The referenced men were brothers, and they fought for the South and the
North, respectively, in the War Between the States.  Hunter (born about
1827)was a Naval Academy graduate, and "Black Jack" (born about 1824/25)
was a West Point graduate.  Hunter was an officer on the CSS Virginia
("Merrimac") during its famous battle with the Monitor.  He was also
heavily involved with the early submarines and the development of the spar
torpedoe.  Hunter once sunk a ship using the above technology, and he was
promoted as a result.  "Black Jack" served in the more western states
during the war, apparently, and he was still an Army officer in the West
long after the war was over.  "Black Jack" was involved with battles
against Indians in that area, and he once commanded a unit that was formed
primarily of black soldiers (hence, his name).  Hunter moved to Paraguay
after the war and died in the early 1900s, as I recall.  "Black Jack"
died "out West" in the 1880s, after his horse slipped on ice and fell on
him.

According to notes left by S. Bassett French (available on the LOVa
website), along with other documentation that I have found, these two men
were the sons of a Captain William Baker Davidson of Botetourt Co., VA
(graduated from West Point in 1815; he was killed on Christmas Day in 1840
by Indians in Indian Key, Florida).  William Baker Davidson was married to
Elizabeth Chapman Hunter, a daughter of General John Chapman Hunter (John
C. Hunter was APPARENTLY only a private in the Rev. War, but he rose to
the rank of Major by the War of 1812, it appears).

Per my research, it seems very likely that Captain William Baker Davidson
was the son of William Davidson, Junior of Botetourt and his unknown
wife.  I suspect, but have not proven, that William Davidson, Junior was
also the Captain William Davidson who died in Botetourt in 1829, just a
few months after a Martha Davidson (his likely mother) had died there
(these deaths are per newspaper obits available at the LOVa).

Per various Botetourt records, it seems certain that William Davidson,
Junior was the son of William Davidson (died in 1812 in Botetourt) and
Martha Baker (as shown above, she died in 1829 in Botetourt).  Martha
Baker was from Prince Edward Co., VA, and it appears that her husband
William Davidson was from Buckingham Co., VA (his "Buckingham Davidson
family" should not be confused with the Davison/Davidson family that lived
in Amelia/Prince Edward Co., VA from the 1740s until the mid-1800s).
William and Martha were married around 1768 or so, and they purchased land
in Botetourt in 1774 from a Mr. Murray.  That land became part of
Rockbridge Co., VA in 1778, but then William and Martha moved again to
what was still Botetourt (bought land in 1782 from a Mr. Greenlee).

One of William and Martha (Baker) Davidson's children was Reverend Andrew
Baker Davidson, and five of the Reverend's grandchildren, including
Greenlee Davidson, fought as Confederate officers in the War Between the
States.  I believe that Governor John Letcher of Virginia named one of his
sons Greenlee Davidson Letcher because Greenlee Davidson (killed 3 May
1863 at Chancellorsville) headed the Governor's recruiting office in
Richmond, and Greenlee Davidson was also an officer in what was commonly
called "Letcher's Artillery" during the war.

There is a book that was written by Homer Ken Davidson (he was a
descendant of "Black Jack" Davidson; this book is available at the LOVa).
This book was written in part, apparently, to defend the reputation
of "Black Jack" (the General was apparently rather controversial in his
day).  This book contains what is almost cetainly a major error, since it
claims that "Black Jack" was a descendant of Rev. War hero General William
Lee Davidson, after whom the college and county in NC were named (ditto
the county in TN).  Researchers of General William Lee Davidson's family
have proven that the above "connection" is not correct.

Based on the historical significance of the above brothers, I hope that
their likely ancestors in Botetourt mentioned above in this message can be
proven someday.  I believe that I have traced the lineage of the above
Davidson family back to a David Davidson who died in James City Co., VA in
1687.  David's naturalization papers in 1686 show that he was born in
Holland, though he was certainly English, Irish or Scottish.  If anyone
has any information on the above Davidson family, please share it.  Thanks!

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html