I think that on the one hand, the person did answer the question posed, which was posed specifically in terms of *Osceola* vs Lawrence, but on the other hand, I think you're correct that answering the question exactly as posed missed an opportunity to explore the overall dynamic of escalating harms to civilians- that it wasn't just Osceola, but a whole series of raids in the border region.

I suspect that this broader context may be explored in some more depth in this week's Historical and Theatrical Trials Society's Trial of Quantill, 7pm, Missouri Theatre, Columbia, MO. http://eventpros.missouri.edu/mock_trial.html

In this trial, in which "Quantrill will be charged with war crimes and tried before a military tribunal consisting of current or former modern U.S. military personnel," Frank O. Bowman (MU Law School) will prosecute and Troy Stabenow, a federal public defender and serving JAG officer will defend Quantrill. Whether or not the "tribunal" ends up accepting arguments about the greater context of a spiral of anti-civilian violence, I'd be surprised if that context is not at least brought up by the "defense."