Sam Davis (Spy)

Sam Davis (born October 6, 1842 in Smyrna , Tennessee , † November 27, 1863 in Pulaski , Tennessee), known as the Boy Hero of the Confederacy , was a spy for the Confederation . He was executed on suspicion of espionage after only seven days in captivity.

Youth and service in the Confederate Army

Samuel was the eldest son of Charles Lewis Davis and Jane (Simmons) Davis. The Davis family was part of the upper middle class. He attended the local school in Smyrna, Tennessee and was educated at the Western Military Institute - now the Montgomery Bell Academy - from 1860 to 1861. There the headmaster and later Confederate General Bushrod Rust influenced Johnson Davis in his views on secession. In 1860, 51 slaves were working on the Davis Plantation.

Davis volunteered with the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment in April 1861. With the regiment he took part in the battles of Cheat Mountain , Shiloh , Perryville and Stones River . He was lightly wounded at Shiloh and badly wounded at Perryville. In 1863 Davis was recruited by the Coleman Scouts .

After the Union Army occupied large parts of Tennessee in 1863, the Coleman Scouts operated behind enemy lines. The Union viewed them as spies, despite the fact that they wore Confederate uniforms and carried IDs signed by General Braxton Bragg .

Capture and execution

Davis was captured near Minor Hill, Tennessee on November 20, 1863. He carried information about troop movements and newspapers and personal effects for General Bragg. The commander of the division deployed in central Tennessee - Major General Grenville M. Dodge - realized that the documents seized must have come from his immediate surroundings. He therefore offered Davis the freedom in return for naming the informant, who had to be one of his officers. Davis refused and was tried by a court-martial that sentenced him to death by hanging as a spy . His last words are said to have been:

"I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend."

"I'd rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend."

Another famous quote was:

"If I had a thousand lives to live, I would give them all rather than betray a friend or the confidence of my informer."

"If I had a thousand lives to live, I would give them all instead of betraying a friend or the trust of my informant."

Davis wrote a letter to his mother prior to 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. "

"Dear mother, oh, how painful it is to write to you, I have to die tomorrow, am being hanged by the Union troops. Mother, do not mourn me. I say goodbye, mother, I'm not afraid to die. "

There was also a letter for his father:

“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. "

“Father, you can look for my remains if you want. You will be at Pulaski, Tennessee. I'll leave a few things for you at the hotel. "

He was hanged by Union forces in Pulaski, Tennessee, on November 27, 1863. As he rumbled past the place of execution , on his own coffin , the Union soldiers next to Wagenstrasse begged him to cooperate so that they would not have to watch the execution . Presumably the officer in charge of the execution was upset by Davis' youth and calm demeanor and had difficulty carrying out his orders. Davis is said to have said to him:

“Officer, I did my duty. Now, you do yours. "

"Officer, I've done my duty, now do yours."

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sam Davis - A Martyr of War. Sons of Confederate Veterans, accessed August 23, 2017 (Samuel Davis's birthplace). 
2. ^ The History of Enslaved Workers at the Davis Plantation. samdavishome.org, accessed on August 21, 2017 (Slaves on Davis Plantation). 
3. ↑ biography. samdavishome.org, accessed August 21, 2017 (Samuel Davis biography).