I rush to say I was not trying to deny any crime nor that the Portuguese people and country suffered.

To make a general point, during the whole of the Wars of the French Revolution and the Era of Napoleon, there were many perpetrator of offenses which offences today would fall under the "war crimes" or "crimes against humanity" as these terms are defined today.

Naturally, for one to be convicted of either of these crimes - or any other crime - requires sufficient, appropriate evidence. I would note the are many "outs" in a trial, especially when definitions of crimes include language "not justified by military necessity".

As to my post, there were repeated requests from Mr Graves with respect to Porto de Mós, curiosity got the better of me one day. The post was simply trying to understand the facts of Porto de Mós.

Here's why: questions arose in my mind after looking at the few references available (started with Oman, but actually only Donaldson as I said).

I found the language - how should I put it ? - crafted in an odd manner. It is clear on the result (dead, burned). Yet the language appeared very opaque on the actual event and silent on the person or persons responsible (the French are implied, of course). So, the facts of the specific case of Porto de Mós seemed unclear as to the actual nature of the tragedy.

A tragedy it was. Yet, Oman cites Donaldson as his source for French "Attrocities at Porto de Mos" (the "title" on page 89 of volume 4). I do not find the information in Donaldson sufficient for assigning specific blame. As I said, my television watching (programs like "Waking the Dead" or "Cold Case" or any other murder mystery show) suggest the possibility (I do not say probability) of a tragic accident.

That the Portuguese people and country suffered is not in question. - R

As one reference, The Charter of the International Military Tribunal at Article 6 stated:

" (b) War Crimes: namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labour or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages. or devastation not justified by military necessity;

" (c) Crimes against Humanity: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated."