Jefferson Davis with his second wife, Varina Howell Davis

In the aftermath of war, when the cannons fall silent and the soldiers return home, the real reckoning begins. For Jefferson Davis—my great-great-grandfather—that reckoning was not just political. It was deeply personal.

After the fall of the Confederacy, Davis faced what many might have found unbearable: the loss of his country, his title, his citizenship, and his freedom. He had given everything for a cause, and in return, was offered one thing—conditional forgiveness.

President Andrew Johnson extended amnesty to Confederate leaders, but only if they publicly admitted wrongdoing. My grandfather wouldn’t do it.

Jefferson Davis believed in the constitutional right of states to secede, and though history often paints him as an early advocate for war, the truth is more complex. He was actually the last Southern senator to leave the U.S. Senate. He had called for reconciliation, sought peaceful resolution, and only turned to separation when all other efforts had failed.

To admit fault, in his mind, would be to betray those beliefs—and the men and families who had followed him. So he refused. And in doing so, he lost what little remained of the life he once knew.

But this is where the story becomes less about politics and more about character.

In those dark years following the war, Jefferson Davis showed an incredible depth of resilience. With his second wife, Varina Howell Davis—a strong woman and the granddaughter of a New Jersey governor—he rebuilt a semblance of life. They moved forward, quietly. They grieved. They endured.

This part of our family history was passed to me by my grandmother, Lucy White Hayes Young. Through her eyes, I came to understand Davis not just as a controversial figure in American history, but as a man—broken but unbowed, principled even when it cost him everything.

It’s one of the many reasons I felt called to restore his citizenship decades later.

Jefferson Davis’s post-war years weren’t triumphant. But they were honorable. And in many ways, they were more revealing than his presidency. They show us a man who stood by his beliefs, who weathered disgrace with dignity, and who never stopped loving the country he once served—even when that country turned its back on him.

If you’ve only known Jefferson Davis as the President of the Confederacy, I invite you to look deeper. These quiet years after the war may tell you more about his true character than any battlefield could.

Want to learn how his citizenship was finally restored—by his own great-great-grandson?
Read or listen to the full true story, available free here on the site.
Click the orange button below to get started.

Chapter 4 of 10

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter