LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The story of David O. Dodd is relatively unknown outside of Arkansas, but the teenage spy who chose to hang rather than betray the Confederate cause is seen as a folk hero by many in his home state. 

Street signs and an elementary school in Little Rock have long borne Dodd's name. 

Now, a state commission has approved an application for another tribute to Dodd and revived an age-old question: Should states look for ways to commemorate historical figures who fought to defend unjust institutions? 

The newest nod to Dodd would mark the site where he was detained after Union soldiers found he had information about their troops. Legend has it a general offered him release in exchange for his informant's name. Dodd refused and was hanged instead.

According to the Enclyclopedia of Arkansas, on January 8, 1864, a bitterly cold day when the Arkansas River was frozen solid, Dodd was hanged on the grounds of his former school, St. Johns', just east of the Little Rock Arsenal located on the grounds of present-day MacArthur Park.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)