Background
Davidson was born in St. Petersburg, Virginia in 1836. She was locally known as "Mission Nora" and lived there her entire life.
Davidson was born in St. Petersburg, Virginia in 1836. She was locally known as "Mission Nora" and lived there her entire life.
She is credited for holding the first Memorial Day ceremony in St. Petersburg, and as the inspiration for the United States" Memorial Day. During the war years, her school was known as the Confederate School and in the postwar years as the Davidson Seminary. Early in 1861, Davidson headed various fund-raising projects to buy equipment for companies of soldiers forming in St. Petersburg.
Her efforts were most successful in equipping the Ragland Guard, the unit that became Company G, 41st Virginia Infantry.
She continued throughout the war to raise money for the soldiers. Davidson was among a group of St. Petersburg citizens to meet and entertain the first troops arriving there from other Southern states in 1861.
There were no hospitals within the city, and Davidson and others established the Ladies Hospital on Bollingbrook Street. Money raised from various entertainments went into maintaining this hospital.
Mission Nora became the hospital’s treasurer, and continued in this capacity until the need for other hospitals arose.
When the large Confederate Hospital was established at Poplar Lawn in St. Petersburg, she served as linen matron until the end of the war. This association took as their objective the reburial of Confederate soldiers who fell on battlefields and were buried there. Blandford Cemetery in St. Petersburg contained the graves of veterans of six wars, including 30,000 Confederate soldiers killed in the Siege of St. Petersburg (1864-1865) during the American Civil War.
While visiting the cemetery, the wife of Union General John A. Logan, observed Davidson and the students putting flowers and tiny Confederate flags on the graves of soldiers.
Upon Mary Logan"s return to Washington, District of Columbia Upon hearing her story, General Logan, now the first Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), replied to her that he would work establish this custom of honoring fallen soldiers across the country. He issued an GAR order, establishing a National Decoration Day, which was later passed by Congress.
Today it is known as Memorial Day.
Davidson was one of the charter members of the St. Petersburg"s Ladies Memorial Association which was organized May 6, 1866.