General James Davis
Coldspring, San Jacinto County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born Va., July 17, 1790. As U.S. Army officer in War of 1812, was in Battle of New Orleans. Married Anne Eliza Hill, of N.C. Had 7 children. Came to Texas in 1834. Served Republic of Texas on staff of Gen. Sam Houston, 1836; adjutant-general, 1842; member of Congress, 1843-1844; member of Constitutional Convention, 1845. Gave site, 1848, for Laurel Hill Baptist Church (now First Baptist Church of Coldspring). D. Feb. 10, 1859. Recorded - 1965
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
General James Davis lived a life braided through America's early wars and Texas's founding. A U.S. Army officer at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, he came to Texas in 1834 and served the young Republic on Sam Houston's staff in 1836, later as adjutant-general and a member of its Congress and 1845 constitutional convention. In 1848 he donated the land for the church that became First Baptist of Coldspring.
Why it matters
Davis embodies the generation of War of 1812 veterans who carried their military experience west and helped transform the Republic of Texas from a battlefield into a state.
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Related people
- · James Davis
- · Sam Houston
- · Anne Eliza Hill
Related events
- · Battle of New Orleans
Themes & tags
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Laurel Hill Cemetery
Coldspring, TX
Laurel Hill Cemetery took its name from the laurel trees ringing the baptismal pool of the local Baptist church, and its land was donated in 1848 by General James B. Davis, adjutant-general of the Republic of Texas army. Burials began in the 1840s; the oldest surviving stone marks two-year-old Frances California Snow, who died in 1854. Davis himself was buried here in 1859, and later neighbors donated additional strips of land as the grounds were fenced.