USA Bio Henry E. Davies

[Battleline]

Maj. Gen. Henry E. Davies (b. 1836, d. 1894) After beginning the war with the infantry, Henry Eugene Davies spent most of the Civil War commanding cavalry forces. Davies fought at the Battle of Big Bethel June 10, 1861, as a captain in the Fifth New York Infantry. In August he made his switch to cavalry and advanced through the grades, becoming a major general near the end of the war. Davies, the nephew of Gen. Thomas A. Davies, was born July 2, 1836, in New York City. He received education at Harvard, Williams and Columbia colleges, graduating from Columbia in 1859. He studied law and gained admission to the state bar. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Davies became a captain in the Fifth New York. In August, he was appointed major of the Second New York Cavalry, also known as the Harris Light Cavalry in honor of U.S. Senator Ira Harris. This unit was attached to Irwin McDowell’s corps on the Rappahannock during the Peninsular Campaign. It saw action during the Second Bull Run Campaign. Meanwhile Davies continued to move up. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel Dec. 2, 1862. On June 16, 1863, Davies was promoted to colonel in command of the regiment. Soon after, the unit was bloodied in fighting at Beverly Ford and Aldie, Virginia, as the Confederates moved into the Gettysburg Campaign. During the fighting in Pennsylvania, the regiment was stationed at Westminster, Maryland. Davies was promoted to brigadier general Sept. 16, 1863. He first commanded a brigade in the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. He later commanded a division. In the raids of Generals Kilpatrick and Sheridan, Davies commanded his men in raids on Richmond and also fought during action in the Shennandoah Valley. He received a brevet promotion to major general Oct. 1, 1864. Davies was wounded at Hatcher’s Run Feb. 6, 1865, and received a promotion to full major general May 4, 1865. After the war, Davies commanded the Middle District of Alabama. He resigned from the army in January of 1866, returning to his law practice in New York. Davies was the city’s public administrator from 1866-69 and assistant district attorney for the southern district of New York until 1872. Later in life, Davies became an author, writing several books. Those included a biography of Gen. Phillip Sheridan. He died in Middleboro, Massachusetts, Sept. 7, 1894.

[Gil R.]

Thanks.

[cesteman]

I think I asked this before but didn't get a reply so I'll ask again. What sources are you guys using? I might be interested in helping if it's not a lot of work because my time is limited and I have little time for FoF as it is but I'd like to help out. Thanks.

[cesteman]

Oh, almost forgot, is there an updated file so if I do start checking I don't turn in something that is already been posted? Thanks.

[Gil R.]

Cesteman,
It would be good to have you aboard. If you're interested, the best ways to go about getting generals to write about would be either to have me assign some pseudo-randomly from the list, or to give me names of guys who interest you so that I can see if they're available.

[cesteman]

Ummm... I can't think of anyone off the top of my head. Most of the generals I know have already had their bios updated. Maybe assign me a few for starters and lets see what I can come up with. I'll take a look at a current game I am playing right now and see if there are any that I think need to be added.

[Gil R.]

I'd like to get more of the Union 25/100-percenters done. Some of the guys still out there include Buford, Meade, Pope, Reynolds, Halleck, Hooker, Meade, McClellan, McPherson, Gregg, Sedwick and Chamberlain. Do any of those guys interest you in particular? I can give you some 9-percenters in addition or instead.

[cesteman]

wow, I thought all of those would have already been done. I'll tackle Buford for now and see how that goes if that's ok.

[Gil R.]

Buford it is, then. Thanks, and welcome aboard.

[cesteman]

I'll hit the library and see what I can come up with. jkbluesman has been feeding me some good sources to start with. I hope I can help out.

[Battleline]

I'll grab Meade first, if it's OK. Funny. I had just expected to write up the lesser-ranked generals others didn't want.
I would be happy to do little Mac (McClellan) as well.


