SCHEEPERS GIDEON: (1878-1902)

SCHEEPERS GIDEON: (1878-1902) Boer military leader and scout who was captured by the British in October 1901 and convicted by a court martial of various offences (including six of murder) and sentenced to death. Scheepers was subsequently executed, at the age of 23, by a firing squad whilst tied to a chair. The execution caused an outcry in South Africa and abroad and protests were made in the British parliament, as well as the United States of America, as Scheepers was not treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Conclusion of an A.L.S., G. J. Scheepers, one page, 8vo, Beaufort West hospital, n.d. (between 19th October and 14th November 1901), to an unknown correspondent, in Afrikaans. The final page of the letter comprises seven lines of untranslated text. Autographs of Scheepers are extremely rare in any form. Some light age wear and minor traces of former mounting to the upper edge of the verso. About VG