|
William Watts Hart Davis in his later years
William was born on July 27, 1820 at the family home (known in those
days as the Hart Homestead) located in Davisville, Southampton Township,
Bucks County Pennsylvania. This part of
the Township was named after his father’s family. He was the only son of General John Davis and
Amy Hart Davis. He had five sisters,
Ann, Rebecca, Sarah, Amy and Elizabeth.
His mother’s family also grew up at the Hart Homestead, the daughter of
another military leader. The Harts were
so well known in that part of Bucks County that the crossroads of Bristol and York Roads became known as
Hartsville. His father was acknowledged
as a great military man and a natural politician, becoming a powerful Democratic
leader in Bucks County, being elected to congress in
1838. During his political career
spanning forty years, he had a closely aligned friendship with James Buchanan
and helped push him into the Presidency.
Once James Buchanan became President of the United States, he fell out of favor
with General John Davis. Apparently,
General John Davis approached Buchanan looking for an appointment for his then
grown son WWH Davis. It was said that
Buchanan replied “General Davis, you have been in office for four years under
President Polk and your son has been in office for four years under President
Pierce and I think your family must stand back and let someone else have
something, you have had enough.” From
that day forward, Buchanan could never count on the Davis and Hart families for
any support.
General John Davis ~ Father
of WWH Davis
The young William Davis was named after his mother’s brother William
Watts Hart, a member of the Bucks
County bar, who died at
an early age in Doylestown at the home of George Brock on East Court Street of
typhus fever in 1815. Young William
would be known as Watts Davis around the village of Davisville,
as he moved into adulthood, he would be known as WWH Davis.
Watts was reared on the old
Hart homestead and his childhood was spent helping his father around the
farm. His father also ran a saw mill for
many years along with a General Store.
His parents stressed the importance of education and his earliest school
years were spent at a private school of a Davisville neighbor, Anna
Longstreth. Before long, he was schooled
enough to move from the Anna Longstreth School
to the classical school at the Southampton
Baptist Church. By the time he hit his teenage years; he
moved from the family home to the William Purdy residence in Doylestown and
attended the Academy there. He also attended school in Hartsville, Newtown and Burlington,
New Jersey.
The Home of Anna Longstreth ~
she had a school for Boys and Girls here during the 1820 and 1830’s. This was the 1st school he attended..
Southampton Baptist
Church
–Davies 2nd school he attended
Doylestowns Academy – Davis would attend school
here during his early teens. The
building was razed in 1889.
When Watts was not studying or working
on the farm, he would have been working at his fathers General Store. The store supplied much of the staples needed
in the local Davisville area. The countless hours spent behind the stores
counter allowed him to learn practical business methods and habits of
industry. The Davisville General Store
would outlive General John Davis and on his death in 1876, his sister Rebecca
and her husband Alfred T. Duffield would take over the business for many more
years.
One of General John Davis’
business’ was this Saw Mill. This photo
was taken many years after it was run by the Davis family
Watts was always fascinated with his fathers Military stories and as a
youth was enlisted in a Bucks
County militia group
known as the ‘Liberty Gaurds’. In 1841,
Watts would pack his bags and move north, entering into Captain Alden
Partridge’s University and Military School in Norwich,
Vermont. He was so advanced, that he did three years
of course work in only sixteen months, graduating in 1842 with degrees of A.M.
and M.M.S. That same year he moved south
and became a military instructor in Portsmouth
Virginia. This is about the time his name would not
longer be known as Watts, but WWH Davis.
When the Mexican War broke out, Davis left his position as military
instructor and enlisted as a private in the 1st Massachusetts Infantry where he
rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant, due in no doubt to his military training
and schooling. During the war his responsibilities increased, as he was
Aide-de-Camp, then Assistant Adjutant General, next he was Commissary Officer,
until finally he was mustered out in 1848 as Captain of Co. E 1st Mass
Infantry. ..
After the war, Davis
would return to Doylestown and practice law for the next several years, living
in a brick home on East Court Street opposite the courthouse. In 1853, President Franklin Pierce would
appoint him to the position of United States
district attorney of the territory
of New Mexico. He would move to New Mexico for the next four years. While there, he published a newspaper at Santa Fe in both Spanish
and English.
