Edmund J. Davis
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| Edmund Jackson Davis | |
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| Brig. Gen. Edmund J. Davis in a Federal uniform | |
| 14th Governor of Texas | |
| In office January 8, 1870 – January 15, 1874 |
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| Lieutenant | Vacant |
| Preceded by | Elisha M. Pease |
| Succeeded by | Richard Coke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 2, 1827 St. Augustine, Florida |
| Died | February 7, 1883 (aged 55) Austin, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Elizabeth Britton |
| Profession | lawyer and politician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America Union |
| Service/branch | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1862 - 1865 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | First Texas Cavalry Regiment (Union) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Edmund Jackson Davis (October 2, 1827 – February 7, 1883) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. He was a Southern Unionist and served as a Union general in the American Civil War, besides serving one term as the 14th Governor of Texas.
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[edit] Early years
Davis was born in St. Augustine, Florida, a son of William Godwin Davis and his wife Mary Ann Channer. His father was a lawyer and land developer in St. Augustine. Davis moved with his parents to Galveston, Texas in 1848. The following year, Davis moved to Corpus Christi, where he was admitted to the bar. He was an inspector and deputy collector of customs from 1849 to 1853, when he was appointed district attorney of the 12th Judicial District. He next became a judge in that district.[1]
[edit] Civil War years
In early 1861 Davis opposed secession and supported Governor Sam Houston in his stand against it. Davis also urged Robert E. Lee not to violate his oath of allegiance to the United States—unsuccessfully. Davis ran to become a delegate to the Secession Convention, but was defeated. He thereafter refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America, and was removed from office. He fled from Texas, taking refuge in Union occupied New Orleans, Louisiana. He next sailed to Washington, D.C., where President Abraham Lincoln issued him a colonel's commission, with authority to recruit the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment (Union).[1]
Davis recruited his regiment from Union men who had fled from Texas to Louisiana. The regiment would see considerable action during the remainder of the war. On November 10, 1864, President Lincoln appointed Davis as a brigadier general to rank from the same date.[2] Lincoln did not submit Davis's nomination to this grade to the U.S. Senate until December 12, 1864.[2] The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14, 1865.[2] Davis was among those present when General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the Confederate forces in Texas on June 2, 1865.[1] Davis was mustered out of the volunteers on August 24, 1865.[2]
[edit] Post war
Following the war's end, Davis became a member of the 1866 Texas Constitutional Convention. He supported the rights of the freed slaves and urged the division of Texas into several Republican controlled states.
In 1869 he ran for governor against Andrew Jackson Hamilton and was narrowly elected the 14th Governor of Texas. As a Radical Republican during Reconstruction, his term in office was very controversial. His opponents accused him of institutionalizing his political opponents, suppressing newspapers in violation of the First Amendment, and denying enfranchisement to regular Republicans.[citation needed] On July 22, 1870, the Texas State Police came into being, to combat crime statewide in Texas. It worked against racially-based crimes, and included black police, which caused howls of protest from former slaveowners (and future segregationists). Davis also created the "State Guard of Texas" and the "Reserve Militia", which were forerunners of the Texas National Guard.[3]
Davis' government was marked by a commitment to the civil rights of black people. One of his protégés was Norris Wright Cuney, who continued the struggle for equality until his own death in 1896 and is honored as one of the important figures in Texas and American black history. Davis was accordingly hated by racists, and for a century after his time, most things written about him were tinged with this attitude.
Davis was defeated for reelection by Democrat Richard Coke (42,633 votes to 85,549 votes)in an election marked by irregularities. Davis contested the results and refused to leave his office on the ground floor of the Capitol. Democratic lawmakers and Governor-elect Coke reportedly had to climb ladders to the Capitol's second story where the legislature convened. When President Grant refused to send troops to the defeated governor's rescue, Davis reluctantly left the capital in January 1874. He locked the door to the governor's office and took the key, forcing Coke's supporters to break in with an axe.[4] John Henninger Reagan helped oust him after he tried to stay in office beyond the end of his term.
Davis was the last Republican Governor of Texas until Bill Clements took office 105 years later. Davis ran for governor again in 1880 but was soundly defeated. That same year his name was placed in nomination for vice president of the United States at the Republican National Convention (had he succeeded, he might have wound up in the White House as did the man who received the vice presidential nomination that year, Chester A. Arthur). He lost an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1882. He was nominated to be collector of customs at Galveston but declined because he disliked President Rutherford B. Hayes.
Edmund J. Davis died in 1883 and is interred at Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas. He was survived by his wife, the former Anne Elizabeth Britton (whose father, Forbes Britton, has been chief of staff to Texas Governor Sam Houston), and two sons, Britton (a West Point graduate and military officer), and Waters (an attorney and merchant in El Paso).[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Texas State Handbook Online. Moneyhon, Carl H. (30 May 2010). "Davis, Edmund Jackson". Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/fda37.html. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. p. 720
- ^ Texas State Handbook Online. Olsen, Bruce A. (30 May 2010). "Texas National Guard". Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/qnt2.html. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Brown, Lyle C., Langenegger, Joyce A., Garcia, Sonia R., et al. PRACTICING TEXAS POLITICS, Thirteenth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. (Page 67-68)
[edit] Further reading
- Carl H. Moneyon. Edmund J. Davis: Civil War General, Republican Leader, Reconstruction Governor (Texas Christian University Press, 2010) 352 pages. Biography.
[edit] External links
- Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Edmund J. Davis from the Handbook of Texas Online
- "Republican State Convention Article". The New York Times. 12 June 1869. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F0081FFD3B5E1A7493C0A8178DD85F4D8684F9.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Elisha M. Pease |
Governor of Texas 1870–1874 |
Succeeded by Richard Coke |
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