"In fact during this retreat week- and unbeknownst to the gullible inhabitants of Southside Virginia- some of these advance "Confederate-appearing" cavalrymen were definitely not who they seemed to be. Acting on his own without official authorization from his superiors, Major General Phil Sheridan had recruited several specialized groups of spying cavalrymen (whom he designated as "Jesse scouts") who were the proverbial "wolves in sheep's clothing," clad as Confederate horsemen who would question gullible Southern soldiers and civilians concerning "the best routes to take" and exactly where some food supplies might be available for the army. This was a dangerous scheme that Sheridan was employing because under the so-called "rules of war" which both sides had endorsed, presenting oneself in the uniform of the enemy and posing as a member of "the other side" was punishable by an immediate execution, without the slightest pretending of a military court martial or public hearing."
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Activists from the United StatesPeople from New York (state)Catholics from the United StatesGenerals of the Union ArmyCommanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff of the United States Army
Original Language: English
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Sources
William E. Thompson, Bad Friday (2011), p. 33-34
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Sheridan
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Philip Sheridan
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