Hail to the Chief
On this date in 1861, Jefferson Davis was chosen as the Confederacy’s new president. This was a momentous occasion for a country divided in controversy, seated on the edge of turmultous tragedy. Davis was reluctant to accept the job, since he deeply loved his country, but in the end, he accepted the position, which stipulated that his presidency would last for six years.
Ironically, Davis, like so many public officials of his time, illuded to the horrors to come in his acceptance speech. He took his oath of office at the Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. During the ceremony, the president arrived in a black lacquered coach drawn by six white horses, and to those watching, it probably seemed like a fairy tale, surreal in the respect that the South quite possibly could become its own nation. President Davis was sworn in to serve a six-year term of office, but of course, the Confederacy didn’t survive long enough for that vision to be realized.
This event is discussed indepth in my new novel, A Beautiful Glittering Lie, which is due out this spring. The book will be available at all retail outlets and through Amazon.
