The Capture of Tom Dooley

The well known ballad about capture of Tom Dooley has a special significance for the people of Mountain City. Not only because Tom Dula was captured in Johnson County, but because many of the areas finest bards were related to the man who apprehended him.
The lyrics in most versions of this song present a clear cut case of murder against Dula. However, like the Appalachian people themselves, the story itself is more nuanced and complex than many outsiders realize. Dula’s story is actually a murder mystery more sordid than any modern soap opera, and filled with plot twists worthy of a Shakespearian play.

The Basic Story:

The part of the story that can be generally agreed upon is that on May 25, 1866 Laura Foster left her fathers home on horseback and never returned. When the horse returned the next day without a rider, a Laura was assumed to be injured or dead and a search party took place. In woods somewhere in the vicinity of Tom Dula’s cabin they discovered a rope and some discolorations on the ground, which they concluded was the rope the used to tie the horse and blood from Laura.

Shortly after rumors began that Tom Dula had killed Laura Foster because he believed Laura had given him “the pox”, a colloquialism for syphilis. After these rumors started Tom skipped town, and later it was found that he went to Tennessee. For reasons unknown Pauline Foster also made an impromptu trip across the border into Tennessee shortly after Tom Dula left. When she returned a friend joked that she must have left because she killed Laura. To which Pauline replied “Yes, I killed her with Dula and ran away to Tennessee.”

After this unfortunate jest rumors increased and Pauline Foster was arrested for the murder of Laura Foster. At her interrogation she told the police that it was actually Ann Milton and Tom Dula that killed Laura, and Pauline took them out and showed them where the body was buried. Eventually word got out that Tom Dula was in Tennessee and law enforcement dispatched a posse to collect him.

The Background:

Most of the stories tell how Dula killed Laura Foster and Colonel Grayson tracked him down, but the motive for killing his paramour is almost always strangely absent. This might be because the official reason for the murder was because Dula believed Laurie Foster gave him syphilis. But this is only the beginning of a sordid tale that would make Tom Dula a beloved antihero in many areas of Appalachia.

Like a classic Noir novel this story involves a series of love triangles, hidden associations, and surprise twists. By the time Tom Dula returned from the civil war he was known as a handsome rake with lecherous tendencies. The three principal women in this story were also known by terms that are no longer socially appropriate descriptors in academic circles, regardless of their accuracy. But in order to preserve local colloquialisms for purely anthropological purposes the phrase “round heels” seems to be a common adjective used to describe the behavior of these women.

Tom Dula was known to have enjoyed the company of Ann Foster before he left for the war, and in the trial records it appears that he enjoyed her company after he returned even though she was married. This does not implicate James Melton in the murder, as these relations appear to have occurred with the knowledge and consent of Ann’s husband. Tom and Ann’s affections should not be thought of as exclusive to one another, as both were also well known to keep company with a great many individuals in the surrounding area.

In 1866 Pauline Foster arrived in town and took up employment as a houseworker with Ann Milton. Pauline was of a similar disposition to Ann and Tom and soon became another focus of Tom’s attention. At the trial it came out that James Melton had three beds in his house, one for his wife, one for his housekeeper, and one he used himself. Tom had a tendency to migrate between the first two.

Eventually Tom became involved with the daughter of another neighbor, Laura Foster. What none of them knew was that Pauline Foster had actually come to town to receive treatment for her syphilis from Dr. George Carter. Dr. Carter would later testify that Tom Dula had requested medical services from him due to Tom contracting Syphilis. This infection was the sole motivation that the prosecutors presented in the case, based on an angry outburst Dula made to a friend upon discovering he got “the pox”.

You may have noticed that both Laura and Pauline were Fosters; this was because they were cousins. Interestingly enough Ann Melton’s maiden name was also foster, and she too was a cousin of Pauline and Laura. Ann’s motivation stems from the belief that she helped Tom kill Laura because Ann was jealous that Tom had gotten Laura pregnant and had asked her to marry him. At some time shortly after Laura Foster disappears.

