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Posted on 04/23/2003 5:35:17 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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Hero of the Confederacy Who was Sam Davis? There have been several replies made to this question over the years. Davis has been multiply labelled as "The Boy Hero Of The Confederacy," a soldier doing his duty, a living example of the Southern gentleman's code of honor, and a spy. Which is the correct answer? All of them are, to a certain degree. Simply put, Sam Davis was a young man who, in the midst of war and the many senseless deaths which accompany it, made his death meaningful - and with it, his life.  On 6 October 1842, Sam Davis was born in the Stewartsboro (now Smyrna), Tennessee farmhouse of his parents Charles Lewis Davis and Jane Simmons Davis. By all accounts, his life was that of a normal boy in a middle class rural Southern family until November 1860 - when Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. With whispers of an approaching war already on the wind, Davis' parents enrolled him in Nashville's Western Military Academy. Davis' academic career at WMA was destined to be a short one, however. Davis left the Academy in April 1861 and volunteered for the 1st Tennessee Infantry (Company I - "Rutherford's Rifles") the following month. Davis officially became a Confederate soldier in August 1861, when the 1st Tennessee was mustered into the Confederate Army. Davis served as an infantry private under Robert E. Lee during Lee's Virginia/West Virginia campaign until December 1861, when the 1st Tennessee was transferred to Major General Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson's command for the defense of the Shenandoah Valley. Davis performed with distinction, earning several commendations for valor during the First Valley Campaign of 1862. The 1st Tennessee participated in this campaign until March 1862, when the Federal capture of Fort Donelson and Fort Henry led to the transfer of the 1st Tennessee to the command of General Albert Sidney Johnson for the defense of Corinth, Mississippi. Sam Davis and the 1st Tennessee Infantry arrived in time to engage in fighting on both days of the Battle of Shiloh - one of the bloodiest clashes of the Civil War. Davis was wounded slightly, and his valor was once again noted by his regimental officers.  In June 1862, the 1st Tennessee was transferred to the command of General Braxton Bragg as part of the newly-formed Army of Tennessee, to conduct offensive operations in Tennessee and Kentucky. Davis' participation in these operations included the battles at Perryville, Murfreesboro (Stones River) and Shelbyville. For Bragg to continue his operations, however, more detailed information on Federal troop and supply movements was required. To meet these needs, a special calvary company was formed. This company was staffed with the creme-de-la-creme of the soldiers - men who had repeatedly demonstrated courage, endurance and coolness under fire. Sam Davis was one of about 30 soldiers transferred to Coleman's Scouts in July 1862, under the leadership of Captain Henry B. Shaw (working under the pseudonym "Capt. E. Coleman"). During his time with Coleman's Scouts, Davis performed his scouting duties in the middle Tennessee/northern Alabama area. During the time of the Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga (fall 1863), Davis worked within the city limits of (federally-held) Nashville, gathering information on the city fortifications and Union troop dispositions. Davis was even able to eavesdrop on conversations between Union General Rosecrans and his officers. Eventually, the area got too "hot" for the intelligence-gathering activities to continue - Union troops were constantly on the move in the area, increasing the Scouts' chances of detection. Many scouts (Coleman's and others) had been captured or killed - so many that when Davis came into the Scouts' headquarters (located at Big Creek, TN about 20 miles south of Columbia) in mid-November with a load of Union newspapers and dispatches, there was nobody available who could relay the delivery on down the courier line. Thus it was that on 19 November 1863, Capt. Shaw happened upon Davis on the road with a large parcel of mail and packages, trying to find a crossover to Confederate territory. Shaw gave Davis a special dispatch to deliver to General Bragg (headquartered in Chattanooga) and suggested Davis try crossing into Dixie territory south of Decatur, Alabama.  Sam Davis Monument - 1909 Smyrna, Tennessee Davis' route took him to Giles County, Tennessee and the city of Pulaski - then home to the headquarters of the Union Army's 16th Corps. On the morning of 20 November 1863, while riding down Lamb's Ferry Road about 15 miles south of Pulaski, he encountered two soldiers in Confederate uniform who said they were conscripting for the Confederate Army. Over his Confederate uniform Davis was wearing a coat given him by his mother on his last trip home - a Union coat (taken from a deserter) and dyed brown with walnut hulls. Davis stated that he was already a member of the Confederate Army and presented his pass for verification, whereupon he was arrested. The two men in Confederate uniform were actually Union soldiers of the 7th Kansas Calvary. The two soldiers took Davis to their commanding officer. A search of Davis' effects revealed (hidden in his saddle and the soles of his boots) detailed documentation on Nashville's fortifications, 16th Corps troop positions and movements, and a hand-written record of the entire wartime activities of Coleman's Scouts - addressed to General Bragg and signed "Capt. Coleman." Union General Grenville Dodge, commander of the 16th Corps, immediately took personal charge of Davis' interrogation. The letter to Bragg conclusively identified Davis as a member of Coleman's Scouts, and Dodge wanted Coleman; also, the information on the 16th Corps was so detailed, Dodge was certain Davis had been in communication with an informer in the ranks of Dodge's own officers. Davis was subjected to incessant interrogation for several days, with his inquisitors pushing hard both for the identity of his source for information on the 16th Corps and the true identity of Capt. Coleman. Davis was repeatedly promised leniency (a promise which was escalated to freedom during the interrogation) if he would divulge the names, or death by hanging as a spy if he would not. Little were they aware that Davis not only knew Capt. Coleman's true identity of Henry B. Shaw, he also knew Shaw's location - in the next cell. Shaw had been arrested under his own name as a Confederate soldier on furlough, but the Union troops had no clue that he was their elusive "Capt. Coleman".  