Skip to main content

THE EXECUTION OF WILLIAMS AND PETERS.


From the July 4, 1863 issue of Harper’s, as digitized by sonsofthesouth.net.

THE EXECUTION OF WILLIAMS AND PETERS.

We are indebted to Mr. James K. Magie, of the 78th Illinois Regiment, for the sketch of the execution of the two rebel spies, WILLIAMS and PETERS, who were hanged by General Rosecrans on 9th inst. The following account of the affair is from a letter written by the surgeon of the 85th Indiana:

HEADQUARTERS POST, FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE

Last evening about sundown two strangers rode into camp and called at Colonel Baird’s head-quarters, who presented unusual appearances. They had on citizens’ overcoats, Federal regulation pants and caps. The caps were covered with white flannel havelocks. They wore sidearms, and showed high intelligence. One claimed to be a colonel in the United States Army, and called himself Colonel Austin; the other called himself Major Dunlap, and both representing themselves as Inspector-Generals of the United States Army.

They represented that they were now out on an expedition in this department, inspecting the outposts and defenses, and that day before yesterday they had been overhauled by the enemy and lost their coats and purses. They exhibited official papers from General Rosecrans, and also from the War Department at Washington, confirming their rank and business. These were all right to Colonel Bayard, and at first satisfied him of their honesty. They asked the Colonel to loan them $50, as they had no coats and no money to buy them. Colonel Baird loaned them the money, and took Colonel Austin’s note for it.

Just at dark they started, saying they were going to Nashville, and took that way. Just so soon as their horses’ heads were turned the thought of their being spies struck Colonel Baird, he says, like a thunder-bolt, and he ordered Colonel Watkins, of the 6th Kentucky cavalry, who was standing by, to arrest them immediately. But they were going at lightning speed. Colonel Watkins had no time to call a guard, and only with his orderly he set out on the chase. He ordered the orderly to unsling his carbine, and if, when he (the Colonel) halted them they showed any suspicious motions, to fire on them without waiting for ano rder.

They were overtaken about one-third of a mile from here. Colonel Watkins told them that Colonel Baird wanted to make some further inquiries of them, and asked them to return. This they politely consented to do, after some remonstrance on account of the lateness of the hour and the distance they had to travel, and Colonel Watkins led them to his tent, where he placed a strong guard over them. It was not until one of them attempted to pass the guard at the door that they even suspected they were prisoners.

Colonel Watkins immediately brought them to Colonel Baird under strong guard. They at once manifested great uneasiness, and pretended great indignation at being thus treated. Colonel Baird frankly told them that he had his suspicions of their true character, and that they should, if loyal, object to no necessary caution. They were very hard to satisfy, and were in a great hurry to get off. Colonel Baird told them that they were under arrest, and he should hold them prisoners until he was fully satisfied that they were what they puported to be.

He immediately telegraphed to General Rosecrans, and received the answer that he knew nothing of any such men, that there were no such men in his employ, or had his pass.

Long before this dispatch was received, however, every one who had an opportunity of hearing their conversation was well satisfied that they were spies. Smart as they were, they gave frequent and distinct evidence of duplicity. After this dispatch came to hand, which it did about 12 o’clock (midnight), a search of their persons was ordered. To this the Major consented without opposition, but the Colonel protested against it, and even put his hand to his arms.

But resistance was useless, and both submitted. When the Major’s sword was drawn from the scabbard there were found etched upon it these words, “Lt. W.G. Peter, C.S.A.” At this discovery Colonel Baird remarked, “Gentlemen, you have played this damned well.” “Yes,” said Lieutenant Peter, “and it came near being a perfect success.” They then confessed the whole matter, and upon further search various papers showing their guilt were discovered upon their persons. Lieutenant Peter was found to have on a rebel cap, secreted by the white flannel havelock.

Colonel Baird immediately telegraphed the facts to General Rosecrans and asked what he should do, and in a short time received an order “to try them by a drum-head court-martial, and if found guilty hang them immediately.” The court was convened, and before daylight the case was decided, and the prisoners informed that they must prepare for immediate death by hanging.

At daylight men were detailed to make a scaffold. The prisoners were visited by the Chaplain of the 78th Illinois, who, upon their request, administered the sacrament to them. They also wrote some letters to their friends, and deposited their jewelry, silver cups, and other valuables for transmission to their friends.

