Davis Jefferson
Jefferson Davis Tells of the Forthcoming Laying of the Cornerstone of Montgomery’s Confederate Memorial Monument
Autograph Letter Signed “Jefferson Davis” completely in the hand of his wife, Varina Howell Davis who also signed her husband’s signature, 2p, 5.75” x 8.75”, front & verso. To Col. John Thomas Scharf. Beauvoir, Missi, March 31, 1866. Light creases. Folds at upper corners. Fine Condition.
In full, “I wonder that you will still believe what the Newspapers say about me. It is not true that I have agreed to deliver an address at Montgomery or that I am in good health. The committee of the Association to erect a Monument to the Confed. dead on the spot where the Govt. of the Confederacy was inaugurated obtained my consent to be present at the laying of the cornerstone with the distinct understanding that I was not to be expected to make a speech because of physical disability and when the Chairman of the Committee recently came to see me, and found me ill of bilious fever, he assured me that he had given public notice that I was not to be expected or called upon to make a speech.



“Now my dear Sir having cleared away the debris, I proceed to the subject of your letter. Recent illness has prevented me from going to attend to important business at my old house in Warren Co. Missi. As soon as I can, I must go there. After my return I shall then have to go to Montgomery to be present on the day appointed for laying the cornerstone – the 28th or 29th of April. After my return from there I know of nothing to prevent us from taking up the proposed work i.e. the refutation of Sherman’s slanders. You must expect me to devolve most of the work upon you both in hunting up papers & the manual labor of writing, but I hope only a short time will be required to complete the task.”
The April 29, 1886, edition of “The Atlanta Constitution” reported that at the State Capitol on April 28th, in front of a crowd of thousands, Montgomery Mayor W.S. Reese rose and said, “‘It is with emotions of the most profound reverence that I have to introduce to you that most illustrious type of southern manhood and statesmanship – our honored ex-president, Jefferson Davis’ … A cheer long pent up since 1861 rent the air, was taken up by the crowds on the streets, and echoed and re-echoes over the city … At last silence stole over the crowd, the cheers were hushed, and in strong tones, with a volume which reached the extreme limits of the audience, Mr. Davis proceeded … My Friends: It would be vain if I should attempt to express to you the deep gratification which I feel at this demonstration… ‘” Davis spoke for about five minutes. Mrs. Davis was present. He ended by saying “‘I have been promised, my friends, that I should not been called upon to make a speech, and therefore I will only extend to you my heartfelt thanks. God bless you, one and all, old men and boys, and ladies above all others, who never faltered in our direst need.’ [Loud and long continued applause]…”
On September 23, 1886, Jefferson Davis wrote a letter to “The Baltimore Sun” refuting a statement made by Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s before a gathering of former Union soldiers in 1884. Sherman had said that he had seen a letter from Davis to a U.S. Senator in which Davis said he “would turn Lee’s army against any state that might attempt to secede from the southern Confederacy.” Davis’s letter refuting this and other Sherman slanders was published by “The Sun” on October 1, 1886.
The recipient of this letter, Baltimorean John Thomas Scharf (1843-1898), served in the Confederate Army and Navy. A journalist, historian, and lawyer, Scharf is best known for his published historical works. He was one of the first American historians who consistently used newspapers as a primary source. He contacted everyone who could provide information about his subject and used detail questionnaires to get responses to his inquiries. However, Scharf could not remain objective when writing about the Civil War and his strong pro-South perspective is clearly evident in all his works.

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