Beauvoir/The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library & Museum

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Biloxi, Mississippi is a hidden gem right on the Gulf Coast. The people are friendly, there's great good, some amazing hotels, and it even has Civil War history that many people easily miss.

Along U.S. 90 are two sites for the only President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis: Beauvoir (his final home) and The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library & Museum. We've been here a few times, and every single time someone has driven up to us and asked what this place is. All of them decided it was a place worth checking out, and I couldn't agree more. It doesn't matter if you grew up idolizing his Union counter-part, President Abraham Lincoln. There is something to take in and learn here, and you can't get this kind of experience anywhere else in the country.

In 1877, when Jefferson Davis was facing financial difficulties and needed a quiet place to write his book, "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government", a woman named Sarah Dorsey invited Jefferson, his wife Varina, and their daughter Winnie, to her home she called Beauvoir, meaning "beautiful to view." Dorsey died in 1879, leaving the home to Jefferson. The Davis family would stay there until Jefferson's death in 1889. After that time it was made into a Confederate soldiers' home.

Personally, I couldn't help but think of Lincoln during my visit to the home. Around the time Jefferson moved to Beauvoir, there was an attempt to kidnap Lincoln's body from the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois. Abraham's coffin & body were moved down into a dark corner of the basement, where he would remain until 1901. Meanwhile, his Civil War counterpart was about to live out the remainder of his days in this modest but gorgeous house, with one of the best views in the country. Turns out people on the winning team don't always get the best rewards.

Sorry, went a little off topic! But I think it's interesting to think of the comparison while you're there. Both sites are on the same property, but head to the library/museum first to get your tickets to see the home & all the rest.

Beauvoir has been tenderly cared for over the decades, even with hurricane damage & such. There are a lot of family artifacts there and our tour guide, Donna, knew that place inside and out! I absolutely love it when the guides are really connected to the home & family they are representing. The Library also includes a museum, so it's worth it to go & spend a morning or afternoon there. There are plenty of places to sit & rest, such as on the front porch where you can see & hear the Gulf waves, the garden, or the room at the Library that was playing Gods & Generals while we were there (though it was advertised the film playing was Gettysburg - so I'm guessing they switch between the two).

There is also a really good film that shows another side of Jefferson Davis that is easy to overlook. Before the Civil War, Jefferson Davis would have been described as an American who had accomplished much for his country. There was a reason Jefferson was chosen to be President of the Confederates States of America, and it was because no one could match his education, experience, and his deep love for the South.