Joseph R. Davis

Brigadier-General Joseph R. Davis
Portrait of Davis as Colonel and Aide to the President of the Confederate States
Birth name	Joseph Robert Davis
Born	(1825-01-12)January 12, 1825
Died	September 15, 1896(1896-09-15) (aged 71)
Place of birth	Woodville, Mississippi
Place of death	Biloxi, Mississippi
Place of burial	Biloxi Cemetery
Allegiance	Republic of Mississippi Confederate States
Service/branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Captain (Militia) 30px Brigadier-General (CSA)
Unit	10th Mississippi Infantry
Commands held	Madison Rifles Davis' Brigade
Civil War	Gettysburg Wilderness Spotsylvania Cold Harbor Petersburg Appomattox
Relations	Jefferson Davis (uncle)
Other work	Lawyer, Politician

Joseph Robert Davis (January 12, 1825 – September 15, 1896) was a lawyer, Mississippi Senator, and a Brigadier-General in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was a nephew of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Early years

Davis was born in Woodville, Mississippi, January 12, 1825, and was educated in Nashville and at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Trained in the law, he practiced his profession in Madison County, Mississippi, and was elected to the Mississippi Senate in 1860.

The Civil War

Entering Confederate service as Captain of Militia from Madison County, he was soon made Lieutenant-Colonel of the Tenth Regiment, Mississippi Volunteeers, after which he served on his uncle's staff in Richmond with the rank of colonel. Commissioned brigadier-general to rank from September 15, 1862, and confirmed by the Senate only after charges of nepotism were freely aired and his nomination once rejected, Davis was assigned a brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, which he led through some of the bitterest battles of the war. He fought at Gettysburg (where his command formed a support to Pickett in the celebrated charge of the third day), in the Wilderness Campaign, and the siege of Petersburg.

Post-war activities

Paroled at Appomattox Court-House in April 1865, he returned to Mississippi and resumed his law practice, spending the remainder of his life at Biloxi, where he died, September 15, 1896, and where he is buried at Biloxi City Cemetery.

See also

• List of American Civil War generals

Notes

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service".

Bibliography

• Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg – The First Day. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8078-2624-3.
• Warner, Ezra J. Generals in Gray – Lives of the Confederate Commanders. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. ISBN 0-8071-0823-5.
• Williams, T. P. The Mississippi Brigade of Brig. Gen. Joseph R. Davis – A Geographical Account of Its Campaigns and a Biographical Account of Its Personalities, 1861-1865. Dayton, Ohio: Morningside House, 1999. ISBN 0-89029-335-X.