Rowland Shot to Death, or Aytch is for Hell

One morning I went over to the 23rd Tennessee Regiment on a visit to Captain Gray Armstrong and Colonel Jim Niel, both of whom were glad to see me as we were old ante-bellum friends. While at Colonel Niel's marquee I saw a detail of soldiers bring out a man by the name of Rowland, whom they were going to shoot to death by musketry by order of the court martial, for desertion. I learned that he had served out the term for which he had originally volunteered, had quit our army and joined that of the Yankees, and was captured with Prentiss' Yankee brigade at Shiloh. He was being hauled to the place of execution in a wagon, sitting on an old gun box, which was to be his coffin. When they got to the grave, which had been dug the day before, the water had risen in it, and a soldier was bailing it out. Rowland spoke up and said, "Please hand me a drink of that water, as I want to drink out of my own grave so the boys will talk about it when I am dead and remember Rowland." They handed him the water and he drank all there was in the bucket and, handing it back, asked them to please hand him a little more as he had heard that water was very scarce in hell and it would be the last he would ever drink. He was then carried to the death post and there he began to cut up jack generally. He began to curse Bragg, Jeff Davis and the Southern Confederacy and all the Rebels at a terrible rate. He was simply arrogant and very insulting. I felt that he deserved to die. He said he would show the Rebels how a Union man could die. I do not know what all he did say. When the shooting detail came up, he went of his own accord and knelt down at the post. The captain commanding the squad gave the command, "Ready, aim, fire!" and Rowland tumbled over on his side. It was the last of Rowland.

--Chapter III