At the start of the civil war many of the generals for the north decided to fight for the south even some begin train at West Point such as General Robert E. Lee. None were ever arrested for treason why?
2006-12-06 03:24:42 · 13 answers · asked by odyssey 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Part of the peace terms. It was bad enough the last four years left 600 thousand americans dead, but they still had millions of confederate soldiers to account for. If they started prosecuting the rebels and killing them it would have dragged that thing out for many more years. America's chain of command had its stuff together when they gave those generous peace terms.
2006-12-06 06:27:13 · answer #1 · answered by trigunmarksman 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
1
2016-06-11 06:11:39 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess many don't know that the south generals and the northern generals were friends before the war and they went to the Army Academy together. I know this bec. 1 of my great great grand father is a famous Northern general and I've read his journal. Well, a lot of the southern politicians didn't either. Even if they were siding against each other they were still friends and business is business. It was hard to know that your friend was killed on the other side. Jefferson Davis was a friend to some of the Northern generals before the war and after. Paper is paper work and it can easily be over thrown at anytime.
2006-12-06 03:37:14 · answer #3 · answered by Apple 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It was because Lee Committed no crime of treason.
He had resigned his commission with the union army when he returned to Virginia. A states secession wasn't a crime against the government: the states had been seceded for almost a year before the confederates fired the first shots at Charleston against Fort Sumter. It was when the southern states went active with a military offense against the Union that it was returned tit for tat.
2006-12-06 17:02:52 · answer #4 · answered by centurion613 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Basically both Grant and Lincoln wanted to heal the wounds of the war, not revenge. After Lincoln's assassination, his VP Andrew Johnson was a southern unionist with a lot of sympathy for the south. It just made common sense as well. No one wanted to provoke major guerrilla warfare. There was enough bad feeling already. The KKK was trouble enough without organized guerrilla war.
2006-12-06 06:59:44 · answer #5 · answered by Marc h 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Robert E. Lee wasn't from the north he was from Virginia which was part of the Confederacy. If he had stayed and fought with the north during the War of Northern Aggression he would have treasonous but since he fought for his own country he was not.
2006-12-06 03:28:11 · answer #6 · answered by Keith 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Punishment isn't always the best way to heal a nation after a civil war--they needed to reunite the country.
Lee did lose massive amounts of land as the spoils of war--most of Northern Virginia (Arlington, parts of Alexandria, all the parkland on the George Washington Parkway north of Alexandria) all belonged to him and his family.
2006-12-06 03:34:23 · answer #7 · answered by wayfaroutthere 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Ken and Melli are sort of correct, he did receive a parole as did everyone from the Army of Northern Virginia, but the real reason no one was tried (Besides Wirtz- and that was a crime with-in its self) was Lee had broken no law. There was and is no law against secession; it has long been recognized the South and its people broke no laws. They should have allowed us to go!
God Bless You and The Southern People.
2006-12-06 04:30:32 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Because they were fighting for their nation, the Confederate States of America. They had given their resignation to the U.S. Army. Whether or not you realize it, the Confederacy was made up of Americans. They were not a foreign power.
Now, my question to you is, why was Bill Clinton never impeached for treason? After all, he took illegal campaign contributions from the Peoples Republic of China. The answer is that he used FBI files to blackmail the House and the Senate. Having an FBI file in your possession is a felony, and there were over 900 found in the White House. This was while Clinton's lapdog, Louis Freeh was the FBI Director and Butch Reno was Attorney General. So, there you have it.
2006-12-06 03:33:40 · answer #9 · answered by iraqisax 6 · 1⤊ 5⤋
The majority of the leaders of the victorious Union wanted to be generous and merciful in order to bring about national reconciliation and healing. (It didn't work.) Lee was too revered and it would have been too difficult to prosecute him. They didn't even do much to punish Jefferson Davis.
2006-12-06 03:27:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