Varina Anne Banks Howell Davis (May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906) was the only
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
of the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
, and the longtime second wife of President
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
. She moved to a
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
, in mid-1861, and lived there for the remainder of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Born and raised in the South and educated in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, 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 American Civil 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
Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...
, to write articles and eventually a regular column for the ''
New York World
The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...
''. 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.
Early life and education
Varina Anne Banks Howell was born in 1826 at
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...
, the daughter of William Burr Howell and Margaret Louisa Kempe. Her father was from a distinguished family in New Jersey: His father,
Richard Howell
Richard Howell (October 25, 1754April 28, 1802) was the third governor of New Jersey from 1794 to 1801.
Early life and military career
Howell was born in Newark in the Colony of Delaware. He was a lawyer and soldier of the early United States ...
, served several terms as
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
and died when William was a boy. William inherited little money and used family connections to become a clerk in the
Bank of the United States.
William Howell relocated to Mississippi, when new cotton plantations were being rapidly developed. There he met and married Margaret Louisa Kempe (1806–1867), born in
Prince William County, Virginia
Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...
. Her wealthy planter family had moved to Mississippi before 1816. She was the daughter of Colonel James Kempe (sometimes spelled Kemp), a
Scots-Irish immigrant from
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
who became a successful planter and major landowner in Virginia and Mississippi, and Margaret Graham, born in
Prince William County
Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...
. Margaret Graham was illegitimate as her parents, George Graham, a Scots immigrant, and Susanna McAllister (1783–1816) of Virginia, never officially married.
After moving his family from Virginia to Mississippi, James Kempe also bought land in Louisiana, continuing to increase his holdings and productive capacity. When his daughter married Howell, he gave her a dowry of 60 slaves and of land in Mississippi. William Howell worked as a
planter, merchant, politician, postmaster, cotton broker, banker, and military commissary manager, but never secured long-term financial success. He lost the majority of Margaret's sizable dowry and inheritance through bad investments and their expensive lifestyle. They suffered intermittent serious financial problems throughout their lives.
Varina was born in
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...
as the second Howell child of eleven, seven of whom survived to adulthood. She was later described as tall and thin, with an
olive complexion attributed to
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
ancestors. (Later, when she was living in Richmond as the unpopular First Lady of the Confederacy, critics described her as looking like a
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
or
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
"squaw".)
![Briars near Natchez](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Briars_near_Natchez.jpg)
When Varina was thirteen, her father declared bankruptcy. The Howell family home, furnishings and slaves were seized by creditors to be sold at public auction.
[FRANCES CLARKE, "Review of Cashin, ''First Lady of the Confederacy''"](_blank)
Harvard University Press, 2006, in ''Australasian Journal of American Studies'', Vol. 27, No. 2 (December 2008), pp. 145–47; retrieved June 1, 2012. Her wealthy maternal relatives intervened to redeem the family's property. It was one of several sharp changes in fortune that Varina encountered in her life. She grew to adulthood in a house called
The Briars, when Natchez was a thriving city, but she learned her family was dependent on the wealthy Kempe relatives of her mother's family to avoid poverty.
Varina Howell was sent to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
for her education, where she studied at
Madame Deborah Grelaud's French School, a prestigious academy for young ladies.
[Wyatt-Brown 1994, p. 124.] Grelaud, a Protestant
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
, was a refugee from the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
and had founded her school in the 1790s.
One of Varina's classmates was
Sarah Anne Ellis, later known as Sarah Anne Dorsey, the daughter of extremely wealthy Mississippi planters. (After the Civil War, Dorsey, by then a wealthy widow, provided financial support to the Davises.)
While at school in Philadelphia, Varina got to know many of her northern Howell relatives; she carried on a lifelong correspondence with some, and called herself a "half-breed" for her connections in both regions. After a year, she returned to Natchez, where she was privately tutored by Judge George Winchester, a Harvard graduate and family friend. She was intelligent and better educated than many of her peers, which led to tensions with Southern expectations for women.
In her later years, Varina referred fondly to Madame Grelaud and Judge Winchester; she sacrificed to provide the highest quality of education for her two daughters in their turn.
