, 1865-03-01
THE EXECUTION sRE CAPT.
BEA1L Il II RE GEE SPY.

THE EXECUTION ar CAPT
f. BEAAA 1hE REBEL SPY:
Preparation for the eExecut1on-scene.
art the scsnold-thc Death Of BealI.
From the New York Tribune.]
The execution Of tue sentence Of deatl
convicted By court martial, dulY took piace
on Governors Island yesterd 4y, th. 2!th o,
Fetruary, to which day be had been resptted
from Saturday last, which had been originally
fixed as the day Of execution.
PREPARATIONS FOR Tng EXECUTION.
Although, according to the terms Of the
sentence, 1t was not to bc carried into eject
uhLu ocsWcen the hours Of IL and 2 o'clock
P. n, the sight-seess, who were 50 fortunate
I as to procure passes began to arrive in large
numbers ut Governors Island at an early
honf ~ thc MOI ming, and there Hus also :
considerable thronE, who, to Judge by their
pha,,1 aprhea1a1nce. Fad managsd to pass the guards
"tnout cIeaent'als: By 12 O'Clock upward
Of SEQ spectators had assembled, without in
eludirG soldiers, Of whom there were seyeral
hundred. EciWeen the hours Of II and e
o'clock, United States Marshal Murray pfo.
ceedcd, with a file Of soldiers, to the eel Of
me condemned, in order to convey him to an
apar.men. less remote from the scaGold, pre-
paIatofy 10 the execution, which 1t had been
determined, was to take place shortly after
| o'clock.
TEE PRISONER II HIS CELL,
| Maj. Cogswell and other officers testified
| TO the courageous bearing Of Can't, Bealf
| ever since bis confinement On the islaud, Al
VT entered the cell Of the prisoner, In com
paay wlth Marshal Murray, q Deputy Sheriff
and another gentleman, We were struck by
his s;nguiasly cool and, confident mien.. 81
was sitting on chair BY little table which
stood in the middle Of the cell, with the
biack cap Of death already upon his head.
Seeing ta rs T enter, he Immediately arose, md
"Iam at your service. Yolnu viii obligc no
b. making this thing Us short as possible"
.Ihe Marshal, who had seen him ffeouont-
u before, did not ut first recognize him, as
the black turban-liko nIght-cap, with its
long tasseled overlap, somewhat altered his
appearance. Lie knew him to ba the samc,
however, as sOon as be spoke, and promised
to comply with his request.
Capt. Beall was handsome 1ua1. About
five 1eet nine inches IN height, aIstrong, COM
pactly built form, Light beard and lnoustache,
and yellowish hair, regular features indica-
tive Of culture and intellectual hrmness, and
clear, brilliant gray eye-thcse werc the
physical characteristics ofthe rebel spy, There
vas also singular freedom aud sel-posses-
sion in Ills manner Of movement and address.
Following Marshal Murray to the door Of
his cell, he mar ched between the guards, who
Ware awaiting him, toward the designated
apartment, needless of The curious gaze Of
TIC knobs Of louugers who had gathered to
Witness the scene. We forgot to men tion
that be was also accompanied By the Rev s.
Il. Weston, Chaplain Of the Seventh Regi-
ment, National Guard, who had been his
constant companiontor several hours previous.
TIE 0ALLows.
70 ryn1trro orpotad m - 1,1,.r,.& 1sa
tie knoll Of ground, which slopcd gently to
the waters Of the bay on the extremity OF the
Island, fronting on the NarrowB. The struc-
ture itself was simple enough. There WAS no
drop; but 9 chair WAS placed directly under
the rope, which ran through an aperture and
beam above, the other end filling into rude
box, OF shanty, where 1t had connection with
heavy weight, which the screring Of SUBJ
ordinate line would bring the moose up, with
swift jerk, to the top OF the galloWs tree.
Up md down. in the interior Of tho inclozure
business tt was TO- cut the abort line al the
signal, and by the action Of The lallins weight
run up the outer cold, with its dangling bur-
den OF flesh and blood. He was In fact the
hangman Of the occasion, d deserter long
confined on the island, but who, we under
on condition that thereafter his own past
sins were to be forgiven.
