First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

Britton Davis (June 4, 1860 – January 23, 1930) was an American soldier born in Brownsville, Texas. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in the 81st Cavalry after graduating from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1881. After serving at Fort D.A. Russell, Davis was transferred to the Southwest to serve at San Carlos in 1882 during the Apache Wars where he commanded two companies (B and E) of

Apache Scouts The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts. Most of their service was during the Apache Wars, between 1849 and 1886, though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States mil ...

alongside Captain

Emmet Crawford Emmet Crawford (December 22, 1844 – January 18, 1886) was an American soldier who rose through the ranks to become an officer. He was most noted for his time spent in the Arizona Territory under General George Crook in the United States Cava ...

. In 1886, he played a key role in ending the

Geronimo Campaign The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the Southwestern United States, southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as la ...

. Davis penned numerous journals about his service and the Apache language; toward the end of his life, he wrote a biography of Geronimo.

Army service

The son of Edmund J. Davis, former Governor of Texas, Davis graduated 44th in his class at the US Military Academy, West Point in June 1881, and was commissioned to serve at Fort D.A. Russell. In the spring of 1882, Davis received orders to the Arizona Territory to take command of companies B and E of the Apache Scouts. On May 15, 1885, a group of well-armed Chiricahuas, including

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

and Geronimo, confronted Davis outside his tent and confessed to an all night

tiswin Tiswin (also known as Tesgüino and Tejuino in Mexico) is an alcoholic beverage brewed from corn. Tiswin is also the sacred saguaro wine of the Tohono O'odham, a group of aboriginal Americans who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the south ...

drinking session and demanded to know what the army intended to do about it. Knowing that the Apaches were goading him into confrontation, he telegraphed General George Crook. The telegram was received by Captain Francis C. Pierce, who took it to

Al Sieber Al Sieber (February 27, 1843 1844 was a leap year, leading to some confusion about Sieber's birth date. His tombstone in Globe gives his birth date as 1844, as does the book ''Chief of Scouts''. Both are incorrect. – February 19, 1907) was a Ge ...

, Chief of Scouts. Sieber, hungover himself, dismissed it as a "tiswin drunk" and the message went no further. Waiting for orders, Davis took no action and as days turned into weeks, the Apaches suspected that a massive reprisal was coming down in the form of military action. Geronimo, fearing an arrest, fled from San Carlos accompanied by Chihuahua,

Naiche Chief Naiche ( ; –1919) was the final hereditary chief of the Chiricahua band of Apache Indians.Johansen, Bruce E"Naiche (ca. 1857–1919)." ''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.'' (retrieved 25 Sept 2011 ...

, Mangus,

Ulzana Ulzana ( – 1909, also known as Josanni, Jolsanie or Ozaní’ – ″Tanned buckskin″ or Bį-sópàn – ″Big Buckskin″), was a Tsokanende Apache war chief, brother of Chihuahua. Biography Both the brothers were loyal and warlike support ...

and their bands . The Apaches made way to Mexico and were in turn pursued by Davis and Lieutenant Marion Perry Maus.

Later life and death

After resigning from the Army in 1886, Davis became superintendent of the Corralitos Mining and Cattle Company in Chihuahua, Mexico. In 1924 he retired to San Diego, California, where he wrote a biography of Geronimo titled ''The Truth about Geronimo'', which was published after his death. He was portrayed by

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...

in the movie '' Geronimo: An American Legend''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Britton 1860 births 1930 deaths People from Brownsville, Texas United States Military Academy alumni American military personnel of the Indian Wars Military personnel from Texas