Command Responsibility and War Crimes: general discussion

[Rifleman]

Moderator's Note

This thread's title 'Was William T. Sherman a war criminal?' which covered this thread's discussion, but in August 2013 it became a wider topic and JMM99 suggested we retain this thread to discuss what is now called 'Command Responsibility and War Crimes: general discussion' (ends).

First, a disclaimer. Perhaps this thread belongs in the historical section but I thought it might fit here too. And I didn't find anything relevant when I searched Sherman's name here.

Was William T. Sherman a war criminal?

Neo-Confederates and Confederate apologists say so. But when the morality of bygone slave owners comes up the Neo-Confederates and Confederate apologists also like to point out that you should judge a man in his era and against the background of his cultrual norm and not by a later generation's standards. Don't we have to judge Sherman the same way?

Never mind how such actions would be preceived now. Or how insulted and violated someone's great-great grandma felt at the time her barn was burned.

Was it criminal at the time it happened?