Attorney General George Davis, C.S.A.

1820 - 1866  (45 years)

• Name	George Davis  [1, 2]
  Prefix	Attorney General
  Suffix	C.S.A.
  Born	1 Mar 1820	Wilmington, New Hanover, North Carolina   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Died	23 Feb 1866  [2]
  Person ID	I24808	If the Legends Are True...
  Last Modified	21 May 2008

  
  

  Father	Thomas F. Davis,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F12654	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Monimia Fairfax,   b. 1837,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	1866  [1]
  Children	+ 1. Mary Fairfax Davis,   d. Yes, date unknown + 2. Cary Davis,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	5 Oct 2007
  Family ID	F8912	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Davis → George

  
  

• Notes

  His lineage has been traced back through James Moore, governor of the Cape Fear colony in 1700. In early youth George Davis manifested the remarkable intellectual qualities which gave him fame, entering the State university at the age of fourteen and graduating with the highest honors in 1838. He then adopted the profession of law, in which he speedily achieved prominence and a lucrative practice. His reputation as a jurist was rivaled by his fame as an orator, and he entered vigorously into the campaigns of that period as a leader of the old Whig party. His State, as is well known, was one of the latest to enter the Confederacy, and before that event occurred he made an earnest effort, as one of the commissioners of North Carolina to the peace congress at Washington, to avert the resort to arms. On his return to Wilmington he made a memorable address to his fellow citizens, giving an account of his service, and declaring that he could not accept the basis of conciliation proposed by the congress. On June 18, 1861, he was elected senator for North Carolina in the Confederate Congress, and in 1862 was re-elected. He was appointed Attorney General January 4, 1864, and served in that office until the dissolution of the government. Subsequently he resumed his professional work at Wilmington, and though he consented to deliver a memorable address in 1876 on political topics, he steadfastly declined all political honors which were offered, including the position of chief justice of the Supreme court of the State, tendered him by Governor Vance in 1878. In 1889, though in feeble health, he made his last appearance as an orator to pay a tribute to the memory of his departed chief and dear friend, Mr. Jefferson Davis. He died at Wilmington, February 23, 1896. Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp #469 Rome, Georgia

  
  

• Sources

  [S212] Randolphs of Virginia, Robert Isham Randolph, (Chicago, Illinois: unknown, 1936, 402 pages), page 120 (Reliability: 4). [S242] Southern View of History, John K. McNeill, (Multrie, Georgia: Sons of Confederate Veterans, 2007), Part VI. The Confederate Sates of America is Formed (Reliability: 3).