The gallows was constructed by a wild cherry-tree not far from the depot, and in a very public place. Two ropes hung dangling from the beam, reaching within eight feet of the ground. A little after nine o’clock A.M. the whole garrison was marshaled around the place of execution in solemn sadness. Two poplar coffins were lying a few feet away. Twenty minutes past nine the guards conducted the prisoners to the scaffold — they walked firm and steady, as if unmindful of the fearful precipice which they were approaching. The guards did them the honor to march with arms reversed.

Arrived at the place of execution they stepped upon the platform of the cart and took their respective places. The Provost Marshal, Captain Alexander, then tied a linen handkerchief over the face of each and adjusted the ropes. They then asked the privilege of bidding last farewell, which being granted, they tenderly embraced each other. This over, the cart moved from under them, and they hung in the air.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage, 1953.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage, 1953. On this day in 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviets, are executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. Both refused to admit any wrongdoing and proclaimed their innocence right up to the time of their deaths, by the electric chair. The Rosenbergs were the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed for espionage during peacetime and their case remains controversial to this day. Julius Rosenberg was an engineer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps who was born in New York on May 12, 1918. His wife, born Ethel Greenglass, also in New York, on September 28, 1915, worked as a secretary. The couple met as members of the Young Communist League, married in 1939 and had two sons. Julius Rosenberg was arrested on suspicion of espionage on June 17, 1950, and accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet ...

Jong Sang Thaek’s brutal execution: Stripped naked and eaten alive by Dogs

Jong Sang Thaek’s brutal execution: Stripped naked and eaten alive by Dogs North Korea, Jan 03:  Unlike previous executions of political prisoners, the execution of Jang Song Thaek on December 12 was reportedly one of the most brutal ones ever conducted by the North Korean regime. According to a detailed account published in Wen Wei Po, a Hong Kong based Chinese newspaper, Jang Song Thaek, Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-Un’s uncle and the second most powerful man in North Korea, was stripped naked and thrown into a cage of 120 hounds who had been starved for three days. During the brutal execution, which was reportedly personally overseen by Kim Jong Un, the hounds were allowed to prey on Jang Song Thaek and five of his closest aides who also had been stripped and thrown into the cage. According to the report, the entire process lasted for about an hour by the end of which they were completely eaten up. This is called "quan je" or "execution by dogs". Political ...

On November 9, 2016. The Villagers of Ogbia community Killed a GIGANTIC Snake They Thought Had Eaten Livestock.

On November 9, 2016. The Villagers of Ogbia community Killed a GIGANTIC Snake They Thought Had Eaten Livestock. Locals who killed a huge snake after suspecting it of having eaten a calf because of its swollen stomach discovered it was pregnant with dozens of eggs. The incident happened in Nigeria where local media said the snake had been killed over accusations it had been feasting on farmers’ livestock. However as these images show, the snake was not overweight because of its last meal, it was actually pregnant with many eggs The villagers killed the snake and cut it open to find dozens of eggs The Villagers in the West African country consider snakes' eggs a delicacy This is the worst case of human cruelty to animals I have heard of, they should have hire snake catcher to help them take the this massive creation to snake zoo, instead they killed and feast on the innocent animal.  This is terrible! Stop Killing Snakes! Were you taught that “The only good snake is a dead s...

Chetnik war crimes in World War II

Chetnik war crimes in World War II The Chetniks, a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist movement and guerrilla force, committed numerous war crimes during the Second World War, primarily directed against the non-Serb population of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, mainly Muslims and Croats, and against Communist-led Yugoslav Partisans and their supporters. Most historians who have considered the question regard the Chetnik crimes against Muslims and Croats during this period as constituting genocide. The Chetnik movement drew its members from the interwar Chetnik Association and various Serb nationalist groups. Some Chetnik ideologues were inspired by the Stevan Moljević's Homogeneous Serbia memorandum in July 1941, that defined the borders of an ethnically pure Greater Serbia. A similar document was put forward to the Yugoslav government-in-exile in September 1941. The Yugoslav government embraced t...

A group of Australian War Correspondents visited a PoW camp and found shocking conditions of cruelty.

A group of Australian War Correspondents visited a PoW camp and found shocking conditions of cruelty.  The camp was about fifteen miles out of Yokosuka Naval Base, and the Corespondents were the first to find the POWs. The camp was not registered (with the International Red Cross) and all the 103 occupants, comprising ninety eight Americans, four British and one New Zealander, were reported dead some time ago.  The men had been cruelly beaten and maltreated, but for the past week or two they had better treatment and were given a chance to pick up. American planes had dropped comforts and clothing to them. The Japanese guards who had beaten the men were taken from the camp and replaced by others a week before the occupation.  Almost every day "Bimbo" beatings were administered. Here Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Harold Newman RN of Carshalton, Surrey, England, assumes the position only too well as the "Afuna crouch". He is demonstrating to the Australian officers, the cr...

