Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-11-25

/ a passenger on the noon train from
/ Chattanooga gave us some points about
/ the hanging yesterday. He says
/ IL was expected that great crowd
would be present to witness IL, though
but few would be able TO see il. The
/ iail is situated Immediately in rear of
/ the court house, which is on Market
street, in the heart of the city. The
/ Jail yard is small and has a high board
fence about IL so that only from the
/ tops of adjoining houses can the DOOM
ed man he seen. 1t would seem
/ however, from our special dispatch
/ that the programme was chang
/ ed, for the execution took
place publicly. The early down
freight was crowded with passengers
| from Cleveland and points above and
below. The caboose ear was crowded
and some people were on top of
the cars. Country people came
in from the country riding many miles
on horseback. One old chap with a
grown up daughter and two almost
/ grown sons rode up to one of the
] livery stables Thursday evening to put
up their horses. The old man asked
/ if the hanging was to come Off On
/ being assured that it would, he said
about it myself but / thought
/ THE CHILDREN WOULD LIKE TO SEE
IT.n
Westmoreland was unmoved and
awaited his hour with apparent indif-
| ference. He was busy writing letters
| Thursday to friends, and our inform
ant said his hand was as steady as
| though his life was assured for twenty
years. He says he has been well treat
| ed. Friends have been furnishing
| him with som whisky and tobacco,
and he has been so well contented in
| Jail that some time ago when the
convicts escaped, he came back after
walking around the city for a day, and
asked for his bed and supper. This
was after he was convicted in the court
| below, and when his chances for re,
spite were slim. He was a Union sol.
dier, and belonged to Hon. }. NJ.
] Thornburgh's regiment.
He made confession of his crime,
| which is contrary to all the evidence
| in the case. During his imprisonment
i'm the Knoxville jail, while his case
was pending in the Supreme Court, he
was waited upon 10y some of our min
listers and christian people, among
| them DIR. Cuunyngham aud Mr.. John
Cruze, but to all of them he persist
emily denied his guilt In his confes-
sion he says, among other things:
WESTMORELAND'S CONFESSION.
At this solemn hour, on the eve Of
my execution, do | relate TO you the
last and only confession of the crime
for which l am adjudged guilty by the
law and am shortly to suffer death.
/ first became acquainted with Mr.
H., Il
newing partial acquaintance till the
winter of 1872, when | took a lease on
his farm and commenced living in his
family. While thus living, he ap-
preached me with inducements to steal
a sack of salt from Sam. Finnel, which
positively refused to have anything
/ to do with.
The matter then dropped. A short
| time after Mr.. Emline became invOlv-
ed in stealing some hogs and fled.
| During his absence / remained on the
farm, living with his family. He re-
| turned in about two months to his
! family, and we lived quietly for a
week, when he learned of my telling
| Mr.. Finnel of his intention of stealing
| his (Mr. F.'s) salt. On the next Sun
day after his return home, | made pres
| parations for crossing the gulch, to be
absent for the day, and, as | was not
in the habit of carrying weapons,
strapped on my revolver only to shoot
any game l might chance to see.
Up to that time l had given him no
cause for disagreement, either in my
work or in my relations to his family /;
and | hereby make this my last as
sertion, in behalf of Mrs. Emlne.
She is not guilty, directly or indirect
| ly, of the charges preferred by an eX-
cited and prejudiced community.
| With this digression l resume.
Mr.. Emline approached me in the
matter of my telling of his salt steal
ing intentions. / acknowledged it,
when he began upbraiding, abusing
and cursing me. | had not been
drinking that morning in the least,
We had got out in the porch when we
grapped each other and rolled of the
porch on the ground. He released
himself from my grasp and seized hold
of "A large stick of wood and struck
me, catching the blows on my arms
and head till / drew my revolver and
fired three times, the shots taking eG-
feet in his foot and body, | still
claim | fired in self defense. After
the firing he walked a short distance
and sat, or fell down, while | sat on
the porch a moment, then Went tn
him with some water. After his
drinking | assisted him into the house
and went four miles for help. During
the melee Mrs. Emline, Mrs. Crofford
and Mrs. Card were in the garden,
near by.
At near sundown / was arrested by
officers Bean, Coleman and Sims and
by them conveyed to prison, where |
have remained till the present time,
/ have no fault to find, save do de-
sire greatly to see my child once more,
but it can not be- God help him and
may he receive a good education and
walk in the path of peace. now
freely forgive the Judge, Prosecuting
Attorney and Jury, as feel am for
given. 1 wish to return my thanks to
my attorneys and friends who have
done all they could. ] wish to express
my heartfelt thanks to Mr.. Howard,
my jailor, for his many acts of kind
ness during my confinement; to the
clergy who have assisted me with theii
prayers; and to you (the reporter) for
your cheering words of that summer
] faI 10, 10 al In,