In 1843, at age 17, Howell was invited to spend the Christmas season at
Hurricane Plantation
Hurricane Plantation located near Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the home of Joseph Emory Davis (1784–1870), the oldest brother of Jefferson Davis. Located on a peninsula of the Mississippi River in Warren County, Mississippi, called Davis Bend a ...
, the property of family friend
Joseph Davis. Her parents had named their oldest child after him. Located at
Davis Bend, Mississippi
Davis Bend, Mississippi (now known as Davis Island), was a peninsula named after planter Joseph Emory Davis, who owned most of the property. There he established the 5,000-acre Hurricane Plantation as a model slave community. Davis Bend was abo ...
, Hurricane was 20 miles south of
Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to:
* Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States
* The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign
* The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle
Vicksburg is also the name of ...
. Davis was planning a gala housewarming with many guests and entertainers to inaugurate his lavish new mansion on the cotton plantation. (Varina described the house in detail in her memoirs.) During her stay, she met her host's much younger brother
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...
. Then thirty-five years old, Davis was a
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
graduate, former Army officer, and widower. He worked as a planter, having developed
Brierfield Plantation
Brierfield Plantation was a large forced-labor cotton farm built in 1847 in Davis Bend, Mississippi, south of Vicksburg and the home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.
History
The use of the plantation, with more than 1,000 acres, was ...
on land his brother allowed him to use, although Joseph Davis still retained possession of the land.
Marriage and family
![Varina Howell](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Varina_Howell.jpg)
Jefferson Davis was a 35-year-old widower when he and Varina met. His first wife,
Sarah Knox Taylor
Sarah Knox "Knoxie" Taylor Davis (March 6, 1814 – September 15, 1835) was the daughter of the 12th U.S. President Zachary Taylor and part of the notable Lee Family. She met Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), when living with her father and family a ...
, daughter of his commanding officer
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
while he was in the Army, had died of
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
three months after their wedding in 1835. Davis mourned her and had been reclusive in the ensuing eight years. He was beginning to be active in politics.
Shortly after first meeting him, Howell wrote to her mother:
I do not know whether this Mr. Jefferson Davis is young or old. He looks both at times; but I believe he is old, for from what I hear he is only two years younger than you are he rumor was correct He impresses me as a remarkable kind of man, but of uncertain temper, and has a way of taking for granted that everybody agrees with him when he expresses an opinion, which offends me; yet he is most agreeable and has a peculiarly sweet voice and a winning manner of asserting himself. The fact is, he is the kind of person I should expect to rescue one from a mad dog at any risk, but to insist upon a stoical indifference to the fright afterward.
In keeping with custom, Davis sought the permission of Howell's parents before beginning a formal courtship. They initially disapproved of him due to the many differences in background, age, and politics. Davis was a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and the Howells, including Varina, were
Whigs. In her memoir, Varina Howell Davis wrote that her mother was concerned about Jefferson Davis's excessive devotion to his relatives (particularly his older brother Joseph, who had largely raised him and upon whom he was financially dependent) and his near worship of his deceased first wife. The Howells ultimately consented to the courtship, and the couple became engaged shortly thereafter.
Their wedding was planned as a grand affair to be held at Hurricane Plantation during Christmas of 1844, but the wedding and engagement were cancelled shortly beforehand, for unknown reasons. In January 1845, while Howell was ill with a fever, Davis visited her frequently. They became engaged again. When they married on February 26, 1845 at her parents' house, a few relatives and friends of the bride attended, and none of the groom's family.
Their short honeymoon included a visit to Davis's aged mother, Jane Davis, and a visit to the grave of his first wife in Louisiana. The newlyweds took up residence at Brierfield, the plantation Davis had developed on loaned to him for his use by his brother Joseph Davis. Their first residence was a two-room cottage on the property and they started construction of a main house. It became a source of contention.
Soon after their marriage, Davis's widowed and penniless sister, Amanda (Davis) Bradford, came to live on the Brierfield property along with her seven youngest children. Her brothers decided that she should share the large house which the Davises were building, but they had not consulted Varina Davis. It was an example of what she would later call interference from the Davis family in her life with her husband. Additionally, her brother-in-law
Joseph Davis proved controlling, both of his brother, who was 23 years younger, and the even younger Varina - especially during her husband's absences. At the same time, her parents became more financially dependent on the Davises, to her embarrassment and resentment. Their youngest son, born after her own marriage, was named Jefferson Davis Howell in her husband's honor.
