This week in 1863

“It does not hurt me, Captain.  I am innocent and I am prepared to die, so do not think hard of it.” 

Asked if he would give the name of his accomplice:
“Do you suppose that would betray a friend?  No, sir: I would die a thousand times first!  I am ready.”

— Sam Davis, convicted of spying and espionage, hanging, Tennessee
Executed November 27, 1863

As a Confederate spy, Sam Davis was captured in Nashville at age 16. He both accepted the consequences of his actions and refused to give up the name of his confidante, regardless of offers of immunity. “If I have to die, I do so feeling that I am doing my duty to God and my country,” Davis said. In jail, he wrote only one short note to his mother saying that he was to be hanged and that he was not afraid to die. The final offer of clemency came as he stood on the scaffold, which he again refused.