Trial and Hanging
At the war's end, Ferguson returned home to his farm. He was promptly arrested by Union troops and was tried in Nashville for 53 murders, an attempt to document his wartime activities. His trial attracted national attention and became a major media event. One of Ferguson's main adversaries during the conflict, "Tinker Dave" Beaty, testified against him—just as Ferguson had led a band of guerrillas against any suspected or real pro-unionists, Beaty had led a band of guerrillas against any suspected or real pro-Confederates. Not surprisingly, each had done his best to kill the other. Ferguson acknowledged his band had killed many of the victims named and admitted killing over 100 men personally. Nevertheless, he insisted it was only part of his military duty.
The number of wounded men and prisoners his band killed after the Battle of Saltville is still a matter of dispute. These were mostly members of the all-black 5th United States Colored Cavalry and their white officers. Ferguson and his men supposedly murdered the wounded in their beds at the hospital, and only the arrival of Thomas' Legion of Cherokee Indians and Highlanders prevented further slaughter. Ferguson departed as soon as he heard that regular Confederate troops had arrived.
On October 10, 1865, Champ was found guilty and sentenced to hang. He made a statement in response to the verdict:
"I am yet and will die a Rebel … I killed a good many men, of course, but I never killed a man who I did not know was seeking my life. … I had always heard that the Federals would not take me prisoner, but would shoot me down wherever they found me. That is what made me kill more than I otherwise would have done. I repeat that I die a Rebel out and out, and my last request is that my body be removed to White County, Tennessee, and be buried in good Rebel soil." —Johnson, James, Execution of Champ Ferguson, James K. Polk Papers, Box 1, Folder 9. (Tennessee State Library and Archives; Nashville Dispatch, 22 October 1865).He was hanged on October 20, 1865. His body was buried in the France Cemetery on Highway 84 (Monterey Highway) north of Sparta, White County, Tennessee.
Read more about this topic: Champ Ferguson
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