Alexander Heasly was ahead of his era when it came to views on race, and those views helped cost him his life. Heasly enlisted with the 100th Pennsylvania Infantry in 1861, and served with that regiment until January 1863 when he accepted a commission as the captain of Company C, 33rd United States Colored Troops—the uniform he wears in this image. He took a position with the Freedman’s Bureau after his discharge, and became smitten with an African-American woman. They were engaged.
The engagement enraged Frank Hight, a former lover of the woman, and Hight and two of his friends shot and stabbed Heasly to death. The young Pennsylvanian had survived four years of war and multiple engagements only to lose his life just 30 days after his discharge at the hands of a spurned suitor. The three men were arrested, and while Hight’s accomplices were acquitted, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. President Andrew Johnson, however, pardoned Hight after he only served 6 months.
Image Copyright Matthew Fleming.
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