The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-04-05

III ltSelI, apart rom the fehcs Whicn it enshrines and the memories clustering about 1t as the
 White House of Confederacy.
 Erected by Dr. John BrocHenbrough in the early days of Richmond, and situated in what was then a fashionable quarter. 1t is a type of the city homes of Virginia gentlemen in the latter part of the eigh- teenth and the beginning of the nine tsenth century. From Dr. Brocken- brough 1t passed by purchase to MT. James Morson, who sold it to his cousin, the Hon, James Seddon. representative from Virginia, a member of the peace commission held in Washington, and later Jefferson Davis's Secretary of War. MT. Lewis Crenshaw. of the Haxall Crenshaw Mills, was it's next owner It was bought of him by the city, partially fur nished and made the executive mansion of the Confederacy. During the five years following the war. when Virginia was under martial law; 1t was the hsad9nart- quart army. and when vacated by him served as 8 public school
 The custom, dating from the surrender. of decorating the graves of Southern SOL diers buried in Richmond cemeteries gradually crystallized into an organiza- ton known as the Hollywood Memorial Association" and when its president, Mrs. Joseph Bryan. conceived the idea Of records and relics the Confederate Capi- tai representing all the secending States, naturally suggested itself as it's location.
 The city dedicated the former White House for the purpose; funds were raised to make 1t fireproof, and to each South ern State was assigned a room, bearing its name with it's shield and colors. A regent, a resident of the State represent ed, and "a y1ce-regent, living in Rich mond, were placed in charge, who col lect by loan. gift or purchase whatever Is Of historic value bearing upon the period, and that they have been faithful to the trust the vast accumulation since the opening of the building, In 1896, at- tests. lt
 The stone steps, leading up from the street which the visitor. to the museum ascends have been pressed, not only by warrlors and statesmen who won undying fame in defence of the Lost Cause. but by the private soldiers and sailors who made their achievements possible, and, too, by the fair daughters of the South
 thronging the weekly receptions. On the which the Presidents little son fell and was killed; and every room is hallowed by some sacred association.
 Appropriated to Mississippi.
 Pausing in the ample vestibule to in scribe himself in the Installing register, and beginning at the right of the build ing, the .visitor enters the apartment once the private reception, room of her illustrious son. Here conferences were held and campaigns mapped; Mrs. Davis serving rom hoarded store Teal cofTee to Lee and Jackson, coming in exhausted from the field; and here is preserved the largest collection of Davis memorials. In a central case is a screen made by his wife, with which the ex-President protected his eyes from the torturing light, kept constantly burning in his cell at Fortress Monroe; muffler used while there, dressing gown sent him by South ern sympathiZers in St. Louis and the suit in which he was captured. Here too, are his family Bible, his cane and umbrella, with trousers of Kentucky jeans, woven expressly for him and worn at the evacuation of Richmond and dur ing the retreat through the CaBolinas. calico dress in another case, which belonged to Mrs. Davis, and which cost $1,OO0 illustrates the inflated prices of the period, near 1t being the tiny jacket of her little son, Billy" one of the two children born to her in the White House. Souvenirs of the Daughters of the Con federacy include her dolls and toys, her work basket, an unfinished painting, ar ticleS from her bed room. German fa- vors, badges presented to her by the diff ferent Confederate camps and gifts from the distinguished foreigners, the collection frustrating every phase of her life. A framed copy of The Vicksburg Citizen, printed on wall paper is one of a pro- fusion of significant miscellanies, other mural mementoes being portraits of Gen. erals Walthan, Harris and Griffith, while the boyish face of Frank Hume, of the 21st Mississippi Regiment. framed above the door, tells with mute vloQuence of Southern youths torn from sheltered homes to be exposed to the hardships and dangers of camp life.