Did you know that Varina Howell Davis was 18 years younger than her illustrious husband, Jefferson? When they met, he was 35 and she was 17. She wrote her mother, " I don't know about this Mr. Davis, if he [...]
Think of the years of devastation caused by war that took their toll on every facet of life in the Southern states. Thousands, black and white, were in danger of starving to death in the months following the end of [...]
Furnishings in the First White House of the Confederacy are of three types: they either belonged to the Davis family, were original to the House, or are of the 1850-1860 period. In the center of the front hall is the Davis-Clitherall mahogany sofa, circa [...]
With all the media attention on banning handguns these days, I was interested in a recent article that said at the beginning of the War every well-armed Union soldier had a handgun on his person. However as the war progressed, most found [...]
I came across some interesting facts about Nicola Marschall, artist of the deep South and designer of the Confederate uniform and possibly the First Confederate flag. These were compiled by the Alabama Dept of Archives and History.1. He was born [...]
We call it the "gift that keeps on giving" - benefits! Veterans are filing for disabilities at historic rates, with about 45 percent of those from Iraq and Afghanistan. But, aren't we a little surprised to see that there are [...]
The South was overwhelmed by the might of the North after four long, bloody years, and at the close of the war, Jefferson Davis was indicted for treason. A gentleman named Dr. Hart wrote that Chief Justice Chase, who presided at the trial, [...]
Slavery is sometimes called "an inevitable evolvement". I remember studying in school about the "Trade Triangle" during colonial America. New Englanders would take rum to the West Coast of Africa where they would sell it and pick up slaves. They [...]
Cathy Wright, Curator at the Museum of the Confederacy-Appomattox is the editor of Lee's Last Casualty: The Story of Sgt. Robert Parker, 2nd Virginia Cavalry. The book is composed of the letters that this young Confederate cavalryman wrote to his wife Rebecca back [...]
I did not know until I read recently that the Confederacy was the first to initiate conscription. Jefferson Davis proposed the first Conscription Act on March 28, 1862 and it was passed into law the next month, according to wikipedia, [...]