Ernest Dudley Davis (1846 – 1893)
"Dud" Davis
Co. D, 174th Ohio Infantry, 1864 - 1865
CDV photo by W. P. Bennet, Photographer, Marietta, Ohio, Gallery on the First Floor, near the Post Office. Blue 2-Cent Tax stamp hand cancelled in ink with the photographer’s initials “W P” and the date “Sept 1864”.
Photo signed on the front “Ernest D. Davis aged 18.”
Earnest Dudley Davis was a hardy, robust teen-aged son of a farmer, living at Jackson, Ohio, when the Civil War began in 1861. After he turned 18, his family agreed to let him enlist in the Union army. He joined Company D, 174th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at Marietta, Ohio, on August 5, 1864, and was appointed corporal on September 5. The 174th was sent by train to Nashville, and from there to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where the men were drilled in the school of the soldier. In October they were sent to Decatur, Alabama, and remained near there as part of the provost guard for about a month before returning to Murfreesboro in response to the Confederate invasion of Tennessee in late November 1864.
The 174th Ohio was not involved in the Battle of Franklin on November 30, but a few days later, on the afternoon of Sunday December 4, the regiment engaged the enemy for the first time in major combat. At Overalls Creek, about five miles from Murfreesboro, the 174th Ohio was ordered to cross a bridge under sharp fire from both artillery and small arms, and to form ranks of the other side. During this advance, Davis was hit in the forehead by a spent bullet. The man beside him when he was struck remembered that "it knocked him down over an embankment and I said to myself – 'There Ernest Davis is gone.' Some called him Ernest and some called him Dud." Another soldier said, "he laid there for quite a while and we thought that he was dead." Luckily however, although the wound broke the skin, it did not penetrate the skull. Davis lay unconscious as his Company advanced the 150 yards across the bridge, but soon he recovered his senses, began to "crawl a little and got up."
After an abortive Union cavalry charge, the Federal infantry, including the 174th Ohio, was ordered to charge the Confederate position. About this time, Davis rejoined his comrades who were surprised at his reappearance among the living. As the men rushed forward with a terrific rolling fire, they succeeded in capturing a number of Southern prisoners.
Following his wounding, Davis complained of a continual headache. One of his mess-mates later remembered that "after this happened Ernest did not act right for sometime – so much so that some of the boys remarked that that ball must have given him a pretty good jar, and he seemed a little off." His nickname, "Dud" Davis, may or may not have originated about this time, but it almost certainly took on a new meaning following his encounter with the non-fatal bullet. "We always called him Dud Davis," a soldier recalled afterwards.
Three days later, at the Battle of the Cedars, the 174th Ohio was again involved in a skirmish with the Confederates. Here again, the regiment was instrumental in driving a large force of rebels from the field and capturing numerous prisoners and two 12-pounder Napoleon guns. But afterwards, and for several weeks until the Confederates were routed at Nashville in mid December, the regiment's supplies were cut off and the men's rations were limited to small amounts of rough-ground corn meal. Many of the men, including Davis, became sick with severe chronic diarrhea.
In late December, the regiment left Murfreesboro and after marching cross-country, arrived at Clifton, Tennessee, on January 10, 1865. The men took passage there for Washington, D.C., but Davis, who had come down with measles, was left at the hospital in Clifton. He rejoined his regiment in North Carolina in April; just in time to be discharged at the end of the war.
When Davis returned to his parents' farm, his health was very poor. He complained of bad eyes as a result of the measles. He had a sunken chest or abdomen with a "hollow spot that could hold a pint of water." He complained of pain in his breast and often spit up blood when he exerted himself. He had spells every three or four months when he would faint or wander and appear to be partially deranged. For many years his neighbors were afraid he would lose his mind. Although not recognized at the time, these were probably epileptic spells caused by the blow to the head. In spite of his periodic headaches and seizures, Davis married Augusta A. Devol on September 8, 1868.
As late as 1887 Davis was still complaining of his head hurting him. In one spell, he ran in circles in front of his mother-in-law's house asking for someone to give him a gun. His friends were afraid that he would kill himself because of the pain in his head. Eventually Davis and his family moved west and settled in Kansas City.
Davis had had a relatively short military career, but it had had a profound impact on his health. He was 47 when he died in 1893.
