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List of memorials to Jefferson Davis

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Jefferson Davis in National Statuary Hall

The following is a list of the memorials to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America.

Sculpture

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Statue formerly at Memphis Park. Removed in 2017.
Statue formerly at Monument Avenue, Richmond. Removed in 2020.
Bust of Davis at Jefferson Davis Memorial Historic Site
Bust of Davis at Old Warren County Courthouse
Memorial at Vicksburg National Military Park
The Jefferson Davis monument in New Orleans vandalized by local residents, May 2004. It was eventually dismantled in 2017.
  • Jefferson Davis is included on a bas-relief sculpture on Stone Mountain, which is just east of Atlanta, Georgia.
  • A monument to Jefferson Davis was unveiled on June 3, 1907, on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, and a life-sized statue by George Julian Zolnay marks his grave at Hollywood Cemetery in that city. On June 10, 2020, the monument was toppled by protestors in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd.[1]
  • In May 2015, the student government at the University of Texas at Austin voted almost unanimously to remove a statue of Jefferson Davis that had been erected on the campus South Mall.[2][3] Beginning shortly after the Charleston church shooting of 2015,[4] "Black Lives Matter" had been written repeatedly in bold red letters on the base of the Davis statue. Previous messages had included "Davis must fall" and "Liberate U.T."[5] University of Texas officials convened a task force to determine whether to honor the students' petition for removal of the statue. Acting on the strong recommendation of the task force, UT's President Gregory Fenves announced on August 13, 2015, that the statue would be relocated to serve as an educational exhibit in the university's Dolph Briscoe Center for American History museum.[6] The statue was removed on August 30, 2015.[7]
  • A statue of Jefferson Davis stood in Memphis Park (originally, "Confederate Park"[8]) in Memphis, Tennessee. Removed in 2017.
  • A large 351-foot (107 m) tall concrete obelisk at the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site in Fairview, Kentucky marks the site of his birthplace. Construction of the monument began in 1917 and finished in 1924 at a cost of about $200,000.[9]
  • A bust of Jefferson Davis is located at the Jefferson Davis Memorial Historic Site on the spot he was captured, outside Irwinville, Georgia, near Fitzgerald, Georgia.
  • Another bust of Jefferson Davis is located outside the Jeff Davis County Court House building in Hazlehurst, Georgia.
  • In Pensacola, Florida, an obelisk was dedicated in 1891 in memory of Jefferson Davis, Stephen R. Mallory, Edward Aylesworth Perry, and the Uncrowned Heroes of the Southern Confederacy.[10]
  • A statue of Jefferson Davis is depicted in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building, for the state of Mississippi.[11]
  • In New Orleans, there was a carved stone memorial to Jefferson Davis at First and Camp streets, next to the home where he died, as well as a life-sized statue at the corner of Jeff Davis Parkway and Canal Street. By decision of the New Orleans City Council in December 2015, the statue was to be removed; opposition lawsuits delayed the removal until May 11, 2017.[12]
  • Davis's former burial location at New Orleans' Metairie Cemetery is inscribed with his signature and the dates of his birth and death.
  • A statue commemorating the bicentennial of Davis's birth was created by Civil War artist Gary Casteel, on behalf of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. It arrived at Davis's Beauvoir estate in Biloxi, Mississippi on October 14, 2009.[13]
  • There are statues of Davis in the Alabama, Virginia, and Kentucky state capitols—in Montgomery, on the grounds in front of the main entrance where he was sworn in as President of the Confederacy; in Richmond, in the old House of Delegates chamber; and inside the rotunda at Frankfort.
  • Vicksburg National Military Park, located in Warren County, Mississippi (where the Davis family plantations, Brierfield and Hurricane, were located), contains two statues of Davis. The first is a stand-alone, larger-than-life figure known simply as the Davis Monument; and the second, a life-sized figure, appears next to a statue of Lincoln as part of the Kentucky monument.[14]
  • A bust of Davis with his second wife Varina is located in the rose garden outside the Old Courthouse Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
  • The 1891 Mississippi Monument to the Confederate Dead in Jackson, contains a life-sized, white marble statue of Jefferson Davis which was carved in Italy. At the time of its dedication, the monument's location was on the original State Capitol grounds in Jackson; it is currently in front of the Charlotte Capers Building on State Street, used by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. In 1922, the statue was removed from the monument and placed in the rotunda of the Old Capitol, which was then used as legislators' offices (later becoming the Old Capitol Museum). In conjunction with the restoration of the Old Capitol and in anticipation of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the statue was returned to its original location in the monument in 2009.

