If they hoped that the protest would have the effect of
preventing the barbarous sentence from being carried into execution, they
were mistaken. The fact that, to carry out his first intention would have
been absolutely unlawful, had caused Ginckle to abandon it, but this made
him only the more obstinate in carrying the second into execution.
The English officers stood talking, not far from his tent, in tones of
indignation and disgust at the brutal sentence, and then walked towards
their divisional camp. As they went, they saw a number of men standing
round a tree. Some Hessian soldiers, with much brutal laughter, were
reeving ropes over the arm of the tree, and, just as the officers came
along, six struggling forms were drawn up high above the heads of the
crowd.
The party paused for a moment, and were about to pass on, their faces
showing how deep was their horror at the scene, when one of them
exclaimed:
"There is an Irish officer, in uniform, among the prisoners! This cannot
be suffered, Hamilton. The Irish have several of ours prisoners in the
town, and they would rightly retaliate by hanging them on the
battlements."
General Hamilton and the others pressed forward.
"Colonel Hanau," the general said to a Hessian officer, "you surely
cannot be going to hang this young officer? The general can never have
included him with the others?"
"The general's orders were precise," the Hessian said coldly.
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