DAVANT, RICHARD JAMES
From Knob Knowledge
June 22, 1805-January 15, 1873. Born in Beaufort, S.C. Governor Magrath appointed him to the Board of Visitors when Gen. James Jones resigned. Chairman of the Board of Visitors from February 1865 to December 1865. Made important contributions to The Citadel by protecting the institution in the months of Confederate defeat and Union occupation. Served in the South Carolina Senate.
Not long after Davant's death, his close friend William F. Colcock (brother of Richard W. Colcock) said this about him: "As husband, father, friend and neighbor he illustrated with exemplary fidelity every virtue which can adorn these endearing relations of life."
His portrait hangs in the Daniel Library. (Source: John P. Thomas, History of the South Carolina Military Academy, pp. 233-235. U430 .S51 T55 1991) (HN, DH & EC)
