Editing Jefferson Davis (section)

==President of the Confederate States==
=== Inauguration ===
[[File:1861 Davis Inaugural.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of inauguration of Davis as provisional President of the Confederate States of America in front of the [[Alabama State Capitol]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]] by A.C. Whitmore (February 18, 1861)|alt=building with dome, clock and columns in background, crowd in midground, street and carriage in foreground]]

Before his resignation, Davis had sent a telegraph to Mississippi Governor [[John J. Pettus]] informing him that he was available to serve the state. On January 27, 1861, Pettus appointed him a major general of Mississippi's army.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=322}} On February 9,{{sfn|LOC|2024}} Davis was unanimously elected to the provisional presidency of the Confederacy by a constitutional convention in [[Montgomery, Alabama]]{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=15–16}} including delegates from the six states that had seceded: South Carolina, Mississippi, [[Florida]], [[Georgia (U.S. State)|Georgia]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Alabama]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=301–304}} He was chosen because of his political prominence,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=20}} his military reputation,{{sfnm|Eaton|1977|1p=126|McPherson|2014|2p=16}} and his moderate approach to secession,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=20}} which Confederate leaders thought might persuade undecided Southerners to support their cause.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=303}} He learned about his election the next day.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=15–16}} Davis had been hoping for a military command,{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1p=301|Eaton|1977|2p=127|McPherson|2014|3p=20}} but he committed himself fully to his new role.{{sfn|Cooper|2008|pp=42–43}} Davis was inaugurated on February 18.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=307}}

Davis formed his [[Cabinet of the Confederate States of America|cabinet]] by choosing a member from each of the states of the Confederacy, including Texas which had recently seceded:{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=311–312}} [[Robert Toombs]] of Georgia for Secretary of State, [[Christopher Memminger]] of South Carolina for Secretary of the Treasury, [[LeRoy Pope Walker|LeRoy Walker]] of Alabama for Secretary of War, [[John Henninger Reagan|John Reagan]] of Texas for Postmaster General, [[Judah P. Benjamin]] of Louisiana for Attorney General, and [[Stephen Mallory]] of Florida for Secretary of the Navy. Davis stood in for Mississippi. During his presidency, Davis's cabinet often changed; there were fourteen different appointees for the positions, including six secretaries of war.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=128}} On [[1861 Confederate States presidential election|November 6, 1861]], Davis was elected president for a six-year term. He took office on February 22, 1862.

===Civil War===
{{further|American Civil War}}
[[File:Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor.jpg|thumb|Colored [[lithograph]] of the [[Battle of Fort Sumter|Bombardment of Fort Sumter]], Charleston Harbor by [[Currier and Ives]] ({{circa}} 1861)|alt= rectangular fortress in middle of water burning with smoke coming out of it]]
As the Southern states seceded, state authorities took over most federal facilities without bloodshed. But four forts, including [[Fort Sumter]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], had not surrendered. Davis preferred to avoid a crisis because the Confederacy needed time to organize its resources.{{sfn|Johnson|1960|pp=442–443}} To ensure that no attack on Fort Sumter was launched without his command, Davis had appointed Brigadier General [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] to command all [[Confederate States Army|Confederate troops]] in the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=337}} Davis sent a commission to Washington to negotiate the evacuation of the forts, but President of the United States Lincoln refused to meet with it.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=336–337|Davis|1991|2p=320–321|McPherson|2014|3p=22}}

When Lincoln informed Davis that he intended to reprovision Fort Sumter, Davis convened with the Confederate Congress on April 8 and gave orders to demand the immediate surrender of the fort or to reduce it. The commander of the fort, Major [[Robert Anderson (Union officer)|Robert Anderson]], refused to surrender, and Beauregard began the [[Battle of Fort Sumter|attack on Fort Sumter]] early on April 12.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=324}} After over thirty hours of bombardment, the fort surrendered.{{sfn|Potter|1976|pp=582–583}} When Lincoln [[Proclamation 80|called for 75,000 militiamen to suppress the rebellion]], four more states—[[Virginia]], [[North Carolina]], [[Tennessee]], and [[Arkansas]]—joined the Confederacy. The [[American Civil War]] had begun.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=341|Davis|1991|2p=325|McPherson|2014|3p=25}}

