Here is an update on information I recently discovered:

"Civil War Courts-Martial of North Carolina Troops" by Aldo S. Perry, pages 113-114 documents the desertions of Joshua and his brother Isham Pruitt from the 53rd NC, Co G. In the passages, it is noted that there were indeed 2 executions on 8 January, 1864. Pvt Zeno Curtner, a conscript from the 53rd NC, Co F was also executed alongside Joshua Pruitt.

One paragraph, written by Dr.John F. Shaffner "notes the progress of events on the day of execution for Private Curtner and Pruitt"...

"Today two deserters belonging to Daniel's Brigade of this Division are to be executed with musketry...I shall not witness the execution...Just saw the criminals above alluded to passed here in an ambulance en route to be shot. - They were sitting upon their coffins, and looked miserable indeed. - A Chaplain attended them. - All the prisoners belonging to the Division about 160 in number accompanied the ambulance under guard. - Many of them are to be tried for similar offenses the spectacle will prove a sad and terrible warning one to many....Their bodies were riddled with bullets."

If such a great number of men were present to witness executions like these, would it be likely the bodies of the executed would be placed in their coffins and transported to another location - away from the parade grounds - for burial?

I welcome any additions to this information or observations. Perhaps I can somehow track down the ancestors of Pvt Zeno Curtner to see if there is any information there about the whereabouts of these two graves. (a needle-in-a-haystack, for sure!)
Barbara Welty