Today is Jefferson Davis’s birthday
All Alabama state offices and most courthouses are closed today to honor Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis’s birthday. This is a state holiday, not a federal holiday, so most banks, post offices, federal offices, and businesses will open today. Most state workers, meanwhile, are enjoying their three-day weekend at the start of the summer. Davis was born on June 3, 1808, in Kentucky. The Davis family moved to Mississippi. Davis would live a life of service, graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1828. He served in Congress and the military during the war with Mexico. He served as U.S. Secretary of War from 1853-1857 under President Franklin Pierce. He oversaw the construction of the new Senate and House wings of the U.S. Capitol. Davis returned to the Senate in 1857. When Mississippi left the Union, Davis resigned from the Senate on January 21, 1861. A month later, on February 10, 1861, he was chosen to become the President of the Confederacy. Montgomery was the first capital of the Confederacy, and Davis was sworn in on the steps of the Alabama State Capital Building. Today the First Whitehouse of the Confederacy is also open and available for tours. Thousands of schoolchildren and other history-minded tourists visit the former home of Davis and his family each year. The Capitol of the Confederacy briefly as it was later moved to Richmond, Virginia when Virginia entered the war on the side of the Confederate states. Davis was captured by Union troops in 1865. Following the war, Davis was indicted for treason and imprisoned for two years. Following his release, Davis became an outspoken defender of the Confederate cause and supported honoring the memory of Confederate veterans. The Confederate Veterans Memorial sits on the Capitol Complex in Montgomery. The cornerstone for this monument was laid by Davis himself on April 29, 1886. He died in New Orleans in 1889. The Beauvoir estate, built in Biloxi, Mississippi, along the Gulf of Mexico, was the post-war home of Davis. It is a National Historic Landmark, recognized and listed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. Families interested in Civil War history can also visit the Alabama Confederate Memorial Park near Clanton. The Confederate ironclads C.S.S. Tuscaloosa and C.S.S. Huntsville are listed in the National List of Historic Places. Both ships participated in the defense of Mobile, and both ships, built in Selma, were scuttled in the waning days of the Civil War. You can also visit Fort Morgan near Gulf Shores, which played an important role in the Battle of Mobile Bay. Jefferson Davis Day is one of three Confederate-related state holidays in Alabama. The state also observes Robert E. Lee Day in January and Confederate Memorial Day in April. There have been some efforts in recent years to remove Confederate holidays from the official list of state-sanctioned holidays. Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) proposed legislation to remove Davis’s birthday as a state holiday and replace it with State Employee Appreciation Day. That legislation never got a vote in committee. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
