When they "returned" to the Federal fold, they were back under Federal rules. Such is life, and such they knew. I'm not saying that looking back, probably all deserved pensions. Looking back, putting myself in the time period (from reading letters, books, etc.) There was no way the Federal government could provide pensions for the confederate veterans. As unfortunate as that may be, that was the climate of the day (and until that generation died out).

I will stop making comments and responding with this note. We on this board all have our own opinions. What we think of as "right" or "fair" usually has no bearing on the "right" or "fair" of the CW time period. Perhaps we can discuss less emotionally (from our perspective) if we remember this.