Andreas Hofer - Court Martial and Execution

Court Martial and Execution

Officers holding the court martial disagreed on the exact sentence until they received a message from Milan. It was supposedly from the Viceroy, transmitting Napoleon's order to "give him a fair trial and then shoot him." Later Napoleon claimed to Prince Metternich that Hofer was executed against his wishes.

Andreas Hofer was executed by a firing squad on February 20, 1810. He refused a blindfold and gave money to a corporal in charge, telling him to "shoot straight". Hofer became a martyr in Germany and Austria and a rallying point against the power of Napoleon.

Read more about this topic:  Andreas Hofer

Famous quotes containing the words court, martial and/or execution:

    “We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice—however much we might desire it.”
    —Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)

    “Strike the concertina’s melancholy string!
    Blow the spirit-stirring harp like any thing!
    Let the piano’s martial blast
    Rouse the Echoes of the Past,”
    —Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)

    “Union of Religious Sentiments begets a surprising confidence and Ecclesiastical Establishments tend to great ignorance and corruption, all of which facilitate the Execution of Mischievous Projects.”
    —James Madison (1751–1836)