Dixie as in "I wish I was in Dixie"

I ran across a book on Amazon.com called A Little Death in Dixie and that reminded me to look at the origin of the word "Dixie". According to ""Ripley's Believe it or Not" the word Dixie in the beginning had nothing to do with the south. "Dixieland" was originally a farm in Long Island NY owned by a man named John Dixie. Sounds sacriligious to most of us, doesn't it?

It wasn't until the songwriters came along that "Dixie" was transplanted to the south. At least that's what is says on Wikipedia. If you think or know differently please let me know!!! I do know this: one time our son was in California at a meeting and the chairperson asked if he would lead the National Anthem. Jim rose and said "Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton"...well, you can take a boy out of the South but you can't take the South out of the boy!

By the way, if you want to order any of the books we mention in our blog from Amazon.com all you have to do is click on the link. So easy!!! And it benefits the First White House. Did you know that?

President Davis' Bedreoom in the First White House

It is so interesting to me that all the articles in the President's bedroom in the First White House actually belonged to President Davis. They were given to the White House Association by Mrs. Davis after his death. She asked us to place the items according to a diagram she had drawn.

The "button" bed was made especially for him as he was very tall for a man of that day and time. It measures 6'3" x 5'8". On the right of the bed is his night table with Bible and water bottle. And in the center of the room is a case which includes his bedroom slippers, collar box, suspenders, spittoon, valise, a case containing an umbrella and walking stick used when he was recovering from wounds he suffered in the Mexican War, and a leather hat box.

Over the mantle is the last photograph taken of Jefferson Davis before his death in 1889. His funeral was the largest the South had ever held.  He was buried temporarily in Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans but in 1893 his body was moved to Richmond for final burial in Hollywood Cemetery. I have been there and it is a very peaceful place. There is a book, Jefferson Davis: Tragic Hero (The last twenty-five years, 1864-1889) by Hudson Strode which  deals with the last years of President Davis' life. If anyone has read it please feel free to comment on it here.

Why Montgomery?

 As we reflect on the upcoming Sesquicentennial we ask ourselves, why was Montgomery chosen as the site of the new Government? It was just a small inland river town of 8,000 souls - half of them slaves - and barely forty years from the wilderness. Montgomery had only been the capital since 1847. But probably because of its central location the several delegates from the Southern states who came together to discuss the formation of  "a Southern Confederacy" chose Montgomery.

Here is the timeline: Alabama adopted the Ordinance of Secession January 11, 1861 and withdrew from the Federal Union. She invited the people of all the Southern States and Maryland and Delaware to meet in a convention on the fourth of February. Several states sent delegates.

The Confederate States of America (CSA) was organized on a bright sunshiny, clear, invigorating day, February 4th. The Provisional Congress assembled in the Senate Chamber in the Alabama State Capitol Building. (The First White House has one of the Senate desks and one of the chairs from that Chamber in President Davis' Study.)

On the fifth of February Congress elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as President of the Confederate States and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia as Vice-President. Mr. Davis was inaugurated on the 18th of that month. On March 4th Mrs. Davis and family arrived and they moved into the home rented for them. As we all know it later came to be known as the First White House of the Confederacy.

"This Old House"

The First White House of the Confederacy is approximately 175 years old now, having been built between 1832 and 1835 by William Sayre, an ancestor of Zelda Sayre who married F. Scott Fitzgerald. Having been taken apart and moved and reassembled and having gone through major restorations, the House is sound as a dollar (well maybe more sound, given today's dollar).

It does take constant vigil. Something is always falling off the ceiling, like paint or plaster. The outside has been recently painted and the lawn beautifully landscaped. The front walk and steps are being worked on as we speak.I thought about our recent trip to Turkey and a visit to the Hagai Sophia in Istanbul. That magnificent building (see picture) is in desperate need of repair.

 I am glad the State of Alabama takes such good care of our wonderful First White House! Come and visit us and see what a great job the Service Division does keeping the FWH a place the people of the State of Alabama can be so proud of. We have a stream of visitors every day, and they come from all over the United States, Canada and around the world.

A Man Of God - Robert Edward Lee

On Jan 19th we celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday at the FWH. We invite the public to come for a brief ceremony with speaker and then we serve birthday cake. Lee is among the most celebrated generals in American history, equally admired because of his Christian character as well as his military prowess.

Lee wrote these words to his wife from Fredericksburg on Christmas Day 1862. "I will commence this holy day, dearest Mary, by writing to you. My heart is filled with gratitude to Almighty God for His unspeakable mercies with which He has blessed us in this day...what would have become of us without His crowning help and protection? ...I pray that, on  this day when only peace and goodwill are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace...My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men."

Let me recommend the most celebrated biography of Lee by Douglas Southall Freeman. Dr. Freeman was the great uncle of our fifth Regent, Cameron Freeman Napier. It should be in every one's library. Likewise
Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command also by Douglas Southall Freeman in three volumes.
Volume One: Manassas to Malvern Hill .
Volume Two: Cedar Mountain to Chancellorsville;
Volume Three: Gettysburg to Appomattox
Happy reading!!!  And please join us on Jan 19 to celebrate R.E. Lee's birthday and to kick-off the Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States.

Come With Me To The First White House

When visitors enter the First White House it is as if they were going back in time. They usually grasp the idea that they are involved in a moment of history and they stand a moment in the cool, darkish entrance hall and catch their breath before moving forward to sign the guest book and be greeted by one of the Receptionist.

 The entrance hall has a number of important items in it, including a portrait of President Jefferson Davis painted from a photograph of him taken in 1853 while he was U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce.

In the center of the room under the portrait is a mahogany couch that belong to President Davis when the Confederate Government was here. When the Capitol moved to Richmond, he gave it to his Private Secretary Alexander Clitherall. In 1986 Clitherall's great granddaughter Eleanor Elsberry Flack gave it to the FWH.

We eagerly await YOUR VISIT !!!

Alabama: Here We Are!

This is my home state!