War crimes against medics. As a way to alleviate some of the horrors of combat, social convention and international law make some individuals on the battlefield off limits to deliberate targeting.
Very often, however, in the heat of battle, these conventions are ignored and those who should be off limits are intentionally targeted.
Rules and customs of war date back centuries. By the 18th century, the majority of the officer class in an army would be made up of the aristocracy, men of wealth and privilege.
These individuals would often attempt to conduct war in a gentlemanly fashion. One of these involved the treatment of enemy officers in battle.
The deliberate shooting of officers was considered barbaric and to be avoided.
During the American Revolution, while it was never official policy to target officers, the Continental Army did create a unit of Sharpshooters, who made use of highly accurate long-range rifles, giving them the ability to pick specific targets, as opposed to their regular army counterparts, who were armed with much less accurate smooth-bore muskets.
Under the command of frontiersman Daniel Morgan, these rifles played a decisive role at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.
According to legend, one of his men Timothy Murphy under Morgan's orders deliberately shot and killed British General Simon Fraser.
Morgan's other men also targeted other officers and artillerymen, throwing the British advance into confusion, allowing the Continental Army to win the battle.
Exactly what did happen is a bit vague but Fraser and the other officers were definitely targeted by American Sharpshooters, giving the Continental Army a decisive advantage.
