William Watts Hart Davis

William Watts Hart Davis (born July 27, 1820 in Davisville , Pennsylvania , † December 26, 1910 in Doylestown , Pennsylvania) was an American lawyer, officer , newspaper publisher, politician and historian .

Career

William Watts Hart Davis was born in 1820 to John Davis and his wife Amy (1784–1847), née Hart, near the then independent community of Davisville. In the mid- 19th century , Davisville and the surrounding parishes became part of the city of Southampton ( Bucks County ). His father served in the State Militia during the British-American War of 1812 , where he rose from captain to major general . He later embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . From 1839 to 1841 he was a member of Congress in Washington, DC President James K. Polk then appointed him Head of the Port of Philadelphia in 1845 - a post he held until 1849. William Watts Hart Davis attended a private school in Doylestown, Bucks County. His military career began at the early age of ten, when he was in a local militia unit entered the name of Liberty Guards. As a young adult, he attended Norwich University , a military school in Northfield ( Vermont ). After graduating, he became a military instructor at the Military Academy in Portsmouth ( Virginia appointed).

In the following years he studied law at Harvard University . His student days were overshadowed by the economic crisis of 1837 .

After the outbreak of the Mexican-American War he enlisted as a private in the first Massachusetts Infantry Regiment , where he quickly rose to First Lieutenant , presumably because of his military training and education. During the war, he then rose further up his career path. He was aide-de-camp , then Assistant Adjutant General, next Commissary Officer and when he was retired in 1848 he was a captain in Company E in the First Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.

President Franklin Pierce appointed him United States Attorney for the New Mexico Territory in 1853 and later as Attorney General of the New Mexico Territory.

In 1856 he married Anna Carpenter (1832-1881), in New Mexico Territory. The couple had four children: Jacob C. (1857-1944), Margaret (1860-1936), John (1862-1868) and Eleanor Hart (1870-1927).

On his return to Pennsylvania in 1857, he bought a newspaper there, the Doylestown Democrat, and practiced there as a lawyer. Davis lived with his family on East Court Street across from Bucks County Court House . He ran for Congress twice without success.

After the outbreak of the Civil War , Davis decided to fight on the side of the Northern States and therefore enlisted in the Union Army . With the rank of captain, he commanded Company I in the 25th Pennsylvania Regiment - a company that was set up on Fort Sumter in the first 24 hours after the bombardment . The 25th Pennsylvania Regiment was also known as the "First Defenders". At the beginning of the war, many believed that few battles needed to be fought and that victory over the enemy would be achieved in a few months. Therefore, the first volunteers were only hired for a period of three months. A gross misjudgment back then, as we know today. Davis and his people belonged to such a unit with the difference that they were the first troops to march through Baltimore ( Maryland ) after the unrest . Prior to that, the Baltimore insurgents, who sympathized with the southern states , had expressed displeasure with Union forces as they marched through the city. The troops were defending Washington, DC on the orders of President Abraham Lincoln . The deadly confrontation led the army to move their troops across Baltimore in the middle of the night to avoid possible bloodshed between civilians and the military. The 25th Pennsylvania Regiment crossed Baltimore without incident. After serving in the upper reaches of the Potomac , Captain Davis was retired on July 25, 1861. Upon his return, Davis began to raise the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment , mostly from residents of Bucks County.

Davis became Colonel of the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment in a manner that, according to the Doylestown Democrat, was "unique among commanders in the Civil War". He was not called up as a Colonel in the usual way, but called himself Colonel by “taking oath of oath to Squire John B. Pugh at Doylestown.” Over time, he gathered many men around him and trained the troops, to lead them into battle. Davis and his 104th Pennsylvania Regiment set up camp in Washington, DC . On site he was given command of a provisional brigade consisting of the 52nd Pennsylvania Regiment, the 56th New York Regiment and his own 104th Pennsylvania Regiment. Davis was given the title of Provisional Brigadier General, although he was still officially a Colonel (see brevet rank ). Subsequently, Colonel Davis served as a brigade or division commander without actually having been promoted to brigadier general or major general. Davis held the rank of Colonel throughout the war despite proposals from his superiors that he should be promoted to Brigadier General. It was not until March 13, 1865, after his military service was finished, that Davis was appointed Brevet Brigadier General.

On May 31, 1862, Davis and his 104th Pennsylvania Regiment took part in the Battle of Seven Pines during the Peninsula Campaign . It was their most costly battle in the entire war. In their statement, the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment was at the forefront in the army of George B. McClellan of the outskirts of nearby Richmond ( Virginia ). In the course of the fighting, his regiment fought violently against the defenders of the city in the south. Due to a lack of support, the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment was pushed back across the battlefield. The regimental flags were left behind in the mess. Colonel Davis then organized a detachment to retrieve the flags before they could fall into enemy hands. A wild onslaught followed by hand-to-hand combat brought the flags back, but Davis and others were wounded beforehand. Davis stayed away from the action for a while because of a severe wound to his left elbow. Hiram Purcell received the Medal of Honor for his heroic efforts in this endeavor .

