Sam Davis Martyred

27 November 1863  

On this date in 1863...

Federal troops hanged uniformed Confederate scout Sam Davis as a spy in Giles Co, Tennessee because he wouldn't inform on his comrades. Davis stated with his last words that "I would die a thousand deaths before I would betray a friend."

Other Years:

• 1863 - Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne won a Confederate victory at the Battle of Ringgold Gap, Georgia and caused high federal casualties while giving the Confederate Army of Tennessee safe passage through the Georgia mountains.
• 1868 - The 7th U.S. Cavalry under Gen. George Custer attacked Chief Black Kettle’s band of Cheyenne Indians at their camp on the Washita River in Indian Territory. Custer’s troops killed as many as 200 men, women, and children in what became known as the Washita Massacre.
• 1926 – The historic restoration of Williamsburg, Virginia began.
• 1951 - Hosea Richardson became the first black horse racing jockey to be licensed in Florida. 
• 1963 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress.

Read: Why Know Southern History?

© 2016 Grey Hand Media

All Rights Reserved