William Lee Davidson

William Lee Davidson (1746–1781) was an officer in the North Carolina militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Pennsylvania and moved with his family to Rowan County, North Carolina in 1750. He was killed at the Battle of Cowan's Ford.

William Lee Davidson, Sr.
Possible portrait of William Lee Davidson, Sr. or Jr.[1]
Born1746 (1746)
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
DiedFebruary 1, 1781 (aged 34–35)
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Place of burial
Hopewell Presbyterian Church, Huntersville, North Carolina
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchContinental Army
North Carolina Militia
Years of service1775–1781
RankColonel, Brigadier General (Pro Tempore)
UnitRowan County Regiment; 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th North Carolina Regiments
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
Signature

Origins and education

William Lee Davidson was born in 1746 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.[2] His father George Davidson moved with his family to Rowan County, North Carolina, in 1750. William, the youngest son, was educated at Queen's Museum (later Liberty Hall) in Charlotte.[3][4]

Military service

Service record:[5]

Active in the war from its inception as adjutant to Colonel (later Brigadier General) Griffith Rutherford's Rowan County Regiment during the Snow Campaign in December 1775, he was promoted to major of the Fourth Regiment of the North Carolina line in 1776. He marched with the North Carolina line to the north and was at the Battle of Germantown, after which he was promoted to Lt. Colonel of the Fifth Regiment of the North Carolina line. At Valley Forge with Washington, "Light Horse Harry" Lee, Daniel Morgan and others, he became friends with most of the influential military commanders in the Continental Line.

Left without a command, he had been ordered out for the purpose of preventing the British from crossing the Catawba. Griffith Rutherford appointed Davidson his second in command. Severely wounded at the Battle of Colson's Mill on July 21, 1780, he did not participate in the Battle of Camden at which Rutherford was captured. Davidson was promoted to brigadier general and given command of Rutherford's Salisbury District Brigade of militia. He participated in resisting the entry of Lord Cornwallis into Charlotte in late September 1780.

Brigadier General William Lee Davidson was in Charlotte, North Carolina by December 3, 1780, the day after General Nathanael Greene arrived in Charlottetown as it was then called. After the defeat of the American Forces at the Battle of Camden or as called by most veterans in their pension records the Battle of Gum Swamp; so it was then that the Continental Congress finally agreed to permit General George Washington to replace General Gates with his best officer.

General Washington immediately selected General Nathanael Greene. General Greene arrived later in the day on December 2, 1780, in Charlottetown after a long journey from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and rested. Officially the Change of Command Ceremony took place between General Gates and General Greene on December 3, 1780; and as quickly as he could General Nathanael Greene got to the business at hand to meet his new officers in the field. General William Lee Davidson and General Nathanael Greene had previously met. They were both in the Battle of Brandywine opposing British General Lord Cornwallis in Pennsylvania.

Greene recognized that Davidson was very respected and in favor with the local militia in the western half of North Carolina, called the Salisbury Military District over which General Davidson had complete jurisdiction. Greene wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to create a "Flying Army" that was approved by General Washington. Davidson was going to be the leading Patriot Commander in the field to raise the local militia up as this "Flying Army." Having previously served in battle and camped at Valley Forge together, they already had a bond of trust.

Death

Davidson was killed at the Battle of Cowan's Ford in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on February 1, 1781, while opposing the re-entry of Cornwallis into North Carolina. General Davidson was trying to rally his men as the lead British and German elements arrived on the near bank. He was killed within minutes as the engagement unfolded.[6] Davidson's body was recovered by fellow officers later that evening after the battle; and was buried at Hopewell Presbyterian Church located on Beatties Ford Road, North of Charlotte.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Namesakes

Congress voted $500 for a monument to him, but it has never been erected.[3]

References
  1. The photo attributed here is not Brig. Gen. William Lee Davidson of whom no known image exists — this is a photo of his son William Lee Davidson Jr., who donated the land to establish Davidson College. Additional sourcing of portrait is being sought.
  2. "Descendants of William Lee Davidson Sr. and Mary Brevard". Rootsweb. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  3. Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Davidson, William" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
  4. Lathan, S. Robert (July 29, 2012). "We Are Family". Davidson Journal. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  5. Lewis, J.D. "The American Revolution in North Carolina, William Lee Davidson". Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  6. Stonestreet, O.C. IV (2012). The Battle of Cowan's Ford: General Davidson's Stand on the Catawba River and its place in North Carolina History. Createspace Publishing. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1468077308.
  7. William S. Powell, ed. (1991). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Vol. 2. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 27–28.
  8. Charles B. Baxley (February 2006). Battle of Cowan's Ford. Vol. 3. SCAR. p. 3.
  9. Chalmers Davidson (1951). Piedmont Partisan: The Life and Times of Brigadier General William Lee Davidson. Davidson, North Carolina: Davidson College. OCLC 3674972.
  10. O'Kelley, Patrick (March 29, 2005). Nothing but Blood and Slaughter: The Revolutionary War in the Carolinas (1781). Vol. 3. Booklocker.com. ASIN B00XWXFY7Q.
  11. "Muster Roll of 5th NC Division at Valley Forge". Archived from the original on 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  12. "Sons of the American Revolution - Battle of Cowan's Ford". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  13. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 101.
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