Hanging From The Yardarm
The hanging basket method [Note 1]) was not the only means of execution. In the 18th century, such grievous crimes as striking an officer, desertion, or being guilty of “indecent practices” could result in an execution. By the 1800s, this was more for serious things like mutiny or murder. Whatever the crime, a court-martial could end with the order of a hanging from the yardarm. Unlike the more modern usage of drop hanging in which a prisoner will die instantaneously, a yardarm death was slow and painful. The condemned man would have his hands and feet tied, and a noose was placed around his neck. The crew stood on deck to watch. A gunshot was the signal for a group of men holding the rope to begin pulling. The prisoner would be “run up the yardarm” and left there to die from strangulation. After an hour, his body was taken down. This type of execution was last carried out in 1860 after Royal Marine John Dalliger murdered a lieutenant and the commanding officer of the HMS Leven. He had been caught stealing brandy. US ships also used this form of punishment.
Notes
- ↑ He was put in a basket which was hung from the bowsprit (the pointy mast that sticks out at the front of a ship). He was guarded by an armed sentry who was instructed to kill the offender if he tried to escape. Then he was left to starve to death
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