After his recovery Colonel Davis joined his 104th Pennsylvania Regiment and then marched with this for Charleston ( South Carolina ). As long as he was active in this area of ​​operations, he and his troops were stationed on Morris Island , Folly Island and James Island . These are some of the many uninhabited islands that are found in Charleston Harbor Bay on the Atlantic coast . In this theater of war, Davis had command of brigades, divisions and for a time all of the Union forces. Following an order from General Quincy Adams Gillmore , in command of the Department of the South, Davis and his regiment made 400 stakes 11-1 / 2  feet long and 5  inches in diameter for mounting a large artillery piece to fire on the City of Charleston. Known as "Swamp Angle" was this lb Parrott 200-gun placed in an impenetrable swamp near Morris Iceland. The piles delivered were driven into the baseless swamp and formed the foundation for the battery , which eventually fired grenades into the city. In one of his lectures, Davis later told the following story about the difficult work in the swamp:

“The active work, of building the battery, was assigned to a Lieutenant of the New York Engineers, and when the place was pointed out to him, by his Colonel, he said it was impossible, to which the Colonel replied, 'there is No such word as impossible 'and said the battery must be built there. This settled the question, and, to encourage the doubting Lieutenant the Colonel authorized him to call for anything he might need; whereupon the Lieutenant made requisition for 'one hundred men, eighteen feet tall to wade through mud twelve feet deep.' This little bit of pleasantry cost the Lieutenant his arrest, but he was soon released and the battery was built by men of ordinary stature. "

“A lieutenant was hired by the New York Engineers to actually set up the battery. When he was shown the location by his Colonel, he said, 'It's impossible.' Thereupon the Colonel replied: 'There is no such word as impossible, the battery has to be set up there.' To get the job done and to encourage the desperate lieutenant, the Colonel authorized him to request whatever was needed, at which point the lieutenant wanted 'a hundred men 18 feet tall to wade in the twelve foot swamp.' The lieutenant was arrested for the little joke, but was soon released. The battery was then assembled by men of normal stature. "

On Morris Island he then took part in the last and successful attack on Fort Wagner , where the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry had previously suffered a defeat, which consisted exclusively of African-American soldiers. This attack, in which more than 50 percent of the men died, and the history of the regiment were themed in the feature film Glory (1989). The regiment was part of his 104th Pennsylvania Regiment, which he referred to as the "Boat Infantry". It was later assigned to "patrol the port of Charleston in order to intercept enemy support for Sumter." Davis was later relieved from sole command of Morris Island and his nearly 10,000-strong military unit. He was given command of the Middle District - a large sector that included Hilton Head Island and the vitally important Fort Pulaski .

After a release from duty (LOA), Davis took command of his troops, which were stationed around the port of Charleston. While on a scouting party during the Siege of Charleston, Davis was hit on the hand by a fragment of an exploding grenade. The fingers on his right hand were torn from the explosion. He was then sent back home to recover from his injuries. Upon recovery, Davis was summoned to Philadelphia to take his place on the General Court Martial Board - a position he held until his retirement.

After the war ended, his views on Reconstruction coincided with those of the late President Abraham Lincoln. In a letter to the City of Harrisburg's 4th of July Celebration Committee in 1865, he wrote the following:

“Let conciliation and generosity be the ruling policy; let the people of the South be treated as erring citizens and not as implacable foes. Let there be neither confiscation nor hanging for political offenses; let justice everywhere be largely tempered with mercy. "

“Let reconciliation and generosity be dominant politics; treat the people of the south as erroneous citizens and not as implacable enemies. Let there be neither confiscation nor hanging for their political offenses; let righteousness be largely tempered with grace. "

Davis founded the Bucks County Historical Society in 1880 .

Works (selection)

Davis wrote ten books during his life:

• 1857: El Gringo, Or, New Mexico and Her People
• 1860: History of the battle of the Crooked Billet, fought May 1, 1778
• 1866: History of the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment, from August 22nd, 1861, to September 30th, 1864
• 1869: The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico
• 1876: The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania: From the Discovery of the Delaware to the Present Time
• 1888: The Spaniard in New Mexico
• History of the Doylestown Guards
• Life of John Davis
• Oration at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, on Decoration Day, May 30, 1884
• The Fries Rebellion (1798-99)

Trivia

In 1866, Davis was instrumental in raising funds for the construction of the monument to the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment in downtown Doylestown.

Davis was also active in organizing his regiment's meetings. These took place in various locations around Bucks County, from Quakertown to Bristol and from Hartsville to Frenchtown .

literature

• Ed Ludwig, Brooks McNamara, Betty Strecker: Doylestown: The County Seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania , Arcadia Publishing, 2000, pp. 43-47, ISBN 9780738504971

Individual evidence

1. ↑ John Davis in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
2. ↑ Amry Hart Davis in the database of Find a Grave . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
3. ^ Anna Carpenter Davis in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
4. ↑ Jacob C. Davis in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
5. ↑ Margaret Davis Patterson in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
6. ^ Davis John Davis in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
7. ↑ Eleanor Hart Davis in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved September 8, 2017.
8. ↑ Northern Star ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF document), No. 28, February 2011, p. 3
9. ^ Jordan, John: Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania, Genealogical Publishing Company, 2004, p. 380
10. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: El Gringo, Or, New Mexico and Her People , Harper & Brothers, 1857
11. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: History of the battle of the Crooked Billet, fought May 1, 1778 , Democrat Office Press, 1860
12. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: History of the 104th Pennsylvania Regiment, from August 22nd, 1861, to September 30th, 1864 , JB Rogers, 1866
13. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico , Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1869
14. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: The History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania: From the Discovery of the Delaware to the Present Time , Democrat Book and Job Office Print, 1876
15. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: The Spaniard in New Mexico , 1888
16. ↑ William Watts Hart Davis: History of the Doylestown Guards , BiblioBazaar, 2009, ISBN 9781110472666 (new edition)
17. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: Life of John Davis , Wentworth Press, 2016, ISBN 9781371284138 (new edition)
18. ^ William Watts Hart Davis: Oration at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, on Decoration Day, May 30, 1884
19. ↑ William Watts Hart Davis: The Fries Rebellion (1798-99) , Arno Press, 1969 (new edition)

Web links

• William Watts Hart Davis in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Bucky County Civil War Museum and Library - The Military Career of WWH Davis