The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis

by Donald E. Collins

At the end of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis's life and reputation sunk to a seemingly-unredeemable low. The shackles and chains of Fort Monroe, where he awaited trial for treason, were a far cry from the successful political career and national recognition he enjoyed before the war. However, in the last years of his life and the first three years after his death, Davis's public image was resurrected to a stage of near adulation and his fellow southerners...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742543048
• ISBN13: 9780742543041
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Solid Overview of the Memorials of Jefferson Davis

In this slender volume, Donald Collins offers a quick sketch of the death of Jefferson Davis as well as the funeral, memorial service and monuments to him across the South. Like William Davis and William Cooper, Collins also offers a description of the various tours of Alabama and Georgia that Davis made in his last years. Collins recognizes how popular Davis became after his presidency but he also shows how Davis would soon be eclipsed by some of the Confederate generals-namely Robert E. Lee. Collins could have done a bit more with the political implications of the Davis trip. It is fair to say that a number of writers, politicians and former generals, from Henry Grady to John Gordon to James Longstreet, used the Davis trip to booster their own causes and careers. If you are looking for a biography of Davis, check out the massive biographies by Cooper and William Davis. But if you are interested in how Southern society viewed Jefferson Davis, this book offers some excellent insight.

A little known part of Southern History

I have read many books on the War Between the States and very rarely come across a topic which is new. This book covers a subject that is little known by even culture concious Southerners. A very good read about an event that was pivotal in post war Southern History. If you are a Southerner this is a must. If you have any interest in the post war treatment of the personalities on that conflict, you will enjoy. Winston Churchill wrote - "Poor is a nation that has no heroes. Poorer still is one that has them and forgets them." This author has presented us with a way of remembering one of our Southern heroes. I think many readers will be surprised by this work. Highly recomended to Southerners and anyone who has an interest in the human experience.