From the Richmond Sentinel, 4/11/1863, p. 1, c. 7
Execution. –
A. C. Webster, a captain under the bogus government of Pierpont, was
executed by hanging yesterday at Camp
Lee, in pursuance of sentence of Court Martial, for a violation of his parole
of honor. He was taken from the prison of the Eastern District at
11 o’clock A. M., and placed in a carriage
with his spiritual advisor, the Rev. Mr. Brown, of the Presbyterian Church, and
with the executioner. Another carriage contained a number of officials, while
Wren’s cavalry company composed the escort. On arriving at Camp
Lee, the [remainder of sentence is illegible] post were found drawn up in a
circle around the gallows. Webster looked very pale, but seemingly endeavored to
maintain his fortitude. The minister prayed with him in the carriage, his
physical condition, owing to injuries received when he attempted to escape from
prison, being such as to prevent his alighting, until the ??? moment. He asked
Captain Alexander to extend the time until the latest moment allowed by the
terms of the sentence, but only half an hour was granted. At half-past
12 o’clock the prisoner, dressed in the
uniform of a Federal officer, was assisted up the steps of the scaffold and
placed upon a ??? over the trap. A hat was placed in his hand, which he was to
drop as a signal of his readiness. He hesitated a few moments, when the hat
dropped from his grasp, and at the same moment the trap fell. Webster’s neck was
broken, and his death almost instantaneous. He made no remarks while on the
scaffold.
There are various
crimes attributed to the man who thus suffered an ignominious death, such as
murder, bigamy, and horse stealing, but he was only tried for the military
offence above stated. His age was about twenty-five years.
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