Execution by firing squad of five deserters from the Army of the Potomac's V Corp in August 1863. Sketch by Alfred Waud. Library of Congress.

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In his 1912 memoir War Stories, former Confederate soldier Berrien M. Zettler described witnessing the December 9, 1861, execution of two members of the Louisiana "Tiger Rifles"—two soldiers who had "overpowered" an officer and threatened to kill him, for which "they had been court-martialed and condemned to be shot." According to Zettler, the ex­ecu­tion attracted a crowd of roughly 15,000 men, so many in fact that "the sentinel threatened repeatedly to put his bayonet into those of us in front if we did not stand back." It was a spectacle that most would not soon forget.

The prisoners arrived in the same wagon that carried their coffins. The crowd formed three sides of a hollow square, with the square's open side containing two posts measuring about two feet above the ground, approximately 30 feet apart. The prisoners' hands were tied behind them, and they were blindfolded and tied to the posts. A detail of 12 men then marched in front of the prisoners. The officer in charge raised his hand, signaling the detail to lower their weapons "to the position of aim." Even after 60 years had passed, Zettler still recalled the execution that day as a "very sad sight and one that deeply impressed me."

Zettler's profound reaction is echoed in numerous letters, diaries and memoirs of soldiers, many of whom said that public executions seemed more horrific to them than the carnage they had witnessed on battlefields. Accounts of wartime executions, however, can tell us much more than how men reacted to seeing comrades publicly put to death. A closer look sheds light on a host of important questions, including the relationship between battlefield and home front, morale and nationalism.

The Articles of War enacted by Congress in 1806 were used by Federals and Confederates alike to govern behavior. Most cases of insubordination, such as drunkenness, were dealt with at the company or regimental level. General courts-martial at the brigade level or higher dealt with more serious crimes. But the ultimate punishment was death by execution.

Most of the executions described in this article were carried out as punishment for desertion, which constituted a serious threat to the overall cohesiveness and effectiveness of an army. They were often staged events—observed by hundreds and sometimes thousands of troops—intended as a warning to the offenders' comrades in arms. In wartime letters, some Confederates provided detailed accounts, often relating particulars such as last words and final prayers. Such attention to detail attests to the emotional and psychological impact they had on their audiences, especially in the early stages of the war.

For those who witnessed the December 1861 execution of the Louisiana Tigers from Roberdeau Wheat's battalion, the notable attention to detail in their accounts reflects the novelty of the event. Writing just a few days later, 1st Lt. William R. Elam of the 18th Virginia Infantry recalled the size of the crowd: "I was one of about fifteen thousand in number to witness a few days ago, the solemn sight of two "Soldier[s]" being shot." Z. Lee of the 19th Virginia, who was also in attendance, recalled watching soldiers "moving on over the hills from sun up to 12 o'clock (the hour of execution). "Every hill…presented the appearance of a swarm of bees." Elam also noticed that the "trees of the adjoining woods were crowded as if by wild Pigeons."

Onlookers often commented on how condemned men arrived at an execution site, as well as the entourage accompanying them. While stationed at Fort Sumter in the summer of 1863, William Grimball devoted most of a letter to his sister on preparations for the execution for a soldier accused of attempting to desert to the Union Navy, stationed offshore:

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