Quote Originally Posted by RobertP View Post
Tell me if I'm mistaken. From Lincoln's perspective the rebellious states seceded illegally and therefore technically were still in the Union throughout the war. After all, the number of stars on Old Glory wasn't reduced, was it? So, if the southern states were still part of the U.S., it follows that the citizens of those states were still citizens of the U.S. Are you still saying it would have been good national policy to confiscate private land in the South and redistribute it to Yank veterans and slaves? Seems highly illegal to me. No wonder Sherman's order was rescinded.

I think it would have been good policy to confiscate properties of those who aided the rebellion. It seems to me that everyone got off scott free. There was no accountability factor after the war. 620,000 on both sides lost their lives and no one had to pay.