- George Whitefield Davis
Infobox Military Person
name= George Whitefield Davis
caption=
born= birth date|1839|07|26
died= death date and age|1918|07|12|1839|07|26
placeofbirth=Thompson, Connecticut ,USA
placeofdeath=Washington, DC ,USA
placeofburial=
placeofburial_label=
nickname=
allegiance=United States of America
branch= Army
serviceyears= 1861-1903
rank= Major General
unit=
commands= 2nd Division of the Second Corps
battles=American Civil War
awards=
relations=
laterwork= Chair of the central committee of theAmerican Red Cross George Whitefield Davis (
July 26 ,1839 –July 12 ,1918 ) was anengineer and Major General in theUnited States Army . He also served as a militaryGovernor of Puerto Rico and as the first military Governor of the Panama Canal Zone.Military career
Civil War
Davis, born in the village of
Thompson, Connecticut , first entered the military during the Civil War, when he joined with the volunteer 11th Connecticut Infantry as aCompany Quartermaster Sergeant , the same position that his grandfather served in during theAmerican Revolution . During the course of the war, he fought in several major battles, including Antietam, and worked his way up in rank in the volunteer force to major general.After the war
Davis joined the
Regular Army 's 14th U.S. Infantry and worked his way in rank again to major general.As a
captain , Davis was an assistant engineer on the construction project to build theWashington Monument , and was among the featured guests at the dedication ceremony in 1885.Davis was vice-president of the construction company that was to build the
Nicaragua Canal and chairman of the international board of consulting engineers on thePanama Canal . In 1895, he filled on opening on the Antietam Battlefield Board that helped oversee the preservation and monumentation of that historic place, culminating in the establishment of theAntietam National Battlefield .During the period of May 1898 until Mar 1899, Davis commanded the 2nd Division of the Second Corps of the US Army at Camp Alger
Virginia ,Thoroughfare Gap Virginia ,Camp Meade Pennsylvania , and Camp FornanceSouth Carolina .Later work
Davis was a chairman of the central committee of the
American Red Cross from 1907 to 1915.Notes and references
*Mellander, Gustavo A.(1971) "The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years". Daville,Ill.:Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568.
*Mellander, Gustavo A.; Nelly Maldonado Mellander (1999). "Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years". Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1563281554. OCLC 42970390.
* FUNERAL OF GEN. DAVIS. The "Washington Post". Washington, D.C.: Jul 15, 1918. pg. 5, 1 pgsPersondata
NAME = Davis, George Whitefield
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION =United States Army general, militaryGovernor of Puerto Rico , first military Governor of thePanama Canal Zone
DATE OF BIRTH =July 26 ,1839
PLACE OF BIRTH =Thompson, Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH =July 12 ,1918
PLACE OF DEATH =Washington, DC
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.