Parole........

alexjack

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I've been reading an account of Stoneman's cavalry raid through Virginia to Richmond in May 1863. I have read elsewhere that there was a system of paroling prisoners of war during the Civil War but I thought it was a sort of formal arrangement between the combatants and organised and executed at high level in both armies. The account speaks quite a few times about Confederate soldiers being captured and paroled during the raid and I was wondering just how this worked.
 

Wehrkraftzersetzer

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alexjack said:
I've been reading an account of Stoneman's cavalry raid through Virginia to Richmond in May 1863. I have read elsewhere that there was a system of paroling prisoners of war during the Civil War but I thought it was a sort of formal arrangement between the combatants and organised and executed at high level in both armies. The account speaks quite a few times about Confederate soldiers being captured and paroled during the raid and I was wondering just how this worked.
same way as in Europe: by the word of hounour - and as in Europe I think those who didn't stick to it where hated by theire comrads of arms

word of honour usually ment : not to take any actions / give reconnaisance until You are X miles behind the front or have reached the city of Y
 

alexjack

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That's interesting. I didn't know a parole system was used in European conflicts.
 

rittmeister

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Nitti

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Anyone know where the parole idea started.
 

rittmeister

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Nitti said:
Anyone know where the parole idea started.
afaik, the american parole system started because the rear logistics couldn't handle a comparatively high number of prisoners of war. just look how disgustingly everybody handled the pow.s they kept.

that would have been far less of a problem in europe, of course. as the distance between settlements is smaller, the infrastructur is better, lot's of unused dungeons in ancient castles etc.

in german the word parole means some sort of a password for higher personnel (losung for 'company grade' officers and feldgeschreih vor basicly everybody) - a parole was set once a day in the epignomous parolebefehl which also held basic orders (mostly non tactical ones). we still have that in the tagesbefehl. a tagesbefehl in WW I might have ordered to be grateful for the leadership kaiser bill dispensend (probably on his birthday).

ferdinand von schill violated a parolebefehl in 1809 (that's an early example of the german fondness for disobeying orders for the greater good) but that got zilch to do with 'parole' as it's understood in the acw.

i really liked to see some source from @wehrkraftzersetzer (btw, that means somebody who undermines the will to fight in their own army)
 

alexjack

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Thanks Jim. That was a very interesting article and a very interesting website. The Union would surely have been better off looking after all it's Confederate prisoners and keeping them rather than sending them back to fight another day although I do understand the plight of Union prisoners in Confederate hands.
 

Jim Klag

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alexjack said:
Thanks Jim. That was a very interesting article and a very interesting website. The Union would surely have been better off looking after all it's Confederate prisoners and keeping them rather than sending them back to fight another day although I do understand the plight of Union prisoners in Confederate hands.
Grant ended the exchange system when the Confederates refused to treat black prisoners the same as white ones. This really put a dent in rebel troop strength.
 
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