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From a distinguished historian of the America South comes this thoroughly human portrait of the complex man at the center of our nation's most epic struggle.Jefferson Davis initially did not wish to leave the Union-as the son of a veteran of the American Revolution and as a soldier and senator, he considered himself a patriot. William J. Cooper shows us how Davis' initial reluctance turned into absolute commitment to the Confederacy. He provides a thorough account of Davis' life, both as the Confederate President and in the years before and after the war. Elegantly written and impeccably researched, Jefferson Davis, American is the definitive examination of one of the most enigmatic figures in our nation's history.

The title might seem odd, given that Jefferson Davis (1808-89) served as president of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and never once, in the 34 years between the end of the war and his death, expressed any remorse for his part in the conflict that tore America apart. Yet, as historian William J. Cooper Jr. reminds us in his sober, comprehensive biography, Davis "saw himself as a faithful American ... a true son of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers." Indeed, Davis's own father had fought in the Revolution, and Davis himself was a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran. He declared January 21, 1861, "the saddest day of my life," as he resigned his U.S. Senate seat to follow his native state of Mississippi out of the Union; yet he also unflinchingly defended secession as a constitutionally guaranteed right. Cooper's measured portrait neither glosses over Davis's lifelong belief that blacks were inferior nor vilifies him for it: "My goal," he writes, "is to understand Jefferson Davis as a man of his time, not condemn him for not being a man of my time." The chapters on the Civil War show Davis intimately involved in military decisions, as well as in diplomatic attempts to gain foreign support for the Confederacy. Cooper acknowledges the irony of his subject--who interpreted the Constitution as strictly limiting federal authority--being forced by the war's exigencies to create a powerful, centralized Confederate government. Yet, this depiction of a forceful, self-confident Davis makes it clear that he never could have been anything but "a vigorous and potent chief executive." The author also paints an attractive picture of a warm family man who was devoted to his strong-minded wife and their children. Neither hagiography nor hatchet job, this evenhanded work sees Jefferson Davis whole. --Wendy Smith

INTRODUCTION. A duty to my countrymen; to the memory of those who died in defense of a cause consecrated by inheritance, as well as sustained by conviction; and to those who, perhaps less fortunate, staked all, and lost all, save life and honor, in its behalf, has impelled me to attempt the vindication of their cause and conduct. For this purpose I have decided to present an historical sketch of the events which preceded and attended the struggle of the Southern States to maintain their existence and their rights as sovereign communities-the creators, not the creatures, of the General Government. The social problem of maintaining the just relation between constitution, g6vernment, and people, has been found so difficult, that human history is a record of unsuccessful efforts to establish it. A government, to afford the needful protection and exercise proper care for the welfare of a people, must have homogeneity in its constituents. It is this necessity which has divided the human raTable of Contents PART I; CHAPTER I; African Servitude-A Retrospect-Early Legislation with Regard to the Slave-Trade-The Southern States foremost in prohibiting it-A Common Error corrected-The Ethical Question never at Issue in Sectional Controversies -The Acquisition of Louisiana-The Missouri Compromise-The Balance of Power-Note-The Indiana Ca3e8; CHAPTER II; The Session of 1849-50-The Compromise Measures-Virtual Abrogation of the Missouri Compromise-The Admission of California-The Fugitive Slave Law-Death of Mr Calhoun-Anecdote of Mr Clay 14; CHAPTER HI; Reelection to the Senate-Political Controversies in Mississippi-Action of the Democratic State Convention-Defeat of the State-Rights Party- Withdrawal of General Quitman and Nomination of the Author as Candidate for the Office of Governor-The Canvass and its Result-Retirement to Private Life18; CHAPTER IV; The Author entcr3 the Cabinet-Administration of the "War Department-Sur

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Jefferson Davis is a historical figure who provokes strong passions among scholars. Through the years historians have placed him at both ends of the spectrum: some have portrayed him as a hero, others have judged him incompetent. In Jefferson Davis and His Generals, Steven Woodworth shows that both extremes are accurate--Davis was both heroic and incompetent. Yet neither viewpoint reveals the whole truth about this complicated figure. Woodworth's portrait of Davis reveals an experienced, talented, and courageous leader who, nevertheless, undermined the Confederacy's cause in the trans-Appalachian west, where the South lost the war. At the war's outbreak, few Southerners seemed better qualified for the post of commander-in-chief. Davis had graduated from West Point, commanded a combat regiment in the Mexican War (which neither Lee nor Grant could boast), and performed admirably as U.S. Senator and Secretary of War. Despite his credentials, Woodworth argues, Davis proved too indecisive and inconsistent as commander-in-chief to lead his new nation to victory. As Woodworth shows, however, Davis does not bear the sole responsibility for the South's defeat. A substantial part of that burden rests with Davis's western generals. Bragg, Beauregard, Van Dorn, Pemberton, Polk, Buckner, Hood, Forrest, Morgan, and the Johnstons (Albert and Joseph) were a proud, contentious, and uneven lot. Few could be classed with the likes of a Lee or a Jackson in the east. Woodworth assesses their relations with Davis, as well as their leadership on and off the battlefields at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Atlanta, to demonstrate their complicity in the Confederacy's demise. Extensive research in the marvelously rich holdings of the Jefferson Davis Association at Rice University enriches Woodworth's study. He provides superb analyses of western military operations, as well as some stranger-than-fiction tales: Van Dorn's shocking death, John Hood and Sally Preston's bizarre romance, Gideon Pillow's undignified antics, and Franklin Cheatham's drunken battlefield behavior. Most important, he has avoided the twin temptations to glorify or castigate Davis and thus restored balance to the evaluation of his leadership during the Civil War. This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.

Descended from Revolutionary soldiers, officer Jefferson Davis served in the military until ill health forced his resignation from the army in 1835. At various times, Davis was a congressman and a senator, often stating his support for slavery and states' rights. During his second term as senator, he was seen as the spokesman for the Southern point of view. Yet, he was against seceding from the Union and worked to keep the states together, although not at the expense of Southern principles. When the state of Mississippi seceded, Davis resigned his senate seat. In February 1861, he was elected to a six-year term as president of the Confederacy. Although he failed to raise sufficient funds to fight the Civil War and did not receive support from foreign governments, he is recognized for raising the formidable Confederate army and appointing General Robert E. Lee as commander. In the 34 years between the end of the war in 1865 and his death in 1889, Davis never showed remorse for his part in the conflict.

Besides his illustrious name, the Union general Jefferson Columbus Davis is best known for two appalling actions: the September 1862 murder of General William "Bull" Nelson—his former commanding officer—and the abandonment of hundreds of African American refugees to the mercy of Confederate cavalry at Ebenezer Creek during Sherman’s march through Georgia in 1864. Historians have generally dismissed Davis (1828–1879) as a reckless assassin, a racist, a journeyman soldier at best, and an embarrassment to the Lincoln war effort. But Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr., and Gordon D. Whitney shatter the collective memory of "Jef" Davis as a grim, destructive child of war and replace it with a more rounded portrait of a complex military leader. They bring order to the muddle of contradictions that was Davis’s life and offer an impartial profile of the soldier and the man, who must be remembered for his splendid contributions as well as his startling failures. AUTHOR BIO: Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr., lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is the author or editor of numerous books on the Civil War, most recently Sir Henry Morton Stanley, Confederate. Gordon D. Whitney is past president of the Chicago and Louisville Civil War Round Tables. He lives in Madison, Indiana.