The Farmington Historian Lecture Series
Presents
William C. “Jack” Davis, retired professor emeritus of American History at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, was educated in Northern California, spent 20 years in editorial management in the magazine and book publishing industry, then left the industry in 1990 to spend the next decade working as a writer and consultant.
The author or editor of more than 50 books and numerous documentary screenplays in the fields of Civil War and southern history, Davis was the on-camera senior consultant for 52 episodes of the Arts & Entertainment Network/History Channel series “Civil War Journal,” as well as a number of other productions on commercial and public television, including the BBC abroad. He has acted as historical consultant for several television and film productions, including “The Blue and the Gray,” “George Washington,” and “The Perfect Tribute.”
Jack Davis , recently collaborated with Sue Bell on a project to edit letters dating from 1863 to 1865 between Sue Bell’s great-great-grandparents: Anne “Nannie” Radford Wharton, 19, who had just wed Gabriel “Gabe” Wharton, a 37-year-old officer in the Confederate Army. Wharton would serve under Generals John Floyd, John Jones, Jubal Early, and John Echols, primarily in southwestern Virginia. The recently discovered letters, long stashed in descendants’ attics, are now published in The Whartons’ War (UNC Press, 2022). They allow an intimate look at the home front during the last two years of the war, as well as an astoundingly candid glimpse into the personal lives of two privileged Southerners coming to grips with the dissolution of the world they have known.
Davis believes that, “Letters provide an unfiltered view into an individual’s world. They are written with the idea that only the recipient will read them. Through the letters we see the true natures of the individuals. General Wharton was a passive man and a hopeless romantic. Nannie, on the other hand, was aggressive and much less sentimental.” He goes on to note that, “This is a truly unique collection, one of the fullest and most unusual correspondences to survive the Civil War. So often the woman’s letters don’t survive, but to have nearly the full dialogue between a husband and wife is practically unheard of.”
William C. Davis also wrote Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbo which many call the quintessential biography of John C. Breckinridge, of one of Kentucky’s great moderates. Widely respected, even by his enemies, for his dedication to moderate liberalism, Breckinridge’s charisma and integrity led to his election as Vice President at age 35, the youngest ever in America’s history.
A true Kentucky hero, “Old Breck’s” bravery in battle, dedication to the pursuit of truth, and unique ability to win the loyalty of others rank him alongside Henry Clay and Simon Kenton. Drawing from a remarkable collection of sources, including previously unknown documents and letters, as well as the papers of his associates and extensive aid from the Breckinridge family, Davis presents the legacy of a man often overlooked.
During his time in Louisville, Davis will host a private dinner at the Frazier History Museum (Wednesday, Oct 8), and present a lecture on his current book at Farmington with a BBQ dinner (Thursday, Oct 9).
