She was a Union Sympathizer and smuggled personal and family financial documents out of her home in her corset and over her dentures before her home in Oxford was burned by Union troops.
She was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner who lived on her large plantation and then her mother's plantation (after hers was burned) in Lafayette County, MS during the Civil War. Their plantation was burned entirely due to the fact they were such ardent Confederates. She wholeheartedly supported the institution of slavery and the CSA efforts to ensure slavery continued. Her husband, Jacob, served roles in the CSA military and government and, in 1864, was in Canada plotting to help CSA prisoners of war escape from IN, IL, and OH military prisons. Catherine joined him in 1865 and they fled the U.S. post-war staying abroad for years until her husband was allowed to return without the fear of facing a military tribunal. She was a die-hard Confederate. Her allegiance to the Confederacy and hatred for "Yankees," both the ones she encountered in Europe and those in Oxford, is found in her letters held at the University of Mississippi Archives. Her letters reveal her bitterness about their being abroad in avoiding punishment by the Union government and that Jacob was canny with his investments. She informed her son that they did have enough money to continue their affluent lifestyle. Lastly, the UM archives also contain a condolence letter from Varina Davis (wife of Jefferson Davis) to Catherine after Jacob's death attesting to the respect and value the Davis's held for the Thompsons.
~Dr. B. Kruse, Ph.D., Univ. of MS.
She was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner who lived on her large plantation and then her mother's plantation (after hers was burned) in Lafayette County, MS during the Civil War. Their plantation was burned entirely due to the fact they were such ardent Confederates. She wholeheartedly supported the institution of slavery and the CSA efforts to ensure slavery continued. Her husband, Jacob, served roles in the CSA military and government and, in 1864, was in Canada plotting to help CSA prisoners of war escape from IN, IL, and OH military prisons. Catherine joined him in 1865 and they fled the U.S. post-war staying abroad for years until her husband was allowed to return without the fear of facing a military tribunal. She was a die-hard Confederate. Her allegiance to the Confederacy and hatred for "Yankees," both the ones she encountered in Europe and those in Oxford, is found in her letters held at the University of Mississippi Archives. Her letters reveal her bitterness about their being abroad in avoiding punishment by the Union government and that Jacob was canny with his investments. She informed her son that they did have enough money to continue their affluent lifestyle. Lastly, the UM archives also contain a condolence letter from Varina Davis (wife of Jefferson Davis) to Catherine after Jacob's death attesting to the respect and value the Davis's held for the Thompsons.
~Dr. B. Kruse, Ph.D., Univ. of MS.
She was a Union Sympathizer and smuggled personal and family financial documents out of her home in her corset and over her dentures before her home in Oxford was burned by Union troops.
She was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner who lived on her large plantation and then her mother's plantation (after hers was burned) in Lafayette County, MS during the Civil War. Their plantation was burned entirely due to the fact they were such ardent Confederates. She wholeheartedly supported the institution of slavery and the CSA efforts to ensure slavery continued. Her husband, Jacob, served roles in the CSA military and government and, in 1864, was in Canada plotting to help CSA prisoners of war escape from IN, IL, and OH military prisons. Catherine joined him in 1865 and they fled the U.S. post-war staying abroad for years until her husband was allowed to return without the fear of facing a military tribunal. She was a die-hard Confederate. Her allegiance to the Confederacy and hatred for "Yankees," both the ones she encountered in Europe and those in Oxford, is found in her letters held at the University of Mississippi Archives. Her letters reveal her bitterness about their being abroad in avoiding punishment by the Union government and that Jacob was canny with his investments. She informed her son that they did have enough money to continue their affluent lifestyle. Lastly, the UM archives also contain a condolence letter from Varina Davis (wife of Jefferson Davis) to Catherine after Jacob's death attesting to the respect and value the Davis's held for the Thompsons.
~Dr. B. Kruse, Ph.D., Univ. of MS.
She was the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner who lived on her large plantation and then her mother's plantation (after hers was burned) in Lafayette County, MS during the Civil War. Their plantation was burned entirely due to the fact they were such ardent Confederates. She wholeheartedly supported the institution of slavery and the CSA efforts to ensure slavery continued. Her husband, Jacob, served roles in the CSA military and government and, in 1864, was in Canada plotting to help CSA prisoners of war escape from IN, IL, and OH military prisons. Catherine joined him in 1865 and they fled the U.S. post-war staying abroad for years until her husband was allowed to return without the fear of facing a military tribunal. She was a die-hard Confederate. Her allegiance to the Confederacy and hatred for "Yankees," both the ones she encountered in Europe and those in Oxford, is found in her letters held at the University of Mississippi Archives. Her letters reveal her bitterness about their being abroad in avoiding punishment by the Union government and that Jacob was canny with his investments. She informed her son that they did have enough money to continue their affluent lifestyle. Lastly, the UM archives also contain a condolence letter from Varina Davis (wife of Jefferson Davis) to Catherine after Jacob's death attesting to the respect and value the Davis's held for the Thompsons.
~Dr. B. Kruse, Ph.D., Univ. of MS.
Inscription
Wife of Hon. Jacob Thompson. Died at Oak Hill near Nashville, Tenn.
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