George Davis (eng. George Davis; March 1, 1820, Wilmington (North Carolina) – February 23, 1896, ibid.) – Senator of the Confederation from North Carolina (1862-1864), Attorney General of the Confederation (1864-1865).

Biography

George Davis was born on March 1, 1820, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1838, and was admitted to the Bar Association in 1839. He began political activity in the ranks of the Whig party, without achieving any significant success. In 1861, he became a North Carolina delegate to the Provisional Congress of the Confederation, and from 1862 represented his state in the Confederate Senate.

Following the resignation of Thomas Watts, Wade Keys temporarily served as Attorney General of the Confederation from October 1, 1863 to January 4, 1864, and George Davis held this position from January 4, 1864 to April 23, 1865. As the last Attorney General of the Confederation, Davis issued 75 decisions regarding the constitutionality of various legal acts, including the legality of export and import contracts, and the responsibility of the Confederate government for seized property and stored goods.

The defeat in the Civil War forced Davis to flee with the government to Charlotte, North Carolina, and from there he tried to emigrate through Florida, but was captured by the US authorities in Key West. On January 2, 1866, he was released from prison and returned to his native Wilmington. In 1866, he became a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention, convened to unite moderate Republicans and Democrats. In 1868, he unsuccessfully fought in Wilmington against the adoption of a draft Constitution prepared by the Radical Party, but by 1875 he achieved amendments to it. In 1878, he turned down an offer to become a judge of the State Supreme Court. He died on February 23, 1896 in Wilmington.