Ernest Dudley Davis (1846 – 1893)
"Dud" Davis
Co. D, 174th Ohio Infantry, 1864 - 1865
CDV photo by W. P. Bennet, Photographer, Marietta, Ohio, Gallery on the First Floor, near the Post Office. Blue 2-Cent Tax stamp hand cancelled in ink with the photographer’s initials “W P” and the date “Sept 1864”.
Photo signed on the front “Ernest D. Davis aged 18.”
Earnest Dudley Davis was a hardy, robust teen-aged son of a farmer, living at Jackson, Ohio, when the Civil War began in 1861. After he turned 18, his family agreed to let him enlist in the Union army. He joined Company D, 174th Ohio Volunteer Infantry at Marietta, Ohio, on August 5, 1864, and was appointed corporal on September 5. The 174th was sent by train to Nashville, and from there to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where the men were drilled in the school of the soldier. In October they were sent to Decatur, Alabama, and remained near there as part of the provost guard for about a month before returning to Murfreesboro in response to the Confederate invasion of Tennessee in late November 1864.
The 174th Ohio was not involved in the Battle of Franklin on November 30, but a few days later, on the afternoon of Sunday December 4, the regiment engaged the enemy for the first time in major combat. At Overalls Creek, about five miles from Murfreesboro, the 174th Ohio was ordered to cross a bridge under sharp fire from both artillery and small arms, and to form ranks of the other side. During this advance, Davis was hit in the forehead by a spent bullet. The man beside him when he was struck remembered that "it knocked him down over an embankment and I said to myself – 'There Ernest Davis is gone.' Some called him Ernest and some called him Dud." Another soldier said, "he laid there for quite a while and we thought that he was dead." Luckily however, although the wound broke the skin, it did not penetrate the skull. Davis lay unconscious as his Company advanced the 150 yards across the bridge, but soon he recovered his senses, began to "crawl a little and got up."
After an abortive Union cavalry charge, the Federal infantry, including the 174th Ohio, was ordered to charge the Confederate position. About this time, Davis rejoined his comrades who were surprised at his reappearance among the living. As the men rushed forward with a terrific rolling fire, they succeeded in capturing a number of Southern prisoners.
Following his wounding, Davis complained of a continual headache. One of his mess-mates later remembered that "after this happened Ernest did not act right for sometime – so much so that some of the boys remarked that that ball must have given him a pretty good jar, and he seemed a little off." His nickname, "Dud" Davis, may or may not have originated about this time, but it almost certainly took on a new meaning following his encounter with the non-fatal bullet. "We always called him Dud Davis," a soldier recalled afterwards.
Three days later, at the Battle of the Cedars, the 174th Ohio was again involved in a skirmish with the Confederates. Here again, the regiment was instrumental in driving a large force of rebels from the field and capturing numerous prisoners and two 12-pounder Napoleon guns. But afterwards, and for several weeks until the Confederates were routed at Nashville in mid December, the regiment's supplies were cut off and the men's rations were limited to small amounts of rough-ground corn meal. Many of the men, including Davis, became sick with severe chronic diarrhea.
In late December, the regiment left Murfreesboro and after marching cross-country, arrived at Clifton, Tennessee, on January 10, 1865. The men took passage there for Washington, D.C., but Davis, who had come down with measles, was left at the hospital in Clifton. He rejoined his regiment in North Carolina in April; just in time to be discharged at the end of the war.
When Davis returned to his parents' farm, his health was very poor. He complained of bad eyes as a result of the measles. He had a sunken chest or abdomen with a "hollow spot that could hold a pint of water." He complained of pain in his breast and often spit up blood when he exerted himself. He had spells every three or four months when he would faint or wander and appear to be partially deranged. For many years his neighbors were afraid he would lose his mind. Although not recognized at the time, these were probably epileptic spells caused by the blow to the head. In spite of his periodic headaches and seizures, Davis married Augusta A. Devol on September 8, 1868.
As late as 1887 Davis was still complaining of his head hurting him. In one spell, he ran in circles in front of his mother-in-law's house asking for someone to give him a gun. His friends were afraid that he would kill himself because of the pain in his head. Eventually Davis and his family moved west and settled in Kansas City.
Davis had had a relatively short military career, but it had had a profound impact on his health. He was 47 when he died in 1893.