 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2008) |
Sam Davis | |
|---|---|
 Sam Davis in Confederate uniform | |
| Born | October 6, 1842 Rutherford County, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | November 27, 1863 (aged 21) Pulaski, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Allegiance |  Confederate States of America |
| Years of service | 1861–1863 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit |  First Tennessee Volunteer InfantryColeman's Scouts |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Sam Davis (October 6, 1842 – November 27, 1863)[1] was a Confederate soldier executed by Union forces in Pulaski, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. He is popularly known as the Boy Hero of the Confederacy, although he was 21 when he died. He became a celebrated instance of Confederate memorialization in the late 1890s and early 1900s, eulogized by Middle Tennesseeans for his valor and sacrifice. Davis' story was popularized by editor J. B. Killebrew and later by Sumner Archibald Cunningham. Due in part to the story's themes of piety and masculinity, Cunningham's portrayal of Davis fit into mythology of the "Lost Cause" in the postwar South.[2]
- ^ Biography from the Website of the Sam Davis Home and Museum Archived 2013-10-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on August 10, 2013.
- ^ Glaze, Robert Lamar. August 2016. Experiencing Defeat, Remembering Victory: The Army of Tennessee in War and Memory, 1861–1930. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Pages 111.