| It was a late
Birthday present. Very late. About 200 years late. But on June 24th, 2006,
the North and South Carolina Societies of the Sons of the American Revolution
combined efforts with the Grand Lodges of the North and South Carolina Masons
to permanently recognize the life and contributions of Revolutionary War
hero Colonel William Richardson Davie. The occasion was the 250th Anniversary
of his birthday and the organizers chose the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church
in Lancaster County, South Carolina to stage this memorial event. |
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| Steve Pittard, Eastern Area
Vice President for the North Carolina Society of the SAR, assembled a noteworthy
group of authors, lecturers, reenactors, SAR and Masonic dignitaries, family
members (descendants of William R. Davie) and everyday citizens, brought
them together in one place, and bedazzled everyone. Here was history, drama,
a family reunion, reverence, patriotism and even a hint of controversy.
Great stuff, this. |
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Do you know of William R. Davie? Many who
attended the ceremony didn’t. This is what they learned ……
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William Richardson Davie was a cavalry
officer who commanded a group of militia horse that he himself funded. He
was severely wounded at Stono Ferry, South Carolina, but survived to fight
another day. He defeated forces at a place called Hanging Rock, pursued
retreating Tories from Ramsour’s Mill and harassed the army of Earl
Lord Cornwallis when that officer pursued Daniel Morgan into North Carolina
after being handed a signal defeat at Cowpens. He came to the notice of
Major General Nathanael Greene who decided that Davie was just the kind
of man he needed to take on the onerous duties of Commissary General of
the Southern Army. It was a job with which Greene was well familiar –
he had served in that capacity for George Washington. Greene recognized
that Davie knew the country, the people, and the temperament of the natives.
While the Southern Army lacked for much, this is certain: it stayed in the
field until all British forces were driven out of the Carolinas. William
R. Davie saw to it.
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If such a military career weren’t already
enough to distinguish the man, his post-war accomplishments would have done
it for him. Among other things, he was selected as the third man in North
Carolina to the hold the position of Grand Master of the NC Masons. But
more of that, later.
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This is what else
William R. Davie did in his lifetime: served at the Constitutional Convention
and is considered to be one of the Founding Fathers of our nation; served
as Governor of North Carolina; was appointed as one our nation’s first
Ministers to France; earned promotion to his state’s Brigadier General;
founded the University of North Carolina (the first state college in the
United States of America); urged the ratification of the United States Constitution;
and made such decisions as the creation of the state of Tennessee while
negotiating the boundaries between the states of North and South Carolina.
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Photo courtesy of Ric Carter
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Unfortunately for history, the written record
of many of these accomplishments was destroyed in the Civil War, including
almost all the papers written by Davie himself. Because of this, the lecturers
at the 250th Birthday Anniversary had to dig deep and range far to gather
their source materials. And that’s exactly what they did.
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Dr. Dan L. Morrill, Professor
of History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, presented a
lecture he entitled “William R. Davie, More than a Soldier”.
Some historical facts are more durable than paper records. For instance,
the cornerstone of the University of North Carolina is still standing. William
R. Davie selected the site for this university (Chapel Hill, NC), designed
the buildings, created the curriculum, selected the teachers, and offered
the presidency of the college to the Rev. David Caldwell (who refused the
title – however, he later accepted that college’s Doctorate
of Divinity). Dr. Morrill referred to William R. Davie as a “muted
trumpet” – while his accomplishments were truly amazing, his
views on slavery and the killing of other men bothered the professor.
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Holding a more sanguine view
of Colonel Davie’s life was the Reverend Dr. D’oyle G. Moore,
a noted Revolutionary War reenactor. Dr. Moore appeared in persona as William
R. Davie, and delivered a first person historic dramatic monologue he called
“Deliberate Long, Act Quickly”. Using thespian talents honed
from many hours on stage, he brought William R. Davie to life. No shrinking
violet was he (Davie). He charged through life with gleeful enthusiasm.
This was an action hero with brains, and he certainly left his stamp on
the North Carolina landscape, from Halifax, where he served as Governor,
to Chapel Hill, founding the University of North Carolina, and finally to
the lands south of Charlotte, where he eventually settled down and was buried.
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After a brief pause for lunch, the Anniversary celebration
continued. Mr. Kip Carter, a reenactor from the state of South Carolina
serving as Master of Ceremonies asked some special guests to introduce themselves.
These were the descendants of William R. Davie, many of whom had met their
cousins only earlier that morning. One of them was William Davie Beard.
Coincidentally, he said, he had been born in the same month as his ancestor,
so that while we were celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the birth of
William R. Davie, he had celebrated his own 50th birthday only days before.
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| It was Dr. Charles Marshall
Ingram, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina Masons, who
coined the words used in the title of this piece. His speech, “A Great
Man in a Time of Great Men” detailed Grand Master Davie’s successes
as a Mason. He helped design the Grand Lodge in which he presided as Grand
Master for many years. During his tenure a great many new lodges were opened
in North Carolina, many of which are still in operation today. Davie was
particularly adept at forming organizations that were keenly adapted to
advancing the tenets of Masonry. |
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D’oyle Moore took the
podium again, dressed as the Reverend Dr. David Caldwell, to deliver William
R. Davie’s eulogy. He called it “I remember William R. Davie”.
He recalled the many debates he had with Davie, the Federalist, while he,
himself, was staunchly anti-Federalist. But for all that they argued and
harangued each other, at day’s end, they were staunch Presbyterian
friends.
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| Upon conclusion of the Memorial
Service, participants gathered outside for a processional to the gravesite
of William R. Davie. With William Davie Beard in the lead, the SAR Color
Guard, Masons, and family walked in the warm sun to General Davie’s
final resting place. There, the Reverend David Caldwell (D’oyle Moore)
made his final remarks. President Joe Harris of the North Carolina Society
and President Charles Porter of the South Carolina Society, Sons of the
American Revolution, unveiled an SAR grave marker which had been affixed
to the brick wall of the enclave which surrounds Davie’s grave site.
Shortly thereafter, Former Grand Master Charles Ingram from North Carolina
and Deputy Grand Master Gerald L. Carver of the South Carolina Grand Lodge
conducted a ceremony where members of the NC and SC Masons came forward
and used corn, wine and oil to consecrate a memorial stone which had been
declared straight, plumb and level. Following this, the joint ceremony concluded
with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony and rifle salute. Participants
included members of the SAR, SAR Ladies Auxiliary, DAR, CAR, Grand Lodges
of the NC and SC Masons, the SC New Acquisition Militia, the descendants
of William R. Davie, and the Daughters of the American Colonist John Lawson,
Surveyor General. |
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Photo courtesy of Ric Carter
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And so, in a ceremony that stretched across the boundaries
of two states and tapped into the talents of many different organizations,
William R. Davie was finally recognized and celebrated. It was not only
“better late than never” – it was the best that could
have been . |
