As the wagons rolled onto the Henry farm, it appears that Rev. Hicks went up to the house, possibly along with Lt. Enoch, to speak with the widow, Mrs. Gilly Henry. The Lieutenant's instructions, as usual for General Orders #59, were to execute the men “as close to the scene of the crime as possible,” and ideally, “on the exact spot.” When Mrs. Henry was told about the intentions of the Federals to execute the men at her front door-step, she “begged that this not be done.” “Enough blood has been shed here,” she pleaded. Honoring the widow's requests, the Union squad rolled the wagons another 300 yards, over the hill to a wooded scene. The time was two o'clock in the afternoon.

The four young men were taken off the wagons, along with their coffins. As the work detail moved the coffins in place, lined side-by-side with a space between for each prisoner, the four Confederates were placed in position beside them. Lieutenant Enoch then ordered his squad of twenty Union soldiers from the 54th Ohio to take position “into four squads of five.” Each detachment was assigned to a prisoner with “one gun in each of the five contain(ing] a blank cartridge.” With ball‑in‑chains still in place, and hands still manacled. the four condemned men were asked the position they would prefer to assume for the execution. They all agreed to take a kneeling position beside their coffins, and placed their arms crossed upon their breasts. Blindfolds were then placed in position on each prisoner. I said that Julius Bradas refused to allow the blindfold, and standing, ripped open his shirt “and with a piece of clay marked a cross over his heart and then requested the firing squad to “be sure and take good aim.”

Lieutenant Enoch had evidently treated the four prisoners with every consideration, and they each thanked him “for the kindness extended toward them by him and his soldiers.” Reverend Hicks then stepped forward and offered the final prayer in their behalf. Each of the four men were now only moments from eternity.

James L. Head is an ordained minister of 50 years. The Sons of God, the Daughters of Men is his third book. His doctoral dissertation, completed in 1978, has not been published.

Dr. Head's second book, The Atonement of John Brooks, has been quoted by at least six authors, and is the most complete work dealing with the subject of atonement as it relates to executions during the civil war.

His latest work on the Sons of God in the Old Testament is the result of over fifty years of research on this vital subject and covers it as never before.

He, and his wife Pat, reside in Newport, Tennessee and share four grown children and twelve grandchildren.

The sons of god

the daughters of men