The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/25/06
A Confederate Everyman has finally received his soldier's tribute.

At a short and solemn ceremony held Sunday under skies the color of a Rebel soldier's tunic, a military marker was dedicated at the Lawrenceville grave of Pvt. Sanford Marion Davis, Company A, 42nd Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry.

Davis was a 31-year-old farmer who left his family to become a soldier. In his 18 months of service, he fought in a few battles, was taken prisoner, became ill, was part of a prisoner exchange and then was sent home, where he died less than a month later.

Davis' story was compiled by his great-great-grandson David Clay of Snellville. Clay was doing genealogical research at the Gwinnett Historical Society when he discovered that his ancestor — whom he'd never known of before — had been a Confederate soldier.

Clay learned that Davis had been buried in the cemetery of Prospect United Methodist Church. Only a time-weathered headstone marks the site.

Clay put an account of Davis' military service together by researching federal and private archives.

According to Clay's research, Davis was a subsistence farmer who had a wife and three children when he decided to enlist in March 1862.

He served in what some called "The Glorious Cause," though glory mostly eluded him.

He received a $50 enlistment bonus and committed to serve in the Confederate Army for a term of three years or until the end of the war, whichever came first.

"I'm wondering if that $50 bounty had anything to do with him saying, 'I'll go,' " Davis said. Most Southerners believed the war would last only a few months anyway, he said.

Like many other citizen-soldiers, Davis probably wondered what he'd gotten himself into, Clay said. "I can imagine those soldiers sitting out in the cold under a tree asking themselves, 'Now, why am I here?' " Clay said.

Davis fought in battles at Tazwell, Tenn.; Cumberland Gap, Tenn.; and Chickasaw Bayou, Miss.

He was captured in May 1863 by Union forces during the battle of Champion Hill, Miss. That battle led to the fall of Vicksburg, and the commander of the victorious forces, Ulysses S. Grant, took over command of all Union armies and later served two terms as president.

By the time he was captured, Clay said, Davis already was sick, suffering from dysentery and malnutrition.

Davis, however, was shipped to four prisoner-of-war camps, in Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois and then Delaware.

In July 1863, he was part of a prisoner exchange and was sent to a Confederate hospital in Richmond.

Still seriously ill, Davis was given a 30-day furlough. He used it to go home and die 25 days later in his own bed.

More than 143 years later, Davis received a soldier's farewell. The military marker at his gravesite was provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The ceremony featured a detachment of a Lawrenceville unit of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, along with a group of women in historical costumes representing the United Daughters of the Confederacy,

The honor guard consisted of six riflemen, a drummer and two flag-bearers, all in uniform.

For the salute, the riflemen each inserted a paper-wrapped cartridge into the barrel of his gun, rammed it down the barrel with a long rod and then primed his rifle for firing. On command, the rifle blasts were joined by the firing of a cannon. The process was repeated three times, for a 21-gun salute.

The loud reports prompted a passing police officer to inquire whether the group had the proper permits.

One of the riflemen brought out a violin and played "Ashokan Farewell," the tune familiar as the theme of the PBS series "The Civil War."

Dennis Cook, the captain of the Confederate detachment, said the purpose of the ceremony was not any kind of political statement but only to honor the sacrifice of the dead soldier.

"We represent the Confederate soldier," Cook said, adding that 99 percent of those soldiers were ordinary men who owned no slaves.

After taps was played, a woman dressed as a widow of those times laid a rose on Davis' grave.

Clay said the tribute moved him deeply. "It's rather overwhelming to see this many people turn out to pay tribute to my great-great-grandfather."

Sanford M Davis