Beauvoir is the location of the historic post-war home and Presidential library of Confederate President Jefferson Davis begun in 1848 at Biloxi, Mississippi. The main house and library were badly damaged, and other outbuildings were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Beauvoir survived a similar onslaught from Hurricane Camille in 1969. Geo-location: 30°23′35″N, 88°58′10″W. Beauvoir - Personal photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum is on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Biloxi Lighthouse (of 1848) Biloxi () is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the U.S.. The 2000 census recorded the population as 50,644. ... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lowest pressure ≤905 mbar (hPa)[1] Damages $1. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ...

Description

Beauvoir was the location of the retirement home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The compound consisted of approximately 608 acres when Davis lived there (today, the site is approximately 52 acres in size). Beauvoir is located in Biloxi, Mississippi across US Highway 90 from Biloxi Beach. The name "Beauvoir" means "beautiful to view". Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. ...

The compound consists of a Louisiana raised cottage-style plantation residence, a botanical garden, a former Confederate veterans home, a modern gift shop, a Confederate Soldier Museum, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum, various outbuildings, and a historic Confederate cemetery which includes the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier. Five out of seven of these buildings were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina and replicas are being planned (see below). The Unknown Confederate Soldier is a tomb in Harrison County, Mississippi dedicated to a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War. ...

The house was surrounded with cedars, oaks and magnolia trees and at one time had an orange grove behind it. The home faces the Gulf of Mexico and Spanish moss hangs from many of the large old trees on the property.

Oyster Bayou, a freshwater impoundment and bayhead swamp; once connected directly to the Mississippi Sound and runs across the property behind the main house from West to East. This body of water is fed by natural artesian springs that lie on the grounds. The northeast portion of the estate is the site of a primitive, pre-urban hardwood forest with an environment similar to what existed in the area during the 1800s. Proposals currently call for restoration of Oyster Bayou to its original environmental state, though this area also suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina. A view of the Sound from Biloxi, Mississippi. ...

Beauvoir Library - personal photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

History

Beauvoir was built by James Brown, a planter and entrepreneur, in 1848 and was completed in 1852. In 1873 the home was sold to Frank Johnston and soon thereafter to Sarah Anne Ellis Dorsey. Dorsey was a novelist and intellectual from Natchez, Mississippi who was a staunch southern partisan. Dorsey lived in the home with her half-brother Mortimer Dahlgren. Dorsey invited Jefferson Davis to stay at Beauvoir and to write his memoir The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. Sarah Dorsey (16 February 1829 - July 4, 1879) was an American writer. ... Melrose, an antebellum home in Natchez, Mississippi. ...

Davis accepted Dorsey's invitation and moved into the Library Pavilion on the estate grounds in 1877. Later, his wife Varina Davis joined him. Davis arranged to purchase the property in 1879 for $5500 to be paid in three installments. Six months later, Dorsey died before the other two payments were made and left the estate to Davis in her will. Davis and his wife moved into the house proper along with their youngest daughter, Winnie. Davis lived in the home until his death in December of 1889. Varina Davis remained on the property for a short time while she wrote her book Jefferson Davis: A Memoir. She and her daughter Winnie moved to New York City in 1891. Varina Howell and Jefferson Davis wedding picture Varina Howell was born to Virginians William B. Howell and Margaret Lousia Kempe on 7 May 1826 in Natchez, Mississippi (In the 1880 U.S. Federal Census for Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi, Varina Daviss place of birth was listed as Louisiana; her... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ...

Jefferson Davis left the estate to his daughter Winnie. But on her death in 1898, the ownership of the property reverted to Varina who sold much of the property to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in 1902 for use as a memorial to her husband and as the location of home for Confederate veterans and widows. A dozen barracks buildings, a hospital, and a chapel were built behind the home and approximately 2,500 veterans and their families lived at the home at one time or another during its existence from 1903 to 1957. Sons of Confederate Veterans logo Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an organization of male descendants of soldiers who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. ...

In 1941 the main house opened for public tours. Eventually a Confederate Museum was opened on the site. Over the next few decades a Jefferson Davis Gallery, gift shop, the Tomb of the Unknown Confederate Soldier, and the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum were established on the grounds.

In 1969 the home survived the onslaught of Hurricane Camille. Due to its construction and materials it survived. The home did experience some flooding and a major fundraising and restoration effort was required. Lowest pressure ≤905 mbar (hPa)[1] Damages $1. ...

In 1998 the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans opened the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library which contains the personal library and papers of Jefferson Davis, a biographical exhibit, and a theater and lecture hall. The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and museum was constructed in 1996 and dedicated in 1998 by the state of Mississippi for the purposes of housing the papers and artifacts of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. ...

Hurricane Katrina damage

Beauvoir (April 2006), 7 months after Hurricane Katrina (before roof was repaired, without porches rebuilt).

