At the end of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis's life and reputation sunk to a seemingly-unredeemable low. The shackles and chains of Fort Monroe, where he awaited trial for treason, were a far cry from the successful political career and national recognition he enjoyed before the war. However, in the last years of his life and the first three years after his death, Davis's public image was resurrected to a stage of near adulation and his fellow southerners recognized him as one of the most important men of the south. In this long-awaited work, Donald E. Collins explores the rise in Davis's status and the changing image of the Civil War in the North and South following the conflict. Highlighting this conversion is the three-year competition between southern cities for the honor of becoming Davis' final resting place—culminating in a thousand-mile procession from his temporary vault in New Orleans to a second state funeral in Richmond. By recounting the public mourning and political maneuvering that accompanied Jefferson Davis's two funerals and final monument, Collins adds an essential piece to the legacy of Davis and the Civil War.

When the Civil War ended, Jefferson Davis had fallen from the heights of popularity to the depths of despair. In this fascinating new book, Donald E. Collins explores the resurrection of Davis to heroic status in the hearts of white Southerners culminating in one of the grandest funeral processions the nation had ever seen. As schools closed and bells tolled along the thousand mile route, Southerners appeared en masse to bid a final farewell to the man who championed Southern secession and ardently defended the Confederacy.

A tribute to the president of the Confederate States of America, this volume includes speeches and writings about Jefferson Davis following his death. It provides a perspective on the Confederacy and its leadership post-Civil War. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.