The couple had long periods of separation from early in their marriage, first as Jefferson Davis gave campaign speeches and "politicked" (or campaigned) for himself and for other Democratic candidates in the elections of 1846. He was also gone for extended periods during the
Mexican War (1846–1848). Varina Davis was put under the guardianship of Joseph Davis, whom she had come to dislike intensely. Her correspondence with her husband during this time demonstrated her growing discontent, to which Jefferson was not particularly sympathetic.
Urban life in Washington, DC
![Varina Howell Davis by John Wood Dodge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Varina_Howell_Davis_by_John_Wood_Dodge.jpg)
Jefferson Davis was elected in 1846 to the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
and Varina accompanied him to Washington, D.C., which she loved. She was stimulated by the social life with intelligent people and was known for making "unorthodox observations". Among them were that "slaves were human beings with their frailties" and that "everyone was a '
half breed' of one kind or another." She referred to herself as one because of her strong family connections in both North and South.
[Cashin 2006, p. 2.] The Davises lived in Washington, DC for most of the next fifteen years before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, which gave Varina Howell Davis a broader outlook than many Southerners. It was her favorite place to live. But, as an example of their many differences, her husband preferred life on their Mississippi plantation.
Soon he took leave from his Congressional position to serve as an officer in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
(1846–1848). Varina Davis returned for a time to Briarfield, where she chafed under the supervision of her brother-in-law, Joseph. The surviving correspondence between the Davises from this period expresses their difficulties and mutual resentments. After her husband's return from the war, Varina Davis did not immediately accompany him to Washington when the Mississippi legislature appointed him to fill a
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
seat.
Ultimately, the couple reconciled. She rejoined her husband in Washington. He had unusual visibility for a freshman senator because of his connections as the son-in-law (by his late wife) and former junior officer of President
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
. Varina Davis enjoyed the social life of the capital and quickly established herself as one of the city's most popular (and, in her early 20s, one of the youngest) hostesses and party guests. The 1904 memoir of her contemporary,
Virginia Clay-Clopton
Virginia Clay-Clopton (1825–1915) was a political hostess and activist in Alabama and Washington, D.C. She was also known as Virginia Tunstall, Virginia Clay, and Mrs. Clement Claiborne Clay. She took on different responsibilities after the Civi ...
, described the lively parties of the Southern families in this period with other Congressional delegations, as well as international representatives of the diplomatic corps.
[Sarah E. Gardner, ''Blood And Irony: Southern White Women's Narratives of the Civil War, 1861–1937''](_blank)
University of North Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 128–30
After seven childless years, in 1852, Varina Davis gave birth to a son, Samuel. Her letters from this period express her happiness and portray Jefferson as a doting father. The couple had a total of six children:
*Samuel Emory Davis, born July 30, 1852, named after his paternal grandfather; he died June 30, 1854, of an undiagnosed disease.
*Margaret Howell Davis, born February 25, 1855. She married Joel Addison Hayes, Jr. (1848–1919), and they lived first in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
; later they moved to
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. They had five children, including a daughter named after her mother; Margaret was the only Davis child to marry and raise a family. She married Joel Addison Hayes in Memphis on New Year's Day, 1876. She, her husband, and family moved to Colorado Springs in 1885, where they soon became leading members of local society. Many of J. Addison and Margaret Hayes' descendants still reside in the area. She died on July 18, 1909 at the age of 54 and is buried with the Davis family at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
*Jefferson Davis, Jr., born January 16, 1857. He died in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
of
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
at age 21 on October 16, 1878, during an
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
in the Mississippi River Valley that caused 20,000 deaths.
*Joseph Evan Davis, born on April 18, 1859, died at the age of five due to an accidental fall on April 30, 1864.
*William Howell Davis, born on December 6, 1861, was named for Varina's father; he died of
diphtheria
Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...
on October 16, 1872.
*
Varina Anne "Winnie" Davis was born on June 27, 1864, two months after Joseph's death. Known as the "Daughter of the Confederacy", she died at age 34 on September 18, 1898, of gastritis. After her parents had opposed her marriage in the late 1880s to a man from a Northern, abolitionist family, she never married.
