Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, 1862

by Richard B. McCaslin

Winner of the Coral Horton Tullis Memorial Book Prize and a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History

In the early morning hours of October 1, 1862, state militia arrested more than two hundred alleged Unionists from five North Texas counties and brought them to Gainesville, the seat of Cooke County. In the ensuing days, at least forty-four of the prisoners were hanged, and several other men were lynched in neighboring communities. This event proved to be the grisly climax of a heritage of violence and vigilantism in North Texas that began before the Civil War and lasted long afterward.

Until relatively recently, a legacy of silence restricted historical writing on the Great Hanging. In the first systematic treatment of this important event, Richard B. McCaslin also sheds much light on the tensions produced in southern society by the Civil War, the nature of disaffection in the Confederacy, and the American vigilante tradition.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Shauna Davis]

my gr. gr. grandparents (henry and mary ann field)are mentioned in the book. I have a copy of the letter henry wrote to his wife the day before the hanging. shauna davis

[Elizabeth Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even having grown up in Texas and read a lot of Texas stories, I somehow didn't learn about this horrific incident until I was an adult. This book is chilling. If you're looking for a thorough, detailed, and fully documented account of the Gainesville hangings, this book will grip you from beginning to end.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fourth great grandfather, Arfax Dawson, was hanged as a Northern sympathizer in Gainseville, Texas. His story is told in this book.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admire these men whom died for their beliefs. They were murdered because of their loyalty to the United States. RIP....Patriots