Military Branding

By Crusader1307

As we have seen with it’s Civilian applications – the practice of Branding involved the scarring of a Person by means of a super heated metal device. The metal was often shaped into an image or pattern to denote the type of crime from which One was convicted of. In some cases, evidence of criminal acts were not needed as to Brand a person was considered information extracting Torture. In Organized Military, the practice of Military Branding evolved as a punishment for certain transgressions. In most cases, death was the chosen form of ultimate punishment. However in cases of crimes which could remedied on a Regimental or Company level. Using heated metal prongs, a violator of Desertion (running away in combat without authority) – may be marked (burned) with a Letter “D”. Similarly, “C” for Cowardice or even “T” for Theft. The burning was placed on either a forehead or cheek. The goal was to mark the violator for all to see. Even healed, a scar of the procedure would remain. This would often make a violator marked for life and shunned as an undesirable. Popular in The British Military in the 17th Century, the practice of Branding was seen in use in The American Army as well, however – the practice was phased out of general use during The American Civil War of the 1860s.