Editing Jefferson Davis (section)

====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}}