Offenses Requiring the Death Penalty

DanB

Corporal
Joined
Nov 3, 2011
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St. Augustine, FL
Here is a question I haven't seen around.

Does anyone know what offenses in the army would warrant the death penalty? Desertion I'm assuming. Anything else?

Was it usually a hanging or firing squad?
 
Getting caught in enemy uniform, although couriers were sometimes excepted from this. Sam Watkins wrote of a Roland whom he saw executed after Shiloh. My research shows the man had deserted from a Tenn CS regiment and joined an Ohio Union one. He was captured at Shiloh, recognized and executed by firing squad at Corinth. I've come across a few other instances of Bragg ordering such executions. I have found at least one CS courier who was caught in US uniform, but sent to a POW camp since his story proved to be true. Sadly, he died of disease at the camp.
 
Here is a question I haven't seen around.

Does anyone know what offenses in the army would warrant the death penalty? Desertion I'm assuming. Anything else?

Was it usually a hanging or firing squad?

The manner of death normally is dictated by the nature of the offense: firing squads are reserved for violations of a military nature, like desertion or the mentioned sleeping on guard duty, while hanging is for criminal offenses like rape and, I believe, murder. In a notable case during the American Revolution British Major John Andre was disconsolate more because he was to be hanged as a spy rather than shot by firing squad. Washington was adamant, however, that Andre suffer the same fate as Capt. Nathan Hale of the Continental Army for the same offense. There's also a series of photographs showing the hanging of a member of the U.S. Colored Troops on the trenches outside Petersburg for rape.
 
In some cases, stealing of civilian's possessions, livestock, food etc.
 
I came across the hanging of a CS deserter, who with a crime partner, mugged a landlady in Charleston by using chloroform bought at a drugstore. She later died of the beating they gave her during the struggle. Don't know if the other was caught, but my old research subject, Morris Greenwall, was the detective on the case.
 
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