Tainted Breeze

Photo by Rudy CervantezDuring the Civil War, 40 men accused of being Union sympathizers were hanged in Gainesville in the largest mass execution in U.S. history and the nation's worst act of mob violence.

Johnathan Paul ('16 M.F.A.) knew nothing about the event in his hometown until he read Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas 1862, by his history professor, Richard McCaslin. He directed a 30-minute documentary, The Great Hanging, as part of his degree in the documentary production and studies graduate program. The film premiered in May in Gainesville.

"It's an amazing story," Paul says. "The 40 victims deserve to have it told."

 

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