The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln (1908)

Overview

This thrilling story of the days of '61 and '65 shows a scene in the woods and our hero doing sentry duty. His work has been tiresome, his strength is about given out and he sits down to rest. He falls asleep and is awakened by the general and a squad of soldiers, who come unexpectedly upon him, place him under arrest and march him off to the guardhouse. He is later brought to the general's headquarters, where he is tried for his laxity. The buttons are torn from his uniform and he is otherwise degraded and sentenced to be shot. In the guardhouse the man sits meditating over the fate in store for him. He is visited by the chaplain, who consoles him as best he can. As a last resort the prisoner determines to write home and have his wife intercede in his behalf. She succeeds in getting a reprieve in a thrilling manner.