leftyhunter
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- May 27, 2011
- Location
- los angeles ca
No doubt Order 11 is controversial so is the whole subject of Counterinsurgency strategy even among those who practice it.Yes, a common technique used, however, Gen. Order 11 arguably created more harm than good for the Union army. With some instances where Union civilian loyalists were not differentiated from the Confederate loyalists, Union support was frequently lost. Furthermore, the order itself was proof how ineffective the Union was at containing Confederate partisans before and after that point.
James Erwin in his book "Guerrilla hunters in Civil War Missouri" argues that Order 11 was not given enough time to work and that pro Confederate civilians should not of been allowed to resettle so soon.
For those who argue that Order 11 was wrong then a fair question is how should the Union Army respond to the Laurence Massacre?
Leftyhunter