Beauvoir: The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library

On the Gulf Coast in Biloxi, Mississippi, stands Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederate States of America. It was here that Davis spent his final years and wrote his account of the war. Today Beauvoir is a museum, a presidential library and the resting place of hundreds of Confederate veterans, including the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier.

Davis After the War

After the war, Davis was captured in Georgia and imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia, for two years without ever being brought to trial. He was released on bail in 1867. After years of travel and financial hardship, he came to Beauvoir in 1877 at the invitation of its owner, Sarah Dorsey, and later bought the property. There he wrote The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, published in 1881, defending the South’s cause and the right of the states to govern themselves.

A Home for Veterans

Davis died in 1889. In 1903, his widow, Varina, sold Beauvoir to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, asking that it be used as a home for Confederate veterans and their widows. For decades, aging soldiers lived out their days on the grounds. Many of them are buried in the cemetery there, alongside the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier.

Surviving Katrina

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Mississippi coast and badly damaged Beauvoir. The main house survived but needed major restoration, and the presidential library was destroyed. Thanks to years of work and donations, the house was restored and a new Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum opened in 2013.

Visiting Beauvoir

Today, visitors can tour the restored home, the library and museum, the veterans’ cemetery and the grounds overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Beauvoir hosts reenactments and heritage events throughout the year and remains one of the most important historic sites in the South.

Read more about President Davis in our post Jefferson Davis Quote, and honor his memory with a flag from our Confederate flag collection.

Source: Atlas Obscura: Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library

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