The Davises were devastated in 1854 when their first child died before the age of two. Varina Davis largely withdrew from social life for a time. In 1855, she gave birth to a healthy daughter, Margaret (1855–1909); followed by two sons, Jefferson, Jr., (1857–1878) and Joseph (1859–1864), during her husband's remaining tenure in Washington, D.C. The early losses of all four of their sons caused enormous grief to both the Davises.
During the
Pierce Administration
The presidency of Franklin Pierce began on March 4, 1853, when Franklin Pierce was inaugurated, and ended on March 4, 1857. Pierce, a Democrat from New Hampshire, took office as the 14th United States president after routing Whig Party nominee ...
, Davis was appointed to the post of
Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
. He and President
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
also formed a personal friendship that would last for the rest of Pierce's life. Their wives developed a strong respect, as well. The Pierces lost their last surviving child, Benny, shortly before his father's inauguration. They both suffered; Pierce became dependent on alcohol and
Jane Appleton Pierce had health problems, including
depression. At the request of the Pierces, the Davises, both individually and as a couple, often served as official hosts at
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
functions in place of the President and his wife.
According to diarist
Mary Boykin Chesnut
Mary Boykin Chesnut (née Miller) (March 31, 1823 – November 22, 1886) was an American author noted for a book published as her Civil War diary, a "vivid picture of a society in the throes of its life-and-death struggle."Woodward, C. Vann. "In ...
, in 1860 Mrs. Davis "sadly" told a friend "The South will secede if Lincoln is made president. They will make Mr. Davis President of the Southern side. And the whole thing is bound to be a failure."
Confederate First Lady
![Mrs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Mrs._Jefferson_Davis%2C_Wife_of_the_President_of_the_So-Called_Southern_Confederacy.png)
Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1861 when Mississippi seceded. Varina Davis returned with their children to Brierfield, expecting him to be commissioned as a general in the Confederate army. He was elected as
President of the Confederate States of America
The president of the Confederate States was the head of state and head of government of the Confederate States. The president was the chief executive of the federal government and was the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army and the Confe ...
by the new Confederate Congress. She did not accompany him when he traveled to
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
(then capital of the new country) to be inaugurated. A few weeks later, she followed and assumed official duties as the First Lady of the Confederacy.
Davis greeted the war with dread, supporting the Union but not slavery. She was known to have said that:
the South did not have the material resources to win the war and white Southerners did not have the qualities necessary to win it; that her husband was unsuited for political life; that maybe women were not the inferior sex; and that perhaps it was a mistake to deny women the suffrage before the war.
In the summer of 1861, Davis and her husband moved to
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
, the new capital of the Confederacy. They lived in a house which would come to be known as the
White House of the Confederacy
The White House of the Confederacy is a historic house located in the Court End neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Built in 1818, it was the main executive residence of the sole President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, f ...
for the remainder of war (1861–1865). "She tried intermittently to do what was expected of her, but she never convinced people that her heart was in it, and her tenure as First Lady was for the most part a disaster," as the people picked up on her ambivalence. White residents of Richmond criticized Varina Davis freely; some described her appearance as resembling "a
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
or an Indian 'squaw'."
In December 1861, she gave birth to their fifth child, William. (Due to her husband's influence, her father William Howell received several low-level appointments in the Confederate bureaucracy which helped support him.) The social turbulence of the war years reached the Presidential mansion; in 1864, several of the Davises' domestic slaves escaped. James Dennison and his wife, Betsey, who had served as Varina's maid, used saved back pay of 80 gold dollars to finance their escape. Henry, a butler, left one night after allegedly building a fire in the mansion's basement to divert attention.
In spring 1864, five-year-old Joseph Davis died in a fall from the porch at the house in Richmond. A few weeks later, Varina gave birth to their last child, a girl named
Varina Anne Davis
Varina Anne Davis (June 27, 1864 – September 18, 1898) was an American author who is best known as the youngest daughter of President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America and Varina (Howell) Davis. Born in the last year of th ...
, who was called "Winnie". The girl became known to the public as "the Daughter of the Confederacy;" stories about and likenesses of her were distributed throughout the Confederacy during the last year of the war to raise morale. She retained the nickname for the rest of her life.
