The American Civil War, by almost any measure, is the deadliest war the United States has ever fought.

In fact, it is so far away the worst by death toll that more soldiers were lost during it than World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined.

And yet, despite the scale of the destruction, only three men were ever brought

up on charges for atrocities committed during the entire conflict. As you might imagine, you'd have

to be a special kind of evil to end up on that list. So in this video, we're going to over one

of these men and what he did to end up there. As always, viewer discretion is advised.

By the fall of 1864, so three years in by this point, the American Civil War had reached a point where every

strategic resource mattered. As a result, Saltville, Virginia became an essential target for the

Union or the North because the Confederacy or the South depended on salt production and distribution.

Salt preserved meat kept supply lines functional and without it soldiers went hungry fast.

And Saltville, as you might have guessed by the name, produced it in abundance, which

made it a critical piece of southern infrastructure and a target that the union wanted badly.

The Union marched toward the town in early October with the objective to damage or destroy

the saltworks and disrupt Confederate resources, but the Confederates weren't about to let

that just happen.

What followed was a brutal muddy fight and rough terrain with heavy losses on both sides,

and when the shooting finally stopped, the Union had failed to take the town.

Union troops then withdrew in defeat, leaving behind dozens of wounded soldiers who couldn't be

moved in time. Among these soldiers were members of

the 5th United States Colored Cavalry, who were one of the few black regiments who had been formed

recently and entered the service. The men of the 5th fought hard and suffered badly, and afterward,

many of them were lying defenselessly exactly where they had dropped in battle. For all intents

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