[1][2] After the death of his father in 1798, his mother Sarah married Chancellor Theodorick Bland, Consul to Brazil.

[1][citation needed] Davies volunteered during the War of 1812 and participated in the Battle of Bladensburg.

Afterward, he received a commission as a lieutenant in the cavalry of the United States Army.

He was placed in command of the City Guards cavalry and became the colonel of the Fifty-third Regiment of volunteer militia.

There were numerous public works projects completed in Baltimore, supporting the coal trade of the time, including the Locust Point extension of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (despite an initial veto by Davies in 1845), iron bridges over Harford Run and Jones Falls, and the site of Franklin Square was purchased and developed.