Doc o War
Posts: 345
Joined: 8/14/2008
From: Northern California
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The concepts and legalities of the Exchanged and Paroled soldiers was debated and argued all during the war- the Conf troops captured at Fort Donalson were paroled, not exchanged- and were fighting again at Shiloh two months later, which much angered Grant - officers who had signed paroles were captured later- what was their legal status??- Due to that serious legal fault several were slapped in dungeon like prisons in Deleware for the duration for that crime- others were ignored- or even exchanged yet again. Both sides began to ship the prisoners to more permenant camps- first just the officers, then the troops.
The Union took the lead in this it would seem- but the south would follow- when in late 63 Grant began to order the exchanges stopped- and eventually when he took supreme command in spring 64 he basically halted the process- and the south got stuck having to feed more mouths than it could afford.
Given the long incarceration times in this game- and seeing an occasional posting that a certain commander is located in an enemy city after capture, which I assume means where they are held while they are prisoners, the use of these leaders- especially the good ones- is a real loss in capabilities- and that combat modifier certainly is gone. When they return they will have been replaced for a long time in the command structure- but if they are better generals they will again command something.
I do think an arguement could be made that senior Generals- anyone over a 10 rank- would not have been returned, as their positions were also political, and there was a Civil War going on. The senior generals were seen as traitors or evil madmen by their foes, and responsible for the war. They would not have been released. They might have even been tried and hanged, if the War Congressmen had been more powerful. Both sides did occasionally publically hang prisoners- which brought about counter public hangings- usually that stopped the practice.
There were fanatics on both sides. There was a strong movement alive in Congress in the North to deport all the rebel civilians in the captured territorries- women children man and boy- to somewhere else- Mexico- South America- even South Africa. And to repopulate the countryside with loyal Unionists. Remember the Americans shipped thousands of Tory's out of the Original US territorries after the Revolutionary War- by force- that was only 80 years prior to the civ War. As the war went on attitudes hardened. Lincoln deflected and derailed many of the worst punitive plans presented during the war. The South doesnt realize to this day how much damage Lincoln stopped in the way of what could have been done to the south by a Vengence seeking North.
I do not think Lee would have been returned/exchanged- nor Grant,
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Tell me the story of the common foot soldier, and I will tell you the story of all wars.
... Heroditus.
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something that makes me frown - 
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