Davis would marry on June 24,
1856 to Anna Carpenter of Brooklyn,
NY. During their lifetime, she would bear seven
children, but only three would survive to adulthood: Jacob C, Margaret and
Eleanor. Anna was a domestic woman, she
believed in her husband and whatever he undertook, she encouraged and
supported. Immediately following their
marriage, Anna and WWH Davis in a prairie schooner, trekked from Doylestown all
the way to rural New Mexico
encountering dangers and privations which most woman of that day would not have
accepted. Anna however supported he
husband in his duty to his country.
He would again return to Doylestown in 1857. With what he learned about the newspaper
publishing business in New Mexico,
he would use in Doylestown, when he purchased a local newspaper called the
‘Doylestown Democrat’. This newspaper
was the heart of the Bucks County Democratic party. He would own and edit this paper for over 20
years.
Looking East on Court Street from Main Street (starting on right) Doylestown Democrat
Building with brick fountain in front,
next are the two Intelligencer Buildings, Printers Alley and a Law Office prior
to the building of the 1929 Doylestown
National Bank
Building.
His time at the Democrat was interrupted for a few years when the Civil
War erupted. William offered his
services to his country and allowed others to run his business affairs. With
the rank of Captain, W. W. H. Davis led Company I of the 25th Pennsylvania
Regiment, a company he raised in the 24 hrs following the bombardment of Ft. Sumter.
The 25th Pennsylvania Regiment was also known as the "First
Defenders". After service on the Upper Potomac, Captain W. W. H. Davis was mustered out on
July 25, 1861. Upon his return home to Doylestown, William began raising the
104th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment composed primarily of men of
the area.
William was not mustered in as
Colonel of the 104th in the usual way; instead he mustered himself
in by taking the oath of allegiance before Squire John B. Pugh, of Doylestown.
Colonel Davis assembled and trained the troops he would soon lead into battle
at what was known as Ft.
Lacey on the western side
of Doylestown. Today this land is the
home of Central Bucks West High School.
William and the 104th were bivouacked in Washington
D.C. where he was put in command of a
Provisional Brigade consisting of the 52nd Pennsylvania,
56th New York, and his 104th Pennsylvania unit. Davis
was given the title of Provisional Brigadier General although still officially
a Colonel. This would start a trend in which Colonel Davis served as Brigade or
Divisional Commander without actually being promoted to Brigadier or Major
General. He remained a Colonel throughout his service in the war despite letter
campaigns by his superiors to have him promoted to Brigadier General. It wasn't
until March of 1865, after his military service ended, that Colonel Davis was
brevetted to Brigadier General.
On May 31st 1862
Colonel Davis and the 104th experienced their deadliest encounter of the war.
Positioned at the front of George McClellan's Army near the outskirts of Richmond Virginia,
the 104th became engaged in a fierce struggle against the counterattacking
defenders of that Southern city. Facing overwhelming odds and lacking support,
the104th was driven back across the casualty-strewn field. In the confusion the
regimental colors were left behind. Colonel Davis seeing this organized a squad
to retrieve the flags before they could fall into enemy hands. A mad dash
followed by close combat yielded the colors to the men of the 104th, but not
before Davis
and others were wounded. A severe wound to the left elbow forced Colonel Davis
away from the front for a short period of recuperation. This heroic struggle
led to the decoration of Hiram Purcell with the Medal of Honor.
Pencil Sketch of the Brigade
Head Quarter at St Helena Island in South
Carolina
Davis rejoined the 104th in
time to be transported with them to Charleston
S.C. While assigned to this area
of operation, Colonel Davis was stationed on Morris Island, Folly Island, and
James Island just some of the many islands that ring the Charleston Harbor. In
this theater, Davis
would take command of Brigades, Divisions, and at times entire Union forces.
One assignment given to Davis and the 104th by
General Gilmore, the commander of the Dept. of the South, was to have cut, four
hundred 11-1/2 ft long by 5-inch diameter poles for the mounting of a gun to be
used to bombard the City of Charleston.
