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 - BIA2775G0101.GIF

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 - BIA2775G0102.JPG

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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