Tom Dula Thomas C . Dula ( June 22 , 1845 – May 1 , 1868 ) was a former Confederate soldier , who was tried , convicted , and hanged for the murder of his fiancée , Laura Foster . The trial and hanging received national publicity from newspapers such as " The New York Times " , thus turning Dula ' s story into a folk legend . While the murder happened in Wilkes County , North Carolina , the trial , conviction , and execution took place in Statesville . There was considerable controversy surrounding his conviction and execution . In subsequent years , a folk song was written ( entitled “ Tom Dooley ” , based on the pronunciation in the local dialect ) , and many oral traditions were passed down , regarding the sensational occurrences surrounding the murder of Foster , and Dula ' s subsequent execution . The Kingston Trio recorded a hit version of the murder ballad in 1958 . Dula is possibly the ancestor of comedienne Kym Whitley Early life . Tom Dula was born to a poor Appalachian hill country family in Wilkes County , North Carolina , most likely the youngest of three brothers , with one younger sister , Eliza . The young Dula grew up , attended school , and " probably played with the female Fosters " , Ann ( later Melton ) and her cousins Laura and Pauline . As the children grew up , Tom and Ann apparently became intimate . Ann Foster ' s mother found Ann and Tom in bed together when Ann was only fourteen years old . Three months before his eighteenth birthday , on 15 March 1862 , he joined the Confederate Army . Dula served as a private in Company K in the 42nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment until the war ended in 1865 . There is evidence Dula was literate , as according to accounts at the time , he wrote a 15 - page account of his life , as well as the note that exonerated Ann Melton . His literacy is highly unusual given his station in life , and the harsh poverty of his upbringing . Tom played the fiddle and was considered from a very young age to be a " ladies man " . Military service . Contrary to newspaper accounts at the time , Dula did not serve in Zebulon Vance ' s 26th North Carolina . This also puts the lie to the rumors that he “ played the banjo ” in the army band for the Colonel ' s benefit , or that he entertained Colonel Vance with his antics . These were often cited as the reason that the then - Governor Vance leapt so quickly to lead the defense of Dula during his trial . It seems more likely that Governor Vance simply believed in Dula ' s innocence or thought that defending a Confederate veteran in the high - profile case would be politically beneficial . Dula would not escape the war completely unscathed , as folklore , oral tradition , and a few modern writers have held . Instead he suffered various injuries throughout the course of the fighting . Each of his brothers died in the war , leaving Tom as his mother ' s “ sole remaining boy ” . The murder of Laura Foster . Before the war , Ann had married James Melton , a farmer and shoe cobbler who was a neighbor to both Ann and Tom . Melton also served in the Civil War , fighting in the battle of Gettysburg . Both men were taken prisoner and returned home alive . Shortly after arriving home , Dula resumed his relationship with Ann . Given his reputation as something of a libertine , it did not take Dula long to also begin an intimate relationship with Ann ' s cousin Laura . Folklore suggest Laura became pregnant shortly thereafter , and she and Dula decided to elope . On the morning she was to meet Dula , about 25 May 25 , 1866 , she quietly left her home where she lived with her father , Wilson Foster , and took off on his horse , Belle , never to be seen alive again . While it is not known for certain what happened that day , many of the stories that have grown out of the folklore of the time implicate Ann Melton in some way . Some believe Ann may have murdered Laura Foster because she was still in love with Dula and was jealous Laura was marrying him . Others believe that perhaps Dula knew or suspected Ann had murdered Foster , but because he still loved Ann he refused to implicate her after he was arrested and took the blame for the murder . Ultimately , it was Ann ' s word that led to the discovery of the girl ' s body , leading to further speculation as to her guilt . Ann ' s cousin , Pauline Foster , testified that Ann had led her to the site of the grave one night to check that it was still well hidden . Witnesses testified in court that Dula made the incriminating statement he was going to " do in " whoever gave him " the pock " ( syphilis ) . Testimony indicated Dula believed Laura had given him syphilis , which he had passed on to Ann . The local doctor testified that he had treated both Tom and Ann for syphilis , as he did Pauline Foster , who actually seems to have been the first to be treated . Many believe that Dula may have caught the disease from Pauline Foster and passed it along to the other Foster women and believed he caught it from Laura . Whichever of the three killed her , Laura ' s decomposed body was