Outstanding and historic November, 1863 letter written by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, from his headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. An apparently exasperated Davis wrote this letter to Gen. Henry A. Wise to make sure Wise knew Davis had not been “kissing girls” on his tour of the south. Wise was the former Governor of Virginia who had subsequently been made a General in the Confederate Army and was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina.

Davis writes Wise to clear the air concerning a bit of intrigue involving Dr. Alexander Y. P. Garrett, a confidant of Davis, who, among other things, was responsible for the health of Robert E. Lee. Garrett was also Wise’s son-in-law. The controversy involved Wise’s gift of a wooden spoon to Mrs. Davis. Wise seems to have been asked Dr. Garrett whether Mrs. Davis was in fact grateful for the gift- he in turn passed a message to Wise that she was, and that she sent her love.

Davis, apparently annoyed by this situation because Garrett had not actually spoken to Mrs. Davis and made a joke regarding Davis “kissing the girls on his tour,” ordered Garrett to document the situation, which he copies verbatim in his note to Wise - apparently to show that Garrett acted alone in passing this message of affection, and that his joke was untrue.

Whatever the real story was, Davis and Garrett remained close throughout the war. The letter is four pages long and in excellent condition, with virtually no damage noted. It includes the original envelope, also penned by Davis, which is marked “Private.” November 1863 would find the Confederacy still smarting from losses at Gettysburg/Vicksburg and unrest building on the home front.

This letter provides a window into the personal lives of several of the major personalities of the War and makes it clear that these men were indeed still human and prone to personal grievances. Rare opportunity to acquire a letter from the Confederate President that gives a glimpse of what life was like in 1863.


[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, U.S Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson]