21-year-old James Moulton was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Moulton’s name before and after army service was James Davis. He enlisted on December 9, 1863 in Calvert County, Maryland, and mustered into the 19th Regiment at Camp Stanton on December 25, 1863. He fell ill immediately upon arriving at Camp Stanton and was placed in the camp hospital for several days.

After the war, the 19th Regiment was sent to Texas, arriving there on June 24, 1865. Moulton fell ill shortly after arriving in Texas, and was sick in his quarters from July through October. He mustered out with the rest of the regiment on January 15, 1867 at Brownsville, Texas.

A 1921 pension file affidavit by James Moulton/Davis says:

I served under the name of James Moulton but since discharge I am mostly known by the name of James Davis… the 19th Regiment was stationed at Benedict until recruited full, and then she helped to recruit the 30th and 39th colored regiment. We were at Benedict one winter, and we came from Benedict to Baltimore, and from Baltimore we marched on to Washington and out the Alexandria road guarding wagon trains going to the front. We camped at the front and remained until July when we took part in the charge against Petersburg, Virginia. We guarded the front there until the next spring, and we marched to Fort Harrison in front of Richmond and lay there and guarded and saw Richmond evacuated. We went into Richmond and took a stand at Manchester near Richmond. The main body went after General Lee. We guarded Manchester a month or so and then got ready and went to Texas by ships, on two ships. The trip took several weeks and the regiment landed at Brownsville, Texas. We were in Texas 18 months, but not at Brownsville all the time. We camped at a place called Santa Maria nearly one year doing guard duty for a ferry across the Rio Grande River. We took boats at Brownsville, Texas and went home, stopped at New Orleans but did not go ashore, stopped at Norfolk and changed to the Baltimore boats, and came to this city where we landed in a week or so and were mustered out on Fort Hill.

We took part in the fight at Petersburg, and in skirmishes at Cold Harbor, and the Wilderness, and at Fairfax, Virginia. I incurred no wounds, but was mashed in one side in the charge at Petersburg.

Three men of my regiment were shot in Texas for taking advantage of a woman in Virginia. It was at Brownsville, Texas they were shot. We had a major killed on the breastworks at Petersburg. His name was Rockwood.

I was married to Elizabeth Carroll in Baltimore, Maryland in December 1908. Father Leisman of the Hill Street Catholic Church performed the marriage ceremony and gave us a marriage certificate. The maiden name of my wife was Elizabeth Brannuck.

James Moulton/Davis died of cerebral thrombosis on May 8, 1925 in Baltimore, and was buried at the U.S. National Cemetery in Baltimore.