BA001772
Davis' House, Ga.
Sept. 4, 1863
Event ID # BA001772
This was a skirmish at Davis' Crossroads leading up to the battle of Dug Gap on Sept. 11th. No casualties were reported.
Davis' Crossroads is located at the intersection of Georgia Highway 193 and Cove Road. The area appears on the Kensington, Georgia quadrangle of the U. S. Geological Survey maps. (Map it.)
The Davis brothers, Martin and John were from the old Cherokee area around Dahlonega in Lumpkin County, Georgia. Their wives, Julia Anne and Saphronia were sisters. Sometime before 1850, the brothers moved to the western part of Walker County along the Stephen's Gap road that led from Lookout Mountain to Dug Gap in Pigeon Mountain, and on the LaFayette. John and Saphronia Davis established a farm on the north side of the road west of West Chickamauga Creek. Martin and Julia built their house at the intersection of a north-south road a short distance to the east. The surrounding farming community came to be known as Davis' Crossroads.
By 1858, Martin Davis has established a working farm. In a letter to relatives back at Dahlonega dated March 8, 1858, he stated: "We have had two bad cases of scarlet fever among the Negroes ... We are nearly ready to commence crop breaking our lands for corn. Times in this county are quite hard and money scarce, plenty to sell but it brings but little." Martin Davis made an orchard a little to the north of his house. He spent much time there among the fruit trees, relaxing and smoking his pipe. In 1859, he was found dead in the orchard with his pipe still clenched firmly between his teeth. Because he had loved this spot so well, he was buried there, thus starting the Davis Cemetery.
When Martin Davis died, his widow Julia was left with six children, the youngest being two years old. She continued to direct the slaves in the operation of the farm. The 1860 Agricultural Census showed her to have livestock consisting of "7 horses, 4 mules, 5 milch cows, 10 other cattle, and 100 swine," valued at $1,400.00. The farm produced 200 bushels of wheat, 2,000 bushels of corn, and 100 bushels of oats. The cash value of the farm was indicated at $5,500.00. Julia also owned 21 Negro slaves. John Davis had a similar farm with 19 slaves. The 1860 Federal Census listed Julia Anne Davis as a 37 yearold widow and head of a household consisting of her children; Jane, 19 years old; Rachel, 17, Mary, 16; John, 13; Thursa, 6; and Martin, 3. On the joining farm to the west, Julia's brotherin- law, John Davis was listed as a 47 year-old farmer living with his 29 year-old wife, Jane Saphronia. Their children included: Georgia Ann, 11 years old; Samuel, 9; Susannah, 7; Daniel, 5; Cicero, 2; and Julia, a five month-old baby.
During the summer of 1863 there was a strong presence of Confederate cavalry on the roads around Davis' Crossroads. By early September, it was generally known that there was a major Federal army located just on the other side of Lookout Mountain and they were expected to be crossing at any time. John Davis felt it advisable to remove most of the more valuable slaves to a safer place, and did so. On their respective farms, Saphronia and Julia elected to stay behind on their property during the expected invasion.
At this point, the three Army Corps that made up the Federal Army of the Cumberland were separated over a wide area. General Crittenden's 21st Corps had occupied Chattanooga. General McCook's 20th Corps was more than 40 miles to the south preparing to move on Summerville, and possibly Rome, Georgia. General Thomas was in Lookout Valley with the 14th Corps. From his headquarters in Chattanooga, the Federal Commander, General Rosecrans, believed the Confederate army to be in full retreat. He ordered General Thomas to rush his men through the mountain gaps and strike the Confederate flank at LaFayette.
(See Dug Gap Event ID # BA001931)?
REF: chickamaugacampaign.org/pdfs/daviscrossroads.htm