Sam Davis House - Smyrna TN
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 35° 59.351 W 086° 30.051
16S E 544993 N 3982863
The Sam Davis House is a historic house in Smyrna, Tennessee. It is now a museum to the memory of Confederate soldier Sam Davis. Sam Davis, who became known as the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy", grew up in this house.
Waymark Code: WM186TV
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 06/10/2023
Views: 0
THE PLACE:
The Sam Davis House is located at 1399 Sam Davis Road, Smyrna TN.
The house was first built as a log house in 1810, and remodeled by Charles Davis in 1847. His son, Sam Davis, who became known as the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy", grew up in this house.
The house was acquired by the State of Tennessee in 1927, and turned into a house museum for its association with Sam Davis by the Sam Davis Historical Association in 1930.
Above from Wikipedia
THE PERSON:
Samuel (“Sam”) Davis, born here in 1842, enlisted in the Rutherford Rifles (Co. I, 1st Tennessee Infantry) in 1861 and fought in western Virginia. After his enlistment expired, he returned home and joined Capt. Henry B. Shaw’s Coleman’s Scouts, Confederate cavalrymen who gathered information on Union troop movements. Federal authorities considered them spies. In November 1863, as Davis carried documents and newspapers to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, he was captured near Pulaski. Union Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, the future chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, interrogated Davis and offered him freedom if Davis would divulge the name of the person who had supplied him with confidential reports from the Union camp in Pulaski. Davis refused, and Dodge ordered a quick military trial, which sentenced Davis to death. He was executed in Pulaski on November 27, 1863.
Davis and his reported statement (reminiscent of Revolutionary War hero Nathan Hale), “If I had a thousand lives to live, I would have them all rather than betray a friend” quickly became legendary. In 1909, the State of Tennessee dedicated a monument to the “boy hero of the Confederacy” on the state capitol grounds. In the 1920s, local residents acquired his family home and 168 acres of the farm as a memorial. In addition to the main house, the historic farm offers the opportunity to view Davis’s gravesite and several outbuilding, including slave quarters, a kitchen, and a smokehouse. A museum interprets Davis’s live and the war in Rutherford County.
The above is from the Sam Davis Home-Confederate Martyr, Smyrna TN Civil War Trail Historical Marker located on the grounds.
Year it was dedicated: 1847
Location of Coordinates: At the building entrance
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: building
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