Davidson, John W., 1825-1881

John Wynn Davidson was a Union general during the Civil War who also saw extensive service in the U.S. Army in the western territories.

Born on August 14, 1825, in Fairfax County, Virginia, Davidson graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1845. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the First U.S. Dragoons and saw extensive action in the Mexican-American War between 1846 and 1848. Afterwards, Davidson led U.S. troops in the western territories, conducting operations against Native Americans, including an attack against the Pomo tribe at Clear Lake, California, which has become known as the “Bloody Island Massacre.”

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Davidson remained loyal to the Union and accepted command of a brigade within the Army of the Potomac in Virginia. He participated in battles at Yorktown and Williamsburg, and distinguished himself during the Seven Days Campaign outside of Richmond in 1862. He was then sent west and given command of the District of St. Louis and the Army of Southeast Missouri. In late 1863, Davidson led a division in the Army of Arkansas, scoring victories at the Battle of Bayou Fourche, leading to the Union capture of Little Rock.

In November and December 1864, Davidson led 4,000 Union cavalry soldiers in a raid from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, across southern Mississippi toward the Alabama border to cut the M&O Railroad line. The effort was a diversion, meant to draw Confederate attention away from Confederate operations in Tennessee. Following that mission, Davidson was given administrative assignments in federally-occupied Mississippi. He remained there until January 1866 at the rank of brevet (honorary) major general.

After leaving Mississippi, Davidson returned to military duty in the western territories. He was made lieutenant colonel of the Tenth Cavalry Regiment, an African American unit nicknamed the “Buffalo Soldiers.” He earned the nickname “Black Jack” while commanding the Black cavalrymen. While in service in Kansas from 1868 to 1871, Davidson served as a professor of military science at Kansas State Agricultural College (modern-day Kansas State University).

In 1879, Davidson was promoted to colonel and given command of the Second Cavalry Regiment in Montana Territory. He died two years later, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was married to Clara B. McGunnegle and had at least one child that survived to adulthood. Davidson is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

(Wikipedia; FindaGrave; H. Allen Anderson, “Davids, John Wynn (1825-1881),” Texas State Historical Association)

John W. Davidson belonged to the following social groups: