Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

[David Lockmiller]

Treason?

You are technically correct, Roger; treason being defined as the crime of "betraying one's country." However, Maryland contained a number of citizens sympathizing with, and even supporting to some degree, the Southern Cause. In the same manner, a number of citizens in the seceding states, such as Virginia, had citizens sympathizing with, and even supporting to some degree, the Union cause.

In essence, it is the nature of the actual support for the Southern Cause by James Snowdon Pleasants that is at issue for President Lincoln. In a manner of speaking, President Lincoln is "setting a precedent" for the governments of both the North and the South.

President Lincoln's Generals ordered the death penalty for the particular violation; President Lincoln commuted the sentence for the crime "to imprisonment for during the war."

So, the question remains: "What did this citizen of Maryland do wrong?"

Hint: The question involves specific interaction by a Union citizen with enemy soldiers.