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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 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