Sam Davis, Boy Hero of the Confederacy. Nashville, Tennessee Throughout all interrogations, Davis revealed nothing to his captors. By all accounts, the Union soldiers (including Gen. Dodge) grew very fond of the young man's courage and his strong sense of personal honor. Many of them wanted Davis to talk so his life would be spared - but the young man remained silent. On 25 November, a court-martial found Davis guilty of spying, despite the testimony of both arresting soldiers and their commanding officer (Capt. L. H. "Chickasaw" Naron) that Davis was wearing his Confederate uniform when arrested. Davis was sentenced to hang on 27 November 1863. As the gallows on which Davis was to be hung was constructed in full view of Davis' jail cell, the Union officers continued to interrogate Davis. At this point, they were virtually begging Davis to reveal the requested names, so execution of the sentence could be deterred. Davis was ridden from the jail to the gallows in a wagon, sitting on his own coffin. The last soldier to appeal to Davis did so as Davis stood on the execution gallows. Capt. Naron promised Davis his horse, his sidearms, and an escort to Confederate lines if Sam would reveal who gave him the papers he was carrying. Davis' reply is still remembered today, as it echoes the sentiments of Nathan Hale in an earlier war: "I am but a private soldier in the Confederate Army. The man who gave me this information is worth ten thousand more to the Confederate cause than I, and I would sooner die a thousand deaths before I would betray a friend or be false to duty." According to some reports, the Union Captain overseeing the execution broke down at the last minute and was unable to pronounce execution of the sentence. Sam Davis' last words before the hood was placed and the trapdoor sprung were directed at the hangman - "Soldier. Do your duty."
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Now that's odd. Cause a brief review of Lincolnian legislation indicates more:
Morrill Tariff Act of 1861
Income Tax Act of 1861
Homestead Act of 1862
Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862
Transcontinental Railroad Subsidy Acts of 1862, 1863, and 1864
Comptroller of the Currency created 1863
National Banking Acts of 1863, 1864, and 1865
Contract Labor Act of 1864
Tariff expansions of 1863 and 1864
Department of Agriculture created 1862
Bureau of Printing and Engraving created 1863
(Source: Daniel Elazar, Economic Change in the Civil War)
Looks to me like the government did quite a bit more than simply delivering the mail etc.
The tarriffs on incoming products and taxes on exports being imposed by the majority northern states on the south (to the tune of 60-70 million dollars per year at the time), particularly over the cotton issue, were examples of federal intrusions that rankled southerners. There were many more. The Federal government is not just the executive branch ... it is also the House and Senate and the Judiciary. What they do and the laws they pass and interpret are the basis for what the Executive Branch upholds. It was true then too and the various tarrif acts and other tax laws that favored the northern states were driving a weges into southerners who felt that since the states came together to form the Union, that the Union could not become greater than those who formed it.
Lee and many others were good men who were clearly fighting for and considered their own home states as where their duty lay. Lee was clearly not fighting for slavery. But, in the end, he and the south in general viewed the northern armies as invading armies and armies of aggression. The south had no intent of forcing its will on the north, the opposite was true, I have already indicated where I stand on this, that in the end this was necessary, particuarly as a student of history and seeing what would have happened had it not occurred. That does not change the fact that at the time, this is how many of the people in the south viewed it.
Lee was offered command of the volunteer army Lincoln was raising, but he turned it down knowing how his state assembly would react if a northern army attempted transit through Virginia. He was convinced that the raising of such an army would do more to drive the nation towards a major and prolonged armed conflict than almost anything else. The rest is history. IMHO, Lee was agruably the best general ... most loved and most capable ... ever produced in the history of our nation. It is tragic that his talents were applied as they were.
But ... there I go. I believe that God in Heaven was for a maintenance of the Union. I also believe Lincoln, had he lived, would have formulated a much more unifying rehabilitation and less costic one ... I also believe that he was killed for that (just my opinion). I do not believe that the reconstruction had anything to do with the good of the Union ... it led to many of the problems we faced as a nation later. As Lincoln himself said ...
"The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, (and) more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces, as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe...corporations have been enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed."-Abraham LincolnWe can both throw quotes around all day.
