The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or to say a new thing in an old way.

During the Spanish-American War Davis was on a United States Navy warship when he witnessed the Richard Harding Davislling of Matanzas Cuba a part of the Battle of Santiago de Cuba. His mother Rebecca Harding Davis was a prominent writer in her day. He was one of many war correspondents who covered the Russo-Japanese War from the perspective of the Japanese forces.

Richard Harding Davis (April 18 1864 – April 11 1916) was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War the Second Boer War and the First World War. His influence extended to the world of fashion and he is credited with making the clean-shaven look popular among men at the turn of the 20th century. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played a major role in the evolution of the American magazine.