====1861====
[[File:Jefferson and his generals (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Colored [[lithograph]] of Davis and his generals by [[Goupil & Cie|Goupil]] (1861){{efn|From left to right: [[Leonidas Polk]], [[John B. Magruder]], [[Benjamin McCulloch]], [[George N. Hollins]], General Simmons, Davis, [[Robert E. Lee]], [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], [[Sterling Price]], [[Joseph E. Johnston]] and [[William J. Hardee]]{{sfn|Neely|Holzer|Boritt|1987|loc=Plate 2, between pp. 2–3}}}}|alt=Eight men standing, Davis with cloak is in the middle, three on the extreme right sitting, one on the left sitting. ]]
In addition to being the constitutional [[commander-in-chief]] of the Confederacy, Davis was operational military leader as the [[Confederate States Army#Military Departments|military departments]] reported directly to him.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=398}} Many people, including Generals [[Joseph E. Johnston]] and Major General Leonidas Polk, thought he would direct the fighting, but he left that to his generals.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=348|McPherson|2014|2p=40}}

Major fighting in the East began when a Union army advanced into northern Virginia in July 1861.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=39–42}} It was defeated at [[First Battle of Bull Run|Manassas]] by two Confederate forces commanded by Beauregard and Joseph Johnston.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=89–92}} After the battle, Davis had to manage disputes with the two generals, both of whom felt they did not get the recognition they deserved.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=42–47|Stoker|2010|2p=42}}

In the West, Davis had to address a problem caused by another general. [[Kentucky in the American Civil War|Kentucky]], which was leaning toward the Confederacy, had declared its neutrality. In September 1861, Polk violated the state's neutrality by occupying [[Columbus, Kentucky]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=54}} Secretary of War Walker ordered him to withdraw. Davis initially agreed with Walker, but changed his mind and allowed Polk to remain.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=108–109|2a1=Woodworth|2y=1990|2pp=40–41}} The violation led Kentucky to request aid from the Union, effectively losing the state for the Confederacy.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=35–39}} Walker resigned as secretary of war and was replaced by Judah P. Benjamin.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=32, 109}} Davis appointed General Albert Sidney Johnston, as commander of the Western Military Department that included much of [[Tennessee in the American Civil War|Tennessee]], Kentucky, western [[Mississippi in the American Civil War|Mississippi]], and [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|Arkansas]].{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=50–51}}

====1862====
In February 1862, the Confederate defenses in the West collapsed when Union forces captured Forts [[Battle of Fort Henry|Henry]], [[Battle of Fort Donelson|Donelson]], and nearly half the troops in A. S. Johnston's department. Within weeks, Kentucky, [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] were lost,{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=82–85}} as well as control of the [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] and [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]] Rivers.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=116}} The commanders responsible for the defeat were Brigadier Generals [[Gideon Johnson Pillow|Gideon Pillow]] and [[John B. Floyd]], [[political general]]s that Davis had been required to appoint.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1p=61|Woodworth|1990|2p=84}} Davis gathered troops defending the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] and concentrated them with A. S. Johnston's remaining forces.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1p=58|Woodworth|1990|2p=90}} Davis favored using this concentration in an offensive.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=66–67|Stoker|2010|2pp=120–121}} Johnston [[Battle of Shiloh|attacked the Union forces]] at [[Shiloh, Hardin County, Tennessee#The Battle of Shiloh|Shiloh]] in southwestern Tennessee on April 6. The attack failed, and Johnston was killed.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=378–379}} General Beauregard took command, falling back to [[Corinth, Mississippi]], and then to [[Tupelo, Mississippi]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=68–69}} When Beauregard then put himself on leave, Davis replaced him with General [[Braxton Bragg]].{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=160–161|2a1=Woodworth|2y=1990|2pp=102–108}}

