During the first week of the retreat from Cumberland Gap there was an incident at Manchester that has been shrouded in some mystery until today.
We have known that Private Lewis Stivers of Company B was executed at Manchester for shooting another soldier, Private James Cundiff, but we didn’t know the details. Yesterday we recieved in the mail from Jim Hoffman at University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign the diary of David Dudley Carlton, 42nd Ohio, DeCourcy’s Brigade. Mr. Carlton’s account of the execution provides some excellent details of the execution of Lewis Stivers:
Items in the brackets [ ] are notes I’ve made into the text so you know who we are talking about. Spelling is as it appears in the original.
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Sept 21
To day is Sunday and I have witnessed a sein which I hope never to see again. It was the execution of a man who had been sentenced to be shot for shooting one of his comrades. The particulars as near as I can
pg 90
learn are these. Co B of the [3rd later known as 7th] Ky ware out guarding a steam grist mill. And several of them ware playing cards and being more or less under the influence of liquor got into a dispute when one of them [Lewis Stivers] said he would fix & turned & went to the mill (which was about 20 rods) got his gun, loaded it, then went back and told the other one [James Cundiff] to look out for he was going to shoot him. (I have forgot his name) and instantly fired. The ball passed through his right hip & came out just above the left one causing almost instant death. He then swor he would shoot the rest of the crowd but they run before he got his gun loaded. He the left but was soon captured & confined in jail until he could have his trial which he had yesterday & was sentenced to be publicly shot today at 5OC.
pg91
About 3OC the crowd began to assemble at & around the jail and at 5 minutes before 6OC the jailor was seen to mount the stairs and lead forth the culprit (who was a man about 50 years of age) and placed him in a file of soldiers and marched him off to a field of death. He marched up to his grave accompanied by the band playing the Death’s March. His eyes was then blinded and made to kneel on his coffin. The executioners (12 in no) were stationed about 15 yds from the coffin. Then the command READY was given by Lieutenant Ross of the 16th OV then AIM. Look at the man kneeling on his coffin with his eyes blinded & grave behind him in which his form will soon be laying, what must be his feelings as he kneels (more like a stone than human being) and hears the command READY
pg92
AIM. But not a muscle moved. Then comes the last word he ever heard on this earth FIRE. 9 of 12 instantly fired (3 being held in reserve) the victim realed for an instant then fell forward dead. Pieced by 6 balls. I turned from the sean & with the crowd left the place hoping that I never should again witness such a scene.
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