1 The Daily Intelligencer Bicentennial Commemorative
Edition Volume II 10/27/1975 Col. 1-3 Page 110
W.W.H. Davis
Doylestown’s grand old man had
fought in two wars and was a
territorial governor before he
settled down to become an
editor
and historian.
BY W. LESTER
TRAUCH His right sleeve slipped up. The scars of his Civil War injuries were revealed, as silent, curious urchins
stated intently at the wounds, not at the antique farm
imple- ment he was pointing out. Gen. William Watts Hart Davis was explaining a scythe to young Doylestown boys who visited him in
the society's office in the old Doylestown courthouse. Under the pretense of viewing the society's
collection, according to Doylestown mayor, Daniel D. Atkinson,
83, he and his schoolboy friends visited the Civil War
hero to silently gaze at the maiming Davis had suffered
dur- ing his years of military service. They were most curious about his right hand, for nearly all of his
fingers had been blown off by a shell fragment during the
battle at James Island in Charleston(S.C.) Bay. Atkingson said: Gen. Davis always welcomed us, was warm and friendly and would explain the antiques, guns and other
collec- tors’ items hanging on the walls and exhibited in the
room. We
didn't go because we were Interested in the historical collection. We went because we wanted to see the wounds on his hand that he received In the Civil
War. His cost sleeve would slip up as he was pointing out
cer- tain facts and we waited eagerly to see his battle
scars. Mayor Atkinson recalls that Davis never talked about his wounds to the small boys, which intrigued them even more keenly about the visible reminders of the general's heroism and gallantry for his country. Davis was not only a soldier, but a historian,
lawyer, writer and administrator. |
W.W.H.
DAVIS |
doned in 1846 and the name Doylestown Guards was
adopted. Amidst the tensions brewing in a growing country, the United states became involved with Mexico in a
dis- pute over the annexation of Texas. Davis' military inclinations led him to service in
the Southwest with the regular army, beginning in December, 1846.
During the two-year conflict he served as an aid-de camp to Gen. Cushing. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which settled the conflict.
Texas and California were annexed and the territories of New Mexico and Utah were ceded to the United States for $15 million. Because he had practiced law in Doylestown for four of five years and because of his military record, the
young army enlistee was selected to organize
territorial governments in New Mexico following the Arnerican victory. He
also served as the attorney general for the New Mexican territory and was appointed acting gover- nor and superintendent of Indian affairs during the mid-1850s. Davis interrupted his service in the Southwest to return to Doylestown and take a bride, Anna
Carpenter. They were married on June 24, 1856, and immediately begun making preparations to return to New Mexico. Davis liked to recall how his young bride and he were
part of a prairie schooner expedition that trekked
across the United States: Crossing the prairies we found ourselves surrounded by Anapahoo Indians.
We placed my wife in the bottom of the wagon and covered her over with our
possessions so the Indians would not see a women was with us. After his governmental service in New Mexico, Davis |
He founded the historical society Jan. 28, 1880. The first meeting was held in the library room of Lenape Hall the three-story brick structure at E. State and
S. Main streets, one of the most distinctive landmarks
in Doylestown.
The society was chartered Feb. 29. 1885 and Davis served as its president for 30 years. He was born July 27, 1820, in Davisville, one of four
children that survived of the seven born to John and Amy Hart Davis.
Since there were no hospitals in that era except in Philadelphia, he was born at the Hart homestead. His father's family came to America early in the 18th
century from Wales.
His mother's ancestors came from England.
Military service was traditional in his family for his grandfather had accompanied Gen. George Washington to Trenton on Dec. 25, 1776, crossing the Delaware River and surprising the Hessians end
British who were celebrating Christmas. Davis was educated at private schools, including a classical school in the Southampton Baptist
Church. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Doylestown and he was enrolled in an academy in the borough. The long and much-heralded military career of W.W.H. Davis began in 1839 when at age 19 he enlisted
in the Liberty Guards that drilled at Camp Jefferson near the Brick Tavern in Southampton. He maintained his affiliation with Bucks County military units while he furthered his education at Norwich University in Vermont, from which he was graduated in 1842.
Following graduation, Davis took a position as an instructor at a military school in Portsmouth., Va. Davis later attended Harvard Law School in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, and became a lawyer. He was ad- mitted to the Bucks County Bar in 1846. His education nearly completed, Davis renewed his participation in county military affairs. In 1845 he was promoted to adjutant of the Second Regiment of Bucks County Volunteers and a year later he became a major in the First Batallion. Militia operations in Doylestown were embodied in the Doylestown Grays, which were organized in September, 1835, in the Green Tree Hotel, now the white stuccoed home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Kenny at N. Main and N. Broad streets across from the
courthouse. Davis joined the group in June,1841. Anyone interested in history must note that the military group’s name was evidently derived from the color of the uniforms the men wore. The name was aban- |
Doylestown mayor, Daniel D. Atkinson, tells tales of Gen. W.W.H. Davis to school children (from left), Louis Chatman Jr., 11, Doyle Elementary School; Jane Edgar, 10, Doyle Elementary School; and James Woodburn, 12, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.
Davis is buried in Doylestown Cemetary. |
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