[[File:Jefferson Davis 1862.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of [[President of the Confederate States of America]] Davis (1862)|alt=portrait of man without beard or mustache looking right]]
On February 22, Davis was inaugurated as president. In his inaugural speech,{{sfn|Davis|1862}} he admitted that the South had suffered disasters, but called on the people of the Confederacy to renew their commitment.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=64–66}} He replaced Secretary of War Benjamin, who had been scapegoated for the defeats, with [[George W. Randolph]]. Davis kept Benjamin in the cabinet, making him secretary of state to replace Hunter, who had stepped down.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=382–383}} In March, Davis vetoed a bill to create a commander in chief for the army, but he selected General [[Robert E. Lee]] to be his military advisor.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=123}} They formed a close relationship,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=380–381}} and Davis relied on Lee for counsel until the end of the war.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=392}}

In March, Union troops in the East began an amphibious attack on the [[Virginia Peninsula]], 75 miles from the Confederate capital of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=375}} Davis and Lee wanted Joseph Johnston, who commanded the Confederate army near Richmond, to make a stand at [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]].{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=78–79|Stoker|2010|2pp=78–79}} Instead, Johnston withdrew from the peninsula without informing Davis.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=152–153|2a1=McPherson|2y=2014|2pp=82–83|3a1=Stoker|3y=2010|3pp=152–151}} Davis reminded Johnston that it was his duty to not let Richmond fall.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=154}} On May 31, 1862, Johnston engaged the Union army less than ten miles from Richmond at the [[Battle of Seven Pines]], where he was wounded.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=381–382}} Davis put Lee in command. Lee began the [[Seven Days Battles]] less than a month later, pushing the Union forces back down the peninsula{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=91–95|Stoker|2010|2pp=155–156}} and eventually forcing them to withdraw from Virginia.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=162–163}} Lee beat back another army moving into Virginia at the [[Battle of Second Manassas]] in August 1862. Knowing Davis desired an offensive into the North, Lee invaded [[Maryland in the American Civil War|Maryland]],{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=396–397|Stoker|2010|2pp=185–187}} but retreated back to Virginia after a bloody [[The Battle of Antietam|stalemate at Antietam]] in September.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=189–190}} In December, Lee stopped another invasion of Virginia at the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]].{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=183}}

In the West, Bragg shifted most of his available forces from Tupelo to Chattanooga in July 1862 for an offensive toward Kentucky.{{sfnm|Stoker|2010|1p=183|Woodworth|1990|2pp=130–135}} Davis approved, suggesting that an attack could win Kentucky for the Confederacy and regain Tennessee,{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=177–178}} but he did not create a unified command.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=102}} He formed a new department independent of Bragg under Major General [[Edmund Kirby Smith]] at [[Knoxville, Tennessee]].{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=135–136}} In August, both Bragg and Smith invaded Kentucky. [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]] was briefly captured and a Confederate governor was inaugurated, but the attack collapsed, in part due to lack of coordination between the two generals. After a stalemate at the [[Battle of Perryville]],{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=401–403}} Bragg and Smith retreated to Tennessee. In December, Bragg was defeated at the [[Battle of Stones River]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=422}}

In response to the defeat and the lack of coordination, Davis reorganized the command in the West in November, combining the armies in Tennessee and Vicksburg into a department under the overall command of Joseph Johnston.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=412|McPherson|2014|2p=117}} Davis expected Johnston to relieve Bragg of his command, but Johnston refused.{{sfn|Cooper|2000||pp=422–423}} During this time, Secretary of War Randolph resigned because he felt Davis refused to give him the autonomy to do his job; Davis replaced him with [[James Seddon]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=112–114}}

In the winter of 1862, Davis decided to join the [[Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America|Episcopal Church]]; in May 1863, he was [[Confirmation#Anglican Communion|confirmed]] at [[St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia)|St. Paul's Episcopal Church]] in Richmond.{{sfnm|1a1=Cooper|1y=2000|1pp=387–388|2a1=Hattaway|2a2=Beringer|2y=2002|2pp=151–152}}

