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BOOK REVIEWS The Papers of Jefferson Davis. Volume I: 1808-1840. Edited by Haskell M. Monroe, Jr. and James T. Mcintosh. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1971. Pp. xcii, 594. $15.00.) Will we ever know what made Jefferson Davis tick? Already numerous works probe that complicated and controversial man's fife, but twentieth century scholars for the most part have been sympathetic and not very analytic. Beyond question, as Bruce Catton says in the introduction to this new edition of papers, Davis "will be remembered, so he might as well be understood." (p. vii). Creating a possible vehicle for achieving this understanding, now projected to run into twenty or perhaps even twenty-five or more volumes, the editors aim to present a definitive—but not exhaustive—printing of Davis' papers. Reason and space limitations have dictated some selective omissions, but upon completion of the series photocopies of every document examined by the editors will be placed on file for interested scholars in the Fondren Library, Rice University. On several counts, the editors' scintillating performance deserves classification with that of the other eminent scholars in similar enterprises begun since 1950, the year that brought the first appearance of the beacon-like Papers of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Julian P. Boyd. They are a new breed of American historians, producing edited documents while adhering to transcending standards of care and thoroughness , and creating reference notes that are themselves works of consummate historical scholarship. For example, every person mentioned in a document is the subject of a brief—and often very valuable—biographical sketch, added by the editors in a cross-referenced footnote. The documents in this first volume, covering the initial thirty-two years of Davis's life, imply that Davis was a late bloomer—giving little early indication of being on the way to greatness—and they show, perhaps surprisingly, that Davis was not an "austere" person during his youth. Nevertheless, because of scant documents, any conclusions concerning Davis' early character still must remain tenuous. Many pertinent papers either were seized or destroyed by Union forces during the war, and of those that escaped destruction, many have been scattered widely, and "here-and-there" finds continue to trickle in. (Particularly because of the lack of information concerning Davis's early life, the editors elected to print a greater proportion of the available material in the beginning volumes than they will in later is162 sues, where certain types of material more often will be sampled representatively and otherwise merely calendared.) In examining this volume, one is struck by the paucity of personal letters written by Davis. By far the largest mass of the documents here presented are of an official military nature, and secondmost are personal letters sent to Davis. The volume opens with two brief Davis autobiographies, an 18081840 chronology, a few documents touching upon Davis's earliest years, and then follows the lengthy chronicle of his years as a West Point cadet and a young army officer. Although limited in scope, the documents do reveal some glimpses of a fun-loving Davis, a warm, frolicking lad who occasionally wrote to his older brother pleading for more money, and who got into a little trouble over visiting taverns and imbibing alcoholic drinks. One incident illustrates a theme that ran through Davis's entire military career. An affair at the notorious Benny Havens's "public house," and a subsequent eggnog party in the cadet barracks, brought Davis arrest and a trial by court martial. Probably he followed a typical cadet practice of drinking with his back to fellow tipplers so that if called upon to testify in the matter, he could say honestly that he had not "seen" Cadet So-and-So drinking. Nevertheless, the court found Davis guilty and sentenced him to be dismissed, but then recommended remission of the punishment in consideration of his past exemplary conduct. Thus in this as in later episodes, Davis made friends, formed several fife-long acquaintances, was a good but not consistently outstanding soldier, and occasionally encountered difficulties. He was court martialed, and acquitted, again in 1835 on charges of disrespect and insubordination. One officer, testifying in Davis's behalf, opined that...

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