Jefferson Davis Soldiers' Home Records

Collection

Identifier: M6

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of records of the Jefferson Davis Soldiers' Home, located at Beauvoir in Biloxi, Mississippi. The bulk of the material dates from 1944 to 1954. It documents the operation of the home and includes records of the home's board of directors and superintendents, as well as payroll and budget records, and inmate files.

Dates

Creation: 1920-1954

Creator

Sons of Confederate Veterans. Mississippi Division (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Non-circulating; available for research

Conditions Governing Use

This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Biographical / Historical

A home for Confederate Civil War Veterans and their wives was established by the Mississippi Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1902 at Jefferson Davis' estate, Beauvoir, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The estate has been deeded to the organization by Davis' wife, Varina Howell Davis, in that same year. The state of Mississippi took charge of the facility in 1904, at which time there were dormitories, dining facilities, and a hospital. Over the years more than 1600 soldiers and their wives lived at Beauvoir; approximately 800 are buried in the private cemetery on the grounds.

By 1940 there were only 55 veterans living there, and the facilities were reduced in size, with the remaining portion of Beauvoir being designated as the Jefferson Davis Shrine. Restoration of the house, gardens, and grounds began in 1941. In 1957 there were only two widows residing at Beauvoir, and the home was closed.