Rank: Colonel (5th Colonel of the Regiment)
Unit: 2d Cavalry
Commissioned: United States Military Academy class of 1845 and Appointed at Large.
Date of birth: 18 Aug 1824
Hometown: Virginia
Married: Clara B. McGunnegle Davidson
Campaign: Plains Indian War (post Civil War)
Died: 26 June 1881
Age at death: 58
Cause of death: Fall from horse
Location of fatality: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Place of interment: Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia
Click to open a new window to view Soldier’s grave site on the Find A Grave website.
Notes: 5th Colonel of the Regiment. He was posted to the Dragoons and was wounded in a fight with a band of Apaches at Cienequilla, New Mexico, on March 30, 1854. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was serving in California and remained with the Union when his state seceded. Heading east, he took command of a brigade near Washington D.C. He was promoted to Brigadier General, US Volunteers in February 1862, and led his brigade in the Army of the Potomac’s IV and later in the VI Corps during the Spring 1862 Peninsular Campaign. During the June Battle of the Seven Days he earned Regular Army brevets for the Battles of Gaines’ Mill and Golding’s Farm. Transferred to Missouri that summer, he commanded the District of St. Louis. He participated in the operations that resulted in the capture of Little Rock, Arkansas and received a brevet of Brigadier General, US Regular Army. He finished the war in charge at Natchez, Mississippi, and was brevetted Major General in both the Regular and Volunteer services for his war record. Mustered out of the volunteers on January 15, 1866, 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.” From 1868 until 1871, he was a professor of military science-tactics at the Kansas Agricultural College. With the outbreak of the Red River War, he was called into action in the Texas Panhandle in search of Indians. Despite suffering several 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 before returning to Fort Sill. In March 1875 he relinquished regimental command, and was transferred to Fort Griffin in Shackelford County, Texas. In December 1876 he became commander at Fort Richardson until its abandonment in 1878, then once more at Fort Sill. In January 1879 he was sent to command the garrison at Fort Elliott. Promoted to Colonel of the 2nd United States Cavalry on June 25, he took command of the regiment at Fort Custer, Montana. On February 8, 1881, he was seriously injured during an inspection tour when his horse slipped on ice and fell on top of him.
He was originally buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, however his remains were reinterred in Arlington in 1911.
Additional biography:
John Davidson, the 5th Colonel of the Regiment, graduated 27th in his class of 41 cadets from West Point in 1845. He was commissioned as a Brevet Second Lieutenant in the 1st Dragoons on July 1, 1845. He came from a military family, as his grandfather had been a General in the Revolutionary War, and his father, a graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1815, died in the service of his country in 1840.
Early Career and Mexican-American War
Davidson began his military career with frontier duty at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1845-46, and Ft. Crawford, Wisconsin, in 1846. He served in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 with the “Army of the West,” participating in the Combat of San Pasqual, California, on December 6, 1846, the Passage of the San Gabriel River on January 8, 1847, and the Skirmish on the Plains of Mesa on January 9, 1847. Promoted to First Lieutenant on January 8, 1848, he continued frontier duty at Los Angeles, California, from 1848 to 1849, and at Sonoma, California, from 1849 to 1850. In 1850, he was engaged in scouting and the Action at Clear Lake on May 15, 1850, on the Russian River, California, and on the Sacramento River, California. He also served in recruiting service in 1850, as Quartermaster from December 1, 1850, to January 4, 1851, and as Adjutant from January 4 to September 30, 1851. He was stationed at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, in 1851, and continued frontier duty at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1851, Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, from 1851 to 1853, and Cantonment Burgwin, New Mexico, from 1853 to 1854. In 1854, he was wounded in the Action of Cieneguilla, New Mexico, on March 30, 1854. He also participated in the Skirmish of Fisher’s Peak, New Mexico, on June 5, 1854, and served at Rayado and Santa Fé, New Mexico, in 1854. He was promoted to Captain on January 20, 1855, and commanded an expedition to open a route from Ft. Stanton, New Mexico, to the Pecos River, Texas, in 1856. He also served at Ft. Buchanan, New Mexico, in 1857, and conducted scouting missions from 1857 to 1858. He marched to Ft. Tejon, California, from 1858 to 1859 and commanded an expedition to explore Owen Lake and River in 1859. He continued to serve at Ft. Tejon, California, from 1859 to 1860 and conducted recruits to California from 1860 to 1861, and at Ft. Tejon, California, in 1861.
Civil War Service
During the Civil War, Davidson served in the Defenses of Washington, D.C., from January 1861 to February 1862. He participated in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign with the Army of the Potomac from March to July 1862, engaging in the Action of Lee’s Mills on April 5, 1862, the Action of Mechanicsville on May 24, 1862, the Battle of Gaines’s Mill on June 27, 1862 (for which he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel), the Action of Golding’s Farm on June 28, 1862, the Battle of Savage Station (brevetted Colonel) on June 29, 1862, and the Battle of Glendale on June 30, 1862. He commanded the St. Louis District of Missouri from August 6 to November 13, 1862, and the Army of Southeast Missouri from November 13, 1862, to February 23, 1863. He also commanded the St. Louis District of Missouri from February 23 to June 6, 1863, directing troop movements at Pilot Knob, Fredericktown, and Cape Girardeau, and pursuing the enemy during Marmaduke’s raid into Missouri in April 1863. He led a movement upon Little Rock, Arkansas, commanding a Cavalry Division from June 6 to September 10, 1863, engaging in the Action of Brownsville, Arkansas, on August 25, 1863, the Assault and Capture of Bayou Metre, Arkansas, on August 27, 1863, the Action of Ashley’s Mills, Arkansas, on August 29, 1863, and the Action of Little Rock, Arkansas, on September 10, 1863. He was in charge of the West Division Cavalry Bureau from March 11 to June 1864 and served as Chief of Cavalry for the Military Division of West Mississippi from June 26, 1864, commanding a Cavalry Expedition from Baton Rouge to Pascagoula on November 24, 1864. He commanded the 2nd Cavalry from March 6 to June 1, 1866, at Ft. Riley, Kansas, and was mustered out of Volunteer Service on January 15, 1866. He conducted a tour of inspection in the Department of Missouri from June 1 to September 2, 1866, and commanded the 2nd Cavalry from September 2 to November 1, 1866, at Ft. Riley, Kansas.
Post-Civil War Service
Davidson was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 10th Cavalry on December 1, 1866, and served as Acting Inspector-General of the Department of the Missouri from November 1, 1866, to December 28, 1867. He was a Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the State Agricultural College of Kansas from January 1868 to January 1, 1871. He commanded Camp Supply, Indian Territory, from February 5, 1871, to February 10, 1873, the regiment and Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory, from February 19 to April 21, 1873, and Ft. Sill, Indian Territory, from May 4, 1873, to March 27, 1875. He led an expedition in the field from September 10 to October 19, 1874, and commanded Ft. Griffin, Texas, from April 7 to August 5, 1875. He was on leave of absence from August 5, 1875, to December 6, 1876, and commanded Ft. Richardson, Texas, from December 20, 1876, to January 19, 1878, and the District of Upper Brazos from May 12, 1877, to January 19, 1878. He commanded Ft. Sill, Indian Territory, from January 27, 1878, to February 27, 1879, and Ft. Elliott, Texas, from March 20, 1879, to June 26, 1879. He was before a Court Martial and on Court Martial duty until December 3, 1879. He commanded the regiment, District of the Yellowstone, and the post of Ft. Custer, Montana, until May 21, 1881, and was on sick leave due to a horse falling on him during an inspection of his regiment until his death on June 26, 1881.
