The Lynching of Amy Spain

The Hanging of Amy Spain - contemporary engraving from Harper's Bazaar

17-year-old Amy Spain became a martyr for freedom in 1865. She was biracial of a white and a black parent. She was a slave and owned by Major Albertus C. Spain, a Mexican-American War veteran who owned a large property in Darlington, South Carolina.

In early 1865 a detachment of the Union Army arrived in Darlington as a part of the Carolinas Campaign. She expressed her excitement for her future freedom by exclaiming "Bless the Lord, the Yankees have come!". This was what sealed her fate.

At that time the town, many of the white residents (mostly men) deserted the town. It had turned out that her and others took what they wanted from empty homes and warehouses. Amy took things from her master. The Union was only there for a short time and the Confederate army re-occupied the town.

Amy was called a "ringleader" of the looting and accused her of guiding Union troops to places where valuables were hidden. She was arrested for treason and conduct unbecoming a slave by the Confederate Military. She would go to trial and Major Albertus C. Spain defended her.

Behind bars, Amy heroically heard her sentence to death and she declared she was prepared to die. On March 10, 1865 She defied her persecutors, and as she walked the scaffold towards her death she declared she was "going to a place where she would receive a crown of glory". She was interrupted by an oath by one of her executioners.

She was then hung from the sycamore tree in the Darlington town square.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
Capital Punishment UK
Black History
Executed Today