Page:Notes of the Mexican war 1846-47-48.djvu/397

Rh outrageous sentences that has ever been heard of in any civilized country. It made our Captain Small and the men swear like troopers, saying that they will not give him up.

This evening Capt. Small promised us that he would use his utmost efforts to have J. B. Wilson, of our company, released before he leaves us.

Tuesday November 23, 1847.—This morning, as soon as we got up, the whole conversation and talk was about the severe sentence of our comrade James B. Wilson, and the punishment for such a trifling thing as a pair of socks; had it been some of our thieving Quartermasters who are robbing us poor soldiers out of our rations every day by the thousands, or some petty regular officer, there would not have been anything said or done about it. I can hear a mormullo (murmuring) voice from some of the Baltimoreans, that some of those very officers who sat on that military court-martial, will be put out of the way the first chance.

At 10 o'clock,, orders were read to us, stating that we would march back to the Castle Perote, to-morrow morning, and to have two days' rations with us.

At noon we were ordered out for guard duty, during the execution of the two teamsters; in fact, nearly all the military in and around Jalapa City were ordered out for guard, and to be in readiness in case wanted.

Our regiment formed in a circle around the scaffold; here we waited for about ten minutes, when the ambulance wagon containing the two condemned prisoners arrived, guarded on each side by Col. Irwin's Second Ohio Regiment; we opened column, and then let the ambulance wagon pass in near the scaffold; after which, we again closed column. The prisoners jumped off the wagon, walking with steady step up to the scaffold, looking to neither side. The priest followed them on the scaffold, and after some little talking, praying and kissing of the crucifix, the cap was drawn over their faces.

All left the platform except the two prisoners, who were shaking and trembling like a leaf