The Man and the Hour Have Met

February 04, 2011

The arrival of Jefferson Davis in Montgomery in 1861 will be commemorated on Wednesday, February 16, at 5:30 PM, in a program sponsored by the First White House of the Confederacy and the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Dr. Ralph Draughon Jr. will discuss the speech given by Alabama "fire eater" William L. Yancey when he greeted Davis at the Exchange Hotel 150 years ago, prior to Davis's inauguration as president of the new Confederate States of America. Draughon will conclude the program by delivering Yancey's speech in 19^th-century oratorical style.

The program will take place at the Alabama Department of Archives and History starting at 5:30 pm, with a reception following. Admission is free.

 Draughon, a native and resident of Auburn, retired from a career in historic preservation in Georgia, Virginia, and Louisiana. As a historical advisor to a major archaeological firm, he participated in historical evaluations from Gettysburg to the Gulf of Mexico. Since returning to Alabama, he has taken an active role in the Alabama Historical Association and local preservation groups. In 2007, he was appointed by Governor Bob Riley to serve on the Alabama Historical Commission.

The commemoration event is one in a series of programs affiliated with Becoming Alabama, a statewide partnership of state agencies, historical groups, and cultural organizations to commemorate the coinciding anniversaries of the Creek War and War of 1812, the Civil War, and major events in the civil rights movement. For more information on Becoming Alabama, visit http://www.archives.alabama.gov/BA/.