How Did Jefferson Davis Confederate Personality

Confederate Personality: Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis was the first and last president of the Confederate States of America. Elected in early 1861, Davis, aged 52, became the Confederate President in Montgomery, Alabama, the first capital of the Confederate States of America in April 1861 (civilwar.org). Debating over how to respond to Lincoln’s decision to resupply Fort Sumter with provisions despite the Confederate orders to surrender the fort, Davis and his administration eventually sent a message ordering the surrender of Fort Sumter. (Gaffney 57, 59). This would lead to a Confederate bombardment that marked the beginning of the American Civil War. Davis had a crisis on his hands. The Confederacy was vastly inferior in terms of resources

As the political leader of the Confederacy, he assigned Robert E. Lee command of the Army of Northern Virginia in June 1862. He, at first, was a very popular leader. As the war went on, things grew worse for him. Davis failed to raise sufficient money to fight the American Civil War and could not obtain sufficient recognition and help for the Confederacy from foreign governments (Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia). Davis had to also deal with internal tensions such as a dissident Vice President, a squabbling Congress, and the overwhelming inflation of the Southern

In spite of his determination, he had many weaknesses. He had never made a clear combat policy, leaving generals like Robert E. Lee and Braxton Bragg to develop strategies that suited their purposes. He was also unwilling to replace incompetent or lying generals, shown in the cases of P.G.T. Beauregard and Braxton Bragg. Beauregard thought he should have been appointed President of the Confederacy after the first battle of Bull Run. He filed a report three months after the battle claiming he could have taken Washington following his victory at Bull Run but was ordered by Jefferson Davis not to do so. Jefferson Davis journeyed to see Bragg’s army in Tennessee as other generals in Bragg’s command were demanding Bragg be replaced. Davis did not replace Bragg and did not leave him a strategy to fight the war (www.clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com). As commander in chief of the Confederate States of America, he made a fatal decision in carrying too much weight to defending the Confederate capital of Richmond at the expense of the more western operations, such as the vital defense of the last Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, MS (www.britannica.com). He hoped in the cause of Confederate independence even in 1865, the war’s last year. That was, until he recognized the inevitability of the capture of Richmond. Along with his cabinet and several other Confederate defenders in a day later known as Evacuation Sunday on April 2nd,