1898 TLS longtime deputy and Judge Advocate General of the Army Geo. B. Davis

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1898 TLS longtime deputy and Judge Advocate General of the Army Geo. B. Davis:
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George Breckenridge Davis (1847-1914). Civil War officer, West Point professor,Indian fighter and the tenth Judge Advocate General of the United States Army.

Typed Letter Signed, 1 page 4to, West Point letterhead, Aug.31, 1898 to Darwin W. Esmond. “I amagain a mendicant, I regret to say, the Surrogates Court room having beenclosed when I was in Newburg the other day.I want to get a blank petition for the appointment of th widow of anofficer who died as a consequence of disease contracted in Santiago, asadministrator of his estate, also a blank letter of appointment. If you will kindly get these for me and sendthem back in the enclosed envelope you will place me under a deep sense ofpersonal obligation..” Very good, aninteresting oblique reference to the just ended Spanish American War.

In 1863, at the age of 16 years, Davis enlisted in the 1st Massachusetts VolunteerCavalry. As a cavalryman and later asecond lieutenant of volunteers, he served in 25 battles and engagements duringthe American Civil War.

Appointed to the United States Military Academy at WestPoint two years after the War, Davis graduated in 1871 and was commissioned asecond lieutenant of the 5th U.S. Cavalry. Immediately after his marriage toElla Prince of West Springfield, Massachusetts, in July 1871, Lieutenant Davisspent two years on the Wyoming and Arizona frontiers with the 5th Cavalry. Hisnext tour was at West Point, where he served for five years as AssistantProfessor of Spanish, teaching French, geology, chemistry and mineralogy aswell. Promotion to 1st Lieutenant in 1878 brought with it another five-yeartour on the Western frontier. The returnto West Point in 1883 gave Davis a chance to head the History Department asprincipal assistant professor, and to serve as assistant professor of law,instructing also in geography and ethics. During this tour he completed hisOutline of International Law. Simultaneously with his promotion, Captain Daviswas rotated to the Western Territory in August 1888. Only four months later, however, Davis’sprofessional abilities were recognized and required in Washington. He wasappointed a Major, Judge Advocate General’s Department, and transferred to theOffice of the Secretary of War. Davis took advantage of the Washington tour toobtain his LL.B. and LL.M. degrees at Columbian (now George WashingtonUniversity) Law School. He was made Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy JudgeAdvocate General in 1895, but left Washington the next year to serve asProfessor of Law at West Point.

It was during the next few years that Davis completed hismajor publications. His Elements of Law and Elements of International Law(1897) were followed by his definitive Treatise on the Military Law of theUnited States in 1898. In addition, Davis authored several historical andprofessional works on the tactical use of cavalry. The War of the Rebellion, a70-volume compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate Armies,was principally his work and was published in his name in 1880-1901. Davis waspromoted to Colonel in 1901, and a few months later became a Brigadier andJudge Advocate General, a post he was to occupy for a decade. (His appointmentfollowed that of Thomas F. Barr of Massachusetts and John W. Clous, a native ofGermany, each of whom served as Judge Advocate General for one day in May 1901in order to retire with the rank of Brigadier General.) General Davis guidedhis department through the Spanish–American War, and handled the investigationand trial of the notorious cases arising out of that war. He also representedthe United States as delegate plenipotentiary to the Geneva Conventions of 1903and 1906, and the Hague Convention of 1907. On February 14, 1911, General Davisretired with a promotion to major general. He died on December 16, 1914.