CIVIL WAR GENERAL USV INDIAN CAVLARY COLONEL BUFFALO SOLDIERS AUTOGRAPH SIGNED !

Description

JOHN WYNN DAVIDSON
“
Black Jack
”
(1825 – 1881)
CIVIL WAR UNION FULL BRIGADIER GENERAL and BVT MAJOR GENERAL, U.S.V., U.S.A., WHO FOUGHT ON THE PENINSULA, COMMANDED THE ARMIES OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS, and WAS PROMOTED FOR THE CAPTURE OF LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
&
NOTORIOUS INDIAN FIGHTER COLONEL OF THE 10
th
and 2
nd
US CAVALRY – BUFFALO SOLDIERS!
Davidson finished the war in charge of the Southern Military District at Natchez, Mississippi, and was brevetted Maj. General in both the Regular and Volunteer services for his war record. He remained on active duty, being commissioned Lieutenant Colonel and assigned to the 10th United States Cavalry. Since the regiment consisted of black buffalo soldiers, he soon acquired the nickname "Black Jack." With the outbreak of the Red River War, he was called into action in the Texas Panhandle in search of Indians. Despite suffering hardships during the two month pursuit, he and his subordinates destroyed several Indian camps and captured nearly 400 Indians and over 2,000 of their horses!
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HERE IS AN AUTOGRAPH SIGNATURE CARD BEAUTIFULLY SIGNED BY DAVIDSON AS
“
Bt. Maj. Genl.”
THE CARD IS AFFIXED TO A LARGER HEAVY PAPER STOCK SHEET WITH A BOOK PLATE PHOTO OF DAVIDSON (REMOVED FROM BATTLES and LEADERS OF THE CIVIL WAR)
The document measures 5” x 8” and is in VERY FINE CONDITION.
A RARE ADDITION TO YOUR CIVIL WAR “
GENERALS IN BLUE
” AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT & EPHEMERA COLLECTION!
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Brief Biography of Civil War General
JOHN WYNN DAVIDSON
John Wynn Davidson
(August 14, 1825 – June 26, 1881) was a
brigadier general
in the
United States Army
during the
American Civil War
and an
American Indian
fighter. In 1866, he received
brevet
grade appointments as a
major general
of volunteers and in the regular U.S. Army for his Civil War service,
Biography
Davidson was born in
Fairfax County, Virginia
. He graduated from
West Point
. Shortly after graduation he was promoted to 2nd lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Dragoons and participated in the
Mexican-American War
, seeing considerable action at the
San Pasqual
and the
Rio San Gabriel
battles.
[1]
Following the war, Davidson was promoted to 1st lieutenant and assigned to the Western
frontier
. He served as the regimental quartermaster and adjutant. He led the
1st Cavalry Regiment
against the
Jicarilla Apaches
in the
Battle of Cieneguilla
on March 30, 1854,
[2]
where he was badly defeated in what was to be the fourth worst defeat suffered by the American military during the Western Indian Wars.
[3]
In 1855 Davidson was promoted captain and was in command of
Fort Tejon, California
when the American Civil War erupted.
Civil War
He was allegedly offered a commission in the Confederate Army but turned it down.
[4]
Davidson was transferred to the east and took command of a brigade in the newly formed
Army of the Potomac
. On February 6, 1862, President
Abraham Lincoln
appointed Davidson to the grade of brigadier general of U.S. Volunteers, to rank from February 3, 1862, the same day the U.S. Senate confirmed the previously submitted nomination.
[5]
General Davidson assumed command of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division,
IV Corps
during the
Peninsula Campaign
. He fought at the battles of
Yorktown
and
Williamsburg
. During the
Seven Days Battles
he received brevet promotions in the
Regular Army
for his service at
Gaines' Mill
and
Golding's Farm
. Shortly after the culmination of the Seven Days' fighting, Davidson was transferred to the
Trans-Mississippi Theater
where he was placed in command of the Dist. of St. Louis. From December 3, 1862 to March 26, 1863 he was also in command of the so-called
Army of Southeast Missouri
until much of his army was transferred to Ulysses S. Grant in preparation for the
Vicksburg Campaign
. He retained command of the Dist. of St. Louis until June 16, 1863 when he briefly commanded the Dist. of Southeast Missouri.
From August 10 to November 3, 1863 Davidson commanded the 1st Division of
Frederick Steele
's
Army of Arkansas
in his most distinguished role in the west. He led Union advance into central Arkansas and won the
battle of Bayou Fourche
, which led directly to the fall of Confederate-held
Little Rock
. After the Little Rock expedition, Davidson commanded the cavalry in the Dept. of the Gulf before returning to command the cavalry in the Dist. of Southeast Missouri. For the remainder of the war, Davidson held various administrative commands in Mississippi. He was mustered out of the volunteer service on January 15, 1866.
[5]
On January 13, 1866, President
Andrew Johnson
nominated Davidson for appointment to the grade of
brevet
major general
of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.
[6]
On April 10, 1866, President Johnson nominated Davidson for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general, U.S. Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on May 4, 1866.
[7]
On July 17, 1866, President Johnson nominated Davidson for appointment to the grade of brevet major general, U.S. Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.
[8]
Following the end of the
American Civil War
Davidson was again posted on the Western frontier, this time as a lieutenant colonel of the
10th Cavalry
, known as the
Buffalo Soldiers
. It was there that he acquired the nickname "Black Jack."
[9]
In 1879 he was transferred to the
2nd Cavalry
as colonel, at
Fort Custer
in the
Montana Territory
.
[9]
[10]
Davidson died in
St. Paul, Minnesota
, in 1881 after being seriously injured by a fall from a horse
[10]
during an inspection tour. He is buried in
Arlington National Cemetery
.
[11]
Notes
1.
John Wynn Davidson
- The Handbook of Texas Online
2.
Davidson, pp. 69 - 79.
3.
Johnson, Adams, Hawk and Miller, Final Report on the Battle of Cieneguilla: A Jicarilla Apache Victory Over the U.A. Dragoons March 30, 1854, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southwest Region, June 2009, p. 1
4.
Eicher p.200
5.
Eicher, John H., and
David J. Eicher
,
Civil War High Commands.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.
ISBN 0-8047-3641-3
. p. 7210
6.
Eicher, 2001, p. 711
7.
Eicher, 2001, p. 733
8.
Eicher, 2001, p. 707
9.
Gorenfeld, Will.
The Battle of Cieneguilla
, Wild West magazine, February, 2008
10.
Eicher, 2001, p. 200
11.
John Wynn Davidson
-
Arlington National Cemetery
website
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