We all make assumptions, and I may be guilty of making one in my responses on these message boards. I've always assumed that most people who study the Confederate war effort generally understood main points of Confederate military law. Of course, when anyone speaks of "Confederate military law" it depends on time frame, as Confederate Congressmen made regular efforts to improve on existing laws. In other words, it's a moving target.

Example: The Conscript Act of 1862 allowed a man subject to military service to opt out of the army by furnishing a substitute. On Dec 28, 1863, Congress abolished substitution, so substitution was a factor only between April 1862 and Jan 1864.

Many of you who support this board are true experts. For those of you who spend time researching Confederate military records, by your own standards, do you feel reasonably informed on the topic of Confederate military law?

It's not a test or trick question. It's simply a matter of curiousity. Responses by regular posters on other boards indicate a lack of familiarity with general dates and facts on this topic. I had already begun wondering about it when the post about furloughs appeared on this board.