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December 6, 2021
Today in Texas history
By Bandera Spirits of Texas
On this day in 1889, Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans. Davis, born in Kentucky in 1808 but later a senator from Mississippi, was first in Texas as an army officer during the Mexican War in 1847 with Zachary Taylor's force on the Rio Grande.
In 1854, while Davis was United States secretary of war, he recommended the Texas or 32nd-parallel route for construction of a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, and in 1856 he sent camels to Camp Verde to test the animals' suitability as military transportation. After Reconstruction, a movement was launched in Dallas to purchase a homestead for Davis and invite him to move to Texas. In 1875 he was offered the presidency of the newly established Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.
In declining the appointment, he wrote of his hopes of revisiting Texas, but he never did so.
In 1854, while Davis was United States secretary of war, he recommended the Texas or 32nd-parallel route for construction of a railroad to the Pacific Ocean, and in 1856 he sent camels to Camp Verde to test the animals' suitability as military transportation. After Reconstruction, a movement was launched in Dallas to purchase a homestead for Davis and invite him to move to Texas. In 1875 he was offered the presidency of the newly established Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.
In declining the appointment, he wrote of his hopes of revisiting Texas, but he never did so.