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April 26, 2024 65 mins

About this episode: 

She was witty, intelligent and a great conversationalist: everything that raised the eyebrows of proper Southern women in the mid-19th century. And then, she married the man who became the first and only President of the Confederacy. Wedded to her fate with him and a doomed nation, her life was filled with trying times. She was, if you will, locked in a personal civil war as she struggled to reconcile her societal duties with strong individual beliefs. This is the story of a remarkably resilient woman who served as the Confederacy's First Lady. This is the story of Varina Howell Davis.

         

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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

Jefferson Davis

Sarah Childress Polk

Washington Irving

Jane Appleton Pierce

Elizabeth Keckley

Alexander H. Stephens

 

Additional Resources:

First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis’s Civil War by Joan E. Cashin

 

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Thank you to our sponsor, The Badge Maker - proudly carrying affordable Civil War Corps Badges and other hand-made historical reproductions for reenactors, living history interpreters, and lovers of history.

Check out The Badge Maker and place your orders here

 

Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org

 

 

Producer: Dan Irving

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