Schools

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Inhabited places

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Stamps

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five cent 1861 issue
five cent 1862 issue
ten cent 1863 issue
Jefferson Davis postage stamps
J. Davis on Stone Mountain 1970 issue

Davis appeared on several postage stamps issued by the Confederacy, including its first postage stamp (issued in 1861). In 1995, his portrait appeared on a United States postage stamp, part of a series of 20 stamps commemorating the 130th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.[30][31] Davis was also celebrated on the six-cent Stone Mountain Memorial Carving commemorative on September 19, 1970, at Stone Mountain, Georgia. The stamp portrayed Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson on horseback. It depicts a replica of the actual memorial, carved into the side of Stone Mountain at 400 feet (120 m) above ground level, the largest high-relief sculpture in the world.[32]

Holidays

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The birthday of Jefferson Davis is commemorated in several states. His actual birthday, June 3, is celebrated in Florida,[33] Kentucky,[34] Louisiana[35] and Tennessee;[36] in Alabama, it is celebrated on the first Monday in June.[37] In Mississippi, the last Monday of May (Memorial Day) is celebrated as "National Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis's Birthday".[38] In Texas, "Confederate Heroes Day" is celebrated on January 19, Robert E. Lee's birthday;[36] Jefferson Davis's birthday had been officially celebrated on June 3 but was combined with Lee's in 1973.[39]

Miscellaneous

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Jefferson Davis grave at the Hollywood Cemetery
Memorial of Jefferson Davis's final speech.
  • In 2009, a bronze plaque was dedicated at the site of the old courthouse in Mississippi City, Mississippi, to memorialize the final speech delivered by Jefferson Davis, where he pleaded for unity of all U.S. citizens after the American Civil War.
  • Jeff Davis Peak, a variant name of Doso Doyabi, the second highest summit in the Snake Range in Nevada, was named in honor of Jefferson Davis in 1855. Davis was then serving as Secretary of War in the United States government.[56]
  • Jefferson Davis Hospital began operations in 1924 and was the first centralized municipal hospital to treat indigent patients in Houston, Texas.[57] The building was designated as a protected historic landmark on November 13, 2013, by the Houston City Council and is monitored by the Historic Preservation Office of the City of Houston Department of Planning and Development.[58] The hospital was named for Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederacy, in honor of the Confederate soldiers who had been buried in the cemetery and as a means to console the families of the deceased.[59]
  • The United Daughters of the Confederacy monument to Jefferson Davis at the Fort Crawford Cemetery in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Davis was stationed at Fort Crawford, Michigan Territory in 1831.[60]
  • Fort Davis National Historic Site began as a frontier military post in October 1854, in the mountains of western Texas. It was named after then-United States Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. That fort gave its name to the surrounding Davis Mountains range, and the town of Fort Davis. The surrounding area was designated Jeff Davis County in 1887, with the town of Fort Davis as the county seat. Other states containing a Jefferson (or Jeff) Davis County/Parish include Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
  • When Davis evacuated Richmond, his belongings continued on the train bound for Cedar Key, Florida. They were first hidden at Senator David Levy Yulee's plantation in Florida, then placed in the care of a railroad agent in Waldo. On June 15, 1865, Union soldiers seized Davis's personal baggage from the agent, together with some of the Confederate government's records. A historical marker was erected to commemorate this site.[61][62][63]
  • The Papers of Jefferson Davis is an editing project based at Rice University in Houston, Texas to publish documents related to Davis. Since the early 1960s, it has published 14 volumes, the first in 1971 and the most recent in 2015;[64] more volumes are planned. The project has roughly 100,000 documents in its archives.[citation needed]
  • The Confederate Memorial Hall Museum has a portrait of Pope Pius IX that he sent to Davis after he was captured. It is inscribed with the Latin words "Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et ego reficiam vos, dicit Dominus", which correspond to the Biblical passage of Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you, sayeth the Lord".[65] A hand-woven crown of thorns that was probably woven by Davis's wife encircles it.[66]

