FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174  
175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   197   198   199   >>   >|  
be hanged: John Sarsfield, One Hundred and Forty-Fourth New York. William Collins, alias "Mosby," Company D, Eighty-Eighth Pennsylvania, Charles Curtis, Company A, Fifth Rhode Island Artillery. Patrick Delaney, Company E, Eighty-Third Pennsylvania. A. Muir, United States Navy. Terence Sullivan, Seventy-Second New York. These names and regiments are of little consequence, however, as I believe all the rascals were professional bounty-jumpers, and did not belong to any regiment longer than they could find an opportunity to desert and join another. Those sentenced to ball-and-chain were brought in immediately, and had the irons fitted to them that had been worn by some of our men as a punishment for trying to escape. It was not yet determined how punishment should be meted out to the remainder, but circumstances themselves decided the matter. Wirz became tired of guarding so large a number as Key had arrested, and he informed Key that he should turn them back into the Stockade immediately. Key begged for little farther time to consider the disposition of the cases, but Wirz refused it, and ordered the Officer of the Guard to return all arrested, save those sentenced to death, to the Stockade. In the meantime the news had spread through the prison that the Raiders were to be sent in again unpunished, and an angry mob, numbering some thousands, and mostly composed of men who had suffered injuries at the hands of the marauders, gathered at the South Gate, clubs in hand, to get such satisfaction as they could out of the rascals. They formed in two long, parallel lines, facing inward, and grimly awaited the incoming of the objects of their vengeance. The Officer of the Guard opened the wicket in the gate, and began forcing the Raiders through it--one at a time--at the point of the bayonet, and each as he entered was told what he already realized well--that he must run for his life. They did this with all the energy that they possessed, and as they ran blows rained on their heads, arms and backs. If they could succeed in breaking through the line at any place they were generally let go without any further punishment. Three of the number were beaten to death. I saw one of these killed. I had no liking for the gauntlet performance, and refused to have anything to do with it, as did most, if not all, of my crowd. While the gauntlet was in operation, I was standing by my tent at the head of a littl
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174  
175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   197   198   199   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

punishment

 

Company

 

rascals

 

number

 
arrested
 

sentenced

 

immediately

 
Eighty
 

Raiders

 
gauntlet

Pennsylvania

 
refused
 

Stockade

 

Officer

 
vengeance
 

opened

 

objects

 

wicket

 

awaited

 

incoming


formed

 

injuries

 

suffered

 
marauders
 

gathered

 

composed

 
numbering
 

thousands

 

parallel

 

facing


satisfaction

 

grimly

 

beaten

 

killed

 
generally
 

liking

 
performance
 

standing

 

operation

 
breaking

realized

 

forcing

 
bayonet
 

entered

 
succeed
 

rained

 
energy
 
possessed
 

Second

 
regiments