Stone, Charles Pomeroy

Stone was the most celebrated example of a high-ranking Democrat who ran afoul of the administration that supervised the Union war effort. His relations with the White House and the Congress, initially strong, were quickly weakened by his imperious demeanor, his disdain of volunteer troops, his impolitic associations with the enemies of his government, and a rather cavalier attitude toward his civilian superiors. For all that, Stone appears to have been a conscientious soldier dedicated to preserving the Union. Certainly the government's decision to hold him for six months without charges and upon evidence too flimsy to withstand legal scrutiny was not only unconscionable but unsustainable under either the Constitution or the Articles of War.