Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
The Virginia Gazette Foreign News August 11, 1738
Richmond, Richmond, Virginia
Cautionary note: graphic execution violence
What is this article about?
General Doxat was executed at Belgrade on the 18th despite having saved six battalions; after a botched first blow the executioner struck him several times before severing his head, witnessed by officers from Nissa.
Quality green show the numbers
Measured from the scan
— how cleanly the OCR engine read the characters
- Mean ink quality
- 98.0% The length-weighted average confidence across the OCR lines — the mean of exactly the per-line scores whose tails the two figures below report. Typical is 99%.
- Illegible ink
- 0.0% Text sitting in OCR-detected lines that scored below 80% confidence — very shaky reads. Weighted by line length, so one long bad line counts for more than a short one.
- Uncertain ink
- 1.1% Text in lines that scored 80–90% — somewhat shaky reads.
- Matches source
- 96.06% How closely the served text matches the raw OCR of the same boxes, letter by letter, after collapsing spacing and case. This measures agreement, not correctness: the OCR is often wrong and the extractor corrects it, so 100% does not mean perfect, and a low figure usually means poor scan text was rewritten rather than that text was lost (length vs source shows loss).
- Length vs source
- 98.62% Below 100% means text was dropped from the OCR; above means text was added to make it read.
Assembled by the extraction model
— whether the stitched-together text holds up; catches layout and segmentation errors, which the scores above cannot see
- Transcription confidence
- 94.0% (typical 96%) How cleanly the extractor could assemble what it was given. Low here with clean ink scores points at layout analysis — the characters were read correctly but grouped or ordered wrongly.
- Comprehension
- 95.0% Whether the piece reads coherently start to finish. Can stay high while transcription confidence drops, when only part of the component is affected.
Clipping
Full Text
BELGRADE, March 21.
GENERAL Doxat was certainly, on the 18th, in a butcherly manner, executed; concerning which, and what was previous thereto, the following further Particulars are told: That after the Commissaries had pronounced his Sentence, he said, This then is the Recompence of 8 Years Service, and of the many Wounds I have receiv'd in the Service of the Empire, and I must die for having sav'd the Lives of Six Battalions. Tho' the Bishop of Belgrade, and the Superior of the Jesuits, very assiduously attended him, he died a Protestant. Upon his going out of Prison, he embrac'd the Lieutenant who had guarded him; he thank'd him for all his Civilities, and desired him to accept of the Gold Buttons he had in his Shirt, which, he said, is all I can do to shew my Acknowledgment.
His Valet attended him to the Place of Execution, which was before the barrack of the Garrison. In his way to it, he took an affecting Leave of many of his Acquaintance; and when he was arrived there, looking upon the Fortifications, There, said he, are the Fortifications which I myself built, and in which I am now Sentenc'd to lose my Life. The Officers who were in the Garrison at Nissa, were brought out of Prison to be Witnesses of the Punishment of their Governor. As soon as the General perceived them, he saluted them, saying, Farewell, my Friends, you know for what I die. He afterwards, with undaunted Resolution, mounted the Scaffold, went to Prayer, and then placed himself in an armed Chair, where he was to receive the fatal Blow.
His Valet having laid his Neck bare, and blindfolded him, the Executioner, who had been observed to be under great Concern, failed in his Blow, and struck him on his left Shoulder; upon which, the unfortunate General fell from the Chair, to the Ground, uttering at the same Time such a dreadful Groan, as drew Tears from the Eyes of the most insensible Spectators. The Executioner, confounded at what he had done, and by the Murmurs which he heard on all Sides, gave him Three more Strokes whilst on the Ground, without severing his Head from the Body.
The Valet de Chambre, in Despair to see his Master thus mangled, catch'd hold of his Hair, and thereby suspended his Head whilst the Executioner, by the last Stroke, put an End to so dismal a Spectacle.
GENERAL Doxat was certainly, on the 18th, in a butcherly manner, executed; concerning which, and what was previous thereto, the following further Particulars are told: That after the Commissaries had pronounced his Sentence, he said, This then is the Recompence of 8 Years Service, and of the many Wounds I have receiv'd in the Service of the Empire, and I must die for having sav'd the Lives of Six Battalions. Tho' the Bishop of Belgrade, and the Superior of the Jesuits, very assiduously attended him, he died a Protestant. Upon his going out of Prison, he embrac'd the Lieutenant who had guarded him; he thank'd him for all his Civilities, and desired him to accept of the Gold Buttons he had in his Shirt, which, he said, is all I can do to shew my Acknowledgment.
His Valet attended him to the Place of Execution, which was before the barrack of the Garrison. In his way to it, he took an affecting Leave of many of his Acquaintance; and when he was arrived there, looking upon the Fortifications, There, said he, are the Fortifications which I myself built, and in which I am now Sentenc'd to lose my Life. The Officers who were in the Garrison at Nissa, were brought out of Prison to be Witnesses of the Punishment of their Governor. As soon as the General perceived them, he saluted them, saying, Farewell, my Friends, you know for what I die. He afterwards, with undaunted Resolution, mounted the Scaffold, went to Prayer, and then placed himself in an armed Chair, where he was to receive the fatal Blow.
His Valet having laid his Neck bare, and blindfolded him, the Executioner, who had been observed to be under great Concern, failed in his Blow, and struck him on his left Shoulder; upon which, the unfortunate General fell from the Chair, to the Ground, uttering at the same Time such a dreadful Groan, as drew Tears from the Eyes of the most insensible Spectators. The Executioner, confounded at what he had done, and by the Murmurs which he heard on all Sides, gave him Three more Strokes whilst on the Ground, without severing his Head from the Body.
The Valet de Chambre, in Despair to see his Master thus mangled, catch'd hold of his Hair, and thereby suspended his Head whilst the Executioner, by the last Stroke, put an End to so dismal a Spectacle.
What sub-type of article is it?
Execution
Military Campaign
What keywords are associated?
Belgrade Execution
General Doxat
Botched Execution
What entities or persons were involved?
General Doxat
Where did it happen?
Belgrade
Foreign News Details
Primary Location
Belgrade
Event Date
March 21; Execution On The 18th
Key Persons
General Doxat
Outcome
general doxat executed; his head severed after several blows