June 3rd marks the 204th birthday of one of the only two native Kentuckians to hold an American presidency. One is, of course, Abraham Lincoln, and the other is his Civil War counterpart, Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Davis was born in Fairview, in what was then Christian County, now Todd, in 1808. Beginning June 1st and running through the 3rd, the Jefferson Davis Birthplace State Historic Site will host a commemoration of the former U.S. Senator and rebel President. There will be exhibits, activities, and Civil War re-enactors. But given Davis’ place in American history, the question arises as to whether he is someone to be commemorated. For some insight into that question, we turn to Virginia Tech history professor and Civil War scholar William C. Davis (no relation) Davis is the author of Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour and Look Away! A History of the Confederate States of America.
