GDG- 1st day

Sun Aug 5 17:46:05 CDT 2007

-----Original Message-----
From: gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com
[mailto:gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com] On Behalf Of MICHAEL DAVIDSON
Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2007 12:32 PM
To: gettysburg at arthes.com
Subject: GDG- 1st day

Hi,

The source for Stine's narrative is PVT E. R. Reed, H Co, 2nd WI.

Reed did not state that Davidson was wounded at Antietam.
Reed related that Davidson "...had become surfeited with fighting, and
would never go into another fight if he could find any honorable way of
dodging it."
He went on to relate Davidson's grasping the colors from the fallen
color sergeant and leading the regiment in the charge, and being ten or
fifteen yards in front of them.

Reed said Davidson was made a sergeant on the field, and carried the
colors until the end.  Reed also stated that, at the end of 1 July
Davidson was the only one of the 33 men of H Co who was uninjured in the
charge.

The H Co roster in Otis' Second WI history lists under SERGEANT:
Davidson, Roslas E. b Ohio; farmer; s (single); r (residence), Spring
Green; April 24, 1861.  Promoted Sergeant January 9, 1864.  Mustered out
June 29, 1864. (pp 342)

H Co., the "Randall Guards" was said by Reed to have been recruited at
Madison, while Nolan's "The Iron Brigade" has it recruited in Dane
County.

The small book "The Flags of the Iron Brigade" states,
"In the initial assault against Archer's Brigade, this entire
color-party fell dead or wounded.  When the colors fell, Corporal
Rasselas Davidson of Company H sprang forward and raised the regimental
color, and Corporal Paul V. Brisbois of Company G seized the national
color from the wounded Wright.  (Miraculously, both men survived the
three-day battle unscathed.)" (pp 32).

There is a brief reference to SGT Davison holding the colors in
Beecham's "Gettysburg" on page 88, and the info that what was left of H
Co became the color guard.

Don Troiani's painting "For God's Sake Forward" depicts the charge of
the 2nd WI into McPherson's Woods, and shows the first color guards
probably seconds before they fell.  Davidson is probably included in the
scene seeing as how he picked up the regimental colors.

VR, Rick Schaus

Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
<<Hi 
  I'm not on an ancestor hunt, but the name has enlivened my informal
tours for family and friends.  But I haven't been able to confirm the
story.  Shue attributes it to Stine, "History of the Army of the
Potomac," pp 730-731.  I haven't found Stine on line.  I haven't found
the story in any of many other books I have on the battle.

  The Wisconsin roster of volunteers
(http://www.wisonsinhistory.org/roster/) lists a Russalas Davison
("Rasselas" in the company roster), in the 2nd Wis., Co. H, who served
from Apr. 24 '61 to June 29 '64.  The missing second "d" is not problem,
it's an acceptable spelling of the family name, and the folks who
maintain the roster note that there are spelling discrepancies because
of the difficulty of transcribing old, handwritten ledgers.  However,
Shue says Davidson "fought at Antietam, Chancellorsville, and in both
battles at Bull Run, and had come through all of them unscathed."  The
Wisconsin registry says "wnd. Antietam."  Shue says he was a private,
promoted to Sergeant for his actions on July 1.  The Wisconsin registry
has his ranks as "Corp., Sergt."   I don't know if the descrepancies are
Shue's, or Stine's, or whether for certain I have found "a most unlikely
private...R. E. Davidson."

  I would be glad for any leads and suggestions.>>

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