Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-18

When found Ponnelfy he Was backed by a
crowd. end when I told Elm what we
wanted he swore at me. and started for me
with club. But before We could come to-
gether Egypts left shot out and Donnelly
fell In a heap. We had him tied in a min
ute, and carried him of to Keys head
quarters.
Running the Gauntlet.
key had made arrangements with wirz
to take care of his prisoners, and we sent
them outside the stockade. The next day
Wirz sent word to him that he could not
guard so many men and that we would
have to pick out the worst of them and let
the others come back into camp. So Key
made up list of men to be tried, and the
others were turned back. But they didrs, It
come back in a body. The other prisoners
were drawn up ready to receive them. and
the guards let them in one at a time to
run the gauntlet. Three Of them were
Killed trying to get through the crowd. One
or them, 1 remember. was a sailor. He had
struggled bowie-knife into the prison. and
when he came through the gate he reached
down into his boot and drew II, and started
through the crowd slashing right and left
The crowd fell back, and he came straight
at me. 1 stood looking at him, not know
Ing what to do. but prepared to defend my
self with my club as well as could. Just
before he reached me he passed a man who
had carried out a dead man that morning
and brought back piece of timber. 1t was
considered a privilege to carry out a dead
man, because it gave you chance to pick
up some wood. Just as the sailor passed
this man the timber fell on the back of his
neck. He dropped and before he could rise
the others had set on him and beaten him
to death.
We'll. we gave the prisoners as fair a
trial as We could. Very few of US knew
anything about the forms of law. But we
named thirteen sergeants to constitute a
court to try the prisoners-that was the
highest rank in the prison-and we allowed
m
third Missouri cavalry prosecuted, and a
little lawyer from New York named Meyer
defended. 1 was not present at the trial, and
though have often tried to get a clear
story of 1t from some one who took part in
IL, the only one l could ever trace was a
man who Is now a Methodist minister in
Ohio, and he could not give connected
account of the affair He was a member of
the court There is no doubt though. that
the men were treated fairly Some of them
were condemned TO wear ball and chain
around the camp, and six of them were
sentenced to be hanged. The 18th of july
was the day fixed for the hanging. We had
to get permission from Gen. Winder 10
carry out the sentence. There was a little
drummer boy who had been picked up by
Wirz. and made his orderly. and he took
the first news of the decision of Gen.
Winder to the cor demned men, Boy-ltke, he
did net stop to think what 1t meant tc
them. He ran down to where they were
sitting under the trees, crying: The gen
eral says they can hang you I asked Red
Cap chat was what we called the boy) what
they said. and he told me they didn't say
much, but he noticed that they stopped
playing cards. They had not believed that
we would really carry out the sentence.
and there were a good many OF us among
the regulars who did not half believe That
Key would hang the men.
The Execution.
ION the morning of the 18th a messen-
ger came from Key and told me that he
wanted my company to go to the place
where they were building the scaffold and
guard It. 1t was primitive scaffold.
Wood, as 1 have told you, was scarce. In
the midst of timber we had hardly enough
for fuel and none to use for shelter. So the
scaffold was hardly more than two posts
with a board between them and beam
above The board was held up by piece of
timber to which a rope was fastened This
was the trigger with which the drop was to
be sprung. The scaffold stood just opposite
the gate where our rations were brought
in, right under the guns of the headuuar-
ready for action and the infantry was
drawn Up in line between the forts but in
depression between two hills a crowd Of
camp followers had gathered and gradu-
ally IL edged over until 1t was between the
guns and us. Four companies guarded the
scaffold. Around 1t were grouped about H.
600 of the prisoners and another 1900
stood on the sloping ground on the other
ready and Key and his confidential ad-
visers. Timber Jim Ned Carrigan, and the
others, were gathered about II, the gate
swung open and Wirz rode in, mounted on
his white horse. He was followed by a
guard and the six condemned men, who
were accompanied by Father Hammond of
Macon, the only preacher in the neighbor-
hood of the camp.
''WIrz halted the guard and said: Here
are your prisoners. ! return them to you
L ha in1
them and sentenced them and l wash my
hands CT the whole matter. Guards about
face! Forward. march!
And with that he marched out of the
stockade. leaving the six men to US. They
looked at us and at the scaffold and one of
them said: You amt really going to hang
u.s. boys" That's about the size of it said
Key quietly. Then they began to talk all
together; but presently the priest spoke and
they were quiet, while he asked us if we
were not satisfied to punish them in some
other way. Before he could say much the
crowd outside our lines began to cry: No.
No! Hang them! Hang them So the priest
stopped talking pretty quickly.
Desperation of the Condemned.
Just about that moment 1 heard the
man at the end of the line of prisoners
say: III try, even If die for it, and low
ering his head he made a rush for our line
We beat him to his knees, but he was up
ana through our II YES before could seize
him. His name was Curtis. The man next
him in line a big Irshman named De-
laney. He started after Curtis, but Timber
Jim stood over him with a big bowle-knife
and he did not get away. Curtis escape
though, had created great eXcitement-in
fact, regular stampede in the crowd There
were well holes all around. some of them
thirty feet deep, and into these the men fell
breaking arms and legs. and bruising them
selves badly. / lined up my company again
quickly as l could. and some one told
me that the two Iowa boys'-two men from
an Iowa cavalry company-had started after
Curtis. They followed him through the
crowd and through the sink at the other
end of the stockade, and they caught him
on a little island in the middle of the creek
and brought him back. He was badly wind
ed and ] think he drank half a gallon of
water before he was ready to go on the scat
fold. But the six men who had been de-
tallt to attend to the hanging got the prls-
oners on the plank. bound them hand and
foot. adjusted the ropes. put meal bags over
their heads after the priest had read the
scrvice) and at sign from Key the trigger
was pulled by two corporals In my comppny
and the men swung or. All OF the ropes
held but one. That broke ana dropped n
man who was known to us as Mosby
When they brought him to, he begged them
In him hut Vaa haliavod 20 hano