"I inclose to you two letters, that you may see how well founded was my apprehension that evil would result from presenting the issue made by the terms of the resolution in relation to a day of fast, &c. Many well-disposed persons do not understand the constitutional restriction upon my conduct, and as many, perhaps, do not know that the signature of the Secretary of State is a form properly observed in proclamations, as in commissions to officers, when issued by the President, and that he is as little responsible for the one as the other. It might have been well that our Constitution should not only have recognized a God, as it does, but the Saviour of mankind also; that it should have had not merely a religious but a Christian basis. But such is not its character, and my oath binds me to observe the Constitution as it is, not as I would have it, if in any respect I should wish it changed."
with--three items: the two letters sent to Davis, one signed "A Christian Mother" the other "Your Sister in Christ," each criticizing the language of Davis's fast day proclamations. The first: ". . . Alas! that Jefferson Davis should fear a Jew more than he honors Jesus! . . . Sir you are . . . doing a gross wrong to a Christian people: above all insulting God by the Judaising [sic] of your very proclamation . . . to please a Godless & prayerless Sect'y of State! . . ." 2 pages; markedly faded. The second: ". . . [Y]ou have failed in your duty to God as well as to us. . . . [A]t such a solemn crisis there should be a full recognition of the Triune Jehovah and that some place should be assigned JP Benjamin where his talents might serve us without standing between us as a people and our spiritual service to our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. . . ." 4 pages. Richmond, 27 January; 25 February 1865 A statement signed by Archibald R. Watson, attesting that he received the letters in this lot from his father, James H. Watson, who received them from his father, Senator John William Clark Watson (1808-1890).
On several occasions during his Confederate presidency, Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation appointing a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer. The language of the proclamations included reminders to recognize or give thanks to "Almighty God," the "Sovereign of the Universe," the "Supreme Disposer," and the "Lord of Hosts," but there was no mention of "Jesus," "Christ," the "Son of God," or the "Savior of Mankind." The Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin, who countersigned all presidential proclamations, did not disguise his Jewish faith, leading some zealous Christians to conclude that Benjamin's influence had prevented any Christian references. In the present letter, Davis explains that the non-denominational language of the proclamations is due to the structure of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America. The Confederate Constitution contains no language that could justify an exclusively Christian interpretation of "God," which Davis seems to believe is a flaw.