Jefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heart

by Felicity Allen

Preeminent Civil War historian Frank Vandiver always longed to see an interpretive biography of Jefferson Davis. Finally, more than twenty years after Vandiver expressed that wish, publication of Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart makes such an interpretive biography available. Felicity Allen begins this monumental work with Davis's political imprisonment at the end of the Civil War and masterfully flashes back to his earlier life, interweaving Davis's private life as a schoolboy, a Mississippi planter, a husband, a father, and a political leader. She follows him from West Point through army service on the frontier, his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, his regimental command in the Mexican War, his service as U.S. secretary of war and senator, and his term as president of the Confederate States of America. Although Davis's family is the nexus of this biography, friends and enemies also play major roles. Among his friends intimately met in this book are such stellar figures as Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Albert Sidney Johnston, and Robert E. Lee. With the use of contemporary accounts and Davis's own correspondence, Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart casts new light upon this remarkable man, thawing the icy image of Davis in many previous accounts. Felicity Allen shows a strong, yet gentle man; a stern soldier who loved horses, guns, poetry, and children; a master of the English language, with a dry wit; a man of powerful feelings who held them in such tight control that he was considered cold; and a home-loving Mississippian who was drawn into a vortex of national events and eventual catastrophe. At all times, "duty, honor, country" ruled his mind. Davis's Christian view of life runs like a thread throughout the book, binding together his devotion to God, his family, and the land. Jefferson Davis, Unconquerable Heart brings Davis to life in a way that has never been done before. The variety of his experience, the breadth of his learning, and the consistency of his beliefs make this historical figure eminently worth knowing.

Genres: History

809 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Joe A · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the subtitle is “Unconquerable Heart” it perhaps should have been more appropriately “Unrepentant Soul”. At no point was there the slightest chink in Jefferson Davis’s armor of certitude in the righteousness of “the cause” and the evil of the union he tried so determinedly to break and destroy. As his countrymen (northern and southern) tried to move forward, he was incapable of anything but arguing on legalistic irrelevant points to a world no longer listening. Slavery was dead, there was no cause left but a mist of a memory for a society that was evil at its base. I am no novice to the Civil War and its complexity, but if his final decade of life is anything to judge him by – he is best left to the past. He became a mockery of honor and Christian values.
I am glad I read the book. It is both well researched and written. I believe the author, Felicity Allen, finds more in Jefferson to admire than I did

[J Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author's real name is Peggy Allen. Mary Chestnut diary is referenced frequently throughout this book. Interesting book, seems like a first hand account of the era, especially when reading Jefferson Davis's and his wife Varina's words. Many quotes throughout the book. Well documented with many pages of footnotes. The book Tragic Hero by Hudson Strode is quoted frequently. Also Varina Davis' Memoir, Jefferson Davis's wife, is referenced frequently in this book. A thick tome but good to read.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's weird how easily Jefferson Davis's life can be superimposed on an outline of the book of Job.