The Other Jefferson Davis:  Jefferson Davis in Blue:  The Life of Sherman’s Relentless Warrior.  By Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr. and Gordon D. Whitney. 

            While famous for killing his unarmed superior officer, the other Jefferson Davis was also a highly successful general throughout the Civil War.  The authors present a complex figure worthy of more than notoriety.  At times the work presents a worshipful tone but the authors work diligently to present a balanced representation of an infamous figure.  The murder of General Nelson dogged Davis’s career, preventing his advancement in accordance with his successes. 

            While just a boy, Jef Davis volunteered for the Mexican War.  He showed a natural understand of military affairs and earned a promotion for bravery to sergeant and a recommendation to West Point.  Due to some confusion, Davis did not attend West Point, but President Polk arranged a commission as an artillery officer.  As such, he experienced the Civil War from the beginning at Fort Sumter.  He rose quickly following Fort Sumter and soon commanded forces in Missouri as a brigadier general.  He drilled his troops to high levels of efficiency, enabling long marches at high speed, with his men earning reputations as foot cavalry.  Always aggressive, Davis attacked superior numbers on numerous occasions with success.  He also made sure that his troops ate well, especially before battle.  He received great affection from his soldiers, especially his fellow Hoosiers. 

            In protecting the honor of Indiana, he faced the great stumbling block to his career.  He and General Bull Nelson had been friends for years, going back to service in South Carolina.  Unfortunately, when Davis can to serve under Nelson temporarily at Louisville, Nelson and Davis engaged in serious disagreements over the nature of their commands and authority.  Nelson, who earned his nickname Bull for his large size and violent manner, was a political general representing Kentucky interests and offended Hoosier politicians and military officials.  His fellow Hoosiers enlisted Davis, an excellent shot and a small man, to force Nelson into a duel.  Nelson would not oblige and reacted physically.  Davis left and returned with a pistol, still intending a duel, but shooting when Nelson approached him.  Davis received no military punishment to killing his superior officer.  The civil indictment never went anywhere, due to politics.  This episode retarded Davis’s career, preventing his promotion to major general, for which he had been recommended numerous times and in which capacity his served for most of the war.

            Davis served with great success in the Army of the Cumberland.  He became good friends with Sheridan and Thomas.  As a division and corps commander, he gained fame as an aggressive general who understood the nature of military action.  Sherman valued his skills greatly.  Davis finally received a brevet promotion to major general in Georgia, leading a major portion of the march to the sea.  It was during the march to the sea when he gained the second major black mark on his career.  Runaway slaves followed his army as it marched.  Davis, a very proslavery Democrat, took what he saw as prudent action when he removed the pontoon bridge over Ebenezer Creek, preventing the masses of runaway slaves from staying the army.  Some of these where run down by Rebel marauders in sight of Davis’s forces.  This political fallout from this incident prevented Congress from confirming his commission as major general and placed a permanent block to career advancement.  He never advanced beyond Colonel in the Regulars, though permitted his title as brevet major general.

            Following the war, he first worked for the Freedman’s Bureau in Louisville, where he gained nothing but criticism for his work on behalf of the freed slaves.  Davis then became the first military governor of Alaska, taking over from the Russians.  He helped establish the new government and manage the competing interests of natives and settlers, as well as dealings with the British.  He received the nickname of Big Tree of the Forrest from the natives.

            Following this, he received one last combat command, hunting down Captain Jack in the Modoc War in Oregon.  Here, he took over a defeated and demoralized military command and turned them quickly into a capable force.  He hounded Captain Jack into submission, but lost the command due to political considerations.

            Eventually, Davis died after an almost twenty year battle with illness at the age of 51. Davis worked in his later years to build up the memory of General Thomas and the Army of the Cumberland, including raising money for General Thomas’s memorial.  It was at this commemoration that he fell ill for the last time and died.

Peter Pratt