Boy Hero of the Confederacy (Article 132)
Although he was twenty-one when the events unfolded, Sam Davis became known as the “Boy Hero of the Confederacy.”
Born in 1842, Sam grew up on a small plantation in Tennessee, where his family-owned slaves, adding a few each year through both births and purchase. (A child born to a slave became a slave, regardless of the status of the father.) By the time Tennessee joined the Confederate states in early 1861, the family owned over fifty slaves, and they were to be Sam’s birth-right as the oldest son. As was common among aristocratic southerners, he began his primary education at a military school, the Western Military Institute.
He joined the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment early in the war as a private and his unit saw combat in several battles, most notably at Shilo in April 1862, a Union victory but with horrific casualties on both sides. Davis was wounded at Shilo but stayed with his regiment as it repositioned after the battle. Later, in the next battle at Perryville, he suffered more serious wounds and, rather than continue as a front-line soldier, he volunteered to act as a courier between Confederate units operating in Tennessee. For over a year, his knowledge of the terrain and locations of farms which had food needed by the Southern army made him a valuable gatherer of information in addition to delivering messages to commanders among different units.
By this time, Tennessee was largely controlled by Union forces and was being governed under an appointed magistrate. So, it was hostile territory for Sam Davis, especially near Nashville.
Unfortunately, he was captured on November 20, 1863, by Union soldiers tasked with rooting out spies and informants. If he had only been carrying messages between Confederate units, he probably would have been considered just one more of the thousands of southern boys to be held as a Prisoner-of-War. However, Sam also had drawings of Union fortifications at Nashville, the locations of Union regiments, and notes on the likely sympathies of several nearby towns.
He was taken to Pulaski, a town under the control of Union General Grenville Dodge, who quickly charged Sam as a spy. General Dodge did order a trial, but the outcome was pre-determined. Sam was found guilty and subject to hanging.
But General Dodge had been impressed with Sam’s earlier courageous refusal to name informants, other couriers and the Confederate officers for whom he served. So, General Dodge, once more, gave Sam the opportunity to “name names” and avoid execution. But Sam reportedly replied, “Would you betray a friend? I had rather die a thousand deaths.”
General Dodge then declared that Davis would be hanged on a hill overlooking the town, and when some of the towns leaders protested, General Dodge said, “I want him hung where you all can see him." Sam was calm in the few days before his execution, conversing courteously with his guards and other soldiers who came over to see the young man who was adamantly standing his ground.
Davis wrote a letter to his mother on the day before his execution. "Dear mother. O how painful it is to write you! I have got to die to-morrow --- to be hanged by the Federals. Mother do not grieve for me. I must bid you good-bye forevermore. Mother, I do not fear to die. Give my love to all." And, as a postscript for his father, he added, "Father, you can send after my remains if you want to do so. They will be at Pulaski, Tenn. I will leave some things with the hotel keeper for you."
On the morning of the 27th, he was transported to the execution site in a wagon, sitting on his own coffin. Union soldiers lined the way and many, who admired Sam’s resolve and courage, shouted out for him to change his mind and give up the information the General wanted. There are reports that the officer in charge of the execution seemed reluctant to proceed and Davis said, "Officer, I did my duty. Now, you do yours."
Legend says that Sam Davis’s last words were, "Tell the boys they will have to fight the battles without me." At 10:30 am, on November 27, 1863, Sam Davis died.
His father did retrieve his body, and Sam was buried on the family land. Not unlike thousands of other boys from both armies, laid to rest in family plots, most to be forgotten by all except family and friends.
But the Sam Davis story did not end there. Numerous Union officers and soldiers wrote to their families about the young man and a reporter chronicled the event. Word began to spread, reaching Confederate troops as inspiration (and perhaps to promote revenge against Union forces as a motivation).
While it was an inspiring story at the time, too many more young men kept dying until the war finally ended and the saga of Sam Davis grew quiet. It was then lost to most people, except those personally affected.
But the story did not die, it just lay dormant for another thirty years!
Then Sam Davis was again remembered, this time by many. A newspaperman attended a Civil War reunion in 1895 and heard about Sam Davis. He researched records, interviewed his family and former Union soldiers who were witnesses, and decided to memorialize the young man who so willingly gave up his life for what he believed. He wrote, “I resolved to print the story and to reprint it until that typical hero should have as full credit as (I) could give him.”
And it worked!
The soldier Sam Davis is not remembered for heroic actions in battle, but for the quiet courage he displayed when offered a choice to live. He chose instead to protect his friends.
He deserves our respect!