Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4505
ARCHIE K. DAVIS PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Archie K. Davis wrote The Boy Colonel of the
Confederacy (1987) and was chairman of the board of
Wachovia Bank and Trust Company; president of the
American Bankers Association, 1966; and president of
the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Correspondence, writings, and research materials
collected by Davis; business-related papers; public
service papers; and other materials. Most of the
collection documents Davis's interest in Civil War
history. Included are correspondence, writings, and
research materials about a variety of historical
subjects, ranging from Davis's Moravian background to
his research on Henry King Burgwyn and his interest in
the granddaughter of Stonewall Jackson. The business-
related material contains some information about
Davis's career with Wachovia Bank and Trust Company,
but it chiefly documents his tenures as president of
the Chamber of Commerce of the United States and the
American Bankers Association. The public service
papers contain information about Davis's two terms in
the North Carolina Senate, 1958-1962, and his
activities following his retirement in 1974.
Online Catalog Terms:
American Bankers Association.
Burgwyn, Henry King, 1841-1863.
Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America.
Confederate States of America. Army--Officers--Biography.
Confederate States of America. Army. North Carolina Infantry
Regiment, 26th.
Davis, Archie K.
Davis, Archie H. The boy colonel of the Confederacy.
Gettysburg (Pa.), Battle of, 1863.
Moravians--North Carolina--History.
Preston, Julia Jackson Christian.
Wachovia Bank and Trust Company.
Size: About 6700 items (12.5 linear feet).
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in January 1988, November 1989,
and February 1990.
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: Full processing of this collection has been
deferred pending expected additions.
Related Collections: SOUTHERN ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM COLLECTION,
#4007 (Interviews A-320, B-46, C-30, C-39)
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Historical Materials
Series 2. Business-related Materials
Series 3. Burgwyn Materials
Series 4. Public Service Materials
Series 5. Pictures
Series 6. Audio Tapes
Shelf List
Additions after April 1990
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
Archie K. Davis, North Carolina banker, was born 22 January
1911, in Winston-Salem. A graduate of the University of North
Carolina, Davis was named assistant treasurer of Wachovia Bank in
1938; assistant vice-president in 1940; vice-president in 1942;
and senior vice-president of the Winston-Salem office in 1946.
Davis became chairman of the board of Wachovia Bank and Trust
Company in 1956. In 1966, he was elected president of the
American Bankers Association. From 1971 to 1972, Davis served as
president of the United States Chamber of Commerce.
In addition to his banking career, Archie K. Davis was a
leader in regional development. From 1958 to 1962, he served two
terms as senator in the North Carolina General Assembly. Davis
was an organizer and first president of the Northwest North
Carolina Development Association. He served as president of the
Research Triangle Foundation and was a leader in the development
of Research Triangle Park. Davis served on the boards of several
companies including the executive committee of Robert Morris
Associates, and the board of trustees of UNC-CH, Converse
College, and Salem Academy and College. A Moravian, Davis was a
charter member and president of the organization that restored
Old Salem.
Davis was also an avid Civil War historian. After his
retirement from Wachovia in 1974, he returned to the University
of North Carolina to earn a Masters Degree and complete a
dissertation. Although Davis never took the preliminary
examinations requisite for the PhD, The University of North
Carolina Press, in 1985, published Boy Colonel of the
Confederacy: The Life and Times of Henry King Burgwyn, Jr., based
on his dissertation.
Collection Overview
Most of the collection documents Archie K. Davis's interest in
Civil War history. The first series includes correspondence,
writings, and research materials collected by Davis about a
variety of historical subjects, ranging from his Moravian
background to his interest in the Battle of Gettysburg, and
including his friendship with Julia Preston, granddaughter of
Stonewall Jackson. Davis acted on his interest in the Civil War
by working toward a Ph.D in history at The University of North
Carolina. His dissertation research on Henry King Burgwyn, Jr.,
is documented in Series 3. One of the youngest regimental
commanders of the Confederacy, Burgwyn became colonel of the
Twenty-Sixth North Carolina Regiment at the age of twenty and
died at Gettysburg one year later.
Series 2 contains some information about Davis's banking
career, but it chiefly documents his tenure as president of the
United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Bankers
Association. The public service papers in Series 4 contain
information about Davis's two terms in the North Carolina Senate
(1958-1962) and his public service activities following his
retirement in 1974. This collection has been processed to the
folder level, retaining Davis's original arrangement scheme in
most cases.
