No back mark. A rare outdoor view taken by an unknown photographer at extreme distance showing an ominous skeletal wooden gallows rising from the base of an open hillside. The horizon is defined by a uniform row of trees. At least a full regiment of troops are drawn up in an open square to witness an execution by hanging. Mounted officers or cavalry pickets are dispersed amongst the periphery. Under magnification the location of the condemned prisoner in not evident, although in the upper left a gaggle of mounted men appear to be descending the hill toward the gallows. Another photograph on p.119 of Robert I. Alotta’s Civil War Justice—Union Army Executions under Lincoln alludes to this scene which appears to be a cropped view of the same CDV. The caption is obfuscating and reads, Troops are drawn up to witness the execution in front of Petersburg, Va. August 1864. According to research and the official listing, the only hanging to take place during the month of August 1864 was that of Pvt. William H. Howe (Co. A, 116th Pa. for murder). His execution did not take place at Petersburg…but at Fort Mifflin, outside Philadelphia. This particular photograph points out another unknown…and unlisted soldier. Alotta records 287 military exactions during the Civil war, 96 occurring in 1864. At least 74 of the death sentences were carried out by hanging, the majority in 1864-65. Provenance: The Tom MacDonald Maine Civil War CDV Collection Condition: CDV showing moderate wear and handling, still G. A sliver of albumen along left margin torn away and missing.
No back mark. A rare outdoor view taken by an unknown photographer at extreme distance showing an ominous skeletal wooden gallows rising from the base of an open hillside. The horizon is defined by a uniform row of trees. At least a full regiment of troops are drawn up in an open square to witness an execution by hanging. Mounted officers or cavalry pickets are dispersed amongst the periphery. Under magnification the location of the condemned prisoner in not evident, although in the upper left a gaggle of mounted men appear to be descending the hill toward the gallows. Another photograph on p.119 of Robert I. Alotta’s Civil War Justice—Union Army Executions under Lincoln alludes to this scene which appears to be a cropped view of the same CDV. The caption is obfuscating and reads, Troops are drawn up to witness the execution in front of Petersburg, Va. August 1864. According to research and the official listing, the only hanging to take place during the month of August 1864 was that of Pvt. William H. Howe (Co. A, 116th Pa. for murder). His execution did not take place at Petersburg…but at Fort Mifflin, outside Philadelphia. This particular photograph points out another unknown…and unlisted soldier. Alotta records 287 military exactions during the Civil war, 96 occurring in 1864. At least 74 of the death sentences were carried out by hanging, the majority in 1864-65. Provenance: The Tom MacDonald Maine Civil War CDV Collection Condition: CDV showing moderate wear and handling, still G. A sliver of albumen along left margin torn away and missing.
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