Descriptive Summary
Davis, Jefferson,
1808-1889
Jefferson Davis Letters
1846-1888
11 folders
MS 5
Woodson Research
Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston,
TX Materials are in
English.
Original handwritten
letters between U.S. Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his government
and military colleagues, and his wife, Varina. Colleagues inlcude General
William H. Emory, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, E.E. Bradbury, Sullivan W.
Burbank, Secretary of War Jno. B. Floyd, General Joseph E. Johnston, Col.
Abraham Myers, General James Chesnut, Martin W. Philips and W.H. Sanders. The
bulk of the letters date from the 1850s and 1860s.
Biographical Note
Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate (1828), army officer on the
western frontier (1828-35), Zachary Taylor's son-in-law and confidant, a
Mississippi planter and slaveholder, presidential elector (1844), United States
congressman and senator in the 1840s and 1850s, gubernatorial candidate (1851),
Franklin Pierce's secretary of war and personal advisor (1853-1857), spokesman
for the South in the Senate (1857-61), president of the Confederacy (1861-65),
a federal prisoner indicted for treason (1865-67), Memphis businessman
(1869-73), Confederate apologist, and a notable symbol of the Lost Cause.
Scope and Contents
Original handwritten letters between Jefferson Davis and his government
and military colleagues, and his wife, Varina. Colleagues inlcude General
William H. Emory, Senator Stephen A. Douglas, E.E. Bradbury, Sullivan W.
Burbank, Secretary of War Jno. B. Floyd, General Joseph E. Johnston, Col.
Abraham Myers, General James Chesnut, Martin W. Philips, and W.H. Sanders. The
bulk of the letters date from the 1850s and 1860s.
Access RestrictionsThis material is open for research.
Use Restictions
Permission to publish material from the Jefferson Davis Letters must be
obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.
Preferred Citation
Jefferson Davis Letters, MS #5, Woodson Research Center, Fondren
Library, Rice University.
Acquisition Information
These letters were purchased by the Fondren Library.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Davis, Jefferson,
1808-1889
Davis, Varina, 1826-1906.
Davis, Jefferson,
1808-1889--Family.
Douglas, Stephen A.,
Senator.
Emory, William H.,
General.
Bradbury, E.E.
Floyd, Jno. B., U.S.
Senator and Secretary of War.
Johnston, Joseph E.,
General.
Sanders, W.H.
Chesnut, James,
General.
Myers, Abraham,
Colonel.
Philips, Martin W.
Places
United
States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Personal narratives,
Confederate.
United
States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Social aspects.
Formats
Correspondence.
Related MaterialsSee also Kuntz U.S. Civil War Collection
(MS 256) at the Woodson Research Center for additional original Jefferson Davis
letters dating from 1862-1865 and 1880.
Contact the Jefferson Davis
Association (713-348-4990) housed at Rice University for additional original
Jefferson Davis materials. These materials form part of the Jefferson Davis
Papers project - for more information on the project, see
http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/about.cfm.
Contact the Library of
Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, Tulane University, and
the Museum of the Cofederacy (Richmond, VA) for information on their holdings
of Davis correspondence and records.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series I: 1846-1859, n.d.
11
Dec. 10, 1846, Jefferson Davis to Varina "Winnie" (2
leaves)
12
Feb. 18, 1851, Jefferson Davis and others to Secretary of
the Navy, Secretary of the Teasury (1 leaf)
13
Aug. 14, 1854, William H. Emory to Jefferson Davis (1
leaf) with Jefferson Davis approving request (verso of leaf)
14
Feb. 7, 1855, Jefferson Davis to Senator Stephen A.
Douglas (1 leaf)
15
Dec. 31, 1858, Jefferson Davis to E. E. Bradbury (1
leaf)
16
Sept. 24, 1859, and n.d., Sullivan W. Burbank to Jefferson
Davis (2 leaves) with note from Jefferson Davis to Hon. Jno. B. Floyd (verso of
leaf)
Series II: 1862-1888
17
March 3, 1862, Joseph E. Johnston to Jefferson Davis (1
leaf) with (on verso) Jefferson Davis to Col. Abraham Myers, and March 7, 1862,
Col. Myers to Jefferson Davis (1 leaf)
18
March 13, 1862, J.E. Johnston to Jefferson Davis (1
leaf)
19
Oct. 31, 1864, telegram Jefferson Davis to General James
Chesnut(1 leaf)
110
Nov. 24, 1887, Jefferson Davis to "My very dear friend"
[Martin W. Phillips] (2 leaves)
111
May 23, 1888, Jefferson Davis to Dr. W. H.
Sanders