In the heart of a nation at war, even amid turmoil and loss, compassion still found its way into Confederate homes. On February 16, 1864, Confederate diarist Mary Boykin Chesnut recorded a touching scene at the executive mansion — First Lady Varina Davis had rescued a small orphaned boy, known as Jim, from the cruelty of an abusive guardian. President Jefferson Davis himself personally ensured Jim’s freedom was protected, arranging for his papers to be legally registered so he could never again

The “Jeff Davis in a woman’s dress” story is one of the most famous — and most distorted — myths from the end of the American Civil War. It began in May 1865, when Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union cavalry near Irwinville, Georgia, as he tried to flee south after the collapse of the Confederacy. According to Union reports, Davis was allegedly disguised in women’s clothing in an attempt to evade capture. Newspapers — especially in the North — seized on this rumor, publis