Jefferson Davis, Jim Limber, and the Sons of Confederate Veterans

It looks like 200th anniversary of Jefferson Davis's birth is passing us by with very little interest.  This is no surprise given our tendency to concentrate on military leaders and ignore the broader political/racial issues that defined the Civil War.  Spend too much time on Davis and you raise the problem of slavery and race.  I recently came across a very brief reference to a plan on the part of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to erect a statue in memory of Davis and his adopted free black son, Jim Limber.  Limber's story is very interesting from what little we know of it.  William J. Cooper makes no reference of the boy in his excellent biography of Davis.  I did locate a short article about Limber by Peggy Robbins which was published in Civil War Times Illustrated (Vol. 17) back in 1978.

It was Varina Davis who was introduced to the boy in the streets of Richmond in February 1864.  Limber was apparently being severely beaten by a black man and, although the article does not elaborate on how it happened, Varina returned with the boy to the White House to take care of his cuts and bruises.  Limber was welcomed as an equal member of the family and took part in most family activities.  He was there during the trials surrounding the loss of Joseph in April 1864 and along with the rest of the family fled Richmond in April 1865.  Limber was still with the family when they were captured in Irwinville, Georgia on May 10.  Shortly thereafter Limber was taken to Washington by Captain Charles T. Hudson - he was never heard from again by the Davis family. It looks like Limber's story was used as propaganda against the Davis family by Republicans who intended to prosecute Jefferson Davis on charges of treason.  A few newspaper articles appeared, one quoting Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton who concluded that Limber was one of the family's Brierfield slaves and therefore had been rescued by the Union army.  Another suggested that Limber would bear the marks of the pain and suffering caused by the Davis's for the rest of his life.  So, there seems little doubt that the Davis's adopted a free black boy during the war and cared for him as they did their other children.

So, what are we to make of the SCV's plans to commemorate this act of kindness with a statue?  On the one hand it would more than likely be an accurate depiction of their relationship, but is that the intention of the SCV?  No surprise that I believe there is much more going on here.  The problem is that such a monument would ultimately reflect a skewed understanding of Davis.  After all, he believed in the superiority of the white race for his entire life; he led a nation in war whose expressed goal was the protection of slavery and maintenance of a racial hierarchy; and after the war Davis rejoiced in the end of Reconstruction and the gradual withering away of black civil rights. This is not to condemn Davis for not holding our values, but all are salient points in understanding how race and slavery defined his life. 

Ultimately, this project - if it ever gets off the ground - must be understood as just another example of the SCV's goal of distorting the place of race and slavery in our memory of the Civil War and Southern history.  A monument to this act of kindness reinforces the myth of paternalism and more importantly removes slavery and race from Confederate history.  The SCV's resolution for the "Year of Davis" makes no mention of his role as slaveowner.  The closest it comes is a reference to a "Mississippi cotton planter."   No doubt there is an interesting story here, but unless you are willing to try to understand it within the broader context of a slave society built along the lines of race you run the risk of telling us more about your own values than anything having to do with the past. 

Comments

[Lisa]

Saw this book in the gift shop yesterday and it reminded me of this post:

http://www.amazon.com/Jim-Limber-Davis-Orphan-Confederate/dp/158980435X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212233289&sr=1-1

I had no idea there was a Jim Limber story book. Haven't had time to read it but since it's a childrens book it shouldn't take that long. I did flip through it though and agree with the reviewer from the School Library Journal when she says it shouldn't be taken as a biography. It was written by an SCV member and definitely serves its purpose as you can see from the reader reviews.

[Kevin Levin]

Lisa, -- Thanks so much for passing this along. The story has credibility; on the other hand, the danger is that it will be used to generalize about race relations and slavery in the South.