Wesley Davis was born into slavery around 1800 in Albemarle County, Virginia. By the late antebellum era, his owner was William Neal, and he was probably living in Scott County, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Union army on March 21, 1865, in Camp Nelson, Kentucky. Davis stood 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with black hair and black eyes. At the time of his enlistment, Davis listed his occupation as farmer. Despite his advanced age, the army accepted his enlistment for a period of three years, and on March 24, Davis mustered into the army as a private in Company K of the 124th USCT Infantry Regiment near Lexington, Kentucky. Davis spent the majority of his time in the army recovering from a sickness he contracted while in Camp Nelson. Davis then served the army by performing quartermaster duties as a laborer until he mustered out of the army on October 24, 1865. His postwar life remains unknown, and no surviving relative ever filed a pension for his service. In 1866, his former owner, William Neal, filed a slave compensation form for Davis, but Neal was unsuccessful after Congress finally decided not to compensate loyal owners for their slaves’ military service.