Northern Ohio journal. [volume] (Painesville, Ohio) 1872-1896, 1880-03-06

house it came, entered the square, and
marched along the inward-f facing lines
of troops, entirely around the open
space-the guard, the firing party with
arms reversed, the wagon drawn by
four large horses, with their sad-faced
driver seated above, and IN the wagon,
with their arms pinioned behind them,
each on his own coffin. facing the rear,
rode two men, and took their last leave
of their comrades.
This second man was a private from
the Fourth Cavalry, and was tried and
convicted by the same court as the
Sergeant, for desertion-the third or
fourth offense. He had been vaga-
bond and criminal before he became a
soldier; and never having been a pa
triot, he was deserter from the first,
and was paying the just penalty of his
crimes without even the pity and COM
miseration of his own messmates.
The sunshine; the cloudless sky; the
songs of birds; the graceful swaying
of the long festoons of Spanish moss
in the near woods; the shallow, murky
river fastening away to the gulf; the
dreary old tumbled down village, be-
hind its dilapidated levee, the long
haired, swarthy, ill clad remnants of the
4esoO OOAAASSAOA 0O0 GA ADJ S9oohSASSA eso oA0
street corners; the distrustful, impov-
erished citizens moving about disconso-
lately; the debris of two armies scat
tered in every direction; the outlying,
devastated sugar-plantations covered
with camps and this one the scene of
an imposing military execution; these
were the obvious details of a never-to-
be-forgotten picture. Down into the
hearts of five thousand men it sank
photographed by the indelible and i'm
palpable chemicals of the mind, there
to remain forever. They felt the wheels
of that monstrous hearse tugging at all
their heart-strings, as if they strove to
chain them with their sympathies, and
forever hold them back from the end of
that sorrowful journey.
At last the procession reached the
place of entering, filed out into the
field, and halted short distance in
front of the General and staff. The
men were assisted down from the wagon
and seated upon their coffins at the
foot of their graves. Eight men, with
pallid faces, halted in line a few PAGES
before them, and exchanged their car
bines for others specially loaded for the
occasion by the Provost Marshal, who
had charge of all the arrangements.
He had loaded seven of them with ball,
but the eighth with a blank cartridge
leaving the menin merciful uncertainty,
allowing each to think that perhaps his
was the harmless shot.
There was no more delay. Every
thing was done quickly, and with the
utmost precision.
The Provost Marshal read his war
rant for the execution, drew the fatal
caps over the eyes of the prisoners,
stepped back little, and, in the midst
of the most awful silence, commanded:
&c attention Ready
The click of those eight locks was
horrible The victims stirred little, as
it were, involuntarily. The air seemed
sitting. The calm, monotonous regu-
larity of the commands was excruciat-
ing. The apparently heartless and
business-like manner of the Marshal
was maddening.
Instantly he slipped to the side of the
Sergeant, and, lightly pulling his sleeve,
led him few steps aside; then, before
the action could be fully realized. COM
manded.
dim Fire -
There was crashing blast-a cloud
of smoke-a dull, heavy ''thud'' as
the soldier fell back dead on his coffin,
and the Sergeant fell limp and motion.
less into the arms of the Marshal, who
stopped down upon one knee to set him
on the other, and pulling off the black
cap, nursed him back to life and con-
sciousness.
There was a murmur of grateful ap
plause along the whole line. The Gen
eral had not been intimidated, and YET
had granted the prayer of his men. He
| had punished the Sergeant severely
and yet been merciful to them both; he
had spared the life of one, though sen
fenced, and kept a knowledge Off from
the other, though shot.
We didn't know then that the Sec.
ond Cavalry went out to the execution
with loaded carbines and forty rounds
in their cartridge boxes; if we had, we
might not have felt quite at ease-bu
it would have made no other difference
Western MOnthIu.