Minor HIll in Giles County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Sam Davis Capture Site

Minor Hill

Photographed by Don Morfe, April 24, 2014

1. Sam Davis Capture Site Marker

Inscription. On Nov 20, 1863, scout Sam Davis stopped here while carrying dispatches to Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. According to local tradition, he was asleep under a plum tree when two members of the 7th Kansas Cavalry, disguised as Confederates, arrested and searched him. They found newspapers, maps, detailed descriptions of Federal fortifications, and other suspicious items in his boot and saddle seat. Taken to Union headquarters in Pulaski and charged with spying, Davis was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death within a week. Union Gen. Grenville M. Dodge promised Davis a pardon if he would reveal either the source of the papers or the location of the chief of Bragg’s scouts, Capt. E. Coleman (actually Capt. Henry B. Shaw, who was in jail with Davis at that time). Davis refused, saying, “If I had a thousand lives to live, I would give them all rather than betray a friend or the confidence of my informer.” He was hanged Friday morning, November 27.

Confederate veteran James C. Braley and his wife, Sarah, lived near the capture site. Mrs. Braley kept a hand-drawn map that showed the Lamb’s Ferry Road and an

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old plum stump. After the land was sold, the new owner dug up the stump, but Mrs. Braley had no trouble locating the spot. Civic leader William C. Vaughan and the citizens of Minor Hill raised $250, matched by the state government, for a permanent monument on the site. Approximately 2,500 persons attended dedication ceremonies on July 22, 1926. Governor Austin Peay appealed to the young people to be loyal to their country and true to their friends, and Mrs. Braley pulled the cord to release the drapery covering the monument.

(captions)
(upper left) Sam Davis Giles County Historical Society
(lower center) Gen. Greenville M. Dodge Courtesy Library of Congress
(upper center) Coleman’s Scouts reunion, Nashville, 1866, with Sam Davis's brother John standing in center with Capt. Henry B. Shaw (“Coleman”) seated in front of him Courtesy Tennessee Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
(upper right) Giles County Courthouse, ca. 1863-1864, showing Union troops in formation Courtesy United Daughters of the Confederacy

Erected by Tennessee Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this

Photographed by Don Morfe, April 24, 2014

2. Sam Davis Capture Site Marker

topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Tennessee Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1810.

Location. 35° 2.336′ N, 87° 10.41′ W. Marker is in Minor HIll, Tennessee, in Giles County. It is at the intersection of Sam Davis Circle and Monument Drive, on the right when traveling south on Sam Davis Circle. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Minor Hill TN 38473, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee

and in the Highland Rim.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Sam Davis (here, next to this marker); Minor Hill War Memorial (approx. half a mile away); Sugar Creek Engagement (approx. 3.6 miles away); Gourdsville / Gilbertsboro

Photographed by Don Morfe, April 24, 2014

3. Sam Davis Capture Site Marker

(approx. 5.8 miles away in Alabama); Bethel United Methodist Church (approx. 7.1 miles away); Dr. Louie Edmundson (approx. 7.2 miles away); Bethel Masonic Lodge / Bethel: Giles County, Tennessee (approx. 7.2 miles away); Sim Corder/Harrison Mill (approx. 7½ miles away in Alabama).

Other markers no longer nearby. Confederate Retreat at Sugar Creek (was approx. 2 miles away but has been confirmed missing); Noblit-Lytle House (was approx. 2.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Photographed by Don Morfe, April 24, 2014

4. Sam Davis Capture Site Marker

Photographed by Don Morfe, April 24, 2014

5. Sam Davis Capture Site Marker

Photographed by Don Morfe, April 24, 2014

6. Sam Davis Capture Site Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 8, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,476 times since then and 68 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 8, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.