Arthur Muntz

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Arthur Muntz (January 1839 – July 21, 1861) was a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War who deserted from the war before being hunted down and shot by fellow Confederate soldiers.

Arthur Muntz grew up on a farm outside Dublin, Georgia. An uneventful life and his family's military tradition led Arthur to join the Confederate army at the age of 22 following the first shots on April 12th, 1861.

On July 21, 1861 Muntz found himself in one of the first battles of the civil war, the First Battle of Bull Run. Muntz fired only one shot before running off the battlefield and into the woods. None of the other soldiers followed him, choosing to remain and fight instead. After the Confederate victory, several of the soldiers became enraged upon hearing of Muntz's desertion in the heat of battle. With loaded rifles they took to the woods and after a short time found Muntz hiding behind a tree. The soldiers, all normal infantrymen, decided to take the law into their own hands and executed Muntz on the spot by firing squad. When the men returned they did not mention the incident to any of their superiors, and therefore his body was never found and he was presumed dead. It was not until after the war that the family learned of Arthur's fate via another soldier who had heard the executioners talking about the incident. The identities of the participants in the execution remain unknown.