Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (March 4, 1774 – November 7, 1811)
The son of Joseph Daviess and Jennett McKee, Joseph was a native of Bedford County, Virginia. In 1779 the Daviess family moved to Danville, Kentucky and studied at Harrodsburg Academy. After reading law, the Kentucky bar admitted him in 1795. He was a fugitive from the law for a short time after serving as a second in a duel. He successfully argued his case and later became United States District Attorney for Kentucky. Daviess became aware of the Burr conspiracy in 1806 and wrote President Thomas Jefferson numerous letters about it. He managed to bring charges against Burr in Kentucky, but the charges were dismissed. With hostilities from the Amerindians on the rise, Indiana Territory Governor William Henry Harrison put out a call for recruits. Daviess came to Indiana to enlist and Harrison commissioned him as major of Kentucky volunteer dragoons. During the battle he sensed an exposed position in the American lines and led a charge against the warriors that threatened it. He succeeded in his manuvour, but it cost him his life, as a warrior shot him through the breast. Daviess is interred in the Tippecanoe Battlefield Memorial, Battle Ground, Tippecanoe County.
Daviess County Indiana is named in honor of Joseph Hamilton Daviess
