George Davis (American politician)

George Davis
4th Confederate States Attorney General
In office
January 2, 1864 – April 24, 1865
President Jefferson Davis
Preceded by Wade Keyes (Acting)
Succeeded by Position abolished
Confederate States Senator
from North Carolina
In office
February 18, 1862 – January 2, 1864
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by Edwin Reade
Personal details
Born (1820-03-01)March 1, 1820
Wilmington, North Carolina
Died February 23, 1896(1896-02-23) (aged 75)
Wilmington, North Carolina
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Alma mater University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

George Davis (March 1, 1820 – February 23, 1896) was an American politician who served as the fourth Attorney General of the Confederate States from 1864 to 1865.

Biography

Born near Wilmington, North Carolina, George Davis attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was valedictorian of the class of 1838. He subsequently studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840. In 1848 he became general counsel of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad. He held this position the rest of his life.

George Davis was a delegate from North Carolina to the unsuccessful Washington Peace Conference of February 4–27, 1861. He was a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress in 1861–1862, and was then elected to the Senate, where he served from 1862 to 1864. In December 1863, Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed him Attorney General. He was in fact related to Confederate President Davis. He served in this position from January 2, 1864 until April 24, 1865, in the last days of the Confederacy.

George Davis was captured by U.S. forces at Key West, Florida, on October 18, 1865, and was imprisoned at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. He spent several months at Fort Hamilton before being pardoned in 1866. He then returned to law practice in Wilmington.

Memorials

Statue of George Davis in historic downtown Wilmington NC.

In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS George Davis was named in his honor.[1] A statue of Davis also stands in Wilmington, North Carolina.

References

  1. ↑ "Liberty Ships – Part 2: EMC #s 768 thru 1551". shipbuildinghistory.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-13.

Further reading

  • Patrick, Rembert W. (1944). Jefferson Davis and His Cabinet. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 104–120.
  • "George Davis". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  • Short biography csawardept.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.