Joseph R. Davis

Major-General Joseph Robert Davis (January 12, 1825 – September 15, 1896) was a senior officer of the Mississippi National Guard who served as the commanding general from 1882 to 1890.[1] During the American Civil War, he served as aide-de-camp to the President of the Confederate States and commanded a brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia. He is best known for his role at Gettysburg.[2] He previously served as the Mississippi state senator from Madison and Scott counties from 1860 to 1861.

Joseph R. Davis
Davis in uniform, ca. 1861
Birth nameJoseph Robert Davis
Born(1825-01-12)January 12, 1825
Wilkinson County, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedSeptember 15, 1896(1896-09-15) (aged 71)
Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
Buried
Biloxi Cemetery,
Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S.
(30°23′52.1″N 88°54′27.2″W)
Allegiance
Service/branch
Years of service
Rank
Commands held
  • Davis' Brigade (1862–1865)
  • Mississippi National Guard (1882–1890)
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War
Alma materMiami University (BA)
Spouse(s)
  • Frances H. Peyton
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1848; div. 1878)​
  • Margaret C. Green
    ​
    (m. 1879)​
Children2
RelationsJefferson Davis (uncle)
Member of the Mississippi Senate
from Madison and Scott counties
In office
1860–1861

Early life and education

Joseph Robert Davis was born in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, on January 12, 1825, and was educated at Miami University of Ohio. Trained in the law, he practiced his profession in Madison County, and was elected to the Mississippi Senate in 1860.[3]

American Civil War

Entering the Confederate service as Captain of Militia from Madison County, Mississippi, Davis had no military training. He was soon made Lieutenant-Colonel of the Tenth Regiment, Mississippi Volunteers, after which he served on the military staff of his uncle, President Jefferson Davis, in Richmond as an aide de camp with the rank of Colonel of Cavalry.[4] Commissioned a brigadier-general to rank from September 15, 1862, and confirmed by the Senate only after charges of nepotism were freely aired and his nomination once rejected, Davis was assigned a brigade in Heth's Division, Army of Northern Virginia, which he led through some of the most bitter battles of the war. He fought at Gettysburg (where his brigade suffered heavily in the railroad cut on the first day of the battle and participated in Pickett's Charge on the third day), in the Wilderness Campaign, and at the siege of Petersburg.[5][6]

Later years

Paroled at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, Davis returned to Mississippi. He died September 15, 1896 and is buried at Biloxi Cemetery.[7][8]

See also

Notes
  1. Biloxi Herald, 1896.
  2. Warner, 1959, pp. 68-69.
  3. Warner, 1959, pp. 68-69.
  4. Hooker, 1899, pp. 249-50.
  5. Hooker, 1899, pp. 249-50.
  6. Warner, 1959, pp. 68-69.
  7. Hooker, 1899, pp. 249-50.
  8. Warner, 1959, pp. 68-69.

References
  • "Gen. Joseph R. Davis." Biloxi Herald. 19 September 1896.
  • Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1.
  • Sifakis, Stewart. Who Was Who in the Civil War. New York: Facts On File, 1988. ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4.
  • Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9.
  • Wheeler, Maj.-Gen. Joseph; Hooker, Col. Charles E. (1899). Evans, Brig.-Gen. Clement A. (ed.). Confederate Military History. XII. Atlanta: Confederate Publishing.
  • Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi. II. Goodspeed Publishing Co. 1891. Retrieved September 20, 2014.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.