====1863====
[[File:The Jefferson Davis mansion, Richmond, Virginia-LCCN2008679544.jpg|thumb|Colorized photograph of the [[White House of the Confederacy]] (Jefferson Davis's Executive Mansion) in Richmond (1901)|alt= white rectangular building]]
On January 1, Lincoln issued the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. Davis saw this as attempt to destroy the South by inciting its enslaved people to revolt,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=408–409}} declaring the proclamation "the most execrable measure recorded in the history of guilty man".{{sfn|Davis|1863a}} He requested a law that Union officers captured in Confederate states be delivered to state authorities and put on trial for inciting slave rebellion.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=121}} In response, the Congress passed a law that Union officers of [[United States Colored Troops]] could be tried and executed, though none were during the war. The law also stated that captured black soldiers would be turned over to the states they were captured in to be dealt with as the state saw fit.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=191–192}}

In May, Lee broke up another invasion of Virginia at the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]],{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=258}} and countered with an invasion into [[Pennsylvania in the American Civil War|Pennsylvania]]. Davis approved, thinking that a victory in Union territory could gain recognition of Confederate independence,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=435–437}} but Lee's army was defeated at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in July.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=143}} After retreating to Virginia, Lee blocked any major Union offensives into the state.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=311–317}}

[[File:The soldier in our Civil War - a pictorial history of the conflict, 1861-1865, illustrating the valor of the soldier as displayed on the battle-field, from sketches drawn by Forbes, Waud, Taylor, (14576231299).jpg|thumb|''Arrival at Chickasaw Bayou of the Slaves of President Davis from [[Brierfield Plantation|His Mississippi Plantation]].'' A woodcut adaptation of a sketch by [[Francis H. Schell]] (1863)|alt= a group of African Americans, one riding a donkey walking to the left, being met by two Union Soldiers on the right who are facing them. There is a tree on the right with two other Union around it.]] 
In April, Union forces resumed their attack on Vicksburg.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=222–223}} Davis concentrated troops from across the south to counter the move,{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=129–131}} but Joseph Johnston did not stop the Union forces.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=439|McPherson|2014|2pp=131–132|Woodworth|1990|3pp=207–208}} Lieutenant General [[John C. Pemberton]] withdrew his army into Vicksburg, and after [[Siege of Vicksburg|a siege]], surrendered on July 4. The loss of Vicksburg and [[Port Hudson, Louisiana]], led to Union control of the Mississippi. Davis relieved Johnston of his department command.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=134}}  During this time, Brierfield was occupied; Davis's slaves gained their freedom, and almost all of his property was confiscated or destroyed.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|pp=449–450}}

In the summer, Bragg's army was maneuvered out of [[Chattanooga]] and fell back to [[Georgia in the American Civil War|Georgia]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=453}} In September, Bragg defeated the Union army at the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], driving it back to Chattanooga, which he put under siege.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=237–238}} Davis visited Bragg to address leadership problems in his army. Davis acknowledged that Bragg did not have the confidence of his subordinates but kept him in command.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=455–457}} In mid-November, the Union army counterattacked and Bragg's forces retreated to northern Georgia.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=329}} Bragg resigned his command; Davis replaced him with Joseph Johnston{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=238–239}} but retained Bragg as an informal chief of staff.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=180}}
Davis had to address faltering civilian morale. In early spring, there were [[southern bread riots|riots]] in Confederate cities as people began to suffer food shortages and price inflation.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=448}} During one riot in Richmond, the mayor of Richmond called the militia when a mob protesting food shortages broke into shops. Davis went to the scene and addressed the protesters, reminding them of their patriotic duty and promising them that he would get food. He then ordered them to disperse or he would command the soldiers to open fire; they dispersed.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=168–169}} In October, Davis went on a month-long journey to rally the Confederacy, giving public speeches across the south and meeting with civic and military leaders.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=461}}

