W. Mart Davis, Civil War Vet, Died Tuesday
Was Resident of Community for Seventy Five Years
Death at 3:20 p.m. Tuesday closed the long and interesting life of Uncle Mart Davis, one of Marion’s oldest and most beloved citizens. He was 88 years, four months and eight days of age. For several months his health had been poor, and it was realized that he could not live much longer. He passed away at his home at 412 E. College Street.
William Martin Davis was born on May 9th, 1841, in Knox County, Tennessee, near Knoxville and moved to Illinois with his parents, William and Elizabeth Ann Hunter Davis at the age of 14, but returned to Tennessee later and at the age of 20 years joined the 15th Tennessee Volunteer Regiment, Company G, under H.B. Cunningham of this city on June 5, 1861.
Wounded at the battle of Shiloh, he was discharged August 8, 1862 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
He was first married to Eliza Ballentine at the age of 25 years, in 1867. To this union, three children were born, X. Davis of Marion, Mrs. Millie Carpenter of Santa Barbara, Calif. and Elmo Davis of Flint, Michigan. His wife died April 23, 1873.
In 1878, he was married to Virginia Evans. The following children were born to this union: Will E. Davis, Mrs. Fannie Boatright, Mrs. Bessie Sweeney and Miss Jessie Davies, all living in Marion, and Grace, George, Emma and Nettie who are deceased.
The second Mrs. Davis dying in 1908, Uncle Mart had since made his home with his younger children. He has seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. There is one brother, John H.C. Davis of Harrisburg and one sister, Mrs. Mary Parks of Santa Barbara, California.
Uncle Mart was the eleventh child of a family of 17 children, all living to be married but one.
He was a member of the Methodist Church, South, for more than 10 years. He had held membership in the Odd Fellows Lodge for about 55 years and five years ago was awarded the fifty year jewel of that lodge. He was also a member of the Rebekah Lodge.
Uncle Mart’s war experiences were among the most interesting of his life. He with several others from Williamson County walked to Paducah to enlist in the Tennessee Company which was recruited by Captain Cunningham, himself a Marion man, and a brother of Mrs. John A. Logan, wife of the famous Union army general who about the same time was recruiting soldiers for the Union side.
In the battle of Shiloh where Mr. Davis was wounded he was taken back from the front in a mule wagon driven by Flem Gent, another Marion soldier who died several years ago. The wounded soldiers were numerous in that battle and Mr. Gent drove over the battle field with other wagon drivers hauling the wounded back from the lines. Mr. Davis was picked up and placed on his wagon where many other wounded and dying were already being borne away from the field. Uncle Mart in recalling the incident often told that because of his intense suffering at that time, he begged his comrades to let him die. Recovering, however, he returned home to live a complete and useful life.
For many years he was a teamster here, retiring ten years ago.
Funeral services will be held on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the M.E. Church South by the pastor Rev. O.H. Sweitzer. The body will be taken to the church at one o’clock and will lie in state there until the hour of the funeral. The casket will be closed at the church.
(Extracted from the Marion Daily Republican, September 18, 1929)