The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1915-12-23
IN great seclusion on the plantation
IN tho cmananc of the MiSSisSinni


in the swamps of the Mississippi.
] In 1874 Mr.. Davis married his Sec
ond wife, daughter of Mr.. William
3. Howell of Natchez. Miss, the son
OF Gov. Howell of the state of New
Jersey.
In 1S43 he for the first time took
part in the political life of the coun'
try. He was chosen as one of the
presidential electors of the state in
1874. He was elected to congress
and took his seat in December, 1845.
The Mexican war having commenced
in June, 1916, a regiment of Missis-
Vicksburg of which he was elected
colonel. Owing to wounds received
in battle, a ball through the foot,
leaving in the wound broken bones
and foreign matter, which the delay
had made it impossible then to ex-
tract, he was compelled to return
home on crutches.
In 1918 he was U. S. senator from
Mississippi. In 1853 he was secre-
tary of war under President Pierce.
At Montgomery, Ala, Feb. IS, 1861,
he was inaugurated as provisional
president of the Confederate states.
From this time to the fall of the
Confederate government his life is a
part of the history of the Confed-
eracy and of the war between the
states.
: In February, 1861, the capital of
the Confederacy was moved to Rich
mond, Va.
Upon Mr.. Davis arrival at Rich
mond the citizens desired to present
him with very fine house which he
declined to accept, deeming it inn
proper for public officer to receive
gifts of this sort. He continued to
live in Richmond until the Confeder-
ate forces retired from the defences
of the capital.
After Lee surrendered and John
ston concluded to do the same to
General Sherman, he left Richmond
and was made prisoner as previ-
ously stated.
Mr.. Davis was imprisoned for two
years before being allowed the priv
ilege of the writ of habeas corpus,
When the writ was issued, the con-
dition was imposed by the President
of the United States that there
should be bondsmen of the north, Mr..
Horace Greeley especially being
named. Not from motives of person
al regard did Mr.. Greeley, Mr.. Gerrit
Smith and other eminent northern
citizens go on the bond, but from mo-
tives of justice and legal right. He
was released from Fortress Monroe
in May, 1867 and went to Canada
with his family. Mr.. Davis case was
heard by Chief Justice Chase and
District Judge Underwood at Rich
mond, Va, who were divided in opin-
ion which sent the case to the SUI
preme court of the United States and
the proceedings were quashed, leav-
ing Mr.. Davis without the opportun-
ity to vindicate himself before the
highest federal court
After remaining about one year in
Canada, Mr.. Davis went to England
with his family. After being abroad
about one year he returned to Amer
lea and became the president of
life insurance company at Memphis,
Tenn. Subsequently he came to the
gulf coast of Mississippi (Beauvoir)
and engaged in literary work. While
here he persistently refused to take
any active part in politics--not be-
cause of his disfranchisement, but
from the belief that such labors
could not be made to conduce to the
public good owing to the sectional
hostilities manifested against him
since the war.
Mr.. Davis died in the city of New
Orleans, La, December 6, 1889. His |
body lay in state at the city hall
from December 9Th (midnight) to |
December 18th noon. when the fur
neral took place.
The American Flag at Mr.. Davis
Funeral.
OF late days there has been much |
said in opposition to the display of
the Confederate flag even at the
Gettysburg reunion, July, 1913. 1t
would naturally be supposed at the !
death of Mr.. Davis the confederate
flag would predominant in the funer-
al preparations, etc. From newspa- i
pers and photographs and illustra-
tons of the day we find: "As the
was erected in the city
hall where his body lay in state, the !,
United States and the Fourteenth
Louisiana regiment battle flags were
crossed in. the background of the !,
stand Above the flags Ire Ameri-
'an eagle and the coat of arms of the
United States were appropriately
lraped in crepe" 1.-THE funeral car
upon which the casket was placed,
he top of the canopy was ornament
ID with festoened American flags"
On the city hall the American flag
vas displayed at half hast. Photo
graphs Of the procession on Camp
street, New Orleans. show numerous
stars and stripes, but not a Confed-
rate flag displayed.
(The end