The arrangement scheme is as follows:
Series 1: Historical Materials
Subseries 1.1. Correspondence
1.2. Writings
1.3. Writings by Others
1.4. Research Materials
1.5. Clippings
1.6. Subject Files
1.7. Volumes
Series 2: Business-Related Materials
Subseries 2.1. Correspondence
2.2. Writings
2.3. Subject Files
2.4. Other Materials
2.5. Volumes
Series 3: Burgwyn Materials
Series 4: Public Service Materials
Series 5: Pictures
Series 6: Audio Tapes
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Historical Materials (See also Series 3)
Subseries 1.1. Correspondence
1931-1986. About 730 items
Arrangement: chronological
Letters, mostly to Davis from friends and business associates,
with attached newspaper clippings, writings, and information on
various subjects which Davis kept in his history files.
Folder 1 1933-1961
2 1963-1965
3 1966
4 1967-1968
5 1969
6 1970-1973
7 1974-1977
8 1978-1980
9 1981-1986 and undated
Subseries 1.2. Writings
1951-1983 and undated. About 30 items.
This series contains writings by Davis, including typed papers
written during the course of UNC history classes, and published
speeches on historical subjects. Also included are handwritten
and typed notes apparently created in the process of writing his
papers.
Folder 10 "Colonel Harry Burgwyn of the 26th North
Carolina Regiment" (See also Series 3)
"An Enduring Society"
"Fact and Fiction or The Southern Situation by
a Southern Sympathizer"
"An Inquiry into the History of a Revolver
made by E. Whitney, New Haven"
"He Stands Alone"
"My Philosophy of History"
"Remarks" (speech made at Celebration of the
200th Anniversary of the first state-
sponsored observance of the signing of the
Declaration of Independence)
"Time" (a poem)
Typed transcription of a conversation between
Davis and Bernie J. Pfohl, 2 May 1957
11 "The Boy Colonel of the Confederacy"
(See also Series 3)
"Generals in Gray"
11a "The Lady from Boston"
11b "`She Disdains to Pluck One Laurel from a
Sister's Brow:' Disloyalty to the
Confederacy in N.C."
11c Speeches: Historical Subjects
12 Typed and handwritten notes prepared in the
process of writing papers
Subseries 1.3. Writings by Others
About 590 items
Pamphlets, brochures, photocopies of published articles, and
magazine clippings, reflecting Davis's varied research interests.
This series also includes typed photocopies of unpublished
writings by friends and associates of Davis.
Folders 13-22
Subseries 1.4. Research Materials
About 490 items
A range of primary source materials, including photocopies of
typescript and manuscript diaries and narratives, broadsides and
advertisements, photocopies from nineteenth-century journals, and
fragments of nineteenth-century newspapers.
Folders 23-28
Subseries 1.5. Clippings
About 570 items
Primarily clippings from twentieth-century newspapers on
topics with a Civil War connection.
Folders 29-32
Subseries 1.6. Subject Files
About 1000 items
Chiefly research materials and miscellaneous information
collected as background for speeches and writings on various
historical subjects. Also included are a series of
correspondence between Davis and Burke Davis; letters from Julia
Preston, grandaughter of General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson; and
correspondence with the Southern Historical Collection about
Davis's assistance with the Southern Oral History Program.
Folder 32a Ball, Douglas - early North Carolina currency
32b-f Civil War
33 Confederate Navy
34 Davis, Burke
35-37 Gettysburg
38 Henderson, Richard
38a Jackson, Stonewall: VMI presentation by Davis,
1987
39-40 Jackson, Stonewall
40a Lee-Jackson Foundation
40b-c Lee, Robert E.
40d Moravian History and Old Salem Celebration (4
July 1983)
40e Museum of the Confederacy
41-41a Preston, Julia
42 Southern Historical Collection
42a-i Twenty-sixth North Carolina Regiment:
Gettysburg Monuments
43 Miscellaneous
Subseries 1.7. Volumes
2 items
Volume S-1 "61st and Final Reunion of the United
Confederate Veterans"
S-2 Writings by Edwin Gill, Treasurer of North
Carolina, 1953-1977
Series 2. Business-Related Materials
The bulk of business-related material consists of speeches
written by Davis along with subject files that document his
participation at various national and international business
conferences, 1965-1978. Other materials include scrapbooks of
Archie K. Davis's tenure as president of the United States
Chamber of Commerce and American Bankers Association, newspaper
clippings, and a few letters.
Subseries 2.1. Correspondence
12 items. 1965-1983
Arrangement: chronological
Letters from United States congressmen and foreign officials
documenting Davis's international business affiliations. Also
included are letters documenting other business-related
activities. Of particular interest are several letters from
United States Senator Samuel J. Ervin, Jr.
