Band at the execution

[NHjohn]

(06-26-2014 09:14 PM)Linda Anderson Wrote:  I found a reference to not only the beat of drums but also to the "wail of the trumpet." It's from The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and Its Expiation by David Miller DeWitt which is available on Google Books.

DeWitt does not give a source for his observation. Does anyone know if he was at the executions? Also, did Hartranft wave his sword? According to American Brutus, Captain Rath clapped his hands three times for the signal.

"Hartranft waves his sword, the two drops fall and the four figures shoot down and then sway to and fro between heaven and earth. The bodies are cut down; a hurried post-mortem examination is made; and, then, enclosed in gun boxes for coffins, they are buried in a row. The soldiery depart to the wail of trumpet and beat of drum. Silence descends on the old arsenal, broken only by the tramp of the sentinel set to guard the unhallowed dead."

My, my... isn't that interesting. Written in the style of the day, but I wonder if it's prose more than fact? "The soldiery depart to the wail of the trumpet and beat of the drum (while departing/marching I assume.) Trumpet could mean "field trumpet" also known as bugle, but I can't imagine what bugle call would be necessary in a closed space as the Arsenal Yard. Very interesting!