Their President, Jefferson Davis, interpreted their Constitution to mean that it `` admits of no coerced association '', but this remained so doubtful that `` there were frequent demands that the right to secede be put into the Constitution ''.

The Confederacy selected Jefferson Davis as its provisional President on February 9, 1861.

Considered by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to be the finest general officer in the Confederacy before the emergence of Robert E. Lee, he was killed early in the Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh and was the highest-ranking officer, Union or Confederate, killed during the entire war.

He was first educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, where he met fellow student Jefferson Davis.

Early in the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis decided that the Confederacy would attempt to hold as much of its territory as possible and he distributed its military forces around its borders and coasts.

Eastern Tennessee was held for the Confederacy by two unimpressive brigadier generals appointed by Jefferson Davis, Felix Zollicoffer, a brave but untrained and inexperienced officer, and soon to be Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden, a former U. S. Army officer with apparent alcohol problems.

This delay allowed Jefferson Davis finally to send reinforcements from the garrisons of coastal cities and another highly rated but prickly general, Braxton Bragg, to help organize the western forces.

Jefferson Davis considered him the best general in the country ; this was two months before the emergence of Robert E. Lee as the pre-eminent general of the Confederacy.

* Woodworth, Steven E. Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West.

* 1863 – American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis ( which is refused upon receipt ).

" As southern Senators began to express their intent to resign their seats, Johnson reminded Sen. Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy's future leader, that if his coalition would only hold to their seats, the Democrats would control the Congress, and thus better defend the South's interests.

* 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Also, as in the previous war, Pike came into conflict with his superior officers, at one point drafting a letter to Jefferson Davis complaining about his direct superior.

" According to North Carolina musician Walter Davis, Jefferson played on the streets in Johnson City, Tennessee, during the early 1920s at which time Davis and fellow entertainer Clarence Greene learned the art of blues guitar.

* 1847 – Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post.

He was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, where his classmates included five future Democratic senators ( Solomon Downs of Louisiana, Jesse Bright of Indiana, George W. Jones of Iowa, Edward Hannegan of Indiana, and Jefferson Davis of Mississippi ).

* 1861 – Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America.

* 1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia.

* 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.

* 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.

* 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American politician, President of the Confederate States of America ( d. 1889 )

Jefferson Finis Davis ( June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889 ) was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history.

Davis went on to Jefferson College at Washington, Mississippi in 1818, and then to Transylvania University at Lexington, Kentucky in 1821.

Wedding photograph of Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell, 1845

Jefferson Davis's Greatest General: Albert Sidney Johnston.

At the insistence of Johnston and of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Sherman conditionally agreed to generous terms that dealt with both political and military issues.

The army was very briefly commanded by Maj. Gen. Gustavus Woodson Smith on May 31, 1862, following the wounding of Gen. J. E. Johnston, while President Jefferson Davis drafted orders to place Gen. Robert E. Lee in command the following day.

From 1973 to 1975, Jefferson was a legislative assistant to Democratic U. S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., of Louisiana.

Also, in an episode of Tyler Perry's House of Payne in 2011, Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs reprise their roles of George Jefferson and Florence Johnston.

Johnston, who felt the continued existence of his army was more important than protecting territory, tended to avoid battle with Sherman, executing a skillful withdrawal, which caused impatience among the Confederate leadership in Richmond, particularly Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who had never gotten on well with Johnston.

In 2011, he reprised his role as George Jefferson once again, along with Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston in Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

In 1852, President Franklin Pierce promised him command of the U. S. Second Cavalry, but Secretary of War Jefferson Davis gave it instead to Albert Sidney Johnston.

To replace Johnston, Confederate President Jefferson Davis choose General Robert E. Lee, who launched the Seven Days Battles in late June.

" Victor Davis Hansen points out that Albert Sidney Johnston was the first officer to be appointed a full general by Jefferson Davis and to lead Confederate forces in the Western Theater.

Among the thousands of other important pieces found there are items owned by Jefferson Davis, Robert Edward Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, John Bell Hood, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, Simon Bolivar Buckner, J. E. B.

He was brother-in-law to Stonewall Jackson, a close friend to both James Longstreet and Joseph E. Johnston, but disagreements with both Robert E. Lee and Braxton Bragg cost him favor with Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis assigned Huger to divisional command under Gen. Johnston within the Army of Northern Virginia.

Both Jefferson Davis and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston urged him to accept higher command, but he declined because of his lack of military experience.

Jefferson did establish the post, but appointed John Johnston as manager.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis responded to the complaints by dispatching Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to investigate the condition of the army.

Dr. Lorenzo Johnston Greene ( 1899 – 1988 ) taught history at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri from 1933-1972.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis met General Joseph E. Johnston in Greensboro, North Carolina, while Sherman had stopped in Raleigh.

In response, Jefferson Davis ordered Johnston to disband his infantry and escape with his mounted troops, but Johnston disobeyed his orders and agreed to meet General Sherman again at the Bennett Farm on April 26, 1865.

Distinguished guest lecturers include Kate Winslet, Alan Alda, Chris Noth, Richard Dreyfuss, Sam Shepard, Margo Jefferson, Gore Vidal, Charles Durning, Gabriel Byrne, Brian Dennehy, Howard Korder, Mary Steenburgen, Nicky Silver, Rose Byrne, and Ted Danson as well as program graduates Kristen Johnston, Felicity Huffman, and Eddie Cahill.

Among Pendleton's classmates at West Point were future Confederate generals Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, and John B. Magruder ( with whom he was roommates ) as well as future statesman Jefferson Davis.