 The brother who served with the 2nd Mississippi survived the war but took his own life several years after hostilities ceased.Commissioned colonel of the 8th New York Volunteer Cavalry on June 25, 1862, Davis was leading that unit on September 14, stationed with the defending force at Harpers Ferry, after the town had been invested by troops under Stonewall Jackson.Finding his commanding officer Col. Dixon S. Miles unable to protect the force from bombardment and ready to surrender his troops, Davis and fellow officer Lt. Col. Hasbrouck Davis with his 12th Illinois Cavalry determined to fight their way out northward out of the encirclement.