Jamie, I think I understand now what you're asking. It's critical to look at this issue in perspective. The U.S. Government deemed the "late unpleasantness" to be a rebellion. The nation as a whole had to pay the cost of the rebellion in blood and treasure. Part of that cost was the pensioning of disabled veterans, war widows and orphans. Everyone, I think, understood that. I've never read anything to indicate that ex-Confederates had any sense of outrage at the U.S. veterans' pension system. The overwhelming sentiment among Southerners seemed to be, "Well, we tried; we failed; and now we live with the consequences."

Again, to put things in perspective, no civil war in history ever ended with the losing side being pensioned by the winning side. It flies in the face of all logic and tradition to expect otherwise. And again, I can find nothing in anything I've read that indicates there was any expectation of Federal pensions by most Confederate veterans.

The ground-rules of the U.S. veterans' pension system were laid down long before the Civil War, so retribution or Reconstruction politics played no part in it.

Finally, Jamie, debate and disagreement are healthy, if conducted with mutual respect and restraint, and certainly nothing in our give and take diminishes my very high regard for you as a gentleman and a historian.