Executed
Ben Smith
Ben Smith, a Black man, was held at the jail in Abingdon, Virginia, and was executed by hanging, according to an account from The Virginian published in December 1853 and reprinted in the Daily Dispatch. The paper reported that around noon he was taken from the jail, placed in a wagon, and driven to the scaffold seated on his own coffin. Along the way and before the drop fell, he sang hymns, and the paper described him as meeting his death with firmness and resignation.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state
Reported by: The Virginian (reprinted in the Daily Dispatch) (reporters).