Amy Spain ( – March 10, 1865) was a teenage American slave who was executed by a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

military court in the final days of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. She was convicted of treason for stealing from her owner, and

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

from a sycamore tree in

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Darlington ...

. She is believed to have been the last female slave to be executed.

Background

Spain was owned by Major Albertus C. Spain, a

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

veteran who owned a large property in

, and had been a member of the

South Carolina Secession Convention South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860, and was one of the founding member states of the Confederacy in February 1861. The bombardment of the beleaguered U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbo ...

. She was about 17 years old at the time of her death, and was referred to as "

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

", with sources noting her light skin. In early 1865, a detachment of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

arrived in Darlington as part of the

Carolinas Campaign The campaign of the Carolinas (January 1 – April 26, 1865), also known as the Carolinas campaign, was the final campaign conducted by the United States Army (Union Army) against the Confederate States Army in the Western Theater. On January 1 ...

."Confederate forces hanged Amy Spain 94 years ago"
'' The Augusta Chronicle-Herald'', May 10, 1959. Spain reputedly exclaimed "bless the Lord, the Yankees have come!".Hanging of Amy Spain
''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...

'', September 30, 1865. Retrieved November 28, 2017. Many white residents (including almost all adult men) had deserted the town by that point, and the Union commander allowed slaves to take whatever belongings had been left behind. Spain and her brother Willie dragged some mahogany furniture from an abandoned warehouse, and later took "linens, sheets, pillow cases, flour, sugar, lard, and some furniture" from the home of their master.

Trial and execution

The Union Army soon moved on from Darlington, and its residents returned. A short time later

troops (led by General

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in ...

) re-occupied the town. Those who had stayed behind during the Union occupation reported that Spain had been the "ringleader" of the looting, and accused her specifically of guiding Union troops to places where valuables had been hidden. Spain was captured and charged with "

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and conduct unbecoming a slave" by a Confederate military tribunal; Major Spain reputedly acted as her defense counsel. She was sentenced to death, and hanged from a

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the ancient Greek ' (''sūkomoros'') meaning "fig-mulberry". Species of trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplata ...

tree in the Darlington town square on March 10, 1865.

Aftermath

The September 30, 1865, edition of ''

'' gave a somewhat embellished account of Spain's execution, proclaiming that "her name is now hallowed among the Africans". The story and its accompanying illustration were reprinted by many Northern newspapers. ''Harper's Weekly'' attributed the greater share of responsibility to Darlington's residents rather than the Confederate troops, stating that her execution "was acquiesced in and witnessed by most of the citizens of the town". In response, the ''Darlington New Era'' accused ''Harper's'' of committing "a wholesale slander upon our community", and said the town had made "every effort ..to reverse the decision of the court". Major Spain was interviewed by the same newspaper, and said "Amy's temper was hot, hasty, and ungovernable, yet to me, as her master, she was always dutiful up to the unfortunate time when she exhibited traits of character, adopted a line of conduct, used expressions, and committed acts which contributed to the violent termination of her existence at the early age of seventeen".Gandy, Brian
Darlington County Historical Commission: Amy Spain, “Juneteenth”
''Darlington News & Press'', June 17, 2016.; retrieved November 28, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spain, Amy 1840s births 1865 deaths People from Darlington, South Carolina Executed American women People executed by the Confederate States of America by hanging People executed for theft People executed for treason Executed African-American people Capital punishment in South Carolina 19th-century American slaves 19th-century executions of American people Year of birth uncertain