Editing Jefferson Davis (section)

====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}}