Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Fort Davis, Jeff Davis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1808-1889) Friend of Texas. Visited first as officer Mexican War 1847. As U. S. Secretary of War in 1855, built up frontier forts to open West Texas to settlers. Camels imported for patrols, hauling. His postmaster-general and personal aide were Texans, as were many on general staff. After post-war release from prison, visited state and old soldiers he once had told in wartime: "Troops from other states have their reputations to gain, but sons of the Alamo have theirs to maintain." County named for him in 1887.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This marker traces Jefferson Davis's ties to Texas: a Mexican War officer in 1847, then U.S. Secretary of War in 1855, when he strengthened frontier forts to open West Texas and famously experimented with imported camels for desert patrols and hauling. After the Civil War and his imprisonment, the former Confederate president returned to visit the state and its veterans. Jeff Davis County was named for him in 1887.
Why it matters
Davis's career links the antebellum Army's push to open the West with the Confederacy he later led, and the marker shows how Texas memory long entwined frontier defense with the Lost Cause.
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Related people
- · Jefferson Davis
Related events
- · Mexican-American War
- · U.S. Army camel experiment
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Carved from Presidio County and organized in 1887, this West Texas county was named in honor of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States. The town of Fort Davis, which had served as Presidio County's seat, became the new county's seat. The marker records the administrative birth of a mountainous, sparsely settled corner of the Trans-Pecos.
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