Carolyn Cooper
Hanged for treason?
Sun Oct 8 14:56:52 2000


A distant cousin had a letter exchanged by two family members that referred to my great-grandfather's brother having been hanged for treason during the WBTS. This cousin has somehow managed to misplace this letter and doesn't recall all the details. The man in question could have only been Washington Austin of Butler County, who was the only one of my ancestor's brothers old enough to serve. I can find no records for a Washington Austin, though there are several Austins from Alabama with the given name initial of W. My question is, if I send off for the records of all these W. Austins will there be a reference to this hanging? None of the other records I've received say anything about the fact that one ancestor was killed in the war and another died as a result of disease. I would certainly like to get the full story of just which side hung him and for what. Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help.

• Hangings. — Hayes Lowe, Wed Oct 11 00:03