Muhlenberg County Public Libraries, together with Kentucky Chautauqua, will present Jefferson Davis: On Dark and Bloody Ground at Thistle Cottage on April 7 at 7 p.m.
Jefferson Davis was born near what is now Fairview, Ky. in Todd County. He distinguished himself in military service in the Black Hawk and Mexican-American wars before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1845. When several southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America in 1861, they chose Davis to be their president, even though he had at first opposed secession.
Davis served as the president of the Confederacy through the end of the Civil War in April 1865, at which time he was sent into exile and eventually imprisoned for two years. After two years of incarceration without being tried for any crimes, Davis was released from prison. He spent the remainder of his life as the president of a life insurance company and the author of a two-volume memoir about his Civil War experiences before dying in 1889 in New Orleans, La.
Jefferson Davis is portrayed by Kevin Hardesty. Hardesty is an actor from Lexington, Ky. He has performed professionally in theater, film and television. Hardesty also portrays Daniel Boone for the Kentucky Chautauqua program.
Muhlenberg County Public Libraries’ presentation of Kentucky Chautauqua’s Jefferson Davis program is provided with support from the Felix E. Martin Jr. Foundation. This is a free program and is open to everyone.
Kentucky Chautauqua is a presentation of the Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc., a non-profit Kentucky corporation affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities and a partner of Kentucky’s Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. It is funded with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and from business partners including: Christina Lee Brown, the Brown-Forman Corporation, the Carson-Myre Charitable Foundation, the Cralle Foundation, Eastern Kentucky University, the Elsa Heisel Sule Foundation, Lindsey Wilson College, Morehead State University, Murray State Kentucky, Paducah Bank, PNC and Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc.
For more information about Jefferson Davis: On Dark and Bloody Ground, call Muhlenberg County Public Libraries at 270-338-4760.
