Remembering Jefferson Davis' Birthday - Essay by Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.

Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.

A native of Georgia, Calvin Johnson lives near the historic town of Kennesaw and he's a member of the Chattahoochee Guards Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans. He's the author of the book, When America Stood for God, Family and Country.

EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS

Remembering Jefferson Davis' Birthday – Essay by Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.

Free people are those who remember their past!

In 1931, a bronze statue of Jefferson Davis, sculptured by Virginia's Augustus Lukeman, was given to the National Statuary Hall at our nation's capitol in Washington, D.C. by the State of Virginia.

"Never teach your children to admit that their fathers' were wrong in their efforts to maintain the sovereignty, freedom and independence which was their birthright." ----Jefferson Davis

June 3, 2007, is the 199th birthday of an American Hero--Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Plans are underway to celebrate the Bi-Centennial birthday of Davis in 2008.

Please share the following story with your family.

Take a look at the calendar and see what dates are shown for June 3rd. You will more than likely see that the birthday of Jefferson Davis is excluded. The birthday of Abraham Lincoln is shown for February, but no mention for Jefferson Davis in June. This is more than a shame and we should write these calendar folks and let them know that Davis' birthday should be included.

Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1808, in the horse racing (Derby State) of Kentucky. Birthday observances are annually held in Richmond, Virginia, Irwinville, Georgia, Montgomery, Alabama and other places throughout the USA.

Is our nation's history still taught in public schools?

The time is long overdue for America's educators to teach the historical facts about Abraham Lincoln but also about Jefferson Davis. May I give you a few facts that you might not find in the history books about Jefferson Davis?

Jefferson Davis, who would become the first and only President of the Confederate States of America, was a strong Unionist but also a strong defender of the United States Constitution. Our founding fathers believed in the sovereignty of the states and so did Jefferson Davis.

There are some less scholarly people who have called Davis a traitor. Here are a few of his accomplishments that dispel such myths of political correctness thinking.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Fought valiantly in the War with Mexico.

Served as United States Senator from Mississippi.

Served as U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce.

Was first to suggest the transcontinental railroad to link Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

First to suggest Panama Canal Zone

Suggested the purchase of Cuba

Appointed Robert E. Lee as Superintendent of United States Military Academy at West Point.

Visiting Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis, would be a way to better understand this man Davis. It, however, was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Efforts are underway to restore this splendid house and Jefferson Davis Presidential Library. This is where Davis wrote his book, "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government."

You can learn more about Beauvoir at: www.Beauvoir.org.

Jefferson Davis' last marriage was said to be a good one to Varina, who gave him two sons and two daughters (Jefferson, Margaret, Winnie and Billy). Winnie was nicknamed (Daughter of the Confederacy) as she was born during the time of the War Between the States. Billy was killed by an accidental fall at the Confederate White House in Richmond and in 1864, an abused black child named Jim Limber was adopted by the Davis family.

Jefferson Davis died between 12:30 AM and 1:00 AM on December 6, 1889. The news of his death hit the front page of most Southern newspapers. The praises and tributes read similar to that of a New Orleans paper that read:

"Throughout the South are lamentations and tears; in every country on the globe where there are lovers of liberty there is mourning; wherever there are men who love heroic patriotism, dauntless resolution, fortitude or intellectual power, there is an sincere sorrowing. The beloved of our land, the unfaltering upholder of constitutional liberty, the typical hero and sage, is no more; the fearless heart that beats with sympathy for all mankind is stilled forever, a great light is gone---Jefferson Davis is dead!"

The Heritage of the South is part of America's proud past.

Lest We Forget!

Jefferson Davis

Beauvoir || Papers of Jefferson Davis