Posted on 10/19/2010 9:15:22 AM PDT by Bodleian_Girl
Would you apply that same label to Lee's men during their campaigns in the Maryland and Pennsylvania during 1862 and 1863?
So if the Union foragers had only given out worthless scrip based on a valueless currency, it all would have been okay?
So you know that for a fact? You know these men were thieves? I wonder how you got that information from the article, since it didn't mention anything about what they had stolen.
“So if the Union foragers had only given out worthless scrip based on a valueless currency, it all would have been okay?”
That would have been a start at civilized behavior. Then if union forces could have restrained themsevles from burning the farm while carrying off any valuables might have sealed the deal that the union stood for something other than brute force. I don’t know, but it seems pretty simple. What would be your reaction if today’s servicemen acted this way towards any civilian population it occupied? Just askin.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War decorates the graves of Civil War veterans in the local cemetary, both Union and confederate. Each grave gets the appropriate flag. Respecting the other side's dead is pretty universal. At least it should be.
The United States wasn’t much interested in “sealing the deal that the union stood for something other than brute force.” They were trying to end a war that had dragged on for four years by destroying the enemies will and ability to fight. The rebelling states could have stopped it any time they wanted.
Most historically literate people know that.
That wouldn't include you, I take it.
“They were trying to end a war that had dragged on for four years by destroying the enemies will and ability to fight.”
Yeah, the old “we destroyed the village to save the village” meme. Or “we were just following orders”. Take your pick. You are what you do, not what you say you will do. Or more to the point, what you told people you did.
“The rebelling states could have stopped it any time they wanted.”
Believe this is what is known as a two way street amigo.
Your post should be an embarrassment to you. Show some class and ask that it be pulled.
Exactly right. And if anyone disagrees, ask this simple question: What was Heth's division doing on the Chambersburg Pike west of Gettysburg, June 30, 1863?
In his own words "On the morning of June 30, I ordered Brigadier-General Pettigrew to take his brigade to Gettysburg, search the town for army supplies (shoes especially), and return the same day.General Heth CSA
“Foraging was a fact of life for armies for thousands of years. Still is, in certain cases.
Most historically literate people know that.
That wouldn’t include you, I take it.”
So in your literate opinion, burning farms, consuming the livestock, destroying seed corn and looting all valuables was considered “accepted military foraging behavior” at the time? I will have to consult a real American like George Washington on that one. Hold on a moment.
That sad little chip on your shoulder is effecting your reading comprehension.
Yes, they were looters and primarily stole from people with little resources.
“Thes five brave soldiers died in the service of their country.”
Where did you get the idea that they were brave? All that is known is they were foraging and got killed. As I have pointed out, foraging meant stealing from the locals. It would seem they may have encountered some true combatants rather than civilians. Because a newspaper wants to write a sympathetic article, history is to be forgotten?
Obviously, not because Lee paid most of them in Confederate money for what they obtained.
Furthermore, the citizens in Maryland and Pennsylvania were much better off materially than those in Virginia during the end of the war. In several instances, the bummers were stealing from people in dire poverty.
Pathetic.
Since the Confederate money was not worthless your question is irrelevant. Immediately prior to Gettysburg, Lee won a huge victory actually giving the Confederate money increased value.
Wow, you really do know how to dig a hole, don't you? You might as well enter the drilling business.
Nice post!
From the fact that they gave their lives in defense of their country. Oh, that plus the fact that the Confederate veteran who owned the farm on which they died thought their deaths worthy of remembrance.
But what's his opinion compared to yours?
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