--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If any of my men kill prisoners, I'll…" description: "\"If any of my men kill prisoners, I'll kill them.\" — Rutherford B. Hayes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_civil-war_if-any-of-my-men-kill-prisoners-i-ll-kil_1092947.jpg" --- # If any of my men kill prisoners, I'll kill them. ![“If any of my men kill prisoners, I'll kill them.” quote by Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_civil-war_if-any-of-my-men-kill-prisoners-i-ll-kil_1092947.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_civil-war_if-any-of-my-men-kill-prisoners-i-ll-kil_1092947.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/rutherford-b-hayes-3486_civil-war_if-any-of-my-men-kill-prisoners-i-ll-kil_1092947.jpg) > “If any of my men kill prisoners, I'll kill them.” [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A commander must enforce strict discipline and punish any violation of humane treatment of prisoners. **In simple terms:** Leaders must punish wrongdoing against captives. Key Takeaway Enforce humane conduct. Themes leadership discipline ethics Mood stern authoritative Type directive ethical When to use this quote - combat operations - prisoner care - military training Key Concepts military law human rights Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure compliance under pressure? - What safeguards can prevent abuse? A Different Perspective Enforcement may be difficult in chaotic combat. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [Prisoners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoners/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Kill all the prisoners, because they’re costing us too much money. Wait! No, kill all the politicians, because they’re spending too much money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/kill-all-the-prisoners-because-they-re-costing-us-too-much-money-wait/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Some times I think this whole world Is one big prison yeard Some of us are prisoners The rest of us are guards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/some-times-i-think-this-whole-world-is-one-big-prison-yeard-some-of/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Without history we are the prisoners of the accident of where and when we were born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-kagan/without-history-we-are-the-prisoners-of-the-accident-of-where-and/) [Donald Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-kagan/) > [Most men in a concentration camp believed that the real opportunities of life had passed. Yet, in reality, there was an opportunity and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/most-men-in-a-concentration-camp-believed-that-the-real-opportunities/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Prisoners learn how to make do with less, and many of them want to take this ingenuity that they've learned to the outside ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-smith/prisoners-learn-how-to-make-do-with-less-and-many-of-them-want-to/) [Jeff Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-smith/) > [Yes. And release prisoners who are incarcerated for pot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/yes-and-release-prisoners-who-are-incarcerated-for-pot/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [What a tragic realm this is, he reflected. Those down here are prisoners, and the ultimate tragedy is that they don't know it; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-a-tragic-realm-this-is-he-reflected-those-down-here-are/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [We are all conceived in close prison; in our mothers wombs, we are close prisoners all; when we are born, we are born but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-are-all-conceived-in-close-prison-in-our-mothers-wombs-we-are/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [The West has political prisoners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/the-west-has-political-prisoners/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [ Of course, no state accepts \[that it should call\] the people it is imprisoning or detaining for political reasons, political prisoners. They don't call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/of-course-no-state-accepts-that-it-should-call-the-people-it-is/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [This is what happens in prisons I think you're not giving the prisoners the credit for how ingenious they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-davies/this-is-what-happens-in-prisons-i-think-you-re-not-giving-the/) Philip Davies > [What a strange world it is, where prisoners are left their weapons and the written word is a mortal danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/what-a-strange-world-it-is-where-prisoners-are-left-their-weapons-and/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [Prisoners at the bar, have you anything to say in your defence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/prisoners-at-the-bar-have-you-anything-to-say-in-your-defence/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [They came to know the incorrigible sorrow of all prisoners and exiles, which is to live in company with a memory that serves no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/they-came-to-know-the-incorrigible-sorrow-of-all-prisoners-and-exiles/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The same things that we hurray and support in other places, like people like Nelson Mandela, our prisoners were doing the same thing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sekou-odinga/the-same-things-that-we-hurray-and-support-in-other-places-like/) [Sekou Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sekou-odinga/) ## More by Rutherford B. 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Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Strikes and boycotting are akin to war, and can be justified only on grounds analogous to those which justify war, viz., intolerable injustice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/strikes-and-boycotting-are-akin-to-war-and-can-be-justified-only-on/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [The melancholy thing in our public life is the insane desire to get higher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-melancholy-thing-in-our-public-life-is-the-insane-desire-to-get/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [As friends go it is less important to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/as-friends-go-it-is-less-important-to-live/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [ My father and mother in 1817 were forty-nine days on the road with their emigrant wagons \[from Vermont\] to Ohio. More than two days… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/my-father-and-mother-in-1817-were-forty-nine-days-on-the-road-with/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Unjust attacks on public men do them more good than unmerited praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/unjust-attacks-on-public-men-do-them-more-good-than-unmerited-praise/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Nobody ever left the presidency with less regret, less disappointment, fewer heart burnings, or any general content with the result of his term (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nobody-ever-left-the-presidency-with-less-regret-less-disappointment/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [If a liberal policy towards the late Rebels is adopted, the ultra Republicans are opposed to it; if the colored people are honored, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/if-a-liberal-policy-towards-the-late-rebels-is-adopted-the-ultra/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Disunion and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war less than compromise. We can recover from them. The free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/disunion-and-civil-war-are-at-hand-and-yet-i-fear-disunion-and-war/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [The best religion the world has ever known is the religion of the Bible. It builds up all that is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/the-best-religion-the-world-has-ever-known-is-the-religion-of-the/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [There is a great deal of strength in Garfield's life and struggles as a self-made man… From poverty and obscurity, by labor at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/there-is-a-great-deal-of-strength-in-garfield-s-life-and-struggles-as/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) [Explore all 129 Rutherford B. Hayes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) ## More Civil war quotes > [“Time overlaps itself. 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But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. 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