Davis and Lincoln: Kentucky Boys
Jefferson Davis, like his future Civil War adversary Abraham Lincoln, was born in a log cabin in Kentucky. Davis, however, was born on June 3, 1809, several months prior to his famous nemesis.
Davis, the youngest and tenth child born to Samuel and Jane Cook Davis, was of Welsh and Scottish ancestry. Jefferson was named for his father's "political idol," Thomas Jefferson. When Davis was two-years-old his family moved to Woodville, Mississippi. There, his father became a planter although he never became a prosperous man.
From Log Cabin to West Point
Although Jefferson's father was a Baptist, from the age of seven to nine the boy attended St. Thomas School in Kentucky, a school run by Roman Catholic Dominican monks. Then at age thirteen, he entered Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Following this, he became a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York.
After graduating from West Point, in 1828, he saw military duty on the western frontier in Wisconsin Territory. It is said that in Prairie du Chien Jefferson Davis was a noted social favorite. He was known for his "bravery and daring horsemanship," as well as being, at age twenty-four, "witty, sportful, and captivating."
Black Hawk War with Lincoln
He served in the Black Hawk War, in 1832, where also a young gangly Abraham Lincoln saw action. Following this, Lieutenant Davis was placed in charge of the captive Indian chieftain Black Hawk, conducting him down the river to prison in St. Louis, Missouri.
Jefferson Davis: continues with The Loves of Jefferson Davis: Sarah Taylor and Varina Howell.
Recommended Reading:
Bozeman Forts Burned: Immigrants Bring Cholera and Small Pox.
John Chivington: The Sand Creek Massacre.
