This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the James J. Andrews article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography
This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.Military historyWikipedia:WikiProject Military historyTemplate:WikiProject Military historymilitary history
This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-class status:
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions.
James J. Andrews is within the scope of WikiProject Espionage, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of espionage, intelligence, and related topics. If you would like to participate, visit the project page, or contribute to the discussion.EspionageWikipedia:WikiProject EspionageTemplate:WikiProject EspionageEspionage
The introduction does not mention at all, or even hint at, which side Andrews was on. It becomes clearer from reading the rest of the article, but even then it's assumed that you already know, and is never explained outright. "Andrews was an espionage agent for the Union Army..." should be in there somewhere, preferably at the very beginning. LordAmeth23:30, 29 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Andrews maintained as part of his trial defense that he was not a spy/agent but acting under military directions and therefore should have been treated as a prisoner of war, he maintained he was not a spy. Indeed it was one of the last things he repeated on the scaffold. There are examples of Confederates who worked behind enemy lines dressed as civilians but were treated as enemy combatants by Union courts, not spies. As such to say he was a spy would be taking sides in the affair - which is OK, some people had the opinion he was a spy (including the so-called "kangaroo court" that convicted him) but we should show respect for Andrews in the article and not say outright he was a spy, only that the court found him as such and thus the reason he was hanged. Green Cardamom (talk) 18:48, 6 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]
