County of statue: Giles County
Location of statue: Madison St., between 1st St & 2nd St., courthouse square, Pulaski
Artist: Unknown
Erected by: United Daughters of the Confederacy
Date erected: October 11, 1906
Text on monument:
(front base):
BORN OCT. 6, 1842, NEAR SMYRNA
RUTHERFORD COUNTY TENNESSEE
THOUGH A CONFEDERATE
SOLDIER IN THE LINE OF DUTY,
HE WAS EXECUTED AS A SPY
BY THE FEDERALS AT
PULASKI,NOV.27, 1863
"LET COME WHAT MUST,
I KEEP MY TRUST."
SAM DAVIS
(Proper Left - Base):
"If I had a thousand lives,
I would lose them all here
before I would betray my
friend or the confidence
of my informer."
(Proper Right - Base):
"Greater love hath no
man than this; that a
man lay down his life
for his friends.
(Rear Base): Erected by the Giles County Chapter U.D.C. Oct. 11, 1906
Proper Description: "A standing figure of a boy in a Confederate uniform. The figure stands erect with arms crossed. He wears a jacket, holds his brimmed hat on his proper right side, and looks to the proper right. His proper right leg is extended slightly forward. He stands atop a tiered granite base." Smithsonian American Art Museum
Remarks: "Sam Davis, a boy hero of the Confederate Army, who was hanged as a spy in Pulaski on Nov. 17, 1863; and information from Civil War Centennial Commission of Tennessee, "Directory of Civil War Monuments and Memorials in Tennessee, Nashville, 1963. This monument was erected by the Giles County Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.' ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
"Sam Davis (right) is often referred to as the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy," and has long been held by southerners, in similar standing to the great Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale.
"In 1861, at the age of 18, Sam Davis joined the 1st Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, and went to war for the Confederacy...
"He and his unit took part in Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign and the Battle of Shiloh. In October, he was wounded at the Battle of Perryville and had to take time to recover.
"After recovering, Davis joined Coleman's Scouts, a band of Army scouts who spied and delivered information and messages for the Confederate Army of Tennessee. This unit was under the command of Captain Henry B. Shaw (a.k.a. E. C. Coleman).
"In 1863, Union troops held Nashville, Tennessee, and the Confederate Army of Tennessee was desperate for information concerning the plans of the Union forces in the state. Captain "Coleman" and his scouts had a very well developed intelligence network in the area and were a great source of information for their Generals.
"Sam Davis's position in Coleman's Scouts was that of a courier, and it was while performing those duties that he was captured during November 1863..." ~ American Civil War Story