The Dillon tribune., 1881-05-07
..#isfell;,,,ea.
The Soldiers Repreiye.

. ny n,,ssctrv while kneeing upon his own
coffin, CT swing from temporary gibb,t
Into eternityi 1t has been mine, and
rtnnot recall those horrible scenes even
no 4 without sl,uddcr.
In the autumn of 1863 an incident &c.
Cured in my own regiment (tl,e Rad n.
Y. W, which SO clearly Represents the
,,agna..imity Of our noble Lincol, that
think it worthy ofrecord.
We were at the time speak Of guarding
the Orange and Alexandria railroad from
the periodical raids Of the ubiquitous Mos.
by and were stationed near Catlett's Sta
ton.
A private by the name Of Daniel Bow
ley, Of Co,npany-B., had some time pr.v.
Gus applied for furlough, that he might
visit his family in the North.
Letters from his wifi. were occasionally
received, In which she complained bitterly
of the in Intention an n ..l &c: o. t,,,s. t',at
had promised to car. for the absent soldier
AS he real OF the suffering Of that faith.
tul partner and his little brood Of children,
he became detected and moody, and when
hc learned that his application had been
refused, in fit Of dcsp> ration he deserted
and went to the denr ores at home
His desertion was quickly followed by
AT arrest and trial by court martial
The sentence Of the court was "tl,at OF, a
certain day not Tar distant, between the
hours Of 9 q. M. and p. m., he b. shot to
death BY 'n"sketry."
The sentence ami proceedings Of the
c"rrt were approved by the commanding
General and the Provost Marshal was or.
dcrcd to execute the criminal.
When the sad tidings reached the 1,,d
indignation meetings were held and the
r''urt severely censored for passing VIVA,
all considered an unjust sentence upon a
worthy soldier; but there seemed no posi-
tile way Of avcrting the impending catas.
'rophe. All but one man became recon.
cilcd to the apparently inevitable
Lieutenant Colonel A. w. Dwight, com.
'nandins the regiment, determined, ii it
we're within the power Of man, to prevent
the execution. Daniel Bow!ey should not
die the death Of u t,lon. lie began by qui.
city circulating a petition drawn bv him.
sclf among the officers Of his command,
and after securing the signature Of each
and every one he presented it to the brig.
asic, division and corps commanders, and
after receiving their Endorsement started
viii, the paper for army headquarters.
treqnired considerable persuasion to in
dnce General Meade to sign the petition, as
he had decided to make an example Of a
few, hoping thereby to eff.ctually check
dcstrtion IN the future.
The General held out for some time, but
the eloquencc Of the Colonel at last pre-.
lied, and he returned with the name Of
George q. Meade affixed IL the document.
Lieut.. Frank Wooster, Of Company r..
was detailed to carry the petition tn Wash.
ington without delay, and present i, t. Mr..
Lincoln in person.
But one day interviewed between that of
Wooster's departure and the one appointed
for the execution. The whole division
meanwhile had become interested in the
case. and when the drums in III: variou,
camps beat the call to assemble the troops
I" witness the execution, there were many
sad faces outside the lad. At II. M. the
h"e lines hgan to appear, moving slowly
and sadly out on the plain with only the
mono'onous tapping Of the drum to i,,di.
cate that they were moving in martial ar
ray.
Some time was occupied in missing the
divisions so that every man could witness
the legal murder M co,nrade. and when
ut last the prisoner and his guards appeared
a low murmur Of sympathy arose from tina,
mass Of humanity.
The twelve men selected ascx.cutioners
at length moved to the position assigned
them, and Daniel lhwley took his place by
the side otthe now made grave and rough
pine coffin, that was expected to encase hi,
hfciess remains. Like statue If marble
lie sto'd. pale and n,otionles. before the
Provost Martial while he unfoldcL and
read the warrant tia. condemned him to
.ie by violence.
\ determination tO meet his fate like ~
soldier was plainly visible in every feature
~ he listened attrntivcly to the reading.
At its conclusion he raised his eyes, and af.
ter one farewell look u; the assembled
thousands and mis- country's Aas, that
seemed to wave in mockery OF his anguish
above him, he turned toward the twelve
nen who, With loaded muskets, stood Ike.
fore him ready to execute the incxorablc
"errcc OF the military tribunal.
Proceed with the execution" wa. the or.
der. and the Provost Marstars assistant
advanced With the white cap and red patch
that was to cover his heart as target for
the muskets Of his unwilling m,,rderers.
Suddenly l,arsen,an appeared .lashiny
across the plain from the direction Of the
station, On On he came, apparently in.
sreasing his speed as he nearcd us.
All eyes instinc,ivcly turned in that di.
'tction' +" moment every tongue was
mute and every farm notionless; then the
cry ran through the ranks like fire: ATS
Captain Roam: ISIS Captain ROAM" and
II u moment mere our yav Adiutant. (;,.,,.