Do you remember the names of any other officers that were there?—Mr.
Ford was there, I believe, and Lieut. Fall and Lieut. O’Shanley were
there also; I believe they were there before the end of the business; I
do not know whether they were there at the beginning.
Did they form any part of the circle?—They were in the middle of it.
What size was the circle?—It was but small; there were not three hundred
men there.
Was it formed one or two deep?—To the best of my recollection, two deep.
Do you know what the number of the whole garrison was at that time?—I
believe not three hundred; I am almost sure it was not.
What situation were you in?—Close to the circle on the outside.
Where was the governor?—He was inside.
Were you near enough, were you in such a situation that you could hear
what was passing within the circle?—I was; I heard some words that
passed.
Could you see what passed?—Yes, very well; I was leaning rather between
the men, with my head over, to listen and see.
What did you observe to pass within the circle when it was formed?—There
was a carriage of a six-pounder brought in, I believe, just after the
circle was formed.
Do you know who brought it in?—There were some blacks there, I saw, but
I do not know whether it was they that brought it in or not.
Did you observe anything pass between the officers?—I saw the governor
speak to the rest of the officers, but what they said I do not
recollect.
Was the gun-carriage brought in before you observed the governor
speaking to the officers, or after?—I cannot pretend to say.
Did you hear the governor say anything that you do recollect?—Not to the
officers.
To any one else did you hear him speak?—Yes, I heard him call Benjamin
Armstrong out of the ranks.
Where was Armstrong at that time?—Among the rest of the men in the
circle, in his proper place.
Did he come out?—He did.
What happened when he came out?—He was ordered to strip by Governor
Wall, and was tied up to the carriage of the cannon, and Governor Wall
ordered him to be flogged, and he was flogged by black men.
Were more than one person employed in it?—There were five or six, to the
best of my recollection; I believe six; they changed as the drummers in
the army do; I cannot exactly tell how often; I believe about every
twenty-five lashes.
Do you recollect how many lashes he received?—No, I do not; he had a
great many.
Do you know how long it was about?—I cannot tell.
Were you near enough to see what the instrument was with which he was
flogged?—It was a kind of rope.
Can you tell the size of the rope?—No, I cannot pretend to say now.
Was it the usual instrument of punishment?—No, I never saw any one
punished before with a rope of that kind, nor by blacks before.
Were these blacks any part of the regiment?—They were not.
Did you ever see anybody punished in that way before, and with such an
instrument?—I never did, neither before nor since.
Where was Governor Wall during the time that this punishment was
inflicted?—He was in the circle just by the person that was punished,
urging them to do their duty, and threatening them if they did not.
Do you recollect any expressions he made use of at the time?—I heard him
say several times, “Cut him to the heart! Cut him to the liver!” I heard
him say that several times.
Did you hear Armstrong say anything to him during the time the
punishment was inflicted?—I believe he begged for mercy, but I do not
remember the words.
Did the governor say anything to him?—I heard him say something during
the punishment, but I am not certain whether it was to Armstrong or any
of the others.
You do not recollect whether the expressions you remember to have heard
from the governor were made use of during the punishment of Armstrong,
or any other person?—I have not said what you mentioned; what I have
said was during the punishment of Armstrong.
What became of Armstrong after the punishment?—I believe he was taken to
the hospital between two men; I saw him going away from the circle.
At this time was there any appearance of mutiny or disobedience among
the soldiers?—I did not see the least, nor hear of any.
Roger Moore, a private soldier at Goree in 1782, supplied the evidence
as to the actual chastisement:—
With what sort of instrument was the punishment inflicted?—_Moore_: It
was a rope.
Did you see the rope?—At a distance.
Could you form any judgment of the size of the rope?—It looked at a
distance near upon an inch.
In diameter?—Yes.
Were there any knots in it?—Not that I know or ever heard.
What number of lashes were given?—Armstrong received eight hundred.
How do you know?—I counted them myself.
Lieutenant Poplett, of the African corps, an eyewitness of the flogging,
though himself under arrest at the time, was in his evidence asked:—
After the circle had been formed, what did you see done to
Armstrong?—_Poplett_: I saw Armstrong stripped, fastened to a
gun-carriage, and flogged on his bare back by several black men,
frequently changed, I believe, at every twenty-five lashes.
Can you tell how many lashes were inflicted?—I think eight hundred.
After these lashes were inflicted, what became of Armstrong?—I saw him
supported towards the hospital.
Did you observe the rope that he was flogged with?—I did at a distance.
What might the distance be?—About forty yards, on an elevation of eleven
feet.
Could you distinctly see what passed?—I could.
What sort of a rope was it that was used?—I can produce one.
_Mr. Gurney_: Is it the same rope that was used?—I had it on the evening
of the 11th from one of the men who used it in the punishment of the
10th.
_Mr. Gurney_: That will not do.
_Mr. Wood_: Was it such a rope as that you have got there?—I believe it
was.
_Mr. Wood_: Be so good as to produce that which you have. (_The witness
produces a rope._)
_Mr. Wood_: Did you observe whether the rope that was used was knotted
at the end in the same manner as that is?—I could not at that distance
say positively that it was, but I believe it was.
Is it usual to inflict punishment with a rope like that?—I never saw
such a thing done in the army before.
What is the usual instrument of punishment upon those occasions?—A
cat-o’-nine-tails composed of small cord; if severe, generally of small
log-line; but, if moderate, generally whipcord.
Do you happen to know whether Armstrong had ever been tried or convicted
of any offence before this punishment was inflicted?—Not about that
time, to my knowledge.
Mr. Peter Ferrick, the surgeon, corroborated the proof as to the
punishment, and he was then asked:—
Did you attend this man to the hospital after the punishment had been
gone through?—_Ferrick_: Yes.
How long did he live?—It was done on the 10th, and I think he lived till
the 15th.
Did you attend him from day to day after the punishment till his
death?—Yes, twice a day.
What do you think was the cause of his death?—I have supposed, from that
time to this, that the punishment was the cause of his death.
_Lord Chief Baron Macdonald_: By “supposed,” do you mean that it is your
opinion?—Yes.
_Mr. Fielding_: You said you did not arrive within the circle till the
man was undergoing this punishment; therefore I will simply ask you, if,
during the course of that day, or at that time, you saw any appearance
of disorderly behaviour, tumultuous or mutinous?—Not the smallest.
Did you know of any?—Not any; I never heard of any till I heard it at
the Privy Council the other day.
Were you near Armstrong shortly before the time of his death?—I visited
him on the day on which he died.
If there are bruises occasioned by this instrument, is mortification
more likely to ensue from that punishment being inflicted with this rope
than with a common cat of nine tails?—Certainly; but that is reasoning
from experience; I did not know that before.
Then, as a surgeon, looking upon this instrument as likely by its
bruises to produce more mischief than a cat of nine tails, I ask what
your opinion must necessarily be of a punishment to the extent of eight
hundred lashes being inflicted upon a human body, whether the effect is
not likely to be attended with death?—It is.
_Mr. Justice Rooke_: What was this man’s state of health before he
received this punishment?—I believe he was in so good a state of health
that he was never in my hands at all.