Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was an American politician and the only president of the Confederate States of America. Born in Kentucky and raised in Mississippi, he graduated from West Point, fought in the Mexican War, became a wealthy cotton planter and slaveholder, and served as senator from Mississippi and as secretary of war under Franklin Pierce. A defender of slavery and states' rights, he led the Confederacy from 1861 to its defeat in 1865, was captured and imprisoned for two years, but was never tried. In retirement he wrote The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.