Postwar
When the war ended, the Davises fled South seeking to escape to Europe. They were captured by federal troops and Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
in
Phoebus, Virginia
Phoebus (known as Chesapeake City from 1871-1899) is a formerly incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. Upon incorporation in 1900, it was named in honor of local businessman Harrison Phoebu ...
, for two years. Left indigent, Varina Davis was restricted to residing in the state of Georgia, where her husband had been arrested. Fearing for the safety of their older children, she sent them to friends in Canada under the care of relatives and a family servant. Initially forbidden to have any contact with her husband, Davis worked tirelessly to secure his release. She tried to raise awareness of and sympathy for what she perceived as his unjust incarceration.
After a few months Varina Davis was allowed to correspond with him. Articles and a book on his confinement helped turn public opinion in his favor. Davis and young Winnie were allowed to join Jefferson in his prison cell. The family was eventually given a more comfortable apartment in the officers' quarters of the fort.
![Jefferson and Varina-Encyclopdia Virginia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Jefferson_and_Varina-Encyclopdia_Virginia.jpg)
Although released on bail and never tried for treason, Jefferson Davis had temporarily lost his home in Mississippi, most of his wealth, and his U.S. citizenship. In the late 20th century, his citizenship was posthumously restored. The small Davis family traveled constantly in Europe and Canada as he sought work to rebuild his fortunes. Davis accepted the presidency of an insurance agency headquartered in
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. The family began to regain some financial comfort until the
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...
, when his company was one of many that went bankrupt. In 1872 their son William Davis died of
typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
, adding to their emotional burdens.
While visiting their daughters enrolled in boarding schools in Europe, Jefferson Davis received a commission as an agent for an English consortium seeking to purchase cotton from the southern United States. He returned to the US for this work. Varina Davis remained in England to visit her sister who had recently moved there, and stayed for several months. The surviving correspondence suggests her stay may have been prompted by renewed marital difficulties. Both the Davises suffered from depression due to the loss of their sons and their fortunes.
She resented his attentions to other women, particularly
Virginia Clay. Clay was the wife of their friend, former senator
Clement Clay, a fellow political prisoner at Fort Monroe. During this period, Davis exchanged passionate letters with Virginia Clay for three years and is believed to have loved her. In 1871 Davis was reported as having been seen on a train "with a woman not his wife", and it made national newspapers.
["Varina Howell Davis (1826–1906)"](_blank)
''Encyclopedia of Virginia'', June 2, 2014; accessed June 29, 2015. Still in England, Varina was outraged.
For several years, the Davises lived apart far more than they lived together. Davis was unemployed for most of the years after the war. In 1877 he was ill and nearly bankrupt. Advised to take a home near the sea for his health, he accepted an invitation from
Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey, a widowed heiress, to visit her plantation of
Beauvoir on the
Mississippi Sound
The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about . The sound is sepa ...
in
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
. A classmate of Varina in Philadelphia, Dorsey had become a respected novelist and historian, and had traveled extensively. She arranged for Davis to use a cottage on the grounds of her plantation. There she helped him organize and write his memoir of the Confederacy, in part by her active encouragement. She also invited Varina Davis to stay with her.
[Wyatt-Brown 1994, pp. 159–60.]
Davis and her eldest daughter,
Margaret Howell Hayes
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
, disapproved of her husband's friendship with Dorsey. After Varina Davis returned to the United States, she lived in Memphis with Margaret and her family for a time. Gradually she began a reconciliation with her husband. She was with him at Beauvoir in 1878 when they learned that their last surviving son, Jefferson Davis, Jr., had died during a
yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
epidemic in Memphis. That year 20,000 people died throughout the South in the epidemic. During her grieving, Varina became friends again with Dorsey.
Sarah Dorsey was determined to help support the former president; she offered to sell him her house for a reasonable price. Learning she had breast cancer, Dorsey made over her will to leave Jefferson Davis free title to the home, as well as much of the remainder of her financial estate. Her Percy relatives were unsuccessful in challenging the will.
![Home of Jefferson Davis, three generations](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Home_of_Jefferson_Davis%2C_three_generations.jpg)
Her bequest provided Davis with enough financial security to provide for Varina and Winnie, and to enjoy some comfort with them in his final years.