====1864–1865====
[[File:The Fall of Richmond, Virginia on the Night of April 2nd, 1865 MET DT9288.jpg|thumb|left|Colored [[lithograph]] of the fall of Richmond by [[Currier and Ives]] ({{circa}} 1865)|alt=bridge in foreground going across river to city landscape that has flames reaching upwards]]
In his address to the Second Confederate Congress on May 2, 1864,{{sfn|Davis|1864}} Davis outlined his strategy of achieving Confederate independence by exhausting the Union will to fight:{{sfn|Escott|1978|p=197}} If the South could show it could not be subjugated, the North would elect a president who would make peace.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=496–497}}

In early 1864, Davis encouraged Joseph E. Johnston to take action in Tennessee, but Johnston refused.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=333}} In May, the Union armies advanced toward Johnston's army, which repeatedly retreated toward [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. In July, Davis replaced Johnston with General [[John B. Hood]],{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=192–199}} who immediately engaged the Union forces in a series of [[Atlanta Campaign#Sherman vs. Hood|battles around Atlanta]]. The battles did not stop the Union army and Hood abandoned the city on September 2. The victory raised Northern morale and assured Lincoln's reelection.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=286–290}} The Union forces then [[Sherman's March to the Sea|marched to Savannah, Georgia]], capturing it. In December, they advanced into [[South Carolina in the American Civil War|South Carolina]], forcing the Confederates to evacuate Charleston.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp= 503, 507}} In the meantime, Hood advanced north and was repulsed in a drive toward [[Franklin–Nashville campaign|Nashville]] in December 1864.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=216–219}}

Union forces began a new advance into northern Virginia. Lee put up a [[overland campaign|strong defense]] and they were unable to directly advance on Richmond, but managed to cross the [[James River]]. In June 1864, Lee fought the Union armies to a standstill; both sides settled into [[Siege of Petersburg|trench warfare around Petersburg]], which would continue for nine months.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=187–191}}

Davis signed a Congressional resolution in February making Lee [[General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States|general-in-chief]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=219–220}} Seddon resigned as Secretary of War and was replaced by John C. Breckinridge. Davis sent envoys to [[Hampton Roads Conference|Hampton Roads]] for peace talks, but Lincoln refused to consider any offer that included an independent Confederacy.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=397}} Davis also sent [[Duncan F. Kenner]], the chief Confederate diplomat, on a mission to Great Britain and France, offering to gradually emancipate the enslaved people of the South for political recognition.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=235–236}}

Major General [[Patrick Cleburne]] sent a proposal in early 1864 to Davis to enlist African Americans in the army. Davis initially suppressed it, but by the end of the year, he reconsidered and endorsed the idea.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=229–239}} Congress passed an act supporting him. It left the principle of slavery intact by leaving it to the states and individual owners to decide which slaves could be used for military service,{{sfnm|DeRosa|1991|1pp=66–67|1ps=|Foster|1987|2p=23|2ps=: see {{harvnb|Durden|1972|pp=202–203}} for text of the act}} but Davis's administration accepted only African Americans who had been freed by their masters as a condition of their being enlisted.{{sfn|Levine|2006|pp=119–120|ps=: see {{harvnb|Durden|1972|pp=268–269}} for text of the orders by the Davis administration.}} The act came too late to have an effect on the war.{{sfnm|Escott|2009|1pp=195–196|McPherson|2014|2pp=234–235}}

====End of the Confederacy and capture====
[[File:Capture of Jefferson Davis, by Michigan Cavalrymen.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the capture of Davis by [[John Warner Barber|John Barber]] and [[Henry Howe]] (1865)|alt=man with shawl on head wearing an overcoat that looks almost like a dress being stopped by two soldiers.]]
The Union army broke through the Confederate trench lines at the end of March, forcing Lee to withdraw and abandon Richmond, Virginia.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=400–401}} Davis evacuated his family, which included [[Jim Limber]], a free black orphan they briefly adopted, on March 29.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=386}} On April 2, Davis and his cabinet escaped by rail to [[Danville, Virginia]]. He issued a proclamation on April 4,{{sfn|Davis|1865}} encouraging the people of the Confederacy to continue resistance,{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=241}} but Lee surrendered at [[Battle of Appomattox Courthouse#Surrender|Appomattox Courthouse]] on April 9.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=400–401}} The president and his cabinet headed to [[Greensboro, North Carolina]]{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=241}} where they met with Joseph Johnston, Beauregard, and [[North Carolina in the American Civil War|North Carolina]] Governor [[Zebulon Baird Vance|Zebulon Vance]]. Davis wanted to cross the Mississippi River and continue the war, but his generals stated that they did not have the forces. He gave Johnston authorization to negotiate the surrender of his army,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=524–526}} but Davis headed south to carry on the fight.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=241–244}}

