RomanceEverAfter

Historical Romance Column

Varina Davis - Part II

In the first half of my article on Varina Davis, I covered her life from childhood up to the return to Brierfield following her six-week wedding trip with Jefferson Davis. This half of the article will cover their life from the point of their return to Brierfield through the Civil War years. Approximately fifteen years after their wedding, several events happened which lead up to the Civil War.

Harpers Ferry

In October of 1859, John Brown and 22 of his abolitionist followers seized the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. Shortly after the incident, Abraham Lincoln, who was committed to preserve the Union, was elected President of the United States. On December 20, 1859 South Carolina seceded from the Union and by the end of January 1860, six more states had followed. By the end of June 1860, eleven states in all had seceded and were called the Confederate States of America.  Jefferson Davis was made the provisional President of the Confederacy in 1861.

Varina Davis at Brierfield

In the meantime, Varina was embarking upon her new role as wife to plantation owner and politician, Jefferson Davis. She was well liked and admired by her neighbors and servants at Brierfield. They immediately noticed her acceptance of others and warmth to people in all stations of life. She and Jefferson enjoyed their relationship sharing as much time as possible with each other on a daily basis. They both enjoyed riding their saddle horses and shared a love of the land. While riding, they discussed plans for their gardens, orchards, livestock and various details of their plantation.

They both enjoyed reading and spent many evenings together in the library of Brierfield. Reading aloud to each other was one of their favorite past times and one which they continued throughout their lives. Varina continued to improve her French and surprised her husband with her knowledge of Latin. They did, of course, discuss government and politics during these times. The contrast in their political backgrounds gave Varina the opportunity to explore the American government from her husband’s Democratic point of view, which opposed the Whig party view she grew up with. Much as her tutor had done in years past, Jefferson encouraged her to think for herself and was pleased that she did so.

Varina and Politics

Varina and Jefferson kept up with political news by having newspapers and information delivered to Brierfield on a daily basis. This ritual prepared Varina for the political life she would later experience. 

In the late fall of 1845, Varina experienced her first political meeting in Vicksburg, Virginia where Davis introduced the speaker, John C. Calhoun. Varina was well accepted by the other attendees which made her husband exceptionally proud. She possessed the ability to converse with his peers and their wives. On that occasion, Varina was introduced to John C. Calhoun and began a friendship that lasted until his death in 1850. 

It is said that once again, Joe Davis, Jefferson Davis’ older brother, was extremely pleased with the approval she received in this political arena. It helped confirm that he had made the right decision in introducing Varina to Jefferson and encouraging their relationship. (We learned in Varina Davis-Part I that Joe "contrived" the couple’s meeting and created opportunities for them to get to know each other.)

From Vicksburg the Davises traveled on to Washington, D.C. where they resided for several months while Jefferson Davis spent time in his first session of congress. Varina began to perceive and understand her role as a politician’s wife. At this point she also realized the positive and negative responses regarding her marriage to the well respected Jefferson Davis. Some people were quite happy for her while others were jealous and gossiped about the couple. There were those who felt he was too old for her and that her intense love would fade as he grew older. Of course, we can look back on the relationship and know this did not happen.

Varina Davis-Part II(2) >>>