Litchfield enquirer., 1836-01-07
F}ous tks AmeTicas Adr0ente Of Peace. ',r1-
TIE EXECUTION OF A DESERTER.
Rn q late Officer IN the y. S. nIhnu y

20 science and profession, the strictesf dis
EipIine enforced ~ penalties of the greatest
severity Is required as q substitute for the fs-
rOcious passions and the deadly hate hich,
in savage NATIONS. are found competent to the I
work of destruction. The dire work of war I
cannot be accomplished, where men eight from
merely professional motives. or in obedience
to their rulers, without system of the most
rigorous compulsi0n. The weaknesses. the
tender sensibiIities. even many of the outward
VICES, must be subject 10 this system-indi-
vidllal violation must be unprecedented the
whole army mOye like so many machines, ON
" as the win Of some controlling agency shall
direct. With dreadful seventies, not to
saw atrocities, of this system, i believe the
community at large are very little acquainted.
Sometimes, indeed, the seventies tall on one
illustri0us BY birth. or fortune, or character
an ANDRE an AsgiII,a Hayne. and then public
sympathy and cOmmisseration are excited,
and the cruel severity ofsthe laws Of war de- |
plored. But the fate Of the poor private sol |
der, tho is more generally the victim of such
severity, is rarely known beyond the circle Of
his family, or his fellow soldiers-spectstor
OF actors 10 the melancholy tragedy. Believ-
ing that more general knowledge, among
the citizens, OF the scenes of the camp, and a
more perfect acquaintance with the particu-
lars which make up the compound Of war,
will have a tendency TO diminish the warlike
spirit, shall relate scene which occurred in
the last war with England, and Of which
was an eye witness. .s6s "a. .,a
Ia 1914, Twas Stationed, with detachment
og United States troops, at Greenbush in the
State OF New York. One morning several
prisoners confined IN the provost guard house
we're brought out to hear the sentence which
u court martial had annexed 20 their delin-
queueies, read en- parade. Their appearance
indicated shat their lot had already been suf-
6ciently hard. Some wore the marks oflong
confinement, and on all, the severity Of the
prison house bad snstanped its impression.
They looked detected at this public exposure.
and anxious to learn their fate. had never
seen the face fany Of them before, and only
knew that a single one Of them had been adj
judged to death. Soon, az their names were
called and their sentences announced, dis
cerned. by his agony and gestures, the miser-
able man in the bloom Of youth and the full
ness Of health and vigor.
Prompted by feelings of sympathy, called
next morning, TO see him in his prison. There,
chained by the leg to the beam Of the guard
house. he was reading the Bible, trying to pre-
pare himself, az he said, for the fatal hour. /
learned from him the circumstances Of his
case. He was the father Of family--haying
awifs and three young children, thirty or for
~ miles distant from the camp His crime
was desertion, Of which he was three times
guilty. His only object 10 leaving the camp,
Ia the last instance, he declared, was, to visit
his wife and children. Having seen that all
was well with them, IL was his intention 10 re-
turn. But whatever was his intention he was
q deseTter, and as such taken and brought In.
10 the camp--manacled, and under a guar d
Of his fellow soldiers. The time between the
sentence and his execution was bfisf--the au-
thority in whom alone was vested the power
0frePseve or pardon, distant. Thus he had
40 hope. and only requested the attendance
Of minister ofthe gospel, and permission to
see his wife and children. The FIRST part Of
the request was granted, but whether he was
permitted or not TO see his family, do not
now remember.
Dteading the hour Of his execution, I re-
solved, possible, to avoid being present at
the. scene. But the commander Of the post,
C0l. L----, sent me an express order TO at
tend. that, agrceably TO the, usages ofthe ar
my, might, in my official capacity Of SUR
ge0n, see the sentence fully executed.
The poor fellow was taken from the guard.
house, 10 be escorted 10 the fatal SPOT. Before
him was his cofin-a box of rough pine
boards--borne on the shoulders Of two men.
nEisoner stood, with his arms pinioned,
between vsso clergymen--a white cotton gown
or winding sheet reached to his feet. Il was
trimmed with black, and had attached to ii,
over the place Of the real heart. the black i'm
age Of heart--the mark at which the execu.
tiOners were to aim. On his head was a can
OF white, also trimmed with black. His
countenance was .blanched to the hue Of his
winding sheet, and his frane trembling with
agony. He seemed resolved, however, to
sntfer like a soldier. Behind him were q
Number Of prisoners. confined for various Of
fences, nsxt was a strong band Of soldiers.
with 6xed bayonets and loaded muskets. My
station was in the rear OF the whole.
Our procession thus formed, and with much
feeling and IN low voices on the part Of the of
6cers, we moved forward with sIow and meas
ured steps to a dead march (Roslin Castle)
played with mufied drums and mourning Rfes.
The scene was solemn beyond the power Of
description: . man in the yigor Of life, spnlk.
ing teshis grave--tO the tune Of his own death
snarch--cloihed in his burial robes-surroun-
ded by ffiends assembled to perform the last
sad Offices ofaffection, and TO weep over him
IN the last sad hour--no. not by these, but by
soldiers with bristling bayonets and loaded
muskets. urged forward by stern command to
90 the violence Of death to fellow soldier $500
40 he surveys the multitude, he beholds M
look al tenderness. no tear Of sensibility, he
hears % plant ofFief--all-all ID steri, ne the
iron gigOf Of the law which DEGREES his death.
And Who made that law 4 Ii is the work Of
hard iecessify--aud 40 such d iust. But alas.
who created that necessity The guilty. pas.
siOns--ihe pride-the vain glory, the hlse
honor Of men! The voice Of that Alooa win
soon cry from the ground-whon ahall Il &C.
cuse1 It will complain, not Of the sentence
Ofthsiaw. but of guilty war. chseished BY ha-