Hasbrouck Davis

Hasbrouck Davis (April 19, 1827 - October 19, 1870) was an American general from Massachusetts. The son of prominent politician "Honest" John Davis, Davis attended Williams College and briefly taught before studying to become a Unitarian minister. He later studied law and moved to Chicago, Illinois to practice. He was mustered into service with the 12th Illinois Cavalry in 1862, later leading the regiment as a colonel. Late in his war service he was brevetted to brigadier general. In 1870, he died in the wreck of the SS Cambria. Biography Hasbrouck Davis was born on April 19, 1827, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was the third son of U.S. Representative and later U.S. Senator "Honest" John Davis. He attended public schools then matriculated at Williams College in 1841. He graduated four years later, returning to Worcester to teach at the high school. After a year, he decided to instead pursue a career in the ministry. He studied in Heidelberg, Baden to study the German language. He returned to Massachusetts in 1849, accepting the pastorship of the Unitarian church in Watertown. Davis preached for only a few years before deciding to step down to study law. He was admitted to the bar in 1854, then opened a law office in Boston. The next year, Davis decided to head west to Chicago, Illinois, opening a successful firm there. Davis was mustered into service with the 12th Illinois Cavalry in February 1862 as a lieutenant colonel. Arriving shortly after the First Battle of Winchester, Davis was put in charge of scouting posts. On a mission around Bunker Hill, West Virginia, Davis successfully repelled a Confederate attack. The Confederates counterattacked the next morning, but Davis sent a band of forty troops out near Darkesville, West Virginia. Under Davis' command, they routed the opposing troops, killing 25, including the grandson of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, and taking 50 prisoners. In October 1862, the unit's colonel Arno Voss left for the recruiting serving, putting Davis in charge of the regiment until the next February. The unit saw action at the Battle of Harpers Ferry, escaping the surrounded fortification and taking a band of prisoners in the process. As part of Stoneman's 1863 Raid during the Battle of Chancellorsville, Davis was ordered to take a brigade to disrupt the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and Virginia Central Railroads. He returned to Illinois with the regiment in November 1863 to reorganize as a veteran regiment.