Known as the "Swamp Angle" this 200 lb Parrot Rifle was to be located
in an impenetrable marsh near Morris
Island. The poles
supplied were driven into the bottomless swamp and became the foundation for
the battery that would eventually lob shells into the city. In one of Davis' lectures he tells
a funny story concerning the daunting task of working in the muck and mire.
"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." On Morris Island, he took part in the final and successful
assault of Fort Wagner site of the earlier defeat of the
54th Mass Colored Inf. A portion of the 104th which he designated "Boat
Infantry" were later tasked with "prowling around the harbor of Charleston
trying to intercept the enemy's relief for Sumter." On one instance the men brought
back to Davis a
brick from the demolished walls of the still Confederate occupied fort. General
Davis was later put in sole command of Morris Island
and its nearly 10,000-man detachment. From this post he was transferred to
command of the Middle District, a large sector, which included Hilton Head
Island and the crucially important Fort
Pulaski.
Following a leave of absence, Colonel Davis returned again to command
troops stationed around the Charleston
Harbor area. While on
reconnaissance during the siege of Charleston, Davis was struck in the
hand by fragments of an exploding shell. The fingers on his right hand were
carried away by the blast. Again he was sent home to recuperate from his
wounds. Following his recovery, Davis was
ordered to Philadelphia
to sit on the General Court Martial board, an assignment he would continue
until being mustered out of service.
As the war concluded, W.W.H. Davis would again come back to Doylestown
and assume his position as editor of the Democrat. He continued on as owner of the paper for
many years, selling it to the Doylestown Publishing Company in 1890. He would continue as the papers editor for
another 10 years, retiring in 1900.
Preface page from
Davis’ Book on
the History of the 104th Pa Volunteers in 1866
During
his years in Doylestown in addition to work at the newspaper, he began writing
numerous papers and publications. He is
the author of many books including:
o
El
Gringo, 1857
o
History
of One Hundred Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania
Volunteers, 1866
o
History
of the Hart Family of Bucks
County, 1867
o
Life of
General John Lacey, 1868
o
Spanish
Conquest of New Mexico,
1869
o
History
of Bucks County, 1876
o
Life of
John Davis, 1886
o
Doylestown
Guards, 1887
o
Campaign
of 1861, in the Shenandoah Valley, 1893
o
The
Fries Rebellion, 1899
o
Doylestown,
Old and New, 1904
o
History
of Bucks County – Revised Edition, 1905
During
the 1850’s and 1860’s there was a push for public water in Doylestown
borough. The opposition to bringing
water and building the water works was fierce.
There were meetings and petitions, protests and indignation, prejudice
and ultra conservatism; the plea of increase taxes was urged and even the specter
of danger and damage to our fine town.
Davis and others realized that a public water supply was needed for the
future of Doylestown. WWH Davis was one
of the biggest supporters and encouraged its progress. With him leading the charge, property was
purchased that had the appropriate springs and public water came to
Doylestown. A steam pump moved water
from the springs on East Street
(today known as borough dam ~ near Fanny Chapman Memorial Pool) to a retention
basin that was built next to Doylestown
Cemetery.
Picture Postcard of
Doylestown Borough Water Works
Davis was also a huge supporter of replacing
Doylestown first Courthouse with a second.
He used his esteem position as Editor of the Doylestown Democrat to
plead his case to the Bucks
County residents. He partnered with then President Judge
Richard Watson to spearhead the movement which won approval being built in
1877.
In the
year 1880, William began what is today one of the greatest Historical
organizations in the county when he and a group of friends founded the Bucks
County Historical Society (BCHS) in the library room at Lenape Hall. The BCHS was officially organized on November
20, 1880. He became the societies first
President and filled that post for 30 years.
He was able to incorporate the organization on February 23, 1885. The original society directors under their
first charter included: Rev D.K. Turner, Josiah B. Smith, Alfred Paschall, Dr
Joseph Thomas, Charles Laubach, Thomas C. Knowles, Dr Joseph B. Walter and
Capt. John S. Bailey.