Good sources I use for my bios:
Ezra T. Warner's "Generals in Blue" and "Generals in Gray" which can be found at many big bookstores. I believe I got my copies from Borders. These two will give you bios on everyone who was commissioned as a general for either side and lists of those who never were confirmed or served in a brevet or volunteer role. Warner's works are a good base for any bio.
"Encyclopedia of the American Civil War" by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, probably the latest source on the Civil War. Very detailed but lacks many central figures.
"Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War" edited by Patricia L Faust. I've used this source to help beef up some of my bios as it seems to have more of the battles and campaigns of the generals than Warner's works.
Online, there's always www.civilwarhome.com , which has links to battles, bios, official records, orders of battle, etc.

Thanks,
Battleline

[Gil R.]

Battleline, not only are you volunteering for two 100-percenters, but they're both Union 100-percenters? Are you sure you're okay?

Still, I'll put you down for them, even if you might not be legally sane and therefore cannot enter into an agreement...

[Battleline]

I don't mind writing up Yankees. That's what needs to be done at this moment and we need to get them all written anyway.
I had figured we would have had people lining up to write up McClellan, creator of the Army of the Potomac, and Meade, the fellow who commanded it for the longest time.
Actually, the only time I've been able to play the game, I did so as the Union. Despite controlling just about every spot on the map, I still lost because it took too long!
Thanks,
Battleline

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: Battleline

I'll grab Meade first, if it's OK. Funny. I had just expected to write up the lesser-ranked generals others didn't want.
I would be happy to do little Mac (McClellan) as well.


Good sources I use for my bios:
Ezra T. Warner's "Generals in Blue" and "Generals in Gray" which can be found at many big bookstores. I believe I got my copies from Borders. These two will give you bios on everyone who was commissioned as a general for either side and lists of those who never were confirmed or served in a brevet or volunteer role. Warner's works are a good base for any bio.
"Encyclopedia of the American Civil War" by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler, probably the latest source on the Civil War. Very detailed but lacks many central figures.
"Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War" edited by Patricia L Faust. I've used this source to help beef up some of my bios as it seems to have more of the battles and campaigns of the generals than Warner's works.
Online, there's always www.civilwarhome.com , which has links to battles, bios, official records, orders of battle, etc.

Thanks,
Battleline

Also, don't forget about Wikipedia. We all know that site has its issues, but it often has quotes, details, anecdotes, etc. about generals that one doesn't find in dry reference books such as Heidler's encyclopedia.

[Gil R.]

Here's Davies. I changed around the beginning somewhat, since certain info was being repeated. In reading up on Davies, I discovered what a fascinating character Kilpatrick was -- someone might want to do his bio.


Maj. Gen. Henry Eugene Davies (b. 1836, d. 1894). After beginning the Civil War with the infantry at the rank of captain, Davies spent most of it commanding cavalry forces and ultimately rose to the rank of major general. Davies, the nephew of Gen. Thomas A. Davies, was born July 2, 1836, in New York City. He received education at Harvard, Williams and Columbia colleges, graduating from Columbia in 1859; he next studied law and gained admission to the state bar. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Davies became a captain in the 5th New York Infantry Regiment, first seeing action at the Battle of Big Bethel, the first battle of the war, on June 10, 1861. In August, he was appointed major of the 2nd New York Cavalry, also known as the Harris Light Cavalry in honor of U.S. Senator Ira Harris. This unit was attached to Gen. Irvin McDowell’s corps on the Rappahannock River during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862, and later saw action during the Second Bull Run Campaign. Meanwhile, Davies continued to move up in rank: he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 2, 1862, and on June 16, 1863, received a promotion to colonel in command of the regiment. Soon after, the unit was bloodied in fighting at Beverly Ford and Aldie, Virginia, as the Confederates initiated the Gettysburg Campaign. During the fighting in Pennsylvania, the regiment was stationed at Westminster, Maryland. (Doing what?) Davies was promoted to brigadier general on September 16, 1863. He first commanded a brigade in the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and later commanded a division. (Was this before or after his promotion to major general?) Serving under Gen. Hugh J. Kilpatrick, Davies commanded his men in the failed “Kilpatrick-Dahlgren” raid towards Richmond in early 1864, and later that year fought under Gen. Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns, earning a brevet promotion to major general on October 1, 1864. Davies was wounded at Hatcher’s Run on February 6, 1865. After the war, Davies received a promotion to full major general on May 4, 1865, and briefly commanded the Middle District of Alabama. He resigned from the army in January of 1866, returning to his law practice in New York. He was the city’s public administrator from 1866-69 and assistant district attorney for the southern district of New York until 1872. Later in life, Davies became an author, writing several books, one of which was a biography of Sheridan. Davies died in Middleboro, Massachusetts, on September 7, 1894. (Bio by Bill Battle)

