Thomas F. Harney

[John Fazio]

(11-20-2014 05:05 PM)Wild Bill Wrote:  Ah, John. Come down to Arizona. We can go over to Yuma. I have some ocean front property to show you.

Bill, Rick, Laurie, Roger, Gene, Herb, et al.:

I never had much interest in real estate. In my lifetime I have bought only two houses. No commercial property at all. Truth, like a good woman, holds a greater allure, together with cheese and a drink.

What we all seem to be missing in this friendly discussion, though I touched upon it in an earlier posting, is the fact that a distinction is made in the laws of war between killing in the field and killing off the field (How could it be otherwise?) and that Booth and his action team acted in violation of such laws. Accordingly, those still alive were prosecuted not for a civil crime in violation of the laws of the District of Columbia, but for a violation of Article 82 of General Order 100 (the Lieber Code). The Article provides that "men...who commit hostilities ...without sharing continuously in the war, but who...return to their homes and avocations...divesting themselves of the character or appearance of soldiers...are not public enemies, and, therefore, if captured, are not entitled to the privileges of prisoners of war, but shall be treated summarily as highway robbers or pirates". Booth's bullet, therefore, most certainly DOES NOT equate with the one that ended Sedgwick's days. But Bill, I'm sure you already knew that. How could you not know it? Shall we identify the sharpshooter and try him for murder?

John