Davies Manor Survivor of War
Davies Manor provides a stunning example of wartime survival. Located just north of the stage route between Memphis and Nashville, the house and surrounding plantation were visited by soldiers from both sides during the Civil War.
When the war began, brothers Logan E. Davies and James B. Davies jointly operated the plantation. Their slaves grew cotton, corn, and wheat and raised livestock. James Davies joined the 38th Tennessee Infantry in 1863. He fought at Perryville, Lookout Mountain, and Atlanta, among other engagements. Younger brother Henry Newton Davies also joined the Confederate army and died at the Battle of Nashville.
Logan Davies, his wife, France Anna Vaughn Davies, and their slaves maintained the plantation throughout the war. According to family tradition, Frances Davies confronted a Union officer who tried to take her horse and other livestock during a foraging expedition in 1863. When the officer refused to give her horse back, she is said to have cut the horse free and told the officer, "I have my horse. You go." Frances Davies gave birth to two children during the war and died in 1865.
After the war, James Davies rejoined his brother in running the plantation, which included 1,237 acres by 1894. The trauma that James Davies associated with his battlefront experiences influenced his two sons to become physicians.
Submitted from the Shelby County Register's Office.