On August 29, 2005, the main building was severely damaged, losing its newly refurbished galleries (porches) and a section of its roof, but was not destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Biloxi-Gulfport area head-on. The Clarion-Ledger reported on August 31 that Beauvoir was “virtually demolished,” though the report apparently overstated the damage. The storm destroyed the Hayes Cottage, the Library Pavillion, a barracks replica, the Confederate Museum and the director's home. The first floor of the Davis Presidential Library was gutted by the storm. Approximately 35% of the collections were lost. Restoration efforts are underway with a planned reopening in 2008. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ... The daily newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi [1], the Clarion-Ledger traces its roots to The Eastern Clarion, founded in Jasper County, Mississippi in 1837. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although the extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina has created a massive restoration project for Beauvoir, the publicity caused detailed U.S. Government photos of the building to become widely available, revealing some architectural details and part of the internal structure of the original construction. Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ... ... Section of the dome of Florence Cathedral. ...

Beauvoir door/window frame detail (April 2006).

Beauvoir west wing: green storm shutters cover windows.

At the Beauvoir entranceway, above the door and left-side window, dental molding appears along the lintel of the door and window. The internal construction of the building is also revealed, seen in exposed areas of the structure, such as the basement red-brick pillars, or the wooden wall frames with wooden lattice backing the external plaster covering. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A hurricane shutter made out of plywood. ... Molding (US) or moulding (UK) can be: moulding or molding, a decorative feature used in interior design and architecture molding or moulding, a process used in manufacturing This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Pre-fabricated, pre-tensioned concrete lintels spanning garage doors. ... A townhouse with basement windows showing A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. ... For other meanings of the term, see column (disambiguation). ... Look up lattice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gypsum based plaster used in spray fireproofing in a low-rise industrial building in Vancouver, British Columbia. ...

The external shell of Beauvoir was protected by 6 fireplaces that surround the core of the house. Of those 6 brick fireplaces reinforcing the outside walls, only one of six rooftop chimneys collapsed during the hurricane, and five of the six fireplaces retained structural integrity to keep the walls of the building from falling away while under water. Winter (fireplace), tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century) A fireplace is an architectural element consisting of a space designed to contain a fire, generally for heating but sometimes also for cooking. ... Look up Chimney in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

On the back, west wing of Beauvoir, behind a front-yard tree, the green storm shutters survived the floating debris that battered the entrance, and the shutters protected the glass panes despite the 24-foot (8-m) storm surge that submerged the area. Whole sections of the Beauvoir home have remained intact to preserve many of the original construction details and windows (as seen in the photograph excerpts, at right). A hurricane shutter made out of plywood. ... Categories: Stub ... A paned window is a window that is divided into sections known as panes. ... Look up M, m in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Since thousands of homes in Mississippi were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Katrina, construction work has been diverted to all disaster areas of the state, and restoration of Beauvoir has been proceedingly slowly. However, as a U.S. National Historic Landmark, FEMA officials have approved Federal support to the repair and rebuilding of the Beauvoir complex. Lowest pressure 902 mbar (hPa; 26. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... New FEMA seal The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is an agency of the United States government dedicated to swift response in the event of disasters, both natural and man-made. ...

Beauvoir is on record as one of the oldest homes along the upper Gulf Coast. The Gulf of Mexico is a major body of water bordered and nearly landlocked by North America. ...

Beauvoir - Oyster Bayou - Personal photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Collections

The salvageability of the collections stands at about 60%. The two remaining buildings of the seven on the site will be repaired and rebuilt. Replicas and additional outbuildings will be built. Prior to Katrina, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library maintained a collection of 12,000 books on United States history, southern history, and history of the American Civil War. The library also maintained collections of photographs, personal letters, manuscripts, envelopes, postcards, newspaper clippings, records of Confederate heritage organizations such as the United Confederate Veterans and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and records from the Veterans home that once was present on the grounds. Most all of these records survived, except for those on display in the two museums. Pre-Colonial America For details, see the main Pre-Colonial America article. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The United Confederate Veterans, also known as the UCV, was a veterans organization for former Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, and was equivalent to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) which was the organization for Union veterans. ... Sons of Confederate Veterans logo Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an organization of male descendants of soldiers who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. ...

Civilian volunteers and the Mississippi Army National Guard assisted with salvage. Unfortunately, the room storing much of the authentic china and artifacts was adjacent to the gift shop, with knockoffs and imitations of the originals. Both rooms were destroyed, so sifting through the debris and identifying the genuine relics was very difficult.

Activities

Before the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Summer of 2005, annual events included the Spring Pilgrimage in March, Confederate Memorial Day in April, The Fall Muster in October, and Candlelight Christmas in December.

Visitors to the site were presented with a biographical film on the life of Jefferson Davis narrated by an actor portraying Davis's long-time friend, Iowa Senator George Wallace Jones. George Wallace Jones (April 12, 1804 - July 22, 1896) was one of the first two United States Senators to represent the state of Iowa after it was admitted to the Union as a state in 1846. ...

Designations

The home and grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Beauvoir was also designated as a National Historic Landmark and a Mississippi Historical Landmark. A typical plaque showing entry on the National Register of Historic Places. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ...

External links

• Beauvoir Official Site
• Jackson Clarion-Ledger: Beauvoir destroyed
• New York Times (Sept. 8, 2005): In Mississippi, History Is Now a Salvage Job