The Life of Jefferson Davis

Compared with Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, or George Washington, Jefferson Davis is hardly a household name. However, Davis played a pivotal role in American history as the United States Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 and as President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. 

Published in 1868, Frank H. Alfriend’s biography of the man from Kentucky leaves no stone unturned in his attempt to get to the fundamental truth of Davis’s character. As a contemporary of Davis, he provides some valuable insights into the man who was born the youngest of 10 children and left the family farm for a career in the military and then politics.

Alfriend offers a comprehensive and well-researched account of Davis’s life, from his appointment at the United States Military Academy to his time as a colonel in the Mexican-American War. The more unsavory aspects of his character as the owner of a Mississippi Plantation and 113 slaves are also covered in unflinching detail. His period in charge of the Confederacy is particularly interesting. He is painted as an individual who was vastly different from President Abraham Lincoln in terms of political persuasion and outlook yet shared certain similarities with his Union counterpart.