George Davis

February 13, 1847 (age 67)

Ware, Massachusetts, United States

Davis enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, and served with that regiment till the close of the Civil War, attaining the rank of lieutenant. During 1972 - 73 he saw service in Wyoming and Arizona, but returned to West Point on August 30, 1873, as assistant professor of Spanish, later giving instruction also in French, chemistry, mineralogy and geology. Promoted first lieutenant, May 9, 1878, he spent the next five years on service in the West. He was appointed principal assistant professor of history, geography and ethics, and assistant professor of law at West Point on August 28, 1883, and during his tenure of office wrote Outlines of International Law with an Account of its Origin and Sources and of its Historical Development (1887), a work which became popular and passed through several editions. On his promotion to captain, August 21, 1888, he returned to frontier duty, being stationed in Indian Territory. Four months later, however, he was appointed judge advocate with the rank of major, being at first detailed on special duty in the office of the secretary of war, Washington, D. C. , and subsequently assuming charge of the publication of the War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. He was appointed deputy judge advocate general and promoted lieutenant-colonel, August 3, 1896, becoming in addition professor of law and history at West Point. In 1897 he published The Elements of Law: An Introduction to the Study of the Constitutional and Military Law of the United States, and under direction of the secretary of war prepared a manual of The Military Laws of the United States. This was followed by A Treatise on the Military Law of the United States, Together with the Practice and Procedure of Courts-Martial and other Military Tribunals (1898), which became the standard work on the subject. At the close of the Spanish-American War he was engaged in the investigation and trial of the so-called “canned beef cases. ” He relinquished his professorship on appointment as judge advocate general with the rank of brigadier-general and occupied this position for nearly ten years. In 1906 he was United States delegate to the Red Cross Conference at Geneva. In 1907 as United States delegate he attended the second Peace Conference at The Hague. He retired with the rank of major-general, February 13, 1911, and died at Washington, D. C. , December 15, 1914. He contributed a number of articles to military and historical publications, among them being “The Operations of the Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign” in Cavalry Studies from Two Great Wars (1896), and “The Antietam Campaign, ” “The Strategy of the Gettysburg Campaign, ” “From Gettysburg to Williamsport” and “The Bristoe and Mine Run Campaigns” in Papers of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, vol. Ill (1903).

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Works

book

The Second Peace Conference (Paragraph 2 of the Programme): The Rules of War On Land : Working Memoranda

(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

A Treatise on the Military Law of the United States: Together With the Practice and Procedure of Courts-Martial and Other Military Tribunals 1909

(Originally published in 1909. This volume from the Cornel...)

The Military Laws of the United States

( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies

(This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before ...)

Outlines of International Law: With an account of its origin and sources and of its historical development

(This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 18...)

The Rules Of War On Land: Working Memoranda (1907)

(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

The Elements of Law: An Introduction to the Study of the Constitutional and Military Law of the United States

(This Elibron Classics book is a reprint of a 1897 edition...)

George Breckenridge Davis

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military Soldier

Background

George Breckenridge Davis was born on February 13, 1847 at Ware, Massachusetts, United States. He was the son of Solomon B. and Sarah (Dunbar) Davis.

Education

His education was received at the public schools at Ware and Springfield,

He then, with a view to a permanent career in the army, entered the Military Academy at West Point as a cadet, July 1, 1867, and graduated June 12, 1871, being assigned to the 5th Cavalry as second lieutenant.

He began the study of law at Columbian (now George Washington ) Law School and graduated in 1891.

Career

Davis enlisted in the Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, and served with that regiment till the close of the Civil War, attaining the rank of lieutenant.

During 1972 - 73 he saw service in Wyoming and Arizona, but returned to West Point on August 30, 1873, as assistant professor of Spanish, later giving instruction also in French, chemistry, mineralogy and geology. Promoted first lieutenant, May 9, 1878, he spent the next five years on service in the West.

He was appointed principal assistant professor of history, geography and ethics, and assistant professor of law at West Point on August 28, 1883, and during his tenure of office wrote Outlines of International Law with an Account of its Origin and Sources and of its Historical Development (1887), a work which became popular and passed through several editions. On his promotion to captain, August 21, 1888, he returned to frontier duty, being stationed in Indian Territory.

Four months later, however, he was appointed judge advocate with the rank of major, being at first detailed on special duty in the office of the secretary of war, Washington, D. C. , and subsequently assuming charge of the publication of the War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. He was appointed deputy judge advocate general and promoted lieutenant-colonel, August 3, 1896, becoming in addition professor of law and history at West Point.

In 1897 he published The Elements of Law: An Introduction to the Study of the Constitutional and Military Law of the United States, and under direction of the secretary of war prepared a manual of The Military Laws of the United States.

This was followed by A Treatise on the Military Law of the United States, Together with the Practice and Procedure of Courts-Martial and other Military Tribunals (1898), which became the standard work on the subject.

At the close of the Spanish-American War he was engaged in the investigation and trial of the so-called “canned beef cases. ” He relinquished his professorship on appointment as judge advocate general with the rank of brigadier-general and occupied this position for nearly ten years. In 1906 he was United States delegate to the Red Cross Conference at Geneva. In 1907 as United States delegate he attended the second Peace Conference at The Hague. He retired with the rank of major-general, February 13, 1911, and died at Washington, D. C. , December 15, 1914.

He contributed a number of articles to military and historical publications, among them being “The Operations of the Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign” in Cavalry Studies from Two Great Wars (1896), and “The Antietam Campaign, ” “The Strategy of the Gettysburg Campaign, ” “From Gettysburg to Williamsport” and “The Bristoe and Mine Run Campaigns” in Papers of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, vol. Ill (1903).

Achievements

Davis was a professor at West Point, the author of several works, delegate to the Red Cross Conference at Geneva and delegate at the second Peace Conference at The Hague as well.