Postwar Life and Career

Brackets indicate dates and entries that follow logically from information in primary sources but are not explicitly stated.

1867

May 13

Appears in court before Judge John C. Underwood; bail set at $100,000; bond posted by Horace Greeley, abolitionist Gerrit Smith, a representative of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and ten Richmond businessmen; to "deafening applause," freed after two years of confinement; meets Greeley for the first time (for more information about the case, see Frequently Asked Questions)

mid-late May

With Varina, son William, and daughter Winnie, travels to New York City, then Montreal, where he is reunited with his daughter Margaret and son Jefferson, Jr.

May 30

Arrives in Niagara by way of Toronto for visit with many ex-Confederates living in the area, including Jubal A. Early and James M. Mason

early June

Returns to Montreal

September 23

Moves to Lennoxville, Quebec, about eighty-five miles east-southeast of Montreal

November 19 or 20

Sails from Canada aboard the steamer Albemarle

November 22

Reaches Richmond in the morning; stays with Robert Ould

November 25

Visits with Robert E. Lee for the first time since March 1865 (Lee wrote his wife on the 26th that Davis "looks astonishingly well and is quite cheerful")

November 26

The United States v. Jefferson Davis convenes in Richmond; with Chase unable to be present, government granted postponement to March; Davis released on his own recognizance (his last appearance in court on this matter); long talk with Lee at the courthouse (last time he would see Lee); new grand jury drawn (Lee would testify before it the next day); (for more information, see Frequently Asked Questions); in the evening, receives news of the death of Margaret K. Howell, Varina's mother (Nov. 24)

November-December

Stays with Isaac Trimble near Baltimore; Varina Davis joins him there

December 19

Sails from Baltimore for New Orleans, with stops in Key West and Havana, Cuba

1868

January 22

Arrives in Vicksburg after visiting New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Woodville; reunited with brother Joseph E. Davis for the first time since 1862

February 25

Leaves Vicksburg for New Orleans, planning to be in Richmond by mid-March for trial

March 11

Sails for Baltimore by way of Havana and Key West; receives word before departure that trial will be delayed until May or June

March 23

Reaches Baltimore; leaves the next day for New York

March 25

Arrives in New York

March 26

With Davis not present, more complete indictment, based on testimony of Lee and others, handed down in Richmond; trial delayed until May (subsequently continued to June, October, then November)

March 27

After learning of trial delay until at least May 4, leaves New York for Canada; arrives in Lennoxville the following evening; sees notice of new indictment in newspaper soon after arrival

March-July

Spends most of his time in Lennoxville, where Jeff , Jr., and Billy are attending Bishop's College Grammar School, and Montreal, where Margaret is enrolled in a convent school

late April

Leaves Lennoxville on his way to Richmond for trial; word reaches him in Montreal that trial has been postponed

late May

Learns that he will not have to be in court until October at the earliest

June 25

Breaks two ribs in fall down stairway at the British-American Hotel in Lennoxville

July 23

Travels from Lennoxville to Quebec

July 25

With family, sails from Quebec for Europe

August 4

Arrives in Liverpool; spends rest of the year touring England and Wales

September 6

Reaches London for the first time

November 22

Attends service at Westminster Abbey

November 30

Motion is brought in Richmond by Davis' attorneys asking the government to show cause why the indictment of Davis should not be quashed

December 3-4

With Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase and U.S. Circuit Court Judge John C. Underwood presiding, arguments are presented on the motion

December 5

Chase and Underwood announce that they cannot agree on whether the indictment should be quashed; Chase gives his opinion that the 14th Amendment exempts Davis from further punishment; no subsequent action is taken in the case (for more information, see Frequently Asked Questions)

December 30

Leaves London for Paris

December 31

Arrives in Paris

1869

January 2

Visits the Louvre

January 14

Leaves Paris for London

January-September

In Great Britain; makes extended visit to Scotland in July-August

February 15

Indictment dismissed (nolle prosequi), as are those against thirty-seven other Confederates (for more information, see Frequently Asked Questions)

September 25

After receiving offer of a position with an insurance company, sails from Southampton for Baltimore to explore that and other business opportunities

October 10

Reaches Baltimore

October 11

Meets with representative of Carolina Life Insurance Company; also pursues a position with Southern Pacific Railroad

October 15

Sails from Baltimore for New Orleans; friends try to convince him to settle in New Orleans, but make no firm job offers

November 8

Arrives in Vicksburg after visiting family in Louisiana and Mississippi; travels to Memphis, Tennessee, the next day

November 23

Elected president of Carolina Life Insurance Company at a salary of $12,000 a year; plans to move the home office to Baltimore

1870

July [20]

Leaves Memphis for Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee, on the first leg of a trip to Europe

July [25]

Departs for Richmond

early August

Makes brief visit to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

August 9

Arrives in New York after making a business stop in Baltimore

August 10

Sails from New York for Liverpool

September 24

Reunited with family in London after a stay in Liverpool and visits to Ireland and Scotland; while in England, learns of the death of brother Joseph E. Davis (Sept. 18)

October 8

Sails with family for Baltimore; learns of Robert E. Lee's death (Oct. 12) upon arrival; family remains at Baltimore while Davis travels to Richmond

