We are talking about whether or not the manner of burial of the dead of the 54th Mass. Inf and their officers was disrepectful.

The usage of terms like "Traitors" and "Criminal" depends upon one perspective wouldn't you think? One persons hero does not automatically make him a hero to all others. What is one man hero can be another man tyrant. Certainly in a modern day perspective the Al Quida operatives are heros to some in the Middle East, yet those who flew the planes into the World Trade Center on 9-11 were terrorist to us. So terms like "Traitor" and "Patriot" are conditional term in their usage, and those conditions are normally defined under the laws of the government. Certainly the Confederate government considered them as Traitors by their laws, and did not accord them the protection of the status as soldier no matter what the UNITED STATES government thought.

In present day these conditions are established by such organizations as the Geneva Convention. But there was no Geneva Convention in 1864. And certain Southern Soldiers did not consider themselves bound by United States Laws or a U.S. President's edicts.

Such was the attitude of those in the south who had to fight against those United States Colored Troops regiments. They were considered by the southerner, as we would consider any other mercanary, or "Hired Soldier". The fact they they could be hired for $10 a month, instead of the normal $13 a month of a White soldier, or the $300 to $500 bonuses that were paid out, made no difference to the southern soldier. They considered those U.S.C.T. not as "liberators", but as "oppressors".

There was no such things as being "Free" to choose which side you wished to fight on during that war. If you were a southerner you were expected to fight for the South, the same as any northerner was expected to fight in the Union army. And yes there were northerner who fought on the southern side and when caught they were also executed usually in the military prisons but occational on the field. And yes the Blacks were considered southern, because most of them came from contriband camps and because of that were considered as runaway property, therefore "traitors" and "slaves in rebellion".

Therefore the original question can never be answered today, Because no one today, or even the original participants themselves, can approach the question from a totally unbiased perspective.

The second part of that is that those bias which formed the southern soldier are too easily interpreted today as being racist, which was not necessarily the case. It fact of the matter is while the southern soldier certainly had definate bias and a negitive attitude for the U.S.C.T. and their officers, I can find no solid evidence that those men killed at the battle of Fort Wagner were buried in any different manner than any other, especially enemy, soldier buried in the general course of battlefield cleanup.

THAT would have to be my finally evaluatation, as unbiased as I can be, is that in studing of the past practise of both Armies in burying the dead of their enemy, there is no evidence to support the charge that those soldier of the 54th Mass. Inf. were buried in any other manner than that of any other common soldier during the War. And that any other evaluation plays to the bias of the person who is leveling the charges of racism, or disrespect shown to those soldiers.