supply of ammunition might endanger the success of the
day; but all to no purpose, the officer would not allow
himself to believe him, but drew his sword and threatened to take his life on the spot if he did not immediately
return to his corps. The sergeant, fired with just indignation at hearing and seeing his life threatened, cocked his musket and stood in his own defence. He was,
however, taken, confined and tried for mutiny and condemned to be shot. The sentence of the court-martial
was approved by the Commander-in-chief, and the day
for his execution set; when it arrived, an embankment
was thrown up, to prevent the shot fired at him from doing other damage, and all things requisite on such occasions were in readiness; the Connecticut troops were
then drawn out and formed in a square, and the prisoner
brought forth; after being blindfolded and pinioned, he
knelt upon the ground. The corporal with his six executioners were then brought up before him, ready, at the fatal word of command, to send a brave soldier into the eternal world, because he persisted in doing his duty and obeying the lawful and urgent orders of his superior officers, the failure of which might, for aught the officer who stopped him knew, have caused the loss of hundreds of lives. But the sergeant was reprieved, and I believe it was well that he was, for his blood would not have been the only blood that would have been spilt;—the
troops were greatly exasperated, and they showed what
their feelings were by their lively and repeated cheerings after the reprieve, but more so by their secret and open threats before it. The reprieve was read by one of the Chaplains of the army, after a long harangue to the soldiers, setting forth the enormity of the crime charged upon the prisoner, repeatedly using this sentence, "crimes for which men ought to die,"—which did much to further the resentment of the troops already raised to a high pitch. But, as I said before, it was well that it ended as it did, both on account of the honour of the soldiers and the safety of some others. I was informed that this same sergeant was honoured, the year following, by those who better knew his merits, with a captain's commission.
We remained here till sometime in the month of October, without any thing very material transpiring, excepting starvation, and that had by this time become
