On December 10, 1903, the Jefferson Davis Soldier Home – Beauvoir opened in Biloxi, Mississippi. Over the course of fifty-four years, more than 1,800 residents called Beauvoir home. These residents included Confederate veterans, their wives, and widows. In 1957, control of the property was returned to the Mississippi Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans after the last two residents were relocated to retirement homes. In 2014, the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of History began a study tracing the lives of the veteran residents of the Jefferson Davis Soldier Home from the 1850s through the twentieth century. The Beauvoir Veteran Project has shown that Mississippi’s Confederate home was one of the few to welcome female residents, to have a female superintendent, and to have female members serve on its board of directors.
Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 3 and 5
RH.3; WHST.2, 4-6
Grades 7 through 12
The student will:
Karla Smith is the Social Studies Department Chair at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jefferson Davis Campus. The full lesson plan with links to pertinent articles and resources can be accessed here.
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