Controversy

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Further information: Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials

Many memorials and statues commemorating Davis have been removed as part of a larger, society-wide reckoning with the historical legacy of the Confederacy, as many states and municipalities have re-examined the appropriateness of using public space to honor figures that supported slavery and secession.[67][68][69]

  • Jefferson Davis Monument and statue, Richmond, VA, in 2013.
    Jefferson Davis Monument and statue, Richmond, VA, in 2013.
  • Jefferson Davis Monument in Richmond, VA on July 1, 2020, following the protests over the murder of George Floyd. The Davis statue was toppled by protesters on June 10, 2020.[70]
    Jefferson Davis Monument in Richmond, VA on July 1, 2020, following the protests over the murder of George Floyd. The Davis statue was toppled by protesters on June 10, 2020.[70]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Protesters Topple Statue of Jefferson Davis on Richmond's Monument Avenue". June 11, 2020.
  2. ^ Brandeis, Amanda (March 25, 2015). "UT student government votes to remove Jefferson Davis statue". KXAN.com. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  3. ^ Tom McCarthy, "Drive to call time on Confederate flag sweeps south – 150 years after civil war", The Guardian, June 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "Confederate monuments tagged with anti-racist messages – in pictures | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Associated Press, "'Emancipate UT': Confederate statue defaced at University of Texas", The Guardian, May 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "Jefferson Davis Statue to be Relocated to Educational Exhibit at History Center | UT News | The University of Texas at Austin". News.utexas.edu. August 13, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  7. ^ Associated Press, "Texas university removes Confederate president statue from campus," The Guardian, August 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Johnson, Eugene J. and Robert D. Russell, Jr., Memphis: An Architectural Guide, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1990 pp.50–50
  9. ^ "Jefferson Davis State Historic Site". Kentucky State Parks. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  10. ^ "Confederate Memorial". City of Pensacola. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  11. ^ "Jefferson Davis". Architect of the Capitol. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  12. ^ Torres, Manuel (December 18, 2015). "Lee Circle battle moves to court: Federal lawsuit filed to halt monuments removal in New Orleans". nola.com. The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Beauvoir – The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library". Mississippi Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  14. ^ "President Jefferson Davis – Vicksburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  16. ^ "Davis, Jefferson High". Jd.mps-al.org. March 4, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  17. ^ Bowerman, Ashley (November 10, 2022). "Montgomery school board votes to change the Confederate names of three high schools". WSFA. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  18. ^ "Jefferson Davis Middle / Homepage". Duvalschools.org. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  19. ^ Isger, Sonja (June 30, 2015). "PBC board dropped Jeff Davis' name from school 10 years ago this week | Extra Credit". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  20. ^ "Jefferson Davis Middle School Alumni, Yearbooks, Reunions – West Palm Beach, FL". Classmates. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  21. ^ Rainey, Richard (June 24, 2015). "Before Lee Circle, New Orleans schools soul-searched their own ties to slavery". nola.com. The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015.
  22. ^ Taft, Isabelle. "MGCCC renames Gulfport campus to remove name of Confederate president Jefferson Davis". www.msn.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  23. ^ Villafranca, Omar (2017). "School honoring Confederate icon to be renamed after Barack Obama". CBS News. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  24. ^ Academy, Jefferson Davis. "Jefferson Davis Academy – Private School – Barnwell, South Carolina". Jefferson Davis Academy. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  25. ^ Kalthoff, Ken (August 17, 2017). "Former Dallas ISD Trustee Who Fought Confederate School Names Backs Monuments". KXAS-TV. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  26. ^ "Northside High School / Homepage". Houstonisd.org. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  27. ^ "School Information – Davis Middle School". Dav.hampton.k12.va.us. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  28. ^ "Hampton School Board votes to rename Jefferson Davis Middle School". WTKR.com. January 25, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  29. ^ Small, Alonzo (October 14, 2020). "Hanover school board officially approves new names for Lee-Davis High, Stonewall Jackson Middle". ABC 8 News. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  30. ^ "130th Anniversary of End of American Civil War 1995". USA Stamps. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  31. ^ "32c Jefferson Davis single". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  32. ^ "Stone Mountain Memorial Issue". Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  33. ^ "The 2010 Florida Statutes (including Special Session A)". The Florida Legislature. Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  34. ^ "2.110 Public holidays". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  35. ^ "Days of public rest, legal holidays, and half-holidays". The Louisiana State Legislature. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  36. ^ a b "Memorial Day History". United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  37. ^ "Official State of Alabama Calendar". Alabama State Government. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  38. ^ "Mississippi Code of 1972 – SEC. 3-3-7. Legal holiday". LawNetCom, Inc. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  39. ^ "State holidays". Texas State Library. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  40. ^ Hirsch, Arthur (August 5, 1997). "Sound and fury over statue Image: William Faulkner's hometown is embroiled in an argument about a sculpture of the writer – and about how a small Southern town sees itself". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  41. ^ "The History of Beauvoir". Beauvoir. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  42. ^ "Beauvoir – The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library". Mississippi Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  43. ^ "An Interview with Bertram Hayes-Davis". Civil War Trust. October 2012. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  44. ^ "Beauvoir director, board members resign over 'direction'". Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  45. ^ "Beauvoir to revisit history with new presidential library". biloxi.ms.us. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  46. ^ Seibert, David. "Jefferson Davis Memorial Park". GeorgiaInfo: an Online Georgia Almanac. Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  47. ^ "The 2010 Florida Statutes (including Special Session A)". The Florida Legislature. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  48. ^ "Legal Holidays; Commonwealth of Kentucky". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  49. ^ "Jimmy Carter: Restoration of Citizenship Rights to Jefferson F. Davis Statement on Signing S. J. Res. 16 into Law". American Presidency Project. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  50. ^ "Jefferson Davis Desk". United States Senate. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  51. ^ a b Weingroff, Richard F. (April 7, 2011). "Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway". Highway History. Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  52. ^ "Map of the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway". World Digital Library. January 1916. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  53. ^ "Renaming of Jefferson Davis Highway moving along in Alexandria" Archived April 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, WTOP-FM
  54. ^ Zaleski, Andrew (February 18, 2020). "When a county changed a Confederate highway name, some navigation apps were slow to change it". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  55. ^ "History of the Jefferson Davis Park". Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  56. ^ "Why Wheeler Peak?". National Park Service. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  57. ^ Freemantle, Jeff (November 25, 2013). "Old Jeff Davis Hospital gets Long-term Protection". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  58. ^ "Jeff Davis Hospital, several Houston houses receive landmark designation". Houston Chronicle. November 20, 2013. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  59. ^ "Jefferson Davis Hospital (Elder Street Lofts)". Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  60. ^ "Wisconsin Historical Markers: Jefferson Davis (1808–1889)". www.wisconsinhistoricalmarkers.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  61. ^ Boone, Floyd E. (1988). Florida Historical Markers & Sites: A Guide to More Than 700 Historic Sites. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company. p. 15. ISBN 9780872015586.
  62. ^ "Historical Markers in Alachua County, Florida – Dickison and His Men / Jefferson Davis' Baggage". Alachua County Historical Commission. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  63. ^ "Historic Markers Across Florida – Dickison and His Men / Jefferson Davis' Baggage". Latitude 34 North. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  64. ^ "Welcome to The Papers of Jefferson Davis". The Papers of Jefferson Davis. Rice University. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  65. ^ Bible Matthew 11:28
  66. ^ Levin, Kevin (September 27, 2009). "Update on Jefferson Davis's Crown of Thorns". Civil War Memory. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  67. ^ "73 Confederate monuments were removed or renamed last year, report finds". Cbs58.com. February 2, 2022. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  68. ^ "Racist statues are falling around the world – Anti-racism protests". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  69. ^ "Jeff Davis Highway to be renamed in Richmond". 8News. December 15, 2020. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  70. ^ Katkov, Mark (June 11, 2020). "Protesters Topple Jefferson Davis Statue In Richmond, Va". NPR. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
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