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Historic Downtown Pulaski Walking Tour
Item 9 of 10
This is a contributing entry for Historic Downtown Pulaski Walking Tour and only appears as part of that tour.Learn More.

The Sam Davis Monument was erected in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The early 1900s saw the arrival of hundreds of Confederate monuments such as this one in communities across the south, as a post-war generation led by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans sought to memorialize the Civil War service of their parents and grandparents in the Confederate Army.

(see below for additional information)


The day of the unveiling of the Sam Davis statue, 1906

Sky, Building, Plant, Tree

The day of the unveiling of the Sam Davis statue, 1906

Plant, Urban design, Art, Tree

Sam Davis was a Private in the Confederate Army from Smyrna, Rutherford County, Tennessee. 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.

Around November 20, 1863 as Sam traveled toward Chattanooga, 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. Concerned 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 trial.

The court charged Sam with being a courier of mails and of being a spy. Sam admitted to being a courier, but pleaded "Not Guilty" to the charge of spying. The military court convicted Sam Davis on both charges and sentenced him to hanging. When preparing him for the gallows, General Dodge offered Sam one last chance to save his life by revealing the source of the papers he carried. Sam supposedly stated with his last words: "I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend." He was hanged on November 27, 1863 in Pulaski near the site of the Sam Davis Memorial Site on Sam Davis Ave.

Giles County Historical Society

Historic Sam Davis Home, Smyrna TN

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Giles County Historical Society

Giles County Historical Society