Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 7).djvu/110

84 he was general manager of the Nicaragua canal company while on leave of absence from his army duties, and from 1895 to 1898 he was president of the board of publication of the official records of the war of the rebellion. At the outbreak of the war with Spain in 1898 he was made brigadier- general of volunteers and placed in command of the 2d division of the Sd army-corps.

DAVIS, Henry Gassoway, senator, b. in How- ard county, Md., 16 Nov.. 1823. lie received a limited education, and in 1843 became a brakeman on the Baltimore and Oliio railroad. He was soon advanced to higher positions on the road, and in 1858 settled in West Virginia, becoming president of a bank. Mr. Davis was elected to the legisla- ture in 1865 ami to the state senate in 1868 and 1870. He was a delegate to the Democratic na- tional convention in 1868, and in 1871 took his seat in the U. S. senate, where he served until 1883, having been elected for two full terms.

DAVIS, Samuel, spv, b. in Rutherford county, Tenn., in 1842; d. at Pulaski, Tenn., 27 Nov., 1863. He entered the Confederate army, 1861, as a mem- ber of Ledbetter's company of the 1st Tennessee regiment. He was detached from his regiment soon afterward and assigned to scout duty. In October, 1863, Gen. Bragg, desiring to be informed of the strength and fortifications of the Federal artny in middle Tennessee, selected Davis for that duty. After accomplishing his purpose he was arrested on his return, within the Federal lines, on 20 Nov., and a plan of the fortifications of Nash- ville, Pulaski, and other places of importance found on his person. The accuracy of the plans and minuteness of detail showed at once that the in- formant was a man of high position among the Federal engineers. He was questioned as to his source of information, and, while admitting that the plans had been furnished him by a Federal officer, he resolutely refused to give the name. Gen. Dodge, the post commander, convened a court- martial, which found him guilty and sentenced him to be hanged on Friday, 27 Nov., 1863. Capt. Armstrong, who had charge of the execution, said to Davis on the scaffold, " I am sorry to be com- pelled to perform this painful duty." Davis re- plied that he had no feelings against Capt. Arm- strong; he had done his duty and was ready to die. Capt. Chickasaw then asked the prisoner if it were not better to save his life by disclosing the name of the officer who furnished the information, and intimated that it was not yet too late. Davis an- swered with indignation : " Do you suppose that I would betray a friend. No, sir, I would die a thousand deaths first. I will not betray the con- fidence of my informer oven to save my own life." An appropriate monument to his memory has been erected over his grave at Pulaski.

DAVIS, Varina Anne Jefferson, author, b. in Richmond, Va., in 1864 ; d. at Narragansett Pier, R. I., 18 Sept., 1898. She was the youngest of the five children of Jefferson Davis (q. v.), was edu- cated at Heidelberg, and was highlv accomplished in French and German. Much o'f her life was spent at Beauvoir, her father's plantation home, in Mississippi. After the death of Mr. Davis she fre- quently appeared on public occasions in the south, where she was affectionately known as " the Daugh- ter of the Confederacy." It was at a reunion of the Confederate veterans in Atlanta that Miss Davis was exposed to a severe rain-storm, which caused her death two months later. She received a public funeral in Richmond, and was buried by the side of her father in Hollywood cemeterv. For many years Miss Davis was a favorite in soci'etv and a constant contributor to current literature. Her principal writings are " The Veiled Doctor" (New- York, 1892), her most popular novel, and her latest, entitled a " Romance of Summer Seas " (1898).

DAWES, Rufus R., soldier, b. in Malta, Ohio, 4 July, 1838 ; d. in Marietta, Ohio, 1 Aug., 1899. He was graduated at Marietta college in 1860. and in the following year entered the army as captain of the 6th Wisconsin infantry. He participated in twenty battles during the war, and was promoted to colonel of his regiment, receiving in 1866 the brevet of brigadier-general. His business was that of a lum- ber merchant, and from 1871 until his death he was a trustee of Marietta college. He served one term in congress in 1880-'2, and declined the mission to Persia, which was proffered to him by President McKinley. — His son, Charles Gates, b. in Mariet- ta, Ohio, 37 Aug.. 1865, was graduated at Marietta college in 1884, and at the Cincinnati law-school, practising law for seven years in Nebraska. He was the leader of the McKinley movement in Illi- nois, resulting in instructions for McKinley at the Springfield, III., convention of April, 1896. In January, 1898, he was appointed comptroller of the currency. He is the author of " The Banking Systems of the United States."

DAWSON, Æneas MacDonell, Canadian au- thor, b. in Redhaven, Scotland, 30 July, 1810. He was educated in Scotland and Prance, entered the Roman Catholic priesthood on 2 April, 1835, and has held charges in Canada. The University of Kingston gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1886. He is the author of " The Temporal Sovereignty of the Pope" (London, 1860); "Our Strength and their Strength" (Ottawa, 1870); "Life and Time of Pius IX." (1880) ; "The Last Defender of Jeru- salem." a poem (1882) ; " Zenobia," a poem (1883) ; and several admirable translations.

DAWSON, Samuel Edward, Canadian pub- licist, b. in Halifax, Nova Scotia, June, 1833, and was educated there. He entered the book establishment of his father, the late Benjamin Dawson, in Mont- real, at an early age, and subsequently became sen- ior partner in the firm of Dawson Bros. Laval university conferred on him the degree of doctor of letters, and for some years he has been an active member of the Royal society of Canada. In Novem- ber, 1891, Dr. Dawson was appointed queen's printer and controller of stationery, with residence at Ot- tawa. He has written verse, his best-known poem being " Champlain." He is the author of " Copy- right in Books," " Old Colonial Currencies," " A Study of Lord Tennyson's ' Princess,' " " A Hand- Book of the Dominion of Canada," " A Hand- Book of Montreal," "Canada and Newfoundland" (1897) ; and various papers on the Cabots.

DAY, James Roscoe, clergyman, b. at Whit- neyville, Me., 17 Oct., 1845. He was educated in Wesleyan seminary, and was a member of the class of 1874 of Bowdoin college, but did not grad- uate. Dr. Day has held various charges in the Methodist Episcoj)al church at Portland. Me., Boston, and New ork city, and has been a trustee of Maine Wesleyan seminary and Boston univer- sity, also a member of the general conferences and boards of his denomination. In 1893 he became cliancellor of Syracuse university. His literary work is confined to magazine articles and sermons. He has received the degrees of S. T. D. and LL. D.

DAY, William Rufus, statesman, b. in Ra- venna, Ohio. 17 Ajiril, 1849. His father, Luther Day, was judge of the supreme court of Ohio. The son entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which he was graduated in 1870. He then read law at Ravenna in the office of Judge