When
Winnie Davis
Varina Anne Davis (June 27, 1864 – September 18, 1898) was an American author who is best known as the youngest daughter of President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America and Varina (Howell) Davis. Born in the last year of the ...
completed her education, she joined her parents at Beauvoir. She had fallen in love when at college, but her parents disapproved. Her father objected to his being from "a prominent Yankee and abolitionist family" and her mother to his lack of money and being burdened by many debts. Forced to reject this man, Winnie never married.
Dorsey's bequest made Winnie Davis the heiress after Jefferson Davis died in 1889. In 1891, Varina and Winnie moved to New York City. After Winnie died in 1898, she was buried next to her father in Richmond, Virginia. Varina Davis inherited the Beauvoir plantation.
Widow
After her husband died, Varina Howell Davis completed his autobiography, publishing it in 1890 as ''Jefferson Davis, A Memoir''. At first the book sold few copies, dashing her hopes of earning some income.
Kate Davis Pulitzer, a distant cousin of Jefferson Davis and the wife of
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer ( ; born Pulitzer József, ; April 10, 1847 – October 29, 1911) was a Hungarian-American politician and newspaper publisher of the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' and the ''New York World''. He became a leading national figure in ...
, a major newspaper publisher in New York, had met Varina Davis during a visit to the South. She solicited short articles from her for her husband's newspaper, the ''
New York World
The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...
''. In 1891 Varina Davis accepted the Pulitzers' offer to become a full-time columnist and moved to New York City with her daughter Winnie. They enjoyed the busy life of the city. White Southerners attacked Davis for this move to the North, as she was considered a public figure of the Confederacy whom they claimed for their own.
As Davis and her daughter each worked at literary careers, they lived in a series of residential hotels in New York City. (Their longest residency was at the
Hotel Gerard
The Hotel Gerard, currently known as aka Times Square, is a historic hotel located in New York, New York. It had also operated at the Hotel Langwell and Hotel 1-2-3. The building was designed by George Keister and built in 1893. It is a 13-story, ...
at 123 W. 44th Street.) Varina Davis wrote many articles for the newspaper, and Winnie Davis published several novels.
After Winnie died in 1898, Varina Davis inherited Beauvoir. In October 1902, she sold the plantation to the Mississippi Division of the
Sons of Confederate Veterans
The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...
for $10,000. She stipulated the facility was to be used as a Confederate veterans' home and later as a memorial to her husband. The SCV built barracks on the site, and housed thousands of veterans and their families. The plantation was used for years as a veterans' home.
Since 1953 the house has been operated as a museum to Davis. Beauvoir has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. The main house has been restored and a museum built there, housing the
Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. Designed by Larry Albert of Albert & Associates Architects, the library is located within t ...
.
Varina Howell Davis was one of numerous influential Southerners who moved to the North for work after the war; they were nicknamed "Confederate
carpetbaggers
In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...
". Among them were the couple
Roger Atkinson Pryor
Roger Atkinson Pryor (July 19, 1828 – March 14, 1919) was a Virginian newspaper editor and politician who became known for his fiery oratory in favor of secession; he was elected both to national and Confederate office, and served as a gen ...
and
Sara Agnes Rice Pryor
Sara Agnes Rice Pryor, born Sara Agnes Rice (February 19, 1830 – February 15, 1912), was an American writer and community activist in New York City. Born and reared in Virginia, she moved North after the American Civil War with her husband and ...
, who became active in
Democratic political and social circles in New York City. After working as an attorney, Roger Pryor was appointed as a judge. Sara Pryor became a writer, known for her histories, memoirs and novels published in the early 1900s.
In the postwar years of reconciliation, Davis became friends with
Julia Dent Grant
Julia Boggs Grant (née Dent; January 26, 1826 – December 14, 1902) was the first lady of the United States and wife of President Ulysses S. Grant. As first lady, she became a national figure in her own right. Her memoirs, '' The Personal Memo ...
, the widow of former general and president
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, who had been among the most hated men in the South. She attended a reception where she met
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
, head of the
Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was de ...
, then a
black college. In her old age, Davis published some of her observations and "declared in print that the right side had won the Civil War."
