In Virginia, five deserters from the 118th Pennsylvania are executed before the entire V Corps, Army of the Potomac

At four p.m., five deserters from the 118th Pennsylvania were executed by firing squad before the entire V Corps, drawn up in formation at Beverly Ford, Virginia.  The five, all reportedly foreign-born and all substitutes, were attended by a rabbi, a priest, and a protestant chaplain, and executed together.  Newspaper reports estimated that 25,000 troops witnessed the event and praised the action as "a strong example" that had been lacking with earlier cases.  (By John Osborne) 
Source Citation
"Army of the Potomac - Execution of Deserters," New York Times, September 2, 1863, p. 1. 
How to Cite This Page: "In Virginia, five deserters from the 118th Pennsylvania are executed before the entire V Corps, Army of the Potomac," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/41095.