Folder 44
Subseries 2.2. Writings
About 250 items. 1957-1972
Chiefly speeches by Davis delivered at various business
conferences.
American Bankers Association Speeches
Folder 45 1957-1965
45a 1965-1966
45b 1966
45c "An Enduring Society," from Congressional Record
United States Chamber of Commerce Speeches
45d 1967-1971
45c 1971
45f 1971-1972
45g-i Business Speeches
Subseries 2.3. Subject Files
About 30 items. 1965-1978
Chiefly published reports generated by international business
conferences Davis attended.
Folder 46 American Bankers Association, 1965-1966
46a Commodity Credit Corporation, Advisory Board,
1974-1977
46b-c Governor's Efficiency Study Commission, 1973
46d International Business Conference, Versailles,
1972
46e International Month, Oct. 1970
46f Interview regarding Chemical Bank of New York
46g Japan-US Conference, 1971
46h National Commission on Productivity, 1973-1974
46i-j North Carolina State Constitution Commission,
1968-1969
46k-m North Carolina State Advisory Committee on
Public Education, 1970-1972
46n Northwest Trading Post
46o Tripartite Conference, 1974
46p-q United States Chamber of Commerce, Committee
to Consider the Problems of the Dollar, 1968
46r United States Chamber of Commerce, Trip to Far
East, 1971
46s US-EC Businessmen's Conference, Mar. 1972
46t US-EC Conference on Agriculture, Dec. 1972
46u US-EC Japan Conferences, 1973
46v US-EC Businessmen's Council Inaugural Meeting,
1974
46w US-EC Conference on Agriculture, 1974
46x US-EC Conference on Agriculture, 1975
46y US-EC Conference on Agriculture, 1976
46z US-EC Conference on Agriculture, 1977
46aa US-EC Conference on Agriculture, 1978
Subseries 2.4. Other Materials
About 10 items
Includes miscellaneous programs and invitations to conventions
attended by Davis; a few newspaper clippings and photocopies of
clippings relating chiefly to Davis's business activities in
North Carolina.
Folders 47-48b Other Materials
Subseries 2.5. Volumes
10 items
Volume S-3 American Bankers Association, Volume I, 1962-1966
(152 pages). P. 89: Davis becomes president
of ABA; p. 134: one of the first new coins
(quarter) issued under Coinage Act of 1965
S-4 American Bankers Association, Volume II, 1966
(126 pages). Documents Davis's year as
president of the Association. Pages 49-57:
monetary conference in Spain; p. 86: Southern
Bell; p. 91: National Association of Bank
Women.
S-5 Chamber of Commerce, United States, Volume I,
1971-1972 (120 pages). Pp. 14 and 79: Richard
Nixon signatures; p. 116: Christmas card from
President and Mrs. Nixon.
S-6 Chamber of Commerce, United States, Volume II,
1971-1972 (116 pages). P. 56: Richard Nixon's
signature.
S-7 Archie K. Davis, President, Chamber of Commerce of
the United States, 1971-1972, Volume 1 (58
pages). P. 40 - Richard Nixon's signature.
S-8 Archie K. Davis, President, Chamber of
Commerce of the United States, 1971-1972,
Volume II (62 pages).
S-9 Photograph Album - "Presented to A. K. Davis,
Member of Board of Directors, Western Electric
Co., As a Memento of His June 11, 1964 visit
to White Sands Missile Range."
S-10 "A Unique Occasion Honoring Three
Distinguished North Carolina Bankers, May 4,
1966."
Series 3. Burgwyn Research Materials
1838-1982. About 5,000 items
After earning a Masters Degree at The University of North
Carolina in 1975, Davis collected the material in this series
during research for a dissertation about Henry King Burgwyn, Jr.
These papers show that, in addition to the Southern Historical
Collection, Davis's research took him to Boston, New York,
Gettysburg, and London. The bulk of the material relates to two
members of the Burgwyn family--Anna Greenough Burgwyn and Henry
King Burgwyn, Jr. The series contains photocopies of original
diaries and letters composed by these and other family members,
many with typed transcriptions. Along with the historical
materials Davis collected, the series also contains his
correspondence with research assistants, professors, and
archivists documenting the progress of his project. Writing on
weekends for over six years, Davis produced a twelve hundred page
dissertation, Boy Colonel of the Confederacy: The Life and Times
of Henry King Burgwyn, Jr., published in 1987 by The University
of North Carolina Press.
Folder 49 Dissertation, early correspondence, background
information, etc.