This is where things actually get complicated. In researching this story there are several competing rumors that follow.

I do not think any of these rumore are accurate, though this falls more into the realm of speculation. No one seems to know where the name Bob Cummings came from. I strongly suspect he was an actual individual, very likely involved in the posse that went after Tom Dula. This is because the name itself has very consistent versions in all of the stories and the mind is much more likely to blend or edit memories than construct events outright. This is certantly the case for the second version of his name appears to be a blending of Bob Cummings with with Col. Grayson who is a well-documented historical figure. This reinforces the posability that there was a historical Bob Cummings whos place in history has been blurred with other notable figures. That was not the only alteration to the folkloric account of Col. Grayson, he was not a sheriff. And being a married man of a completely different caliber than the main characters in this story, Col. Grayson was unlikely to have been a lover of a woman several counties over of whom there is no evidence that he ever met.

Colonel James Grayson was however one of the only individuals in this entire story who demonstrated skill and upstanding character. He is actually one of Johnson County’s own, and part of a family that would produce some of the finest musicians the mountains have ever known. His part in this story is simple but important. Far form being an angry union officer seeking to punish confederates, he actually hired Tom Dula as a farmhand on his property in Trade, TN. When the posse came by looking for Tom, Col. Grayson went with them to search. When they found him, it was Grayson that persuaded Tom to surrender. Tom was taken back to Grayson’s farm as a captive, where they rested before moving on. Several accounts say it was Grayson who kept the posse from killing Tom before he could stand trial, and the Colonel went with the posse as Tom was escorted back to North Carolina to ensure Dula's safty.

Given this information I would like to present an alternate possibility, one worthy of both the song and the history around it.
That Laura Foster was murdered is something everyone agrees upon. Because of his reputation, his relationship to Laura, and the location of the rope and discolored ground rumors began that it was Tom Dula. There is a strong chance that he was innocent but fearing for his reputation, and possibly his life, Tom decided to leave town until things cool off. This was why Pauline Foster knew where to find him. He was not running he was removing himself from the situation until things cooled off a bit. At this point he may not have even known Laura was dead.

But there was one person who did. Pauline Foster not only knew that Laura was murdered she knew exactly where the body was. Even if it is assumed that Pauline was telling the truth when she said Ann Milton told her about the murder, why would Ann point out where exactly in the woods the body was hidden. Pauline traveled to Tennessee to see Tom Dula in an attempt to convince him to marry her instead. Pauline was rebuked and when she got back from TN her guilt manifested in the form of a poor jest that got her arrested. Wanting to preserve her own life she successfully placed the blame on Ann and Tom, and went on to serve as the prosecution’s key witness. This would also explain why Zebulon B. Vance agreed to defend Dula for free. It was not just a matter of them both being confederate soldiers, it was because the prosecution’s case rested on a witness who had a history of irrationality and drunkenness, was suffering from advanced syphilis, and who literally knew exactly where the body was buried.

When Tom Dula got back to Wilkes county to stand trial, he found out that Ann Milton was also being tried for the same crime. Ann would have been one of Tom’s longest lovers, having known her since childhood. It must have been a shock for him to find her in the same situation, and he may have actually believed she did kill Laura. Knowing his fate was sealed and hoping to preserve Ann’s life he confessed to the crime. Committing a single selfless act before he was hanged.

Sources:
Fletcher, J. E. (2012). The True Story of Tom Dooley: From Western North Carolina Mystery to Folk Legend. Arcadia Publishing.
Gardner, Rufus 1960. Tom Dooley: The Eternal Triangle. Mount Airy, NC: The Author.
West, John 2002. The Ballad of Tom Dula: The Documented Story Behind the Murder of Laura Foster and the Trials and Execution of Tom Dula. Boone, NC: Parkway Publishers, Inc.,