Lincoln's non pardon

[L Verge]

(02-04-2014 05:58 PM)JMadonna Wrote:  

(02-04-2014 09:23 AM)L Verge Wrote:  I believe I'm correct that Beall was not executed specifically for those actions. He was hanged as a spy because he chose not to wear a uniform while in action.

Exactly right Laurie and that's the difference. Wearing a uniform makes it an act of war. Guerrilla warfare is outside the legal boundaries of warfare and thus an act of terror!

If Booth wore a uniform to the theater he could have surrendered and would have been considered a POW not an assassin.

Somehow Davis must have felt the Beall and Harney missions were legitimate acts of war because HE declared they were. It doesn't work that way, he was obviously delusional.

Remember that Jefferson Davis was ready to continue the war via guerrilla tactics rather than surrender his armies. The ends justify the means, anyone?