Jefferson Davis
April 30, 1864
Jefferson Davis and his wife Varina Howell Davis had four children, but two of their children died. One of their children died in infancy, then during the Civil War they lost a son to an accident.
Five-year-old Joe Davis fell from a balcony at the Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia and died on this day in April, 1864.
April 22, 1861
Robert E. Lee
On April 22, 1861 Robert E. Lee took command of the Virginia troops. Lee fought for the Confederacy because his loyalty was to his home state of Virginia.
On this date in 1861 Robert E. Lee left his home of Arlington in Virginia, and would never return to it. Union forces soon occupied Arlington, and Lee’s home became Union General Irvin McDowell’s headquarters.
During the Civil War, Robert E. Lee’s home of Arlington would become Arlington National Cemetery.