Mary Seaton Dix, Associate Editor
The fifth volume of The Papers of Jefferson Davis presents 9,000 of
the approximately 21,000 known Davis letters, papers, and speeches
from the years 1853 through 1855, when Davis served as secretary of
war under President Franklin Pierce. Most of the documents are
included in summary form in an extensive calendar; 93 are published
in full with annotation.
Well prepared for the War Department position by his military
education and experience, Davis was already known as a champion of
the army and West Point from his years in Congress. As secretary,
Davis administered a department of eight bureaus and a military
establishment spread thinly from coast to coast. An increase and
reorganization of the army along with the establishment of new
posts became top priorities as a tide of settlers encroached in
Indian lands in the Mexican cession and Far West. Davis also
supervised army engineering projects as varied as the Capitol
extension, military roads, and river and harbor improvements. The
curriculum of the Military Academy, new weapons and armaments
development, the activities of the Crimea commission, the Pacific
railroad surveys, and the camel expedition -- all commanded his
minute attention
.Despite the burdens of office, Davis maintained a lively
interest in the issues of the day, among them Latin American
filibustering, the purchase of Cuba, states' rights, slavery, and
the conflict in Kansas. The wide attention accorded his travels and
speeches brought national prominence to him and speculation about
his future candidacy for governor, a return to the Senate, the
vice-presidency, and even the presidency.
Personal correspondence includes letters that touch on Davis'
long estrangement from his brother, the death of his first child,
persistent health problems, and relationships with friends and
family. Much of hiss official correspondence, especially several
angry exchanges with army officers, reveals even more about Davis'
personality. In addition to the documents published in full and
calendared, an appendix includes over one hundred recently
discovered personal and political items dates from 1838 through
1852, before Davis' selection as secretary of war.
General
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