Jefferson Davis

Jefferson F. Davis was an American politician—the first and only president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. Prior to the American Civil War, he represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives and also served as the United States Secretary of War.

Davis fought in the Mexican–American War as the colonel of a volunteer regiment and operated a large cotton plantation in Mississippi before the war. As the commander in chief of the Confederate States during the Civil War, he guided Confederate policy. After the conflict, Davis was imprisoned but never tried for treason. His legacy has been criticized over the years.