Hi, my name's Kevin Hicks and
welcome to my YouTube channel the History Squad. Now today's film is about the
execution on 13th of October 1660 of Major General Harrison who was hung drawn and quartered. So Major General Thomas Harrison a hero of the
English civil war. Should never been called an English civil war it was in Wales England
Scotland and Ireland. He was a great soldier and from what I can tell a great Englishman
born in Staffordshire, Newcastle under Lyme. Harrison was one of the signatories on the death
warrant of Charles I, that makes him a regicide. Now this is fine until Charles II comes back
to the throne, who was supposed to forgive all of his father's enemies. But no, he
will have revenge. Cromwell's body and Ireton and Bradshaw’s bodies are all dug up and
executed in mock executions but Major General Thomas Harrison was one of, I think it was nine
regicides, who will be hang drawn and quartered. Now Thomas Harrison was getting on now right,
and when they say you know, run, run you know Charles II government is after you, he didn't.
He didn't run. This is an honorable gentleman. He was arrested, sent to Newgate the prison
and then he was put on trial. But the trial is nothing more than a set up. Every time that
Thomas Harrison tried to defend himself he was shouted down by the judge and then standing
next to him they actually had the executioner, the man who's gonna kill him. He stood
there dressed in horrible garb they say, in black with the hangman's noose already in his
hand. He's going to be hung, drawn and quartered. When they do it, 13th of October 1660 he is
dragged through the streets of London from Newgate to Charring Cross on a hurdle, basically a gate
drawn behind a horse. It's uh, it's a disgrace that's what it is, and people can throw stuff at
you and shout at you and all that kind of stuff. As he tries to walk up the steps to the scaffold,
the wooden platform, people laugh at him and they jeer because he's trembling. But at the top of
the steps he turns, he says “no, no good people, I tremble because of the many wounds I have
suffered in those unpleasant wars.” He's cheerful he even passes the time of day with people he
knows. So he was hanged, when they cut him down he was fully conscious. That's not
really how it's supposed to work. Hanged, drawn and quartered, you're
hung till you're insensible, you're, you're almost semi-conscious you are then lain on
the table, there is a brazier nearby burning away. Your genitalia, your testicles and that are cut
off, shown to you, they are then put on the fire. Then using a bill hook they open up
your ad abdomen, cut out your entrails they then burn them in front of you. They then reach inside and if they can, cut out
your heart and snatch it while it's still beating. They show it to you. This is split second stuff.
Then they burn it and then of course they'll cut your head off, chop your arms and legs off and you
are quartered yeah? But that didn't quite happen with Thomas Harrison Major General Thomas
Harrison. This is actually awful. This gentleman, cheerful, gone to his death but they've
hanged him, cut him down and he is completely conscious. He lies on the table and uh they
cut off his genitalia show it to him burn it. They then slice open his abdomen, and
the legend goes, that he leaned forward and struck his executioner who then hurriedly
cut off his head, the entrails were burned. But other eyewitness accounts
say that he was fully awake as they cut out his entrails. He would have
only died once they cut out his beating heart. The body though was eventually returned to his
family and he's buried in St Giles church in Newcastle under Lyme in Staffordshire. His
headstone is long lost, which I think is sad, it's a shame because in my book Major General Thomas
Harrison was a great Englishman, a brave soldier. So we have an eyewitness account of uh the
execution of our Major General Thomas Harrison it's Samuel Pepys, he of the famous diary I'll
read you what uh he wrote. This is actually on a plaque outside the pub Hung, Drawn and quartered
which is adjacent to where poor Thomas Harrison was killed. “I went to Charing Cross to see Major
General Harrison hanged, drawn and quartered which was done there. He looked as cheerful as any
man could do in that condition. He was presently cut down and his head and heart shown to the
people at which there was great shouts of joy.” I can't get my head around the fact that people
watched these executions and thought it was wonderful and many of those who would have been
in the crowd would have once fought for parliament but now they have a new king, a treacherous king, Charles II. Well, I hope you enjoyed our film. If you did, like, share and subscribe, really appreciate that. But if you'd like to support the channel even further we now have a Patreon account, the link of which is in the
description, but for now thank you very much. Bye.