found in a shallow grave in which her legs were drawn up in order for her to fit in the hole . Many believe that a man would have dug a better sized hole for a grave . She had been stabbed once in the chest . The gruesome nature of the murder , combined with the low murder rate , and numerous rumors that circulated in the small back - woods town when she was killed , captured the public ' s attention , and led to the enduring notoriety of the crime . The role of Dula in the slaying is unclear . He fled before her body was found – when he was declared a suspect – working for a time for Colonel James Grayson , under the assumed name of Tom Hall , across the state line in Trade , Tennessee . Grayson would enter folklore as a romantic rival of Dula ' s , but this was not true . It was simply an incorrect inference drawn from the lyrics of the song , and became more widespread as the facts of the case were largely forgotten . Grayson did , however , help the Wilkes County posse bring Dula in , once his identity was discovered . Trial . After Dula was arrested , former North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance represented him " pro bono " , and maintained Dula ' s innocence of the charges . He succeeded in having the trial moved from Wilkesboro to Statesville , as it was widely believed that Dula would not receive a fair trial in Wilkes County . Dula was convicted and , although given a new trial on appeal , he was convicted again . His supposed accomplice , Jack Keaton , was set free and , on Dula ' s word , Melton was acquitted of the crime . As he stood on the gallows facing his death , he is reported to have said , “ Gentlemen , do you see this hand ? I didn ’ t harm a hair on the girl ’ s head ” . He was executed nearly two years after the murder of his fiancée , on 1 May 1868 . His younger sister and her husband retrieved his body for burial after the execution . After the execution . In 2001 , Tom Dula was " acquitted " of all charges after a petition was sent around Wilkes County and to the county seat . This action was unofficial and had no legal force . Myths . Subsequently , much legend and folklore arose around the tragedy and the life of Tom Dula . Not the least of these tales has Dula surviving the war without a scratch , and Governor Zebulon Baird Vance making use of Dula ’ s supposed talents with a banjo for his own personal entertainment . Both Dula ’ s and Vance ’ s accounts , as well as Dula ’ s own military record , show this legend to be untrue ; it persists nonetheless . A popular myth holds that while Dula was fighting in Virginia , Ann — – apparently despairing of ever seeing Tom again – met and married an older farmer , James Melton . In reality , Ann married James Melton in 1859 , three years before Tom left for the war , though it ' s unclear whether or not that actually changed the nature of the relationship between Tom and Ann . Another popular myth claims Ann Melton confessed to the murder on her deathbed . According to hearsay , Ann confessed she killed Laura in a fit of jealousy and begged Tom , who still had feelings for her , to help her conceal the body . In popular culture . A local poet named Thomas Land wrote a song about the tragedy shortly after Dula was hanged . This , combined with the widespread publicity the trial received , further cemented Dula ’ s place in North Carolina legend . The song written by Land is still sung today throughout North Carolina . Several recordings were made of the song in the twentieth century , with the first in 1929 by a group called “ Grayson and Whitter ” . The most popular version was recorded by The Kingston Trio in 1958 . It sold over six million copies and is widely credited with starting the “ folk boom ” of this time period , and was named by the Grammy Foundation as one of the Songs of the Century . The Trio ' s song was covered in Great Britain by Lonnie Donegan later in 1958 . The introduction of Abner Jay ' s song " VD " discusses the story of Tom Dooley , but does not sing the song . In 1959 , Michael Landon was given the role of Dula in the movie " The Legend of Tom Dooley " . The movie was not based on the facts of Dula ’ s life , except in the very loosest sense , and neither was it based on any traditional Tom Dula legends . It was rather a fictional treatment inspired by the lyrics of the song . Also in 1959 , Stonewall Jackson ' s U . S . country music and " Billboard " hit song " Waterloo " makes reference to Tom Dooley in the final verse . The members of Macabre , known for their death metal , also put out an album of acoustic folk songs ; among them is a song titled " Tom Dooley " , about his death but not exactly the same as the traditional ballad . Most recently , Neil Young ' s 2012 album " Americana " features a song called " Tom Dula " , a re - working of Thomas Land ' s original poem . Sharyn McCrumb ' s 2011 novel " The Ballad of Tom Dooley " is a fictionalized account of the events surrounding Laura Foster ' s murder ; in a postscript she claims her reconstruction is consistent with all the available evidence .