I had hoped the word “similar” would cover things. I meant selecting some soldiers out of a unit at random for punishment of the group as a whole, and to set an example for the rest. Unless I’m mistaken, Washington did something similar with mutinous troops during the Revolution. But you’re right, they did not “decimate” in the classic sense and it’s use was very limited and scandalous.
The classical Roman punishment of decimation did not just mean executing every tenth man.
It meant every group of ten men in a particular cohort or legion would draw lots, and then the nine “lucky” ones would have to beat the loser, their compadre, to death with clubs.
A lot more traumatic to the survivors, I would think, than having outsiders execute one in ten of your cohort.
BTW, it was fairly common under the early Republic, but had become quite rare by the late Republic. If I remember correctly Crassus used it at least once against units that had fled from Spartacus.
In France the officers and top sergeants so to speak “selected” those who had been more or less ringleaders WITH THE CONSENT of the soldiers at large. That is an enormous difference with the “Classic” decimation. Washington, I believe, hung a few deserters as an example to the others but the men revered him and went through hell by his side....witness Valley Forge. The force of his personality bound the men to his side.