Later years
Although saddened by the death of her daughter Winnie in 1898 (the fifth / last of her six children to predecease her), Davis continued to write for the ''World''. She enjoyed a daily ride in a carriage through Central Park.
She was active socially until poor health in her final years forced her retirement from work and any sort of public life. Davis died at age 80 of
double pneumonia
Pneumonia can be classified in several ways, most commonly by where it was acquired (hospital versus community), but may also by the area of lung affected or by the causative organism. There is also a combined clinical classification, which combi ...
in her room at the Hotel Majestic on October 16, 1906. She was survived by her daughter Margaret Davis Hayes and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Legacy and honors
Varina Howell Davis received a funeral procession through the streets of New York City. Her coffin was taken by train to Richmond, accompanied by the Reverend Nathan A. Seagle, Rector of Saint Stephen's Protestant Episcopal Church, New York City which Davis attended. She was interred with full honors by Confederate veterans at
Hollywood Cemetery and was buried adjacent to the tombs of her husband and their daughter Winnie.
A portrait of Mrs. Davis, titled the ''Widow of the Confederacy'' (1895), was painted by the Swiss-born American artist
Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Müller-Ury, KSG (March 29, 1862 – July 6, 1947) was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and impressionistic painter of roses and still life.
Heritage and early life in Switzerland
He was born Felice Adolfo Müller on 29 March ...
(1862–1947). It is held at the museum at Beauvoir. In 1918 Müller-Ury donated his profile portrait of her daughter, Winnie Davis, painted in 1897–1898, to the
Museum of the Confederacy
The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, American Civil War M ...
in Richmond, Virginia.
On August 29, 2005,
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
caused extensive wind and water damage to
Beauvoir, which houses the
Jefferson Davis Presidential Library
The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. Designed by Larry Albert of Albert & Associates Architects, the library is located within t ...
. The home was restored and reopened on June 3, 2008. Varina Howell Davis's diamond and emerald wedding ring, one of the few valuable possessions she was able to retain through years of poverty, was held by the Museum at Beauvoir and lost during the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. It was discovered on the grounds a few months later and returned to the museum.
Representation in other media
*
Harnett Kane Harnett may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People Given name
* Harnett Kane (1910–1984), American author
Surname
* Cornelius Harnett (1723–1781), American statesman
* Curt Harnett (born 1965), Canadian racing cyclist
* Cynthia Harnett (1893–1981), Eng ...
's ''Bride of Fortune'' (1948), a historical novel based on Mrs. Davis
*
Charles Frazier
Charles Frazier (born November 4, 1950) is an American novelist. He won the 1997 National Book Award for Fiction for '' Cold Mountain''.
Biography
Early life
Frazier was born in Asheville, North Carolina, grew up in Andrews and Franklin, Nort ...
's 2018 novel ''Varina''
References
Further reading
Primary sources
*Davis, Varina
Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederate States of America: A Memoir, by His Wife'
Secondary sources
* Cashin, Joan (2006). ''First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis's Civil War,'' Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
*Luskey, Ashley Whitehead, '' ''A Debt of Honor'': Elite Women's Rituals of Cultural Authority in the Confederate Capital'' (2014). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6124. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6124
*Ross, Ishbel, ''First Lady of the South, The Life of Mrs. Jefferson Davis,'' Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1958
*Rowland, Eron. ''Varina Howell, Wife of Jefferson Davis,'', New York: The Macmillan Co., 1927 and 1931 (two volumes)
* Strode, Hudson (1955). ''Jefferson Davis, Volume I: American Patriot''. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company.
* Strode, Hudson (1964). ''Jefferson Davis, Volume III: Tragic Hero''. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company.
* Wyatt-Brown, Bertram (1994). ''The House of Percy: Honor, Melancholy and Imagination in a Southern Family'', New York: Oxford University Press.
External links
First Lady Of The Confederate States Of America
A stop on the Varina Davis trail route - 181 Highway 215 South, Happy Valley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Varina
1826 births
1906 deaths
Jefferson Davis family
Mississippi Whigs
Women in the American Civil War
Wives of national leaders
People from Biloxi, Mississippi
Writers from New York City
Writers from Richmond, Virginia
Writers from Washington, D.C.
Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
19th-century American women writers