50 Brief on dissertation
51-52 John Burgwin
Anna Greenough Burgwyn Letters
53-54 1838-1839 [photocopies of originals]
55 May 1838-Feb. 1839 [typed transcriptions]
56-57 1838-1841 [photocopies of originals]
58 1838-1841 [typescripts]
59 1839-1840 [photocopies of originals]
60 March 1839-May 1841 [typed transcripts]
61-62 1840-1841 [photocopies of originals]
63 [typed transcriptions]
64-65 Correspondence regarding Davis's editing and
possible publication
66 Diary, 1847-1861 and 1863-1874 [transcript]
67 George William Bush Burgwyn
68-70 Henry King Burgwyn, Sr.
Henry King Burgwyn, Jr. Letters
71 Ashe County, NC [photocopies and transcripts]
72 Camp French [photocopies]
73 Chapel Hill, NC [photocopies and transcripts]
74-75 Headquarters 26th NC [photocopies and transcripts]
76 Kinston-Hanover Junction [photocopies]
77-79 Petersburg-Richmond area, VA [photocopies and
transcripts]
80 Raleigh, NC [photocopies and transcripts]
81 VMI
82 West Point [typescripts]
83-87 Miscellaneous [photocopies]
88 Diaries, 1840-1842 [typescript]
89 Diaries, 1844-1848 [typescript]
90 War Journal, 1861-1862 [photocopy and
typescript]
91 War Journal, 1862 [photocopy and typescript]
92 War Journal, 1863 [photocopy]
93 Death of Colonel Burgwyn
94 Henry King Burgwyn: Epilogue
95 John Fanning Burgwyn
96 Captain W.H.S. Burgwyn, Diary, 1863-1864
[photocopy]
97 Judge W.H.S. Burgwyn Interview, Summer 1974
98-99 Burgwyn Family Correspondence
Eliza Clitherall Diary
99a Vol. I
99b Vol. II
99c Vol. III
99d Vol. IV
99e Vol. V
99f Vol. VI
99g Vols. VII-XII
99h Vols. XIII-XVII
100 Cureton Letters, The Lane Papers
100a John R. Lane and 26th NC Regiment
101 Farm Machinery--Burgwyn Farms, Hager/McCormick
Letters
Genealogy
102-102a Burgwyn Family
103 Devereux Family
104 Burgwyn v. Devereux (NC Supreme Court 1841)
105 Doane Family
106 Greenough Family
106a Grove House, England
107 New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
108 Maps
109 New Bern--Mary Ellen Gadski Research
110 Battle of New Bern
111 Plantations: Burgwyn, Devereux, Pollock, etc.
112-113 Burgwyn Research--Boston
114 Burgwyn--Miscellaneous
115 Jonathan Edwards
116-118 Dissertation Research
118a University of North Carolina Press
118b-f University of North Carolina Press,
Illustrations
118g University of North Carolina Press, Maps
Series 4. Public Service Material
1958-1962; 1977-1988. About 500 items.
This series chiefly documents Davis's record of public service
following his retirement in 1974. However, it also includes five
folders containing information about his two terms in the North
Carolina Senate from 1958 to 1962. Materials from the latter
include correspondence and newspaper clippings about election
campaigns, as well as Davis's legislative appointments, awards,
and honors. The remaining public service papers document Davis's
board memberships, his support for non-profit foundations, and
his numerous involvements beyond the banking industry. In
particular, these papers reveal Davis's interest and
participation in activities to benefit higher education.
Folder 119 Senate Campaign, 1958-1959
120 Senate Campaign and Service, 1960-1962
121 Senate, 1962
122-123 Legislative Appointments, Awards, Honors, etc.
124-130 Miscellaneous Public Service Papers
Series 5. Pictures
35 items.
Chiefly photographs of Archie K. Davis in business and social
settings. Of particular interest is "The Late Gen'l Hood's
Family," issued to raise funds to support Hood's family after his
death.
P-4505/1-10 Davis, Archie K.
/11-13 Davis home with "Lee House" in foreground
/14 Preston, Julia
/15 "Town road looking north at Summit St.,
Winston, N.C.," 15 June 1914
/16 Marker at Potecasi Creek, North Carolina
/17 Unidentified man in front of unidentified
Civil War statue
/18 "The Late Gen'l Hood's Family, sold under the
the auspices of the Hood Relief Committee,
N[ew] O[rleans]. Every Picture Sold adds to
the Permanent Fund for the Education and
maintainence of these 'Wards of the South,'"
1879.
/19 "Regimental Band-2nd N. C. Regiment of
Volunteers - Spanish-American War. This
picture given to Hon. Archie Davis by W.H.S.
Burgwyn - nephew of Col. Wm. H. S. Burgwyn.
