Terry --

Thanks for your observations. This is one of the more important points of this discussion, the ability of the American soldier to maintain a moral compass under the stress of wartime conditions. As war drags on and violence continues, there's a strong tendency to fall back on utilitarian motives, i.e., if this action might damage the enemy, it must be okay. Somebody will sort it all out later.

There's a second point which hasn't been discussed. That is why men like John Brown, who claimed to act in the name of God, wanted to bring wholesale violence and murder upon Southern citizens. Much like the 9/11 terrorists who targeted civilian and military personnel alike, Brown classified all white Southerners, particularly those who owned slaves, as criminals deserving of death.

After the Harper's Ferry raid, any Southerner who read Northern newspapers and journals could not fail to have been impressed with the great sympathy for John Brown in that part of the country. After his execution, some New England towns went into mourning. Most of us would have concerns for the safety of our families today, which helps me understand how Southerners might have felt in those times.

Apparently many Northerners -- just like the Islamic terrorists today -- believed that the ends justified the means, i.e., almost anything could be sanctioned in the crusade against evil, which in 1859 was slavery. It might explain why tunes like "John Brown's Body" were popular in Federal camps. The Jihadis probably have similar favorites.