Conclusion

Retaliation, the method provided by the customs of war to negotiate the conduct of civilized war, was in the spotlight from 1861-1865. Properly conducting the retaliation ritual preserved honor before a watching civilized world and demonstrated a commitment to a set of rules that guaranteed one’s place in civilization. Confederates used retaliation to express their outrage when the Union armed Black men, bombarded residential areas of cities, and unleashed pillagers who entered the homes of civilized women. Officers of the United States used retaliation to protect the freeborn Black men who wore the Federal uniform and the Union prisoners mistreated by their Confederate captors. The rhetoric of civilization and savagery continued to shape political and social debates during the period of Reconstruction. Americans experienced the Civil War as a crisis of civilization. Eventually retaliation rituals faded away as the laws of war were formalized and codified through international treaties.