George Breckenridge Davis (February 13, 1847 – December 16, 1914) was the tenth

Judge Advocate General of the United States Army The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army (TJAG) is the senior officer of the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army. Under Title 10 of the United States Code, the TJAG is appointed by the President of the United State ...

. Davis was born at

Ware, Massachusetts Ware is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,066 as of 2020. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Ware, comprising the main settleme ...

. In 1863, at the age of 16 years, he enlisted in the 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry. As a cavalryman and later a second lieutenant of volunteers, he served in 25 battles and engagements during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Appointed to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point two years after the War, Davis graduated in 1871 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of the

5th U.S. Cavalry The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service on August 3, 1861, when an act of Congress enacted "that the two regiments of dragoons, the regiment of mounted riflemen, and the t ...

. Immediately after his marriage to Ella Prince of

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West Si ...

, in July 1871, Lieutenant Davis spent two years on the

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

frontiers with the 5th Cavalry. His next tour was at West Point, where he served for five years as Assistant Professor of Spanish, teaching French, geology, chemistry and mineralogy as well. Promotion to 1st Lieutenant in 1878 brought with it another five-year tour on the Western frontier. The return to West Point in 1883 gave Davis a chance to head the History Department as principal assistant professor, and to serve as assistant professor of law, instructing also in geography and ethics. During this tour he completed his ''Outline of International Law''. Simultaneously with his promotion, Captain Davis was rotated to the Western Territory in August 1888. Only four months later, however, Davis's professional abilities were recognized and required in Washington. He was appointed a Major, Judge Advocate General's Department, and transferred to the Office of the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

. Davis took advantage of the Washington tour to obtain his

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. and LL.M. degrees at Columbian (now George Washington University) Law School. He was made Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Judge Advocate General in 1895, but left Washington the next year to serve as Professor of Law at West Point. It was during the next few years that Davis completed his major publications. His ''Elements of Law and Elements of International Law'' (1897) were followed by his definitive ''Treatise on the Military Law of the United States'' in 1898. In addition, Davis authored several historical and professional works on the tactical use of cavalry. ''The War of the Rebellion'', a 70-volume compilation of the official records of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Armies, was principally his work and was published in his name in 1880-1901. Davis was promoted to Colonel in 1901, and a few months later became a Brigadier and Judge Advocate General, a post he was to occupy for a decade. (His appointment followed that of Thomas F. Barr of Massachusetts and John W. Clous, a native of Germany, each of whom served as Judge Advocate General for one day in May 1901 in order to retire with the rank of Brigadier General.) General Davis guided his department through the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, and handled the investigation and trial of the notorious cases arising out of that war. He also represented the United States as delegate plenipotentiary to the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conven ...

of 1903 and 1906, and the

Hague Convention of 1907 The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amo ...

. On February 14, 1911, General Davis retired with a promotion to major general. He died on December 16, 1914 of heart disease at his home in the

Adams Morgan Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C., centered at the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road, about 1.5 miles (2.54 km) north of the White House. Notable establishments in the neighborhood include the ...

section of Washington, D.C. Davis and his wife Ella Prince Davis were buried at the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the eastern United States, on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers and early ...

References

Further reading