"Col. Benjamin Franklin ‘Grimes' Davis, 8th New York Cavalry, remains an intriguing figure, largely because he is so elusive. A Regular Army officer, Davis's rigid adherence to strict discipline put him at odds with the volunteers who served under him. One perpetually disgruntled surgeon termed him "a proud tyrannical devil." Upon learning that Davis had died of wounds received at Brandy Station, June 9, 1863, the unsympathetic doctor crowed, "General rejoicing among our Brigade…he was such a Tyrant."
Still, Davis looked after his men and their welfare. Regimental historian Henry Norton remembered Davis as "a man who wanted his men and horses to have enough to eat. Horses were looked after first." Norton also recalled Davis's "strict orders that no man should molest anything that belonged to the inhabitants through the country." Local farmers received receipts against the government as payment for crops and animals seized by the army, but the needs of the soldiers always trumped the needs of the local populace. Conflict was a certainty, as farmers sought to protect their families and their income, even when the soldiers adhered to the standing orders.
In mid-October 1862, farmers, near Hagerstown, Maryland, infuriated Davis, when they accused him of taking hay by force. Responding to the allegations on October 21, Davis told Brig. Gen. John Buford, George McClellan's Chief of Cavalry, "I have received your telegram in which you say complaints have been made that I have forcibly taken possession of hay belonging to people in this vicinity and also that I abused them when they objected. The Quartermaster here has not furnished hay to my regiment in the last three weeks and my horses here have had to go without as the hay had to be procured from farmers in the vicinity…"
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Amicalement
Armand
completes a Confederate river ironclad.