Davis with Varina, daughter Maggie Hayes and her three children circa 1885. Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 - December 6, 1889) was a statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He graduated from West Point and fought in the Mexican-American War as a colonel of a volunteer regiment. He was Secretary of War under President Pierce and a senator representing Mississippi. He argued against secession, but agreed that each state was sovereign and had the right to secede from the Union. He was selected as provisional President of the CSA and was elected without opposition to a six-year term. Davis took charge of the Confederate war plans but was unable to find a strategy to stop the larger, powerful and better organized Union. His diplomatic efforts failed to gain recognition from any foreign country, and paid little attention to the collapsing Confederate economy, printing more and more paper money to cover the war's expenses. In 1865, Davis was captured, imprisoned, placed in irons and indicted for treason. After two years of imprisonment, he was released on bail posted by prominent citizens of both Northern and Southern states. He died in 1889, at age 81, in the presence of friends and and holding the hand of his beloved, Varina.