Huffman Davis

Huffman Davis (May 10, 1891 – Sept. 22, 1917) was a Winfield man killed during World War I.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born May 10, 1891, Huffman Davis was the son of Henry Davis (1861-1927) of Winfield. He lived in the Gumfork community east of Pleasant Grove. There is a discrepancy in the records. His headstone states he was born on May 10, 1891; his death certificate states he was born in August 1892.

Davis’s death certificate states that the name of his mother is unknown. However, Henry Davis was married to Nancy Jane Chitwood (1868-1902). They had several other children: Columbus (1887-1904) and Nobia Ellis (1900-1901), along with Lester, Maude, and Josephine. Following Nancy’s death in 1902, Henry married Rebecca Angel (1868-1947), the daughter of Tommy Angel and Lottie King. She had first been married to Talton King, who died in 1905. Henry and Rebecca had three more children: Roscoe (1903-1941), Kelley (1906-1922) and Lula Bray (1909-1939).

World War I

Davis’s military records show that he enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War I on April 6, 1917. He was assigned to the 22nd Regimental Combat Team and was stationed at Fort Thomas in Campbell County, Ky. — just outside Cincinnati — as a private.

However, he served in the military prior to that point. When the 1910 census was taken, Davis was stationed at Fort Niagara in New York as a member of Co. F, 29th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army.

Davis was not killed in action. He died from an accidental gunshot wound at Fort Campbell on Sept. 22, 1917. A .32-caliber, steel-jacketed bullet entered his back and came out just below his shoulder. The cause of death was listed as a profuse hemorrhage of the right lung, liver and spleen.

According to an article in The Kentucky Post on Sept. 24, 1917, Pvt. W.F. O’Brien was on guard duty and was posing for a picture and his army rifle was accidentally knocked from his grasp, discharging as it struck the ground. A prisoner, William Holden, suffered a minor injury. The newspaper article stated that Davis was being guarded along with Holden, indicating that he was under arrest, though no further details were given. O’Brien was arrested after the shooting.

Aftermath

Davis was buried at Ryan Cemetery in Winfield, where his father would also be buried.