Bucks Counties second Courthouse located on
the site of the current Courthouse
At times
during the early years, it seemed like the society would not survive, WWH Davis
would see many meetings were there was almost no one in attendance, except
himself and the secretary. The society
was also very poor, requiring its members to pay a fee of $1.00 for annual
dues. These dues paid did little to keep the organization afloat. The
organization had no real home. Davis
was able to secure some space in the basement of the old courthouse for
meetings and to store their collection of historical items and books. They had no furniture for meetings but would
borrow tables and chairs as they were needed.
Many of the first donations to the society’s collections originated from
Davis’
contributions.
Davis was devoted to the new organization that he
founded and nurtured. Because of his
devotion and zeal to the society, he was re-elected year to year for thirty
consecutive years to the post of President of the Bucks County Historical
Society.
Early photo postcard of the Elkins Building
from Pine Street, photograph was taken October 1908
Davis tried on several occasions to raise money
for the erection of their own building but only to be faced with failure many
times over. Davis would then create a building committee,
headed by Judge Harman Yerkes to secure the needed funds. Judge Yerkes was able to put in an effective
subscription plan that amounted to many large gifts of money to the society. The largest amount of $18,000, coming from
William L. Elkins, this large contribution paid entirely for the construction
of the building. WWH Davis and the
Directors would because of his generosity name the building after him.
Davis’ proudest moment was the purchase of
southern hill slope of land at the corner of Pine Street and Ashland Avenue in 1903 and the erection
of the Elkins building in 1904. This
building has been the home of the Bucks County Historical Society for over 100
years. On his death in 1910, he was
succeeded by Henry Chapman Mercer.
Civil War
Monument in 1930’s located at Main and Court Streets
In
the years following the war Davis
was instrumental in gathering funds for the erection of the Monument in the
center of Doylestown. The civil war monument was erected in 1867 at Court and Main Streets to
honor the 104th Pennsylvania
regiment. This regiment, formed mostly from local Doylestown citizens, saw a
tremendous amount of action in the South during the war. When Davis
first came up with the idea for the monument, it was suggested that the appropriate
location would be in the Doylestown
Cemetery. Davis saw many
other towns across America
erected their monuments in the town square.
Davis wanted to make sure that is was not
something that was hidden away from the masses, so he lobbied for the location
to be at Main and Court Streets. The location was approved and money was
raised for its erection. The monument
still stands proudly at its original location today.
One of the several Reunion medals of Davis’ 104th
Pa Volunteers. His own image adorned
this medal.
He was also active in the organization of his regiment's reunions.
These gatherings were held at various locations around Bucks
County; from Quakertown to Bristol and from
Hartsville to Frenchtown. As the years marched on and the veterans passed away,
the celebrations grew smaller and smaller. General William Watts Hart Davis eventually joined
his fallen comrades on December 26, 1910.
Headstone of WWH Davis located in the
Doylestown Cemetery on East Court Street
Information from this article
taken from:
- History of Bucks County, 1905 – WWH Davis
- Images of America:
Doylestown published by Arcadia
- A Collection of Papers Read before the Bucks County Historical
Society, published by B.F. Fackenthal Jr.
Volume I, II and III
o
History
of One Hundred Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania
Volunteers, 1866 – WWH Davis
Interested
in making sure the history of the town of Doylestown
is preserved, he has been researching and documenting the people, places and
events that have shaped the town. After
spending extensive hours pouring over books and documents from both the
Spruance Library at the Bucks County Historical Society and his own personal
collection, in 2006, he wrote his first book entitled “A Walking Tour of Doylestown Cemetery,” which also included a tour of the grounds of the
cemetery located on East Court Street, which hundreds have taken part in. His
second project was another tour and guidebook to educate the masses on the area
of Doylestown known today as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. His personal interest in this project stemmed
from his youth as some of his fondest memories were made here.
Tim
is always interested in taking on additional research projects Doylestown and
can be reached at:
Tim Adamsky
1000 Sandy Ridge Road
Doylestown, Pa 18901
Or via email at:
TAdamsky@verizon.net
A 2006 newspaper
article written by Joan Schultz, staff writer for the Doylestown Patriot on the
Adamsky’s Doylestown
Cemetery Tours.
© Copyright 2007 – Tim Adamsky
|
