DAVIS
DAVIS
1853, urged upon Mr. Davis the acceptance of the
portfolio of war and lie reluctantlj- took his place
in the executive family, March 4, 1853. His con-
duct of the department is a matter of public
record. The army was judiciously but emphati-
cally strengthened; the coast was more fully
defended; the coast survey and geodetic observa-
tions were extended; and the fields of astronomy,
zoology, botany and meteorology were fully ex-
ploited. He ordered the survey for the construc-
tion of the Pacific railways, added to the
fortifications of the New England and Pacific
coasts; repressed Indian hostilities; and prorided
for the more speedy transportation of guns and
ammunition in case of need. He recommended
national armories, urged the extension of the
pension system to widows and orphans of soldiers
and took the initiatory measures for a retired list.
He also liad charge of the enlargement of the
national capitol by the addition of the two wings
to provide a new senate chamber and hall of rep-
resentatives and the construction of a more
imposing dome to the structure. Under his
administration the Washington aqueduct and
Cabin John Bridge was built, the largest single
span arch in the world. President Pierce's
cabinet presents the only instance in the history
of a presidential administration in which no
change was made in the personnel. Mr. Davis
was returned to the U.S. senate by the legisla-
ture of Mississippi in 1857 and took his seat,
March 4, immediately on leaving the cabinet.
On a visit to Boston he spoke at Faneuil hall on
Oct. 12, 1858, on the condition of the country and
the dangers besetting it. He pleaded for the pro-
tection of the independence of the states for
which New England and all the states fought,
and for a strict construction of the constitution,
framed and adopted by the foimders. In his
speech he instanced, as an evidence of the dignity
and individuality of the states, the refusal of
Governor Hancock to call upon President Wash-
ington when on a visit to Boston, an early and
emphatic testimonial in favor of state rights and
the privilege.-; of states as superior to the union
formed by the states. He congratulated Massa-
chusetts as being among the earliest advocates of
state rights and community independence. In
the Democratic national convention at Charles-
ton, S.C. in 18G0, the delegates from Massachu-
setts gave him their forty-nine undivided votes
in unbroken succession as their candidate for
the presidency. On Jan. 9, 1861, Mississippi
passed the ordinance of secession, but Senator
Davis was not officially notified of the act until
January 21. during which time he was straining
every nerve to prevent secession, but when South
Carolina seceded, he, in company with Senators
Yulee, Mallory, Fitzpatrick and Clay, withdrew
after explaining his purpose to the senate. He
remained some time in Washington to test the
question of whether the seceding senators
would be arrested, and then went to Mississippi.
He reached Jackson, Miss., where he found Gov-
ernor Pettus's commission, making him major-
general of the state militia, dated Jan. 25, 1861,
awaiting him, and at once proceeded to organize
the state into militia districts and to secure arms
and ammunition. At the convention of the
seceding states at Montgomery, Ala., while Mr.
Davis was on his plantation arranging his affairs
preparatory to taking the field, on Feb. 9, 1861,
he was elected provisional president and Alexan-
der H. Stephens vice-president of the Confed-
erate States and he was notified of the election
while in his rose garden at Brierfield, Miss. He
delivered his inaugural address at the capitol,
Montgomery, Ala., on Monday, Feb. 18, 1861, and
at once began the direction of a Confederate gov-
ernment organized on the basis of state rights,
under a constitution largely copied from that of
the United States, which was not sufficiently
specific on the reserved rights of the states. He
appointed as his cabinet: Robert Toombs of
Georgia, secretary of state; Leroy P. Walker of
Alabama, secretary of war; Charles G. Menimin-
ger of South Carolina, secretary of the treasury;
Stephen R. Mallory of Florida, secretary of the
navy; Judah P. Benjamin of Louisiana, attorney-
general; and John H. Reagan of Texas, postmas-
ter-general. When Virginia seceded, Mr. Davis
urged the removal of the capital to Richmond,
as the salient point of attack, and the seat of
government was removed, July 20, 1861. The
battleof Manassas wasfoughtJuly21, 1861, andhe
was on the field throughout the engagement, wit-
nessing the first victory of the Confederate army.
A general election was hel<l in the Confederacy
in November. 1861, and Mr. Davis was chosen
president for
six years with-
out opposition.
The 1st con-
gre.ssof the Con-
federate States
under the con-
stitution met at
Richmond, Va.,
Feb. 18, 1862, '
and Mr. Davis was inaugurated president of the Confederate states. Feb. 22, 1862. On Feb. 27, 1862, the Confederate hou.se of representatives created the office of commanding-general of the Confederate forces, with the approval of the ]ires- ident. On May 31, 1862, President Davis was present on the battle-field of Seven Pines, Va., and after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was wtounded he assigned Gen. Robert E. Lee to the command
