[nathanbedford]

I believe the Rebs always maintained some fragment of miletary indicia even when they wore blue as they often did in the beginning of the war. In any event, the Rebs might have been in jeopardy if they had been raiding far behind the lines as these Yanks were.

I do not accept your logic,often advanced by liberal opponents of capital punishment today, that it is wrong to execute some guilty murders because other equally guilty (but white or wealthier) murders are not executed. All are deserving of execution and it should not be heard as an exculpation that others, equally deserving, escape their just fate.

[Non-Sequitur]

All are deserving of execution and it should not be heard as an exculpation that others, equally deserving, escape their just fate.

You have no idea what I think about capital punishment. You are welcome to your opinion but it seems to me more likely that the confederates decided to kill a few to make up for their embarassment at having been caught with their pants down.

[Non-Sequitur]

In any event, the Rebs might have been in jeopardy if they had been raiding far behind the lines as these Yanks were.

Really? How many men captured from units under the command of your namesake were executed by the Union forces?