EXECUTION

 The Colonel paraded his troops in front of his quarters that winter afternoon.

 He wore his usual buckskin jacket with a fringe on the sleeves. The Colonel planted his legs apart on the porch.

 He addressed his forces in a strong voice, “The Secretary of War has ordered me to end the Indian Wars.  I intend to do that tonight.”

 Nineteen-year-old Pvt. Billy Burns was listening.  Billy had lied to the recruiter about his age to get into the Army.  He read his Bible and admired the Israelite soldiers for their courage; but he also read the New Testament, especially Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.  He was already feeling queasy about this mission.

 The Colonel ordered the troops to march out of the fort and toward the Indian encampment some miles away.  When the troops arrived at the village, they were spread out on the ridge overlooking the Indians.

 Billy could see the Indians walking around, the thin blankets the Army had given them wrapped around them.  Some of the men (and some of the women) were smoking pipes.  Most of the people had gathered near the fire for warmth on this cold February night.  The soldiers had on heavy winter coats.

 Unknown to Billy, the Alpha Company had gone through the village that morning looking for and confiscating weapons.  The Indians were defenseless.

 The order came to ready arms.  The troops aimed their rifles at the Indians below them.  All except Billy Burns.

  “Aim”

 “Fire”

 A volley hit the village and then another and another, until no one moved below them.

 Billy threw his rifle down and took a step back, making an about face.

 The Colonel rode up to him.  His face was red.

 “What is your name, soldier?”

  “Pvt. Billy Burns, sir.”, he answered

  “Pick up your rifle and kill those Indians,” the Colonel shouted

  “No, sir.  That would be murder.” he relied

  “Do it or I’ll have you court martialed”, the Colonel continued to shout.

  “No, sir” Billy responded forcefully.

  “Sargent, put this man under arrest.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied the sergeant, running up to his commanding officer.

           

  After a summary court martial, Pvt. Burns was ordered stripped of his rank and to be executed by firing squad.  Billy was taken to the stockade.

  The night before the sentence was to be carried out a group of the soldiers met in the barracks.  There was already talk about what had happened at the ridge and the actions Billy had taken.

  “Do you think the boy should be shot?” one soldier asked no one in particular.

  “No, but he disobeyed an order!” another answered.

  “But it was murder just like he said,” a third said.

  The discussion went on for an hour reaching no conclusion.

  The four soldiers who had been chosen by lot to carry out the execution talked among themselves when the others had left.

The next morning Billy was in the stockade cell wrapped in an Army blanket.  The sergeant in charge entered and said in a low voice to Billy, “Time to go, son.”

Billy got up obediently.  At the door, he saw that a buckboard had pulled up in front.  The four men who made up the firing squad stood behind the wagon, two on each side.  Billy walked to the wagon and was helped up.  The procession took Billy to the execution site.

The fort’s carpenter had pounded a six-foot-tall stake into the ground at the end of the parade field.

As he rode by, Billy saw the Colonel standing on his porch, smoking a cigar.

When the wagon reached the stake, the driver stopped.  One of the members of the firing squad helped Billy off the wagon and walked him to the stake.  He tied his hands behind him and his feet to the stake.  The trooper offered Billy a blind fold which he accepted.

He returned to the end of the firing squad.  The fort’s whole company had formed up facing Billy.

An officer ordered the firing squad to attention.  Billy quietly waited for what was to come next. The squad shouldered their rifles, some with tears in their eyes.

“Ready!”

“Aim!”

“Fire!”

Someone had taken all the powder out of the bullets given the firing squad.

The Colonel yelled for the squad to fall back and the next four men to come forward. No one moved.  For the first time, the Colonel could fell the hatred of the company.  A mutiny was brewing.  Fearing for his carrier once the papers and the Congress found out what had happened, the Colonel turned around and entered his quarters with his men still at attention.

No one moved or made a sound.

The next thing they heard from the Colonel’s quarters was a single pistol shot.

One of the troopers went up to the stake and removed Billy’s blind fold, untied his hands and legs.  Billy still alive almost collapsed into the soldier’s arms.

 “What happened?”, the boy asked confusedly.

“I guess sometimes we’re not murderers either.” the soldier said.