Leadership: 3
Tactical: 6
Initiative: 2
Command: 3
Cavalry: 3

Teaches: Disciplined, Independent, Foragers

Start date: 64

[jkBluesman]

Battleline: I hope you can include in "Young Napoleon's" bio that he was master of the "inoffensive defensive" (General Jacob Cox) and messias of his own believe.

Gil: If your calling for new volunteers for the Union high command has had no unknown effect, I would write a scatch on "Mister F.J. Hooker".

[Battleline]

Westminster, Maryland: Since the unit was hit hard at Beverly Ford and Aldie on the way to Virginia, one could assume that they were stationed at Westminster as a reserve in case the Confederates broke out after Gettysburg.

Brigade and Division Command: Since Davies isn't in Heidler's, my two primary sources of "Generals in Blue" and the "Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War" are my primary sources. And both leave quite a bit to speculation especially with the promotions and dates of brigade and division command. Federal promotions are a bit confusing. A fellow could have a colonel's commission in the regular army, a major general's commission in state militia forces and a brigadier general of volunteers. Unlike the Confederate promotions, Warner seems to leave out dates and sometime grade changes alltogether, for the Union generals. In short, my data doesn't give me any dates of Davies move to division comand.

Thanks,
Battleline

[Gil R.]

Thanks for the information. I've made two changes that avoid the issue without appearing to avoid the issue:


Maj. Gen. Henry Eugene Davies (b. 1836, d. 1894). After beginning the Civil War with the infantry at the rank of captain, Davies spent most of it commanding cavalry forces and ultimately rose to the rank of major general. Davies, the nephew of Gen. Thomas A. Davies, was born July 2, 1836, in New York City. He received education at Harvard, Williams and Columbia colleges, graduating from Columbia in 1859; he next studied law and gained admission to the state bar. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Davies became a captain in the 5th New York Infantry Regiment, first seeing action at the Battle of Big Bethel, the first battle of the war, on June 10, 1861. In August, he was appointed major of the 2nd New York Cavalry, also known as the Harris Light Cavalry in honor of U.S. Senator Ira Harris. This unit was attached to Gen. Irvin McDowell’s corps on the Rappahannock River during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862, and later saw action during the Second Bull Run Campaign. Meanwhile, Davies continued to move up in rank: he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 2, 1862, and on June 16, 1863, received a promotion to colonel in command of the regiment. Soon after, the unit was bloodied in fighting at Beverly Ford and Aldie, Virginia, as the Confederates initiated the Gettysburg Campaign. During the fighting in Pennsylvania, the regiment was stationed at Westminster, Maryland, southeast of Gettysburg. Davies, who would command a brigade in the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac and later a division, was promoted to brigadier general on September 16, 1863. Serving under Gen. Hugh J. Kilpatrick, Davies commanded his men in the failed “Kilpatrick-Dahlgren” raid towards Richmond in early 1864, and later that year fought under Gen. Philip Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley Campaigns, earning a brevet promotion to major general on October 1, 1864. Davies was wounded at Hatcher’s Run on February 6, 1865. After the war, Davies received a promotion to full major general on May 4, 1865, and briefly commanded the Middle District of Alabama. He resigned from the army in January of 1866, returning to his law practice in New York. He was the city’s public administrator from 1866-69 and assistant district attorney for the southern district of New York until 1872. Later in life, Davies became an author, writing several books, one of which was a biography of Sheridan. Davies died in Middleboro, Massachusetts, on September 7, 1894. (Bio by Bill Battle)

[DrewGator]

I'd be interested in writing the bio for Joshua Chamberlain if it is still needed.

[wzh55]

Gil,
I would be interested in doing a general bio. Maybe you could assign me one ot two and I would see what I can come up with. Of course, I'd perfer reb leaders, but if you need, yankees are okay. I'll just slip in something stupid (kidding).