When [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln was assassinated]] on April 14, the Union government implicated Davis, and a bounty of $100,000 ({{Inflation|US|100000|1865|fmt=eq|r=-5|cursign=$}}) was put on his head.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=260}} On May 2, Davis met with Secretary of War Breckinridge and Bragg in [[Abbeville, Georgia]], to see if they could pull together an army. They said they could not. On May 5, he met with the remainder of his cabinet in Washington, Georgia, and officially dissolved the Confederate government.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=628–630}} He moved on, hoping to join Kirby Smith's army across the Mississippi.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=241}} On May 9, Union soldiers found Davis's encampment near [[Irwinville, Georgia]]. He tried to evade them, but was captured wearing a loose-sleeved cloak and covering his head with a black shawl,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=534}} which gave rise to depictions of him in political cartoons fleeing in women's clothes.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=261}}

===Civil War policies===
====National policy====
[[File:Jefferson Davis and his cabinet2, published by Thomas Kelly, New York.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Colorized print of Jefferson Davis and his first cabinet with General [[Robert E. Lee]], published by Thomas Kelly (1897){{efn|From left to right: [[Stephen Mallory]], [[Judah P. Benjamin]], [[LeRoy Pope Walker]], Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, [[John H. Reagan]], [[Christopher Memminger]], [[Alexander H. Stephens]], and [[Robert Toombs]]{{sfn|Neely|Holzer|Boritt|1987|pp=185, 247}}}}|alt=Six men sitting around a table looking forward, one man, Robert E. Lee, is standing up pointing toward a map]]
Davis's central concern during the war was to achieve Confederate independence.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=82|McPherson|2014|2p=10}} After [[Virginia in the American Civil War|Virginia seceded]], the [[provisional government]] of the Confederacy moved the capital to Richmond.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=336}} The Confederate federal government had almost no institutional structures in place,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=703}} lacking an army, navy, treasury, diplomatic missions, and bureaucracy.{{sfn|Cooper|Terrill|1991|p=358}} Davis had to work with the Confederate Congress quickly to create them.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=42–45}}

Though Davis supported states' rights, he believed the Confederate constitution empowered him with the right to centralize authority to prosecute the war. He worked with the Congress to bring military facilities in the South, which had been controlled by the states, under Confederate authority.{{sfn|Escott|1978|pp=54–55}} Confederate governors wanted their states' militia available for local defense. Davis knew he needed to deploy military forces to defend the Confederacy as a whole and [[Confederate States Army|created a centralized army]] that could enlist volunteers directly.{{sfn|Escott|1978|pp=55–57}} When soldiers in the volunteer army seemed unwilling to re-enlist in 1862, Davis instituted the first [[Confederate Conscription Acts 1862–1864|conscription]] in American history.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=38|Roland|1991|2p=106}} He received authorization from Congress to suspend the [[habeas corpus|writ of habeas corpus]] when needed.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=73–74}} In 1864, he challenged property rights by recommending a direct 5% tax on land and slaves,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=272–273}} and implemented the impressment of supplies and slave labor for the military effort.{{sfnm|1a1=Escott|1y=2009|1pp=159–156|2a1=Hattaway|2a2=Beringer|2y=2002|2p=47}} In 1865, Davis's commitment to independence led him to even compromise slavery when he advocated for allowing African Americans to earn their freedom by serving in the military.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=228–231}} These policies made him unpopular with states' rights advocates and state governors, who saw him as creating the same kind of government they had seceded from.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=536}}

====Foreign policy====
{{see also|King Cotton|Cotton diplomacy}}
[[File:Cotton is king.jpg|thumb|An 1861 American [[political cartoon]] depicting [[John Bull]] kneeling on a Black slave before [[King Cotton]], accompanied by a poem mocking Britain's dependence on Southern cotton|alt=man in tophat with script coming out of pocket that says Manchester kneeling on an African American bowing before a bale of cotton depicted with a face and scepter and a crown on top of it.]]

