Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Relic Room at the First White House of the Confederacy

The bright yellow paint of the woodwork and the black of the baseboards and mantels have been restored in the relic room as they appeared when the house was build. In this room are many belongings of President Davis and his family, including an historic uniform, one of his last pair of shoes, and a sun hat.

There are articles of clothing that belonged to Mrs. Davis and to Margaret. There is a fine silver chalice that is supposed to have been used to give communion to both Generals Lee & Jackson while they were at Fort Hamilton in NYC while they were posted there in the 1840's.

One case includes a mourning calling card of Mrs. Davis and her daughter Winnie, used after the death of the President. The cards are edged in black. There are also copies of letters that the Davises wrote to each other (we have the originals in acid free container in our archives).

Another item of interest is an historic large gold pen used over many years to sign several historic Alabama documents of particular relevance to the First White House, being: The Ordinance of secession, 1861.
The 1919 Act creating the First White House Commission to oversee the preservation of the House.
The 1923 and 1951 First White House Acts.

Do come and visit us when you can. There are so many more items of interest for you to see.

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