GDG- "Loose Bolts Sink....."

[Teej Smith]

> Esteemed GDG Member Tom Ryan Contributes:

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>
> Here are a couple of quotes from "Come Retribution" as a teaser:

    I've read "Come Retribution" and as I recall there are enough "might 
have," possibly" "appears to be" "seems to indicate" in the authors 
explanation of key events to leave room for reasonable doubt. The following 
passage is a case in point,

    "Pendleton's involvement would be normal in a strictly military sense, 
but he turned up again in early December, when Davis, Seddon, Mosby, and 
General E.G. Lee may have been discussing clandestine operations in 
preparation for the latter's departure for Canada. It is possible that 
General Robert E. Lee could have used Pendleton as his liason with the 
clandestine operation. Lee trusted Pendleton, and the latter's status as an 
Episcopal minister would have been convenient if Lee were concerned about 
questions of the ethics involved in the operation."
    At the same time, Pendleton might have been most willing to associate 
himself with an operation that, in his eyes, would have resulted in 
righteous judgment against a supreme evildoer. Pendleton's feelings about 
Lincoln could not have been very good, and they probably worsened as time 
went by. Pendleton felt strongly enough about the issues of the war to serve 
in uniform as a fighting soldier instead of in his religious capacity."

    IMO, that's a lot tarring with little to no substantial evidence to back 
it up.  Deciding that Custis Lee's promotion was also a part of some huge 
design is also a bit of a stretch when you consider Custis had been moving 
heaven and earth to get the promotion, even enlisting Stuart's aid in that 
cause.

Teej