Good question.
In my opinion those treasonous criminals should have been hanged right after the war ended.
Davis, Stephens, Cooper, Lee, Beauregard, Bragg, Breckinridge Longstreet and all the rest of them.
It would have sent an everlasting message that treason against the United States will NOT be tolerated.
I guess I really get under your skin then, Billy.
Guess what? I believe that an open discussion of leaving or disolving the Union is appropriate.
Tolerate that.
/johnny
And why did you leave George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Israel Putnam et al. off your list for liquidation by the state?
IBTZ
August 9, 1960
Dear Dr. Scott:
Respecting your August 1 inquiry calling attention to my often expressed admiration for General Robert E. Lee, I would say, first, that we need to understand that at the time of the War Between the States the issue of Secession had remained unresolved for more than 70 years. Men of probity, character, public standing and unquestioned loyalty, both North and South, had disagreed over this issue as a matter of principle from the day our Constitution was adopted.
General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation. He believed unswervingly in the Constitutional validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an arguable question in America; he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his belief in God. Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I read the pages of our history.
From deep conviction I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee's caliber would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities, including his devotion to this land as revealed in his painstaking efforts to help heal the nation's wounds once the bitter struggle was over, we, in our own time of danger in a divided world, will be strengthened and our love of freedom sustained.
Such are the reasons that I proudly display the picture of this great American on my office wall.
Sincerely,
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Another question...
When the war started, a large group of officers (and enlisted soldiers) left the union forces to go home and fight for their states. If they were guilty of treason, why weren’t they arrested on the spot, when they submitted their resignation papers?
I believe they were allowed to leave because people (in general) thought those people had the right to do so.