Dewitt Smith Jobe

Dewitt Smith Jobe was born on June 4, 1840 in the hamlet of Mechanicsville. When civil war broke out in 1861, he eagerly joined Company D of the Twentieth Tennessee Infantry (CSA). He served with the Twentieth Tennessee until after the Battle of Stone’s River. In 1863, Gen. W. J. Hardee chose Jobe to serve as an intelligence operative. Following this assignment, he transferred to Coleman’s scouts. During the summer of 1864, Jobe became separated from the main body of scouts during a foray in the Triune area of Williamson County. After riding alone through the night, he attempted to take cover in a local farmer’s cornfield. On 29 August 1864, while resting in the cornfield, Jobe was spotted by a small patrol of the 115th Ohio Cavalry (USA). Realizing he could not escape, Jobe hastily destroyed sensitive operational documents that could not fall into the hands of the Union. After realizing that Jobe was a spy who had destroyed important written information, the Union soldiers tortured Jobe in an attempt to get him to talk. Throughout his ordeal, the stubborn southern soldier never divulged any information. When they realized that Jobe would not reveal the contents of the documents, the 15 soldiers tied him by the neck behind his horse, which galloped away, killing the Confederate almost instantly. Following Jobe’s execution, the Union patrol told some of Jobe’s nearby acquaintances what they had done and that he was one of the bravest men they had ever encountered. The body was taken back to his family’s farm, about six miles away, and buried on the grounds. A marker has been erected between Nolensville and Triune commemorating Dewitt Smith Jobe’s heroic death.