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