James Cameron Phifer

Mr. Phifer’s interest in Sam Davis began in grade school, when he read a poem about the Confederacy’s boy hero. “In 1947 it all came alive again,” he writes, “when I joined the staff of the Nashville Tennesseean as copy editor and book reviewer and found myself in Sam Davis territory.” He helped institute the pageant which now takes place annually on the grounds of the Davis home at Smyrna. Much of the information on which this article is based came from interviews with Mrs. Media Davis Sinnott, one of Sam’s nieces. Mr. Phifer, formerly copy editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel, has just completed a history of his adopted state, entitled Wisconsin: The Thirtieth Star.

For further reading: Sam Davis, Confederate Hero 1842–1863 , by Edythe J. R. Whitley (Nashville, 1947).

Articles by this Contributor

February 1967

“Mother, I Do Not Hate To Die”

A choice between life and honor is a fearful one for any man. Here is the unforgettable story of how it was made by a twenty-one-year-old Confederate private.

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Why do we need a national nonprofit membership society for American history?

“Save America’s Treasures” has been totally eliminated—the largest Federal program supporting preservation of such treasures as the original Star Spangled Banner and George Washington’s tent.
65% of Americans don’t know what happened at the Constitutional Convention, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
The “Teaching American History” grants—the largest Federal program supporting history education—have been completely eliminated.
Visits to the Top 20 Civil War battlefields have dropped in half from 1970 to 2009 according to official National Park Service statistics.
40% of Americans can’t identify whom we fought in World War II, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
A quarter of Americans believe Congress shares power over U.S. foreign policy with the United Nations, according to a recent Annenberg survey.
“There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country,” John F. Kennedy wrote in American Heritage.
The “We the People Program,” which touched some 30 million students and 90,000 teachers over 25 years, has been completely eliminated.
Two-thirds of Americans could not correctly name Yorktown as the last major military action of the American Revolution, according to a recent national Gallup survey.
The National Heritage Areas and Scenic Byways program, the only major Federal program encouraging visits to historic places, has been completely eliminated in Congressional committee.

American Heritage

Collections, Travel, and Great Writing On History

Articles by this Contributor

“Mother, I Do Not Hate To Die”

Why do we need a national nonprofit membership society for American history?