I think it's b. I think so.
It was a way of making sure they weren't followed or shot in the arce as they were running away
The difference lies in interpreting the two sides of the conflict. McPherson saw the war as the war between the evil South and the good North. He was focused on the abolition of slavery and their integration into the society as free people. Horwitz on the other hand saw South not as evil but as a faction which went to war to protect its economic interests.
The Black death originated in the Sicilian port of Messina.
