Jefferson Davis closed his eyes in death at fifteen minutes before 1:00 am surrounded by friends and relatives. The news of his passing immediately cast a gloom over Montgomery and put the first capital of the Confederacy in deepest mourning.
The men who knew him and were with him in the service of the country from 1861 to 1865 hold that in his death one of the purest and greatest men of the age has passed away.
Here is what we read in the Montgomery newspaper about his death. "The Statehouse is closed and draped in mourning and the flag on the dome is at half-staff. The sable trappings of sorrow are wound about the stately columns where Davis stood when he was inaugurated Provisional President of the Confederacy."
We go on to read further: "Twenty five years (after his inaguaration) in 1886 he stood there again and addressed the largest crowd assembled here on any occasion since the war. On Capitol hill and near the statehouse stands the Confederate monument whose cornerstone he helped to lay."
The article goes on: "Many stones were draped in mourning and the city wore a solemn aspect, as if the body of the old chieftain was reposing within our gates."
More tomorrow....
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