My bottom line is that the Union had to hold, that slavery had to go away (and I believe would have gone away on its own accord over time anyway) and that ultimately the war empowered and led to a much more centralized and intrusive federal government. The first two points in all of that was absolutely neccessary ... the latter point we are still grapling with and will ultimately have to also turn around.
Best regards.
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 U.S. Army Spc. Christopher Ogg and Pfc. Timothy Gosser, both of A Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, keep watch in their sector in An Najaf, Iraq, during a combat operation to seize and secure an enemy Iraqi operating base. Ogg and Gosser are infantryman of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kyran V. Adams  A convoy of U.S. Army tanks and armored vehicles kick up dust as they cross the flight line at Baghdad International Airport, the primary base of operations for U.S. troops, cargo and humanitarian airlift for Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby  Staff Sgt. Tommy L. Reece builds a solar shower at Baghdad International Airport. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby  Khudar Al-Emeri from the Free Iraqi Force translates a conversation between the Iraqi citizens of the city of Qalat Sikar, Iraq, and Capt. Brian Reynaldo with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejune, N.C. The Marines are a part of a humanitarian effort to restore water to the Iraqi people. The restoration of the plant will provide thousands of gallons of drinking water to the citizens of Qalat Sikar. U.S. Marine Corps phot by Lance Cpl. JP Sotelo  Two soldiers hold a banner, thanking troops for their efforts during Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the people of Minnesota, delivered by U.S. Representative Gil Gutknecht during his visit to the wounded and tour of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where many of the wounded are treated before returning to the United States. Gutknecht, along with six other members of Congress toured the hospital 15 April 2003. U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech Sgt. Maria L. Taylor  A Black Hawk UH-60 maintainer with the Army's 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Hunter Airfield, Ga. applies a protective spray to the Black Hawks rotors during morning hours at Baghdad International Airport, Iraq. U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen
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Homecoming
 U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., center, a Former POW, shares a laugh with his father Ron, left, and mother Kaye upon returning to his home in Lithia Springs, Ga., Tuesday, April 22, 2003. Young, a helicopter pilot, was held in Iraq (news - web sites) for three weeks before being rescued with six other POWs last week. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)  Apache helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, yellow shirt, poses with family and friends including his father, Ron Young Sr., third from right, for pictures on the tarmac at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta before walking to a waiting van on his return to Georgia, Tuesday, April 22, 2003. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)  Apache helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, wearing yellow shirt, is embraced as he walks on the tarmac in Atlanta at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport from a Delta jet to a waiting van on his return to Georgia, Tuesday, April 22, 2003.  Apache helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Ronald D. Young Jr., 26, left, stops to talk on the tarmac in Atlanta at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport as he walks from a Delta jet to a waiting van on his return to Georgia, Tuesday, April 22, 2003
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Folks of that persuasion held, that the states that came together to form the Union were greater than the Union. That the clay could not become greater than the potter.
It is an ideological arguement that persists to this day ... and an interesting and compelling one from a pure ideological standpoint.
But from the very real, practical standpoint ... given the designs of the European powers at the time and given the history that unfolded, it is clear that the Union had to become something greater than the sum of its parts. otherwise, when the 20th century rolled around and the great fascist and communist dictators came to power and threatened the world, a fractured America would not have been able to become the arsenal for liberty that it became.
No ... IMHO, God's hand was and is in the preservation of the Union. Unfortunately, as Lincoln feared, powerful and decietful individuals and institutions have risen up and turned the Union from its constitutional path to the point of threatening the root of its existence today.
Best regards my friend, and thank you for the thread(s).
It didn't work that way (and I believe for the reasons I have already metnioned) and he was forced to continue to scrap and apply his exceptional leadership skills and strategy with much inferior numbers and equipment until Appomatax.
I'll tell you, the heroics of those days at Gettysburg (among so many other places) are astounding. Chamberlain ... what a man with his charge down slope from defensive positions when they were about to be over-run! Lew Armistead's penetration past the bloody angle and to the "high tide" of the south and his fateful and ironic/tragic meeting with his friend Winfield Scott's forces!
God grant that all of our heroic actions now and in the future can be made by dedicated, heroic, virtuous and committed Americans with one, united aim ... that of preserving and restoring our Constitutional Republic in the face of all enemies, foreign or domestic ... and God grant that we can muster the same types of courage, honor, virtue and commitment that so many of those folks displayed.
... and yes, I agree based on the performance by our forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I believe we here at home must continue to show equal mettle, and I believe in the face of the seditious anti-American protests ... that we did.
I pray it holds into the future, particularly if we ever one day come up against foes either foreign or domestic who threaten and challenge us on a scale like that of World War II. To this point, the terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists have not been able to rise to that type of challenge. I pray they never do.
I still feel we should watch for and remain vigilant against an unholy alliance between them and the Red Chinese and N. Koreans and continue to pray for our leaders and their ability to be inspired to the point to diffuse and avoid such circumstances. In the end, it will be our faith, virtue, courage and morality that allow us to overcome whatever adversary steps up to the plate.
Again, best regards.
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