On January 27, 1861, Mississippi Governor John J. Pettus appointed Jefferson Davis as a major general to command Mississippi's state troops after the state seceded from the Union. However, he held the military commission for less than a month before being elected president of the Confederacy. The Photograph offered here is the only known portrait of Jeff Davis wearing any type of military uniform and the image is exceptionally rare.

    This fascinating, period, albumen Photograph measures approx. 2 1/4” by 3 5/8” and is mounted on its original, square corner, CDV Card Mount (card measures approx 2 1/2" by 4"). Offered here is a slightly retouched, vignette, bust portrait of Jeff Davis wearing the uniform of a Major General in the Union Army7. Actually, the uniform worn by Davis is that of a Major General of Mississippi Militia Troops – a position he held for barely a month before he became the first and only President of the Confederate States of America. We have been unable to discover the name of the photographer who took this portrait of Jeff Davis, however, the back of the mount carries the mark of the publisher – The New York Photographic Company of New York City.

    Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War; serving as the President for its entire history. A West Point graduate, Davis fought in the Black Hawk and Mexican-American War as a colonel of a volunteer regiment, and was the United States Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. Both before and after his time in the Pierce administration, he served as a U.S. Senator representing the State of Mississippi. As a senator, he argued against secession, but did agree that each state was sovereign and had an unquestionable right to secede from the Union. Davis resigned his seat in the U. S. Senate when Mississippi seceded in 1861. He was confined in Fortress Monroe in Virginia for two years after the Civil War. After his release he dictated "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government " to his wife, Varina Howell Davis.

    This rare and original, Civil War period CDV Photograph is in very good condition. The Image exhibits sharp focus but is somewhat uniformly light as can be seen in the scans below. Both the Photo and the card mount are clean and crisp and very well preserved although there two small spots of foxing to the Photo just below the vignette portrait.

     A very rare and original, 1860's CDV Photograph of Confederate President Jefferson Davis wearing the uniform of a Major General of Mississippi Troops and a fantastic addition to any collection!!

    Be sure to check out this sellers other auctions for a number of other, original Civil War and Native American Indian Photographs which are also being offered for sale this week on eBay!!!