First White House of the Confederacy

The First White House of the Confederacy was the Executive Residence of President Jefferson Davis and his family while the capitol of the Confederacy was in Montgomery, Alabama. The house served as the first White House of the Confederacy from February 1861 until late May 1861, when the Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Virginia. On January 11, 1861, the State of Alabama seceded from the Union. Less than one month later, in early February, the Alabama secession convention invited delegates of the other seceded states to meet in Montgomery to form the new Confederate nation. Delegates from six of the seven seceded states wrote a constitution for the Confederate States of America in only four days; the next day they elected Jefferson Davis the Confederacy's president. In late February, Davis took the oath of office while standing on the portico of the state capitol in Montgomery. Montgomery's three hotels and numerous boarding houses were crowded with government officials, politicians, soldiers, and newspapermen. It became more of a metropolis than a quiet village, with its streets crowded with carriages and horses, and people on the prowl for gossip, argument, and discussion. Everyone admired the town's beauty. But by May the summer's humid heat and the mosquitoes changed many people's minds about Montgomery. So when the newly seceded Virginians offered their own state and their own capital as the seat of the Confederacy, many were eager to accept the offer. Jefferson Davis was at first opposed to the move, believing the capital should reside in the Deep South where the feelings for secession were most fervent. However, the Confederate Congress approved the move and adjourned May 21, and scheduled to meet in Richmond two months later. In February 1861, shortly after selecting Davis as president, the Provisional Confederate Congress, meeting in Montgomery, authorized the leasing of an executive mansion. An offer came from Colonel Edmund S. Harrison of nearby Prattville, Alabama, who had recently purchased a newly renovated house in Montgomery that had previously been owned by a series of prominent citizens of the city. He offered to rent the house fully furnished and staffed for $5,000 per year. The Confederate White House was the setting for many lavish parties and receptions hosted by Mrs. Davis.