The capture of brave Russian officer Rosinski

The capture of brave Russian officer Rosinski This is a shocking image and I apologize in advance for sharing it, but here’s one that truly got to me… in Belarus, 1918, after WWI had already ended, the brave Russian officer Rosinski was captured by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks tortured the captain, likely to get information out of the man, which he bravely refused to give. After that, they simply continued with the torture out of some sick sense of innate cruelty. He was ‘the enemy’ and he was at their mercy, so they brutally murdered their captive. The brave captain was emasculated. And anally impaled on a tree branch. All this while still alive. Alfred Savoir, the man who published the picture and was an eye witness to the death of the brave military officer, described "M. B.", who ordered this atrocity, thus: I knew him not long ago; he was a charming teenager with an ironic wit and joker. He was rubbed with French culture, he admired the novels of Barres and he quot...

Frank Discussion Of Rape And Other Atrocities Committed During War.

WARNING! PHOTO BELOW ARE NOT MET FOR THE WEAK HEART. Please note: The following subject matter is of immense importance, but could be difficult to read. There is a Frank Discussion Of Rape And Other Atrocities Committed During War. After entering a large museum in one of the world’s most ancient cities and the former capital of the Chinese empire, Nanking—or Nanjing as it’s known today—my 18-year-old daughter Sophia and I walked over a glass walkway that allowed us to look down 10 feet of earth and observe an ancient footpath. Lights highlighted the ground under the glass while the room we were in was dark.  To our right hung numerous photographs on a black wall showing Japanese soldiers slaughtering Chinese citizens in December 1937 revealed by individual lights, the types one sees on art museum paintings. Dead babies, severed heads, piles of bodies on Yangtze River banks, and helpless prisoners of war were all documented there by photographs taken by the perpetrators themselve...

During World War II, millions of people were sent to concentration camps, including women.

During World War II, millions of people were sent to concentration camps, including women. Women in concentration camps were subjected to brutal treatment and often faced more severe conditions than their male counterparts. The conditions in the camps were inhumane, and women were often subjected to forced labor, starvation, and medical experiments. Women were treated differently in concentration camps than men. They were often separated from their families, forced to perform hard labor, and subjected to sexual abuse. Women who were pregnant were also subjected to harsh conditions and medical experimentation. Many women were killed, either as part of the genocide or because they were deemed too weak to continue working. One of the most notorious concentration camps where women were held was Auschwitz-Birkenau. There, women were subjected to forced labor, starvation, and medical experimentation. Many were killed in gas chambers or through other forms of execution. The camp was designe...

15 Most Brutal Rape Punishments Around The World.

15 Most Brutal Rape Punishments Around The World. Rape is considered the most offensive crime in every society. Rape victims are often looked down in the society and had to suffer mental torture without any fault of her/him. This horrific impact of physical and mental assault often ruin the life of a victim. Different governments across the globe came up with strong laws against sexual assault to make their country a safer place for their citizen and to make sure no one who indulged in this heinous crime could roam free. Here are the most brutal rape punishments of different countries around the world. In China, The meritocratic leadership punishes the rapist straight away with a death sentence and in some scenarios rapist are also punished by the mutilation of their genitals. 2. Iran In Iran, the rapist is either hanged or shot to death in public. Sometimes the guilty escapes the death penalty by the premission from the victim but is still liable for 100 lashes or life imprisonm...

ON THIS DAY, AUGUST 31, 2016, A SUGGESTIVE PICTURE OF A BRIDE HAVING A LAST S*XUAL

ON THIS DAY, AUGUST 31, 2016, A SUGGESTIVE PICTURE OF A BRIDE HAVING A LAST S*XUAL On this day, August 31, 2016, a suggestive picture of a bride having a last s*xual encounter with her ex-boyfriend a short distance away from her wedding venue was emerged. A Facebook user, Bukola Atupa Ajeigbe shared an odd photo of an unnamed bride preparing to be bonked from behind in doggy fashion by an ex boyfriend shockingly on the day of her wedding with her full outfit on. After-thoughts also have it that the picture could have been taken from a movie scene although the faces of the characters or persons are not known on the television screens...