Jefferson Davis, Marker J-21
Posted by: 
drmellow
N 36° 04.099 W 079° 47.428
17S E 608920 N 3992202
The President of the Confederacy held two meetings of his cabinet, April 12-13, 1865, at the home of J. T. Wood, which was a few yards N.
Waymark Code: WMAH3
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 04/15/2006
Views: 26
Text on marker:
J-21: JEFFERSON DAVIS
The President of the Confederacy held two meetings of his cabinet, April 12-13, 1865, at the home of J. T. Wood, which was a few yards N.
This historical marker is located on South Elm Street at McGee Street in Greensboro. It was erected in 1940.
Jefferson Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American soldier and politician, most famous for serving as the first and only President of the Confederate States, leading the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. His term of office as President was February 18, 1861 – May 10, 1865, when he was captured at Irwinville, Georgia and imprisoned.
Davis sopped in Greensboro at the end of the war, while he was fleeing south. He had been living in Richmond, VA -- capital of the Confederate States of America. Union troops led by Ulysses S. Grant were set to capture the city. On April 3, 1865, Davis and his cabinet escaped for Danville, VA, where they set up a temporary headquarters and stayed for six days. Still being persued, Davis and his Cabinet fled further south, stopping in Greensboro for several days. It was in Greensboro that Davis reluctantly consented to send a letter to Union General William T. Sherman requesting a cease-fire to allow civil authorities to negotiate a peace. On April 16, 1865, Davis made a break for Meridian, Mississippi, but was captured at Irwinville, Georgia on May 10 with Postmaster General John Henninger Reagan and former Texas governor Francis R. Lubbock.
See also the nearby marker, J-22: Confederate Cabinet, for more history related to Davis' stop in Greesnboro.
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