But it was the one used as an excuse for burning Chambersburg.
Don't start a rebellion if you are not prepared to accept the consequences.
...and the money demanded by Gen. McCausland (reparations) was to be given to those who'd been looted/vandalized by Hunter's troops (not just to enrich the Confederate coffers).
That is one of the differences. The Union destroyed property for miltiary purposes. The confederates destroyed it when their extortion wasn't paid.
>But it was the one used as an excuse for burning Chambersburg.
Are you really quite as dense as you project?
Do Yankee schools no longer even teach how to read? At least I was taught that much when I went through.
I quoted for you a portion of the proclamation itself....that mentioned MORE THAN JUST VMI. Do you need it bigger, perhaps?
Again (and I'll make it big so you can see it, and I left VMI in the list this time so you're not confused by an ellipsis):
"...the homes of Andrew Hunter, A.R. Boteler, E.J. Lee, Gov. Letcher, J.T. Anderson, Virginia Military Institute and others..."
That is, VMI was not the sole reason given, at all. It's just the most attention-grabbing one.