2 o'clock
Scarcely had this transpired before the crowd , whose attention , for the moment , was too much engrossed to notice the approach of the principal procession , now close at hand , was again thrown into commotion by the sound of a muffled drum , followed by the loud cry of , `` _ Clear the way for the prisoner and his escort ! _ '' in a voice whose well-known tones never fell unheeded on the ears of a Green Mountain assemblage . With magic quickness , a clear space opened through the ranks of the receding throng , in the direction of this fresh summons , when the first object that met the eye was the towering form of Ethan Allen , mounted on a large black horse ; he having recently returned from his captivity , and been appointed , in the quaint language of his commission , `` _ to conduct , in behalf of the state , the trial and execution of that inimical person , David Redding _ '' -LSB- Footnote : David Redding , the only person ever executed in Vermont for political offences , was , after changing two or three times from the American to the British cause , and two trials , hanged July 17 , 1777 . at 2 o'clock , P. M. -RSB- Next to Allen came the prisoner , riding in an ox-cart , and sitting between two armed men , who were acting as his special guards . Then followed a company of soldiers , under the command of another of our old acquaintances Bill Piper , who had been promoted to a captaincy in a volunteer service then recently projected ; while the president , secretary , and members of the Council of Safety , succeeded by a band of private citizens , brought up the rear of the procession . On reaching its destination , the team was brought to a stand immediately beneath the gallows , which was a naked cross-tree , set into the ground like a sign-post , and wholly unprovided with platform , or other of the usual adjuncts of such structures . The prisoner was then ordered to stand up in the cart , when the noose at the end of the rope , dangling from the arm above , was securely adjusted round his neck , and every thing made ready for the awful moment .