By noon there was large crowd collected
around this spot, ey{ng the structure with
morbid curiosity, and several platoons Of
troops Eerc marching and counter marching
around 4, With q full band playing at their
head. Nearly all ofthe press were represent
ed and stood very near the scatfold, with
Major Bum{o1d, the commaudant Of the post,
and several other officers belonging on the
Island. A. the fatal hour drew near, the
crowds OF spectators became 50 pressing that
a Aufa foa 1u1.f .f.1& gSn1rIx
them back, while the troops uere formed in
q hollow square around the gallows, to keep
outsiders at q distance.
THE ARRIVAL or TIE PRISONER.
. Just about o'clock the guard with the
prisoner and Mr. Weston in their midst, came
til!ng down the slope, and the crowd re-
speetful]y opened TO Let them through.
without fear. His arms were pluioned BY the
elbows, behind his back; which induced q
slight forward stoop as he walked, but there
was something defiant and free In his gait aud
bearing. There was something gracefully
romantic In his attire, especially In the short
down to his waist and concealing the hempen
twist round his neck, and even Els black cap
added to this dramatic effect, being rolled up,
tutban-tke, above his browB, the baggy end
falling On one side and dutteft r In the fresh
wind that blew in from the sea- Otherwise,
~,
what furnished from his long confinement,
additional evidence Of which Wns also percep-
tiblc In his paalld and somewhat emaciated
features. II
READING TIE 1ENTENcE.
We learn, and It Is very probable, that the
prisoner entertained, almost up to the hour
hopes that ihe execution n would I hot % be- car]
ried into effect. These hopes probably van
ished before be atarted On Ills last brief jour
ney toihe galloTs indeed, they must have
done 20, for, on the way, be looked up, gazed
steadily at the sun, which WAS shining in
clear blue tky, and pouring flood Of ctFul-
said to Mr. Weston:
''How beautiful thcsuulight is! Inever
knew 'rhat its splcndor was TIL now, when I |
look upon 1t for the last time.' 20
A1ri' ing at the Ea1!ows, the prisoner threw
bad never seen the structure before, although
1t lay fully exposed to his eyes during the
several moments march frum his place of
confinement. Nevertheless, he seemed per-
fectly satisfied With It, on closer inspection,
while the Adjutant proceeded to read the IA
rious findings Of the Court, the order accom-
panying it, and the dcath-sentence. While |
this vas going on, the quiet, almost cheerful,
courage Of the prisoner, won the respect Of |
Ill who eaw him. Els demeanor was, how
eEinced q pure moral courage, an in
tellectual contempt for death. Els
face Was pale, but not sorrowful, and fre- |
quent smiles played across his lips as he |
listened to the reading Of the different speci- |
fcatione Of which he had been found guilty, /
and for which he WIS there to meet his death.
Especially ut the reading Of that specification
respecting the Lake Erie piracy, where he |
had placed the innocent passengers Of the |
captured steamer under durance By force of |
arms, he almost'laughed, as II the reading re- I
called some incident which Ind once particu-
lnrly amused him. In all Of this ca1clessness,
however, there was only contempt and hardI- |
hood:nothing like coutrition for the |
crimes which he had attempted, and moth |
ing like a conviction Of tho fanaticism or |
spirit Of revenge which had impelled him. |
At the conclusion Of this ceremony, the |
Deputy Marshal approached the prisoner, ad-
justed the rope, and asked him If he had any |
thing to say. The prisoner replied: !!
ayes: I protest against the execution Of /
this sentence. It Is absolute murder-bru'al /
murder! Idle in the defense and service Of |
MY country"
Before the cap was drawn over his eyes, on
being, asked If be wished to say anJ thing fur
ther, he said:
"No; I beg you to make haste!" |
THE EXECUTION.
Immediately after the reading OF the SEN
tcncc, the prisoner stood up, and the moose
round his neck WIS fastened to the Suspended /
cord above, leaving slack of about two feet. |
He faced the sea. On his right stood Marshal |
Murray, Mai. Cogswe1l, and another official. !
On his left stuod Mr. Weston, who produced |
q copy If the Episcopal liturgy and read tho
commendatoIy prayer theretfom In solemn
tones, the prisoner bending his head reyer-
oviHa1t1$y 1{0frftfnrv NIL /