Sam Davis

Five years ago, Dena and I hosted a "Showalter Reunion" in Tennessee.  One of the things that we organized was a bus trip to Nashville to tour the capital building and to let the out-of-staters learn a little Southern history.  That day one of the stories that our guide told captured my attention and has stayed with me since that time.  The story was that of Sam Davis. 

He was born on October 6, 1842 in Rutherford County, Tennessee.  He grew up in the comfortable environment of an upper middle class family. The oldest son of Charles Lewis and Jane Simmons Davis, he attended the local Smyrna schools until leaving home in 1860 to attend Western Military Academy in Nashville.

After attending school for only a short time, the Civil War started and in 1861, Sam joined the army before Tennessee had officialy seceded from the Union.  Sam saw considerable action under Robert E. Lee in 1861 and then moved west with Company I of the Ist Tennessee Infantry Regiment in April of 1861 where he fought in Shiloh, Perryville, and Stones River.

Early in 1863, Sam became a member of "Coleman's Scouts." By 1863, the Union Army occupied much of Middle Tennessee. Sam and his fellow scouts worked behind enemy lines disrupting communications and collecting information on the troop movements of the Union forces for the Confederate Army. Even though they wore Confederate uniforms and traveled with passes signed by Confederate General Braxton Bragg, the Union army considered them spies if captured.

On November 20, 1863, Sam traveled towards Chattanooga where he was captured by Federal Troops near Minor Hill, Tennessee.  Sam carried papers that contained critical information on troop movements near Nashville and Pulaski, as well as eleven newspapers and various personal items for General Bragg. Among the papers found concealed on Sam was information that could have only come from the desk of Union General Grenville Dodge. Convinced that one of his own officers was supplying information to the Confederates, Dodge decided to put pressure on Sam to identify his spy. He offered Sam his freedom in exchange for this information. Sam refused, so General Dodge ordered a court martial.

The court charged Sam with being a courier of mails and of being a spy. Sam admitted to being a courier, but pled not guilty to the charge of spying. The military court convicted Samuel Davis on both charges, and sentenced him to hang. On the gallows, General Dodge offered Sam one last chance to save his life by revealing the source of the papers he carried. Sam stated with his last words that "I would die a thousand deaths before I would betray a friend," and was hanged on November 27, 1863.

Davis wrote a letter to his mother before the 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." There was a letter for his father, too. "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."

He was hanged by Union forces on November 27, 1863 on his 21st birthday. As he was trundled along to the hanging site on top of his own coffin, Union soldiers alongside the bumpy wagon road shouted out their respect for him. Supposedly the officer in charge of the execution was flustered by Davis' youth and calm demeanor and had trouble carrying out his orders. Davis is alleged to have said to him, "Officer, I did my duty. Now, you do yours."

Today, Sam Davis as held up as an example of honor, courage, and loyalty for all those in the Volunteer state to emulate.