Was Jefferson Davis the best leader for the Confederacy?

He was the only leader, wasn't he? Ipso facto, that makes him the best leader. It also makes him the worst leader.And the median leader.

He was not the best possible leader. A good leader would have peacefully worked to resolve the issues and tried convince his wanta-be nation to rejoin the fold.

He was the best looking Reb ever seen in a dress and wig.

I believe he is looked upon as a complete failure in military strategy, his most important task. Any other type of governance paled in comparison.

What did the Confederates need a president for anyway? Secession was all about states' rights, to hear them tell it. Funny how they couldn't wait to leave the USA to only immediately join the more repressive CSA.

Davis was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, and had combat experience during the Mexican War, during which he served with distinction as the commander of a volunteer regiment. After the war, he served in the United States Senate, and as the Secretary of War in Franklin Pierce's administration. He saw himself as a military oracle, and interfered in military decisions and operations far more than did Lincoln. When Robert Lee's early efforts as a commander in the field failed, he became an adviser to Davis, and appears to have been the only officer for whose opinions Davis had any respect. When Lee took command of Joe Johnston's army in June, 1862, and re-named it the Army of Northern Virginia, Davis was once again more or less the supreme military commander of Confederate forces, to the extent that he listened to no one else's advice. Although one may allege that Davis was simply following the impulses of Southern military officers and the people of the South, there is absolutely no doubt that he promoted the area defense policy of the South. This policy was to attempt to defend every square foot of territory, without regard for the extent to which it weakened Confederate military operations by leaving tens of thousands of troops kicking their heels in garrison duty in areas which were not threatened. When Lee was at his side as military adviser, he was able to modify this policy--it was Lee who advised Albert Sidney Johnston to strip the defenses of the Alabama and Mississippi gulf coasts to provide troops with which to attack Grant's army at Shiloh. It can reasonably be argued that before Johnston died on the first day of the battle, his attack had been successful, that he had consistently defeated the Federal commanders, and driven them from one defensive position to the other. When Johnston died, Pierre Gustave Toutant de Beauregard called off the attack, and by the next day it was no longer possible to defeat the Federal army, due to the arrival of 20,000+ fresh troops under Don Carlos Buell. Lee soon after took command of the principle army in Virginia, and no such bold moves to use interior lines to make the most of the South's slim military resources was ever again made. My personal, and never humble, opinion is that Davis had only a mediocre concept of "grand strategy," and although a competent, courageous and aggressive regimental commander in the 1840s, he was "promoted beyond his competence" as the supreme commander of Confederate forces. I modify that harsh judgment only to the extent that it would be foolish not to recognize that the South was never in a position to win the war in the first place, and could only hope to hold on and inflict the maximum damage on the Federal armies in the hope that the North would grow war weary and give up the effort. The combination of an area defense strategy with a tacit tactical policy of repeated and savage attacks on Federal forces wherever encountered doomed the very scant chance of holding on until their enemies gave up the effort.

Davis happens to have opposed the secession of the state of Mississippi. When named President of the Provisional Confederate States, he in fact did a appoint a commission to treat with the Federal government, with a plan to offer compensation for Federal facilities seized in the South, and that proportion of the national debt which could reasonably be alleged to accrue to the South. The commission was, of course, forbidden to discuss re-union with the United States.

Davis continued to promote and support Braxton Bragg, who was not only incompetent, but one of the most "unlikeable" officers in Confederate service, and who managed to argue with and "p*ss off" every high ranking officer who served under him--but he was Davis' friend. He also interfered with and countermanded the orders of Joseph Eggleston Johnston, who, although a very cautious and often pessimistic commander, can reasonably be characterized as the most competent commander in Confederate service, including Robert Lee--but Davis didn't like him. The only officer in Confederate Service to whom he turned for advice, and to which advice he was willing to listen, was Robert Lee. When Lee took the field with the Army of Northern Virginia, the South was basically left, militarily, in the hands of a man not competent to exercise his office. With Lee in command in Virginia, and no adviser at Davis' side to whom he would listen, the affairs of the crucial western theater fell into even greater disarray, and Lee's army twice futilely invaded the North when armies in the West were badly in need of men, material and competent leadership. When Longstreet was finally sent west in 1863, it was already too late. The area defense doomed the South to vain efforts to respond piecemeal to the operations of the invading Northern armies, well supported by a large and competent navy. Davis did not provide the steady hand at the helm which might have effectively guided the South through its turmoils--but i don't know that there was anyone in the South prepared and capable of doing the job.

