Comer House: Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis, former president of the Confederate States of America, was a guest in 1886 in the house on the northeast corner of Bull and Taylor Streets. The residence (built about 1880) was at that time the home of Hugh M. Comer, President of the Central of Georgia Railway. Accompanied by his daughter, Winnie Davis, "the Daughter of the Confederacy," Mr. Davis arrived in Savannah, May 3, 1886. He was escorted from Atlanta by a committee of Savannahians consisting of Hugh M. Comer, J H. Estill, J. K. Garnett, George A. Mercer, J. R. Saussy, and Gen. G. Moxley Sorrel. The trip to Savannah has been described as a "continuous ovation." The occasion of the visit of Jefferson Davis was the celebration of the centennial of the Chatham Artillery, one of the oldest and most distinguished military units in the United States. During his stay in Savannah the former President of the Confederacy received tributes of respect and affection from the local citizenry, visiting military organizations as well as from the thousands of visitors who attended the centennial festivities.