Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-05-28
BRUTAL CORRECTION.
Bon,e Barbaruus ranishinents That Have
Been Inflicted Upon Soldiers.

Sou,e Harbaruus ranishinents That Have
Been Inflicted Upon Soldiers.
From tho earliest time soldiers-that
is, those who join the ranlls-have been
treated rs machiucs, made to do certain
work, and failing i'll the slightest de-
gree subjected to the most barbaric pun
ishment.
One of the favorite methods of cor
rection was known as "picketing. The
victim was suspended by the wrist to
pn iron ring let into Il wall or high
most and one of his heels was per-
mitted to rest upon sharpened stick,
lust blunt enough not TO break the skin.
Thus the whole weight of the body was
thrown $,her upon the bare heel or up
on the wrist The agony i'll either case
was extreme.
In moment of demoniac cruelty
some officer invented Il device called
1.-THE wooden horse. Rough, sharp
boards were nailed together SO that they
would form rudo imitation of n horse,
the back forminga sharp ridge. On this
culprit was made to sit, sometimes
for hours ut q time, and to increase the
pain muskets and even heavy weights
were fastened to the legs
During the peninsular war there was
punishment much used, called tho
'strappado. (" 1t was Spanish i'll its
origin and brutal in its torture The
soldier was hoistcd up by means of a
rope fastened to his arms behind his
back, and then suddenly dropped with
jerk, by which process his shoulder
Joints were sometimes dislocated.
A form of punishment known rs
.bottling. or cold burning, was
dreaded by the men more than any 9TH
en-. 1t consisted in tying the offenders
hand, palm uppermost, so that it was
held quite motionless, and then allow
ing water to fall upon it, drop by drop,
from height of five feet. The pain
caused in this way is said to have been
so intolerable that the strongest men
tainted away under its infection.
III the whole history of military pun
isFments flogging takes the first place
Its earliest form was known as run
ming the gantlet." The offender was
stripped naked to the waist and driven
slowly through the ranks of his regl
ment, each man of whom had been arm
ed with stout rattan. In front of the
prisoner marched file of the guard,
stepping slowly backward and holding
their bayonets pointed to the culprit'
breast in order to make him take the
regulation step.
In 100 an English army regulation
made mention, for the first time, OF the
"cat. This terrible weapon Of torture
was made of nine leather thongs lnotted
near the end and fastened to handle
about - inches long. Every stroke
brought blood, and when Il man was
sentenced to receive ~ lashes it was
equivalent to nine times that number
and his back was one mass OF bleeding
scars.
For grave offenses, such as mutiny OF
desertion, the 'cat" was used with such
violence that death often ensued.
The Twenty eighth foot was called for
half century the =" fogging regiment,
and it we'll earned its distinction, if a
sergeant, writing in 1906 from Bremen,
is to be believed. He says that in the
regiment from 10 to 20 men were fog
ged daily.
Sir Charles Napier tells of colonel
of the Fiftieth regiment who ordered q
man to be logged because he did not
stand steady on parade after previous
fogging. My back is like piece Of
raw beef, sir, after the last so you gave
me, and I can't bear the weight of my
pack. !" "Tale another so, then, re,
torted the brutal officer, land see if ii
will do your back any good. y
These horrible tortures were inflicted
on the private soldiers up to recent
date. In 1879 the writer had a "cat"
exhibited in the English parliament
which caused the death Of soldier 8
few months prior to that date.-Green
Rap