One sketch. Seven murders. A battlefield artist's portrait of madness....
 |
| “There is a man opposite headquarters who I expect will be hung…” [*] |
In May 1863, a bugler and battlefield artist with Battery 9, Massachusetts Light Artillery, Charles Wellington Reed, sat down to write his sister. At the top of the letter, he sketched a haunting image: a soldier in irons, walking past a tent—his posture slumped, his fate uncertain.
On the facing page, Reed begins his letter with this chilling description:
"There is a man opposite headquarters who I expect will be hung sometime if he gets his [just] deserts." [1]
He described the man as an Italian immigrant-turned-soldier, who allegedly murdered seven of his comrades during his service. Reed recounted the latest killing:
"the last one he actually cut his heart out. he had a slight quarrel during the day and at night he murdered when he thought he was asleep"
Another man in the tent was also attacked. A third escaped and alerted the guard. But Reed wasn't done with the story:
“He says if he could kill one more (someone he owes a grudge), he would be satisfied and they might do what they pleased.”
Although Reed’s tone is matter-of-fact, the sketch and his account, together, evoke something darker: A portrait of madness, violence, and a man who had already crossed the line too many times. This wasn’t battlefield rage. It was serial murder, tucked into the margins of a soldier’s letter.
Reed, known for his gentle sketches of camp life and his Medal of Honor rescue at Gettysburg, closed the account with cold pragmatism:
“It would be a saving to the government to dispose of him soon, for it has to find him clothing and rations.”
This was one of the millions of forgotten stories from the Irrepressible Conflict.
Mac
If you enjoyed this strange, forgotten story, here's another one you may like: The Ghost of Olustee
═══ ⚔ 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒔 ⚑ ═══
[*] The bulk of the papers of Civil War soldier and artist Charles Wellington Reed (1841-1926) are concentrated in the period 1862-1865, when he served with the Ninth Independent Battery, [Bigelow’s Battery], Massachusetts Light Artillery. The collection principally documents Reed’s wartime experiences. Many letters are prefaced by drawings – like the one above – which further illustrate not only the rigors of military life, but also the unusual, amusing and mundane aspects. Some sketches formed the basis for illustrations Reed contributed to John Davis Billings’s classic memoir, Hardtack & Coffee. [Summary and drawing courtesy of Library of Congress].
No comments:
Post a Comment