The former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina, should be rebuilt as quickly as possible, say many Civil War buffs as well as officials at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

But civil rights groups and at least one congressional budget hawk decry congressional plans to provide money for rebuilding Beauvoir, the majestic house in Biloxi built in the 1850s that served as Davis' retirement home after the Civil War. Damage to the home amounts to at least an estimated $25 million.

"We adamantly oppose the restoration of Beauvoir," said Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson. "It is one of the most divisive symbols in this state and in this state's history."