Billy Boy: The Execution of Billy Laird
19th Century
•
8m 40s
He never saw battle.
He never fired a shot.
But in 1863, William Laird, a mentally challenged young man from Maine, was executed by a Union Army firing squad.
This is one of the most tragic and forgotten stories of the Civil War.
Up Next in 19th Century
-
Four Men, Four Fates: Gettysburg
Meet four men who all fought for the Union at Gettysburg. They all had different fates. They all left items behind. View the items. Hear the stories. Enjoy the history!
-
The Patrol: Director's Cut
Experience the story of a military patrol marching through a small town during the bloodiest year of America’s deadliest conflict. The young northern soldiers who seek to detect enemy combatants find what they looking for, but also discover a much more disturbing and thought-provoking truth.
-
The Battle of McDowell
In early 1862 in western Virginia several massive Federal armies were moving towards the Shenandoah Valley, known as "The Breadbasket of the Confederacy". If these Union forces could unite din the Valley and move east to attack Richmond - the Confederate capitol - the rebellion would be crushed.
...
