Andreas Hofer manner of death capital punishment
Andreas Hofer (22 November 1767 – 20 February 1810) was a Tyrolean innkeeper and drover, who in 1809 became the leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invasion during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subsequently captured and executed.
Hofer is still today venerated as a folk hero, freedom fighter and Austrian patriot. His great-grandson Andreas Hofer was a member of the very important resistance group against Nazi Germany around the priest Heinrich Maier.Court martial and execution
Officers holding the court martial disagreed on the exact sentence until they received a message from Milan. It was supposedly from the Viceroy, transmitting Napoleon's order to "give him a fair trial and then shoot him." Later Napoleon claimed to Prince Metternich that Hofer was executed against his wishes.
Andreas Hofer was executed by a firing squad on 20 February 1810. He refused a blindfold or to kneel, and gave money to a corporal in charge, telling him to "shoot straight". He gave the order to fire himself. Hofer became a martyr in Germany and Austria and a rallying symbol against the power of Napoleon.Legacy and monuments
In 1809 William Wordsworth wrote some sonnets to Andreas Hofer which contributed to the romanticisation of his image and the legend surrounding the insurrection.In 1818, his family was given a patent of nobility by the emperor of Austria (he and Anna had 7 children, at least two of whom emigrated to America). In 1823, Hofer's remains were moved from Mantua to Innsbruck, and in 1834, his tomb was decorated with a marble statue. In 1893, a bronze statue of Hofer was erected in Bergisel (Innsbruck). A large painting depicting his arrest hangs in the Palace of Maria Theresa in Innsbruck, and there is an annual open-air play in Meran based on his life. In Meran there is also a monumental statue of him opposite the train station at the beginning of the Via Andreas Hofer, which was erected by Tyrolean nationalists in 1915.  In New Glarus, Wisconsin there is a large mural of Hofer inside Puempel's Olde Tavern.The song Zu Mantua in Banden (today the anthem of the State of Tyrol) tells the story of his tragic fate and execution.
His most famous quote: I will not trade my life for a lie.
cause of death mode of death method of death way of dying circumstances of death