Quote:
Originally Posted by donsutherland1 
"Implied" commands that are subject to revisionist interpretation do not cut the muster. One needs explicit commands that stand up to scrutiny to prove the hypothesis. I am not aware of any express commands whereby Washington specifically directed his troops to kill civilians.
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There is nothing "implied" about his orders. They are crystal clear.
"in the terror with which the severity of the chastisement they receive ".
Terrorize the enemy and it's people by using tactics so severe that they will never again rise against us. It is that these orders are issued and to be used against settlements. Not forts. Not troops. Settlements, which are villages that house woman and children. Women and children that lived in forts were not target, but the forces and the forts themselves are. Settlements are, by definition, different in nature and purpose than a fort or military outpost.