Traced to the Curse of Intoxication: A Wartime Execution

The war was in its closing days, but at 1 p.m. on March 31, 1865, in Goldsboro, North Carolina, the soldiers of Sherman’s army witnessed the military execution of Private James Preble of the 12th New York Cavalry, convicted of the rape of three local women. On the afternoon of March 16, 1865, Preble got drunk and belligerent, raped one woman, and tried to rape two others. He was promptly arrested and  just two weeks later, he was scheduled for execution. The wheels of military justice moved quickly in those days. 

The 24-year-old resident of Buffalo had served in the war since the outset, first with the 12th New York Infantry in the 90-days service, then with the 49th New York Infantry where he had fought with McClellan on the Peninsula and during the Seven Days’ Battles, Crampton’s Gap and Antietam before being discharged at White Oak Church for disability in January 1863. Preble returned home to Buffalo where he enlisted that fall in the 12th New York Cavalry, seeing extensive service in North Carolina, but it was here that Preble’s problems with alcohol led to his demise. 

Among the witnesses to the execution was Sergeant Horatio Simmons of Co. F of the 31st Ohio. The Ohioan had recently arrived in Goldsboro along with Sherman’s army at the conclusion of their Carolinas campaign. The last thing he wanted to see after two months on campaign was an execution, but he recorded the events in extensive detail in his last wartime letter to the Marysville Tribune.

 


Camp of the 31st Regt., O.V.I., Goldsboro, North Carolina

March 31, 1865

          This morning the sun rose in all its grandeur, giving promise of a pleasant day for the army encamped within the confines and the limits of this city. A light breeze from the southeast rustled through the long, slender foliage of the tall pines, adding an exhilarating influence to the genial warmth of the morning sun. It was the hour of 8 a.m., the hour of guard mounting, when the resonance of martial airs, proceeding from scores of regimental drums and fifes, echoed in more melodious strains by numerous brass bands.

          But the tacit sadness alloyed the animating occasion, a sadness which was legibly stamped upon the visage of every thoughtful sympathizing heart. It was the morning of the day set apart to witness the execution of James Preble, a private in Co. K of the 12th New York Cavalry. Some doubted the fact that an execution was to take place while others expressed a determination not to witness the death of a fellow soldier in such a way.

          Drearily the day passed away until the hour of 1 p.m. when the troops designated to attend the execution, with arms and equipment as if for action, made their appearance, marching to the music of a lively air by a brass band. With colors flying and a step so precise and uniform that one ignorant of the solemn duty conferred to their trust would have at once concluded that they were parading for some grand review or exhibition of discipline and military proficiency.

          Marching through our camp to the picket line, they halted in a large field selected for the occasion when, after forming an open square, they opened ranks, the front rank taking the position of about face and awaited the arrival of the condemned. An hour thus passed during which time the number of spectators increased from several hundred to as many thousands. Being early on the ground, a position was secured within 50 paces of the grave which occupied the center of the square.

Sergeant Horatio Nelson Simmons, Co. F, 31st O.V.I. Simmons was wounded twice during the war; first at Chickamauga, and a second time during the March to the Sea. He suffered from the latter wound for the rest of his life which ultimately contributed to his death in 1898 in Kansas. 


The solemn procession, led by General Carter the provost marshal and officer in charge, soon neared the spot where the line of spectators instinctively opened for its admission into the square. Following the provost marshal was a band of martial music playing the “Dead March” with the drums muffled. Next came the 12 men detailed for the purpose of executing the sentence with bayonets unfixed, marching before the coffin which was borne upon the shoulders of four men.

Next came the prisoner, a young man of 24 years with a sharp countenance though not unpleasant, of light build being about five feet nine inches in height, apparently possessing a high degree of physical activity. Upon either side of him walked a chaplain whose services had been secured for the occasion. Following this trio in the procession came a cortege of 20 men marching with bayonets fixed. As they marched through the open ranks around the square, each regimental band commenced playing a funeral dirge as the little column came up, as did each succeeding one until it had halted in front of the grave. The coffin bearers advanced and laid their burden by the side of the grave.

The officer next conducted the prisoner, attended by the two chaplains, to the grave when the sentence of his execution was read to him. After this, in a kneeling posture by the side of his coffin, he listened to a prayer by one of the chaplains. This ceremony being concluded, the officer proceeded to blindfold and tie his hands behind his back, when kneeling and facing the firing party, he prepared to meet his fate. The officer repeated the words, “ready, aim, fire,” in quick succession, when with the report of the pieces, the condemned man fell upon his face, paying the penalty for his crime.

From the time when he first entered the square until pierced through the heart by deadly bullets, he showed not the least symptoms of fear or regard for his situation. The regiments marched past the corpse on their exit from the field to their camps and the remains of James Preble were consigned to their last resting place. Thus ended the career of one deep in crime who like many others can be traced to the curse of intoxication.

 

Source:

Letter from Sergeant Horatio Nelson Simmons, Co. F, 31st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Marysville Tribune (Ohio), May 17, 1865, pg. 1

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