Sept. 6, 1965."
Series 6. Audio Tapes
T-4505/1 Open reel tape recording of Archie K. Davis's
speech at dedication of Confederate memorial to
Henry K, Burgwyn, Jr., Jackson Courthouse,
Northampton County, 22 July 1961.
/2-3 Cassette tape of interview by Archie K. Davis
with Julia Preston, granddaughter of
Stonewall Jackson, 26 Dec. 1974.
SHELF LIST
Box 1
Series 1 folders 1-16
Box 2
Series 1 folders 17-32e
Box 3
Series 1 folders 32f-42d
Box 4
Series 1 folders 42e-43
Series 2 folders 44-46d
Box 5
Series 2 folders 46e-46t
Box 6
Series 2 folders 46u-48g
Box 7
Series 2 folder 48h
Series 3 folders 49-75
Box 8
Series 3 folders 76-99e
Box 9
Series 3 folders 99f-118g
Box 10
Series 4 folders 119-130
Items Separated:
Subseries 1.6 C-4502/1-2
Subseries 1.7 Volumes S-1 - S-2
Subseries 2.5 Volumes S-3 - S-10
Series 3 OP-4505/1-12
Series 5 Pictures
Series 6 Audio Tapes
ADDITIONS AFTER APRIL 1990
Addition of May 1990 (Acc. 90052)
Size: 3 items.
Dates: 1948-1990.
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in May 1990.
Description:
Folder 131 Program, including texts of addresses delivered,
from dedication of double equestrian statue
(Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson), Baltimore,
Maryland, 1 May 1948.
"Surgeons in the Confederate Army," essay by Ella
R. Fales, 1956.
"What the Archives of North Carolina Have Meant to
Me," speech by Archie K. Davis to the Friends of
the Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina, 11 May
1990.
Filed in Box 10.
Addition of May 1990 (Acc. 90058)
Size: About 60 items.
Dates: 1870s-1970s.
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in May 1990.
Description:
Folder 132 Stock certificates, 1870s-1910s, from predecessors
of the Southern Railway System and other
companies, collected by Archie K. Davis in 1974.
Folder 133 Photocopy of letter from William T. Sherman to
Jonathan Draper, 6 November 1868.
"North Carolina--The Veil of Humility," by Archie
K. Davis, printed in the Congressional Record, 11
July 1974.
Information about reproductions of Civil War
photographs, 1965.
Folder 134 About 45 reproductions of Civil War photographs
that were purchased by Archie K. Davis. The verso
of each photograph has identifying information.
Filed in Box 10.
Addition of June 1990 (Acc. 90069)
Size: About 150 items.
Dates: 1968-1971 and undated.
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in June 1990.
Description:
Folder 135 Materials relating to disruptions on University of
North Carolina campuses, 1968-1971
Folder 136 Materials relating to the Governor's Committee on
Higher Education, 1971
Folder 137 Book illustrations (photograph and maps), undated
Filed in Box 11.
Addition of December 1990 (Acc. 91021)
Size: 5 items.
Dates: 1865-1966
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in December 1990.
Description:
Folder 138 Letter, Daniel Ruggles to General G. T. Beauregard
about the Battle of Shiloh, 2 May 1887
Folder 139 Speech about Texas history delivered by Stanhope
Henry at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York
City, 21 October 1932
Recollections of Margaret Blair McCuiston about
the reunion of the 26th North Carolina Regiment,
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 21 July 1908
"The Humanities and the Sciences at the White
House," memo by Arnold S. Nash
Dedicatory Address by Archie K. Davis delivered at
The John C. Whitaker Care Center of Forsyth
Memorial Hospital, 7 August 1966
Folder 140 "The New York Herald," 15 April 1865
Filed in Box 11.
Addition of March 1991 (Acc. 91046)
Size: about 300 items.
Dates: 1950s-1990
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in March 1991.
Description:
Folder 141 Materials related to the project to erect
Northwest Trading Post at Glendale Springs, North
Carolina, 1956-1958
Folder 142- Institutional and corporate publications
143
Folder 144 Miscellaneous newspaper clippings
Filed in Box 11.
Addition of July 1991 (Acc. 91100)
Size: about 300 items.
Dates: 1970s-1980s
Provenance: Received from Archie K. Davis of Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, in July 1991.
Description:
Folder 145- Letters and personal memorabilia from friends and
147 colleagues relating chiefly to Davis's retirement
from Wachovia bank and to his historical interests
Folder 148 National Humanities Center, correspondence and
information regarding the selection of North
Carolina as the site for the Center
Filed in Box 12.