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- Aug 12, 2011
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- Elliott Bay
I recall reading that W.T. Sherman was asked why President Lincoln did not pardon deserters as he did with the AoP. Sherman is said to have replied, "I shot 'em first."
He executed Union prisoners of war. That's a war crime in anyone's book.
Good Point Mr. Richardson,No he executed Confederate Deserters,.....Strange, in a forum on Sherman many said there was no such thing as a war crime at that time..........The old double standard rears it's head again. I suppose once again it depends on how one's wishes to interpret it.
Respectfully,
William
No he executed Confederate Deserters,.....Strange, in a forum on Sherman many said there was no such thing as a war crime at that time..........The old double standard rears it's head again. I suppose once again it depends on how one's wishes to interpret it.
Respectfully,
William
And it's the Southern side who argue that the Union's actions were nothing but. But let's get back to your point; murdering the POWs was OK because they were deserters. Well thousands of Southerners, officer and enlisted, left the Army and went to the Confederacy at the start of the rebellion. Would the Union have been in the right if they executed any of those they had gotten their hands on as deserters?
Apparently not.He executed Union prisoners of war. That's a war crime in anyone's book.
Mmm...not quite that simple. These men had deserted their own army and were now captured bearing arms in the uniform of another. Most countries would consider that a capital offense- including the United States. This is from the Lieber Code:He executed Union prisoners of war. That's a war crime in anyone's book.
Mmm...not quite that simple. These men had deserted their own army and were now captured bearing arms in the uniform of another. Most countries would consider that a capital offense- including the United States. This is from the Lieber Code:
48. Deserters from the American Army, having entered the service of the enemy, suffer death if they fall again into the hands of the United States, whether by capture or being delivered up to the American Army; and if a deserter from the enemy, having taken service in the Army of the United States, is captured by the enemy, and punished by them with death or otherwise, it is not a breach against the law and usages of war, requiring redress or retaliation.
(Italics are mine)
Only 26 enlisted men of the Regular U.S. Army deserted and joined the Confederate Army when the civil war broke out.
So it would be OK if the Union had hung them for desertion?
Well, according to the Lieber Code it would've been.So it would be OK if the Union had hung them for desertion?
Just wanted to bump this thread as the original link seemed to have gone down for a while, it appears to be working okay now..it’s an interesting article.Just one of those things I stumbled upon - an example of things I'd never heard about, and was surprised to find out about:
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ncuv/kinston1.htm