Coup de grâce Coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; French for "blow of mercy") is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. Examples of "coup de grâce" include shooting the heart or head (typically the back of the skull) of a wounded, but still living, person during an execution or by humanely killing a suffering, mortally wounded soldier, in war, for whom medical aid is not available. In pre-firearms eras the wounded were finished with
General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian General Johnson Saving a Wounded French Officer from the Tomahawk of a North American Indian is a painting by Benjamin West, completed between 1764 and 1768. It depicts a scene as observed by a native of Pennsylvania, soon after the actual events shown. It is in the collection of Derby Museum and Art Gallery. The painting is important as it is a contemporary view showing all three powers involved during the 1750s in the French and Indian War (which could be called more comprehensively "the