November 3

Speaks at organizational meeting for the Lee Monument Association in Richmond

mid-November

Reaches Memphis; Varina and Winnie Davis follow a month later; older children in school in Maryland

1871

May 1

With Varina and Winnie Davis, departs for Baltimore

mid-May

Returns to Memphis via North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia; speaks in Augusta and Atlanta; family remains in Maryland

July 13

Arrives in Baltimore for brief visit; back in Memphis by the 21st

August 4

Leaves Memphis for Baltimore

early September

Visits Lexington, Virginia, and White Sulphur Springs, then returns to Baltimore

mid-October

Goes back to Memphis, leaving family in Baltimore

late November

Family joins him in Memphis

1872

September 17

Arrives in Baltimore, by way of Louisville

October 13

Travels from Baltimore to Richmond, planning to go from there to Memphis

October 16

Son William Howell Davis dies of diphtheria at age ten

1873

late May

Varina and Winnie Davis travel to Canada (for Varina's health)

late June

Departs on extended business trip for struggling company; travels to St. Louis, New York, Baltimore, and Richmond, stopping in Louisville on the way back

July 22

Returns to Memphis

August

Journeys to Richmond on business; visits older children, who are staying with William Preston Johnston in Lexington, Virginia; back in Memphis by the 23d

August 25

Resigns as president of Carolina Life Insurance Company

October

Ill in Louisville; spends most of month there

November

Visits Baltimore for two weeks at the beginning of the month, then goes back to Memphis

December

Varina Davis returns from Canada

1874

January [25]

Without family, sails from New Orleans for Liverpool

February 15

Arrives in Liverpool; spends over a month looking for positions with British companies

March 22

Reaches Paris, where he stays with A. Dudley Mann

April 16

Has returned to London

April-May

Visits Scotland and Karlsruhe, Germany

June 4

Sails from Liverpool for New York; back in Memphis before the end of the month

July 3

Files suit to regain control of Brierfield from the heirs of Joseph E. Davis (Jefferson Davis v. J. H. D. Bowmar et al.)

1875

Declines appointment as senator from Mississippi and presidency of what is now Texas A&M University; begins relationship with Mississippi Valley Association (a British firm seeking to promote emigration to the South and to encourage direct trade between New Orleans and European ports), and starts promoting it in his travels; speaks in Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri; makes numerous visits to Vicksburg because of lawsuit; reaches informal agreement with W. T. Walthall to begin marketing proposal for Davis' memoirs; withdraws Jeff, Jr., from Virginia Military Institute, and in fall travels with him to inspect mines in Colorado

1876

January 1

Daughter Margaret marries Joel Addison Hayes at St. Lazarus Episcopal Church in Memphis (she will be the only one of the Davis offspring to marry and to have children)

late January

Chosen president of the American branch of the Mississippi Valley Association; relocates to New Orleans, where he is soon joined by Varina and Winnie Davis

May 23

Sails for London via Liverpool on an extended business trip; Varina and Winnie Davis travel with him, while Jeff, Jr., stays with Margaret and Addison in Memphis; Winnie enrolled in school at Karlsruhe, Germany

mid-November

With Varina ill in London and Winnie at school, sails for the U.S. by himself; in Memphis by December 1

December

Meets with board of Mississippi Valley Association in New Orleans and gives up position

December 14

Signs contract with D. Appleton & Co. for memoirs

1877

January

After looking for a place to live along the Gulf Coast, rents a cottage from Sarah Ellis Dorsey at Beauvoir, near Biloxi, Mississippi; starts collecting information for memoirs

mid-February

Begins dictating memoirs to Sarah Dorsey

mid-October

Varina Davis leaves London and sails for New York

November

Varina Davis decides to reside with Margaret and Addison in Memphis

1878

May

Varina Davis moves to Beauvoir

May 20

Courts render final judgment in Davis v. Bowmar that Brierfield is his property

July 1

Agreed-upon deadline for completion of memoirs; Walthall convinces publisher to extend deadline

October 16

Son Jefferson Davis, Jr., dies in Memphis in yellow fever epidemic at age twenty-one

1879

February 19

Signs deed to buy Beauvoir from Sarah Dorsey for $5,500

June 4

Leaves Montreal for New Orleans

July 4

At bedside when Sarah Dorsey dies in New Orleans; she leaves Beauvoir to him in her will

1880

May 5

Appleton's receives manuscript for the first volume of The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government

1881

April
Finishes dictating second volume of memoirs
mid-May
Travels by train to Montreal
June 3
The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government published on his birthday (because of the terms of his contract and relatively slow sales, it is unlikely that Davis made much, if any, money from the book
August-November
Travels to Europe with Varina Davis to bring Winnie back from school at Karlsruhe, Germany
November 22
Sails from Liverpool for New York; back at Beauvoir by mid-December

1882-88

Lives at Beauvoir with Varina; travels occasionally and speaks across the South; enjoys time with grandchildren, although Margaret and Addison Hayes move to Colorado Springs in 1885; gives many interviews, covering both Civil War topics and the current political situation; agrees in 1888 to begin work on another book

1889

October

Completes manuscript of A Short History of the Confederate States of America (published in 1890); also writes several brief magazine articles during the year (see Jefferson Davis Bibliography)