The main objective of Davis's foreign policy was to achieve foreign recognition,{{sfn|Beckert|2004|p=1417}} allowing the Confederacy to secure international loans, receive foreign aid to open trade,{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=169}} and provide the possibility of a military alliance. Davis was confident that most European nations' economic [[King Cotton|dependence on cotton]] from the South would quickly convince them to sign treaties with the Confederacy.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=50–51|2a1=Hubbard|2y=1998|2p=23}} Cotton had made up 61% of the value of all U.S. exports and the South filled most of the European cloth industry's need for cheap imported raw cotton.{{sfn|Beckert|2015|p=243}}

There was no consensus on how to use cotton to gain European support. Davis did not want an [[embargo]] on cotton,{{sfn|Owsley|1959|p=30}} he wanted to make cotton available to European nations, but require them to acquire it by violating the [[Union blockade|blockade]] declared by the Union. The majority of Congress wanted an embargo to coerce Europe to help the South.{{sfn|Hubbard|1998|pp=25–26}} Though there was no official policy, cotton was effectively embargoed.{{sfn|Owsley|1959|pp=32–39}} By 1862, the price of cotton in Europe had quadrupled and European imports of cotton from the United States were down 96%,{{sfn|Beckert|2015|p=247}} but instead of joining with the Confederacy, European cotton manufacturers found new sources, such as India, Egypt and Brazil.{{sfn|Beckert|2004|pp=1410–1414}} By the end of the war, not a single foreign nation had recognized the Confederate States of America.{{sfn|U.S. Department of State|2013}}

====Financial policy====
{{see also|Confederate war finance}}
[[File:CSA-T16-$50-1862.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Davis $50 [[Confederate States dollar|Confederate States treasury note]] issued between April and December 1862|alt=$50 confederate bill with man's profile, man looking right]]

Davis did not take executive action to create the needed financial structure for the Confederacy. He knew very little about public finance, largely deferring to Secretary of the Treasury Memminger.{{sfn|Ball|1991|pp=9–11}} Memminger's knowledge of economics was limited, and he was ineffective at getting Congress to listen to his suggestions.{{sfnm|Ball|1991|1p=9|Todd|1954|p=1}} Until 1863, Davis's reports on the financial state of the Confederacy to Congress tended to be unduly optimistic.{{sfn|Ball|1991|p=8}}

Davis's failure to argue for needed financial reform allowed Congress to avoid unpopular economic measures,{{sfn|Ball|1991|p=8}} such as taxing planters' property{{sfnm|1a1=Ball|1y=1991|1p=234|2a1=Hattaway|2a2=Beringer|2y=2002|2p=200}}—both land and slaves—that made up two-thirds of the South's wealth.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=199}} At first the government thought it could raise money with a low export tax on cotton,{{sfn|Ball|1991|p=208}} but the blockade prevented this. In his opening address to the fourth session of Congress in December 1863,{{sfn|Davis|1863b|pp=363–367}} Davis demanded the Congress pass a direct tax on property despite the constitution.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=272–274}} Congress complied, but the tax had too many loopholes and exceptions,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=275–276}} and failed to produce the needed revenue.{{sfn|Todd|1954|pp=144–145}} Throughout the existence of the Confederacy, taxes accounted for only one-fourteenth of the government's income;{{sfn|Todd|1958|p=409}} consequently, the government printed money to fund the war, destroying the value of the Confederate currency.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=200}} By 1865, the government was relying on impressments to fill the gaps caused by lack of finances.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=46–47}}