Why was Robert E. Lee not executed for high treason?

Another recent question/answer thread here on Quora answers that question. I'll state the facts briefly. There was a movement in that direction within a couple years after the Civil War that started with an article in The New York Times, which tentative was taken up by President Andrew Johnson. read more

Actually, not just Robert E. Lee, but also James Longstreet, Jubal Early and other Confederate military leaders were indicted for treason by a federal grand jury in June 1865, just after the end of the US Civil War, an indictment that was allowed to stand by a federal judge. read more

General Robert E. Lee was not charged with treason and he spent no time in jail. During the brief five years that he lived following the Civil War, Robert E. Lee became the president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee) in Virginia. read more