Thank you.
Setanta - great information. Thank you.

The South needed somebody who: (1) had some military background; (2) had a national political reputation; and (3) wasn't from Virginia. The first requirement was obvious: the South would almost certainly be involved in a war with the North as soon as it declared its independence, so a national leader with knowledge of military affairs was a must. The second requirement was necessary in order to unite the often-fractious South behind a single leader whose prestige could transcend the parochial interests of the secessionist states and also command a certain amount of respect from foreign governments. And the third requirement would assure the rest of the states that Virginia, the largest and most powerful state in the Confederacy, would not dominate the national government.

As far as I can see, there were only two people who satisfied all of those requirements: Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge. Davis had extensive military experience, had been a senator and secretary of war, and came from Mississippi. Breckinridge served as a major in the Mexican War, and he had been a US representative, vice-president under Buchanan, and unsuccessful Southern Democratic candidate for president in 1860. Unfortunately for him, however, he was from Kentucky, which did not secede from the Union. Breckinridge chose to side with the Confederacy, but he was a man without a state, and so had no natural constituency on which to draw support. That left Davis as the only logical candidate for the presidency.

I agree with Joe that Davis was likely the only reasonable choice. Albert Sidney Johnston was held in very high regard for his military skills and experience. Although he, as was the case with Breckenridge, was a native of Kentucky, he had been appointed to the USMA from Louisiana. He was in California, however, and therefore was not immediately available--and he lacked political experience. (Writing to his father-in-law in Louisville, Kentucky before the Mexican War, he described having attended a session of the Senate when luminaries such as Clay, Webster and Calhoun were debating, and commented that he thought politics would be a reasonable profession for a third or fourth son when the father despaired of finding a useful occupation for them--it is unlikely that he would have consented to such a position.) Joe Johnston might have been a good choice, but as a Virginian, he, as was the case with Lee, was still ostensibly a citizen of a state of the Union at the time Davis was chosen. As the highest ranking officer in Federal service to become an officer of the Confederate states, i suspect that his ambitions were always military. The only other man of sufficient political experience of whom i could think would be Wade Hampton, who, however, had no prior military experience, although he served with distinction in the war. Additionally, his political experience was all in local and state office, and never in national office--it was unlikely that he ever would have considered the office, or have been considered.

Basically, Davis was the man in the right place at the right time--i am reminded of Henry I at the time of the death of his brother, William Rufus. If not the best choice, he was on the scene and sufficiently ambitious.

likely he and lincoln could be the most talented brace of leaders of nations who went to war.

next to homer's hector and robert e lee the most tragic historical leaders in history.

and he never wore a wig and dress in disguse.

Okay okay, it was a short sleeved gown accented with a black shawl, which we can only hope to God matched. Both pieces belonged to his wife Varina, who also supplied a first hand account of their actions immediately preceding their flight and the subsequent capture. She dressed him herself, and the clear intent was to pass him off as a female. This becomes obvious when questioned by Confederate guards upon fleeing--she tells them it's her mother.

Here's her (partial) relevant account:

"Just before day the enemy charged our camp yelling like demons. Mr. Davis received timely warning of their approach…He started down to the little stream hoping to meet his servant with his horse and arms…Knowing he would be recognized I plead with him to let me throw over him a large waterproof wrap which had often served him…for a dressing gown and which I hoped might so cover his person that in the grey of the morning he would not be recognized. As he strode off I threw over his head a little black shawl which was around my own shoulders, seeing that he could not find his hat…When he had proceeded a few yards the guards around our tents with a shocking oath called out to know who that was. I said it was my mother… "

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may10.html

The popular press of course added the legendary flourishes to the story, usually depicting him in a hoop skirt and wig. Varina, in later years, tried to undo the damage her account caused, but her attempts to rationalize their actions remain unconvincing.