Fratricide

[CavRTO]

Clearly the deaths of soldiers from both sides mistakenly occurred by the hand of their fellow warriors. Unknown numbers of the mortally wounded were put out of their misery with a bullet. However I have read of one account whereby an aide to a union officer asked if he should end the suffering of one of their mortally wounded men with his bayonet. Somehow it seems more barbaric than a shot to the head.

 

[Lampasas Bill]

I find from my studying that putting someone "our of their misery" in the Civil War was highly unusual. Even when mortally wounded enemies begged for a coup de grace, most declined to do so. The soldiers were largely very moral people who declined to kill a helpless person. If any of them did, they certainly didn't write about it, although I'm sure there were some exceptions.

 

[lupaglupa]

I feel like we had a thread about this before...

I think people did it when they thought they could end suffering, especially the suffering of a friend or comrade. But it was very hard to do and rarely spoken of.

 

[Story]

I feel like we had a thread about this before...

I think people did it when they thought they could end suffering, especially the suffering of a friend or comrade. But it was very hard to do and rarely spoken of.

Yup.

Mercy Killing in the Civil War | Civil War Potpourri

One of the most heart breaking stories I've read, and one that haunts me, is the recounting by a Southern soldier of the aftermath of the first Bull Run. In walking over the battlefield the day after the fight, he comes across numerous wounded Federals left on the field and notes the local hogs...

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