Joseph R. Davis | |
|---|---|
) Davis in uniform, ca. 1861 | |
| Birth name | Joseph Robert Davis |
| Born | January 12, 1825 Wilkinson County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | September 15, 1896 (aged 71) Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Buried | Biloxi Cemetery, (30°23′52.1″N 88°54′27.2″W / 30.397806°N 88.907556°W)Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. |
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| Service/ | |
| Years of service | |
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| Commands held |
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| Battles/wars | American Civil War
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| Alma mater | Miami University (BA) |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 2 |
| Relations | Jefferson Davis (uncle) |
| Member of the Mississippi Senate from Madison and Scott counties | |
| In office 1860–1861 | |
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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.
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
- List of Confederate States Army generals
- List of members of the United Confederate Veterans
Notes
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
- Gottfried, Bradley M. (2012). Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61608-401-1.
- Stewart, George R. (1959). Pickett's Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. LCCN 59-8864.
- Williams, T. P. (1999). The Mississippi Brigade of Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Davis: A Geographical Account of its Campaigns and a Biographical Account of Its Personalities, 1861-1865. Dayton, Ohio: Morningside House, Inc. ISBN 0-89029-335-X.
External links
- Joseph R. Davis at Find a Grave
- Joseph R. Davis at The Political Graveyard
- Works by or about Joseph R. Davis in libraries (WorldCat catalog)