Between 1861 and 1865, the United States wasn’t so united. A portion of the country had formed itself into the Confederate States of America, or what history has come to call simply: “the Confederacy.” Initially, seven states formed the Confederacy: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. After the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, four more states joined the Confederacy: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Like-minded over issues of slavery and states’ rights issues, the Confederacy had only oneJefferson Davis.
Davis was already well-known and respected in the South. He had worked in the government before so he knew how to run things, and since he’d been a soldier, people reasoned that he could lead an army if he had to. Davis didn’t really want the job, but his sense of duty to help the south lead to his acceptance.
But he did not give up the job easily.
As events unfolded, the Confederacy faced defeat. Davis, however, remained committed to the Confederacy’s independence. He rejected any peace negotiations that didn’t include an independent Confederacy, and even as rebel forces were surrendering, he encouraged resistance. Ultimately, Jefferson Davis was captured by Union cavalry which essentially ended the Confederate government.
Davis remains a significant figure, and we leave to historians how best to characterize his place in history. Our post views him from the lens of purebred dog ownership, and to that end, it’s worth nothing that he was the owner of a Japanese Chin.
He wasn’t the first in America to own the breed, but he was among the earliest to have one, and we have to go back to 1853 to learn how he came to have one just a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War.
In the early 1850s, Commodore Matthew Perry traveled to Japan to open trade relations with the previously isolated country. When a trade agreement was signed during Perry’s second visit in 1854, Japan and America exchanged gifts as a gesture of goodwill, and several Japanese Chins were among the official gifts. Some sources write that Perry received seven dogs, other accounts suggest he was given three pairs, but either way, it should be noted that the gifts were intended not only for Perry, but also for other important figures including the US President and Queen Victoria of England. Perry did keep two dogs for himself which he later gave to his daughter, Caroline Perry Belmont. Two were given to President Franklin Pierce, and while he kept one of them, he gave the other to Jefferson Davis who was Secretary of War at the time. It’s believed that the gift was a reflection of the close relationship between Pierce and Davis who were not only colleagues, but also friends. By all accounts, Davis was delighted with his Japanese Chin whom he named Bonin,” and reportedly, Davis carried around a young Bonin in his pocket!
Given that Davis received the dog in the 1850s and the breed typically live 12-15 years, it’s likely that Bonin had passed away by the time of the Civil War.
As an aside, the first Japanese Chin registered with the American Kennel Club was in 1888, a dog named “Jap” owned by Fred Senn.
Image: From the Book of Dogs/National Geographic Society/public domain