Can anyone tell me where to find information about the procedures of executions during the Civil War? There is a story in my family that my 2nd-great grandfather, William L. Ingram, Co. F, 14th Va. Cavalry, was a member of a firing squad following a court martial: ". . .He told of being on a firing squad at an execution. Ten men had to shoot at the same time. Nine of them had blanks. He thought he had the one rifle with the bullet. That always bothered him." I would like to find out if this is factual, because a family member disputes this, telling me that ". . .in executions the officer in charge would have SIX men give him their guns and he would load them, leaving one with a powder charge only (no minie ball) thus telling them that they did not know who performed the execution." Thanks for any assistance. Paula Kelley Ward pward@stic.net If there's a skeleton in your family's closet, you may as well make him dance!

Paula, A firing squad can consist of different numbers of men, with the least amount usually being 5. Instead of only one weapon having a live round and the rest with blanks, it's done the other way around....all live rounds and one blank That way, the death of the condemned is insured, plus, by having the one weapon with a blank, all members of the firing squad have reason to believe they were the one who didn't fire a live round. Usually, only an experienced marksman could tell if he fired a live round or blank, due to the recoil of the rifle. Hope this bit of information helps. Edward