Sam Davis Memorial Museum

Regarded in local memory as the “Boy Hero of the Confederacy,” Sam Davis was 21 years old and a combat veteran when he was captured by Union secret service in 1863 and charged with espionage. After receiving wounds at the battles of Shiloh and Perryville, Davis had been assigned to “Coleman’s Scouts,” a company charged with moving behind enemy lines to collect information on Union activities. On a scouting mission at Minor Hill in Giles County, Davis and several other scouts were discovered and taken into custody by the 7th Kansas Cavalry, who found papers in his shoes disclosing information about Union fortifications and troops. The scouts were imprisoned in the Giles County Courthouse while Union troops questioned Sam Davis, attempting to get him to disclose the name of his source and commanding officer. Sam’s refusal to give them any information won him a beloved spot in local memory, especially after the popular publication Confederate Veteran immortalized his story three decades later. The Sam Davis Memorial Museum, located near the spot where Davis was hanged, was dedicated 87 years to the minute after his death.