Infantry and stationed at Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien. His fi...
1832 Davis Sent to Deliver Black Hawk to Prison
The year after, Davis was dispatched to Galena, Illinois, at the head of a detachment assigned to remove miners from lands claimed by the Native Americans. Lieutenant Davis was home in Mi...
1835 Jun 17 Davis Marries Sarah Knox Taylor
Sarah Knox Taylor, the daughter of future president Zachary Taylor and Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor, was born at Fort Knox in Vincennes, Indiana, in either 1813 or 1814 (probably the lat...
1845 Davis Marries Varina Howell
The year 1844 saw Davis' first political success, as he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, taking office on March 4 of the following year. In 1845, Davis married V...
1846 Jul Davis Resigns House Seat and Leads the Mississippi Rifles
The year 1846 saw the beginning of the Mexican-American War. He resigned his House seat in June, and raised a volunteer regiment, the Mississippi Rifles, becoming its colonel. On July 21,...
1847 Dec 5 Jefferson Davis Appointed to U.S. Senate
Because of his war service, the governor of Mississippi appointed Davis to fill out the Senate term of the late Jesse Speight. He took his seat December 5, 1847, and was elected to serve ...
1853 Mar 7 Franklin Pierce Appoints Jefferson Davis as Secretary of War
Pierce won the election and, in 1853, made Davis his Secretary of War. In this capacity, Davis gave to Congress four annual reports (in December of each year), as well as an elaborate one...
1854 Mar 21 Kansas-Nebraska Act Debated in the House of Representatives
The bill next moved to the House of Representatives. On March 21, 1854, as a delaying tactic, the legislation was referred by a vote of 110 to 95 to the committee of the whole where it wo...
1861 Jan 21 Davis Delivers Last Speech before the U.S. Senate
His renewed service in the Senate was interrupted by an illness that threatened him with the loss of his left eye. Still nominally serving in the Senate, Davis spent the summer of 1858 in...
1861 Feb 4 Montgomery Convention
Four days after his resignation, Davis was commissioned a Major General of Mississippi troops. On February 9, 1861, a Constitutional convention at Montgomery, Alabama named him provisiona...
1861 Feb 9 Jefferson Davis Becomes First President of the Confederate States of America at Confederate Constitutional Convention in Montgomery, Alabama
Four days after his resignation, Davis was commissioned a Major General of Mississippi troops. On February 9, 1861, a Constitutional convention at Montgomery, Alabama named him provisiona...
1861 Mar 11 Congress Ratifies Confederate Constitution
The states that left the American Union in 1860 and 1861 brought with them a rich tradition of constitutionalism. Many Southern Leaders explained their support for secession in terms of t...
1861 May Davis and Family Take Residence at the White House of the Confederacy
In conformity with a resolution of the Confederate Congress, Davis immediately appointed a Peace Commission to resolve the Confederacy's differences with the Union. In March 1861, before ...
1861 Jul 9 Rose O'Neale Greenhow Passes Secret Messages for Confederacy
Espionage during the Civil War The Greenhows had eight children: First came Florence, Gertrude and Leila. Then came four children who would never make it through infancy, Alice Rose, R...
1861 Nov 6 Jefferson Davis Elected President of the Confederate States of America
On November 6, 1861, Jefferson Davis, who had been elected president of the Provisional Government on February 9, 1861—as a compromise between moderates and radicals—was confirmed by the ...
1862 Jun Davis Appoints General Robert E. Lee in Command of the Army of Northern Virginia
Robert E. Lee felt that his loyalty belonged more to the state than the Union. He declined an offer the lead a union army, and joined up with the south, offering his services to Virginia ...
1865 Apr 2 Union Army defeats Confederate Army at Petersburg VA
Ulysses S. Grant's army attacked Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia. By mid-afternoon, Confederate troops had begun to evacuate the town. The Union victory ensured the fall of Rich...
1865 May 10 Jefferson Davis Captured and Held Prisoner
Jefferson Davis Was Captured May 10, 1865 Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, had been captured! Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), president of the Confederate states (th...
1865 May 19 Davis is Imprisoned in a Casemate at Fortress Monroe
On May 19, 1865, Davis was imprisoned in a casemate at Fortress Monroe, on the coast of Virginia. He was placed in irons for three days. Davis was indicted for treason a year later. While...
1865 Nov 10 Henry Wirz Is Hanged
Henry Wirz, former commander of the infamous Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, was hanged on November 10, 1865 in Washington, D.C. Swiss-born Wirz was assigned to the command ...
1881 Jun 3 Davis Publishes "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government"
In 1876, he promoted a society for the stimulation of U.S. trade with South America. Davis visited England the next year, returning in 1878 to Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi). Over the nex...
1889 Dec 6 Death of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis died between 12:30AM and 1:00AM on December 6, 1889. The news of his death hit the front page of many Southern newspapers. The praises and tributes read similar to that of...