Right before fall, I decided to go on a road trip with my father, who loves Civil War history. We…read morehad done everything from Gettysburg, Perryville, Camp Wildcat, Fort Sumter, Antietam/Sharpsburg, Leesburg, and Fort Sullivan.
So, I decided to revisit the Jefferson Davis Monument, which I had initially visited in 2011 with a colleague from Madras, India, who wanted to see some historical places in Kentucky during a trip to Fort Campbell.
It was a pleasant morning drive from central Kentucky to Fairview, Kentucky, which is the birthplace of Jefferson Davis.
At the visitors' center, they offer a video describing Davis' life and the construction of the monument. Also, some post cards, books, and magnets souvenirs on the monument and the Civil War.
We learned that he married the daughter of the 12th U.S. president, Zachary Taylor. She died three months later of malaria.
Besides being the President of the Confederacy, he was a West Point graduate, Secretary of War under President Pierce, and a U.S. senator from Mississippi.
We found it interesting that Davis was never tried for treason especially since the government could easily make out a prima facie case that Davis had committed treason by levying war against the United States.
However, we learned that Davis could defend his suit by arguing that the session of his then-home state of Mississippi had removed his United States citizenship and his duty of loyalty to the Union, therefore rendering him in capable of committing treason against the United States.
Next, you can pay an $8.00 fee to take an elevator to the observation level. The views span for miles, and we saw some Amish on horse and buggy, along with some farmers tending their land.
The guide was Tim, who offered additional information about the monument: a 351-foot obelisk, the third-tallest in the US after the Washington Monument and the San Jacinto Monument. The concrete walls are 7 feet thick at the base and 2.5 feet thick at the top.
Finally, the area is well maintained, and we sat on a park bench and ate lunch as time went by; besides, people are always in a rush, and often don't enjoy the moment of peace, especially after escaping the hassle of the city.