General Order No. 100

General Order No. 100
Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain · source
Name	General Order No. 100
Author	Abraham Lincoln
Issued	1863
Jurisdiction	United States
Related	American Civil War, Union (American Civil War), Confederate States of America

General Order No. 100 General Order No. 100 was an 1863 Union-issued manual guiding the treatment of captured persons during the American Civil War and addressing warfare practices between the Union (American Civil War), the Confederate States of America, and neutral powers such as Great Britain and France. Drafted under the authority of Abraham Lincoln and shaped by legal thinkers connected to institutions like Harvard Law School and figures such as Ex parte Milligan-era jurists, the manual sought to reconcile contemporary practice with precedents from International Law and earlier instruments such as the Lieber Code and the Hague Conventions.

Background and Context

The manual emerged amid debates involving wartime leaders and jurists including Salmon P. Chase, Edwin M. Stanton, Winfield Scott, Henry Halleck, and advisers linked to Prussia's military law traditions and scholars at Yale University and Columbia University. Pressure from diplomatic crises involving incidents like the Trent Affair and controversies over prize courts, naval operations near New Orleans, and cavalry raids around Gettysburg pushed policymakers to seek authoritative guidance compatible with rulings from tribunals such as the United States Supreme Court and opinions by jurists influenced by treatises from Cornelius van Bynkershoek and writings debated in Paris and London. The document fit into ongoing efforts to regulate conduct after field campaigns from Antietam to Chancellorsville and to respond to guerrilla actions typified by figures like William Quantrill and John Singleton Mosby.

Content and Provisions

The manual codified categories and treatments for persons captured in hostilities, drawing on precedent from instruments such as the Lieber Code and principles debated at Rutgers University law faculties and in publications by Samuel T. von Pufendorf-influenced scholars. It defined classifications including prisoners of war associated with regular forces like the Army of the Potomac and irregular fighters linked to partisan leaders operating near Shenandoah Valley. Provisions addressed parole and exchange systems practiced at depots in City Point, Virginia and camps like Camp Douglas and Belle Isle, procedures for summary trials referencing doctrines considered by the Supreme Court of the United States, and protections for civilians in occupied localities such as Richmond, Virginia and New Orleans. The text also delineated obligations toward wounded and sick personnel, referencing medical arrangements patterned after systems exemplified by institutions such as the United States Sanitary Commission and hospitals tied to Bellevue Hospital and philanthropic entities like the Red Cross movement founders.

Implementation and Enforcement

Implementation relied on commanders from formations such as the Army of the Potomac, the Army of the Tennessee, and the Army of Northern Virginia insofar as Union authorities could impose policy in contested zones near Vicksburg and Fort Sumter. Enforcement involved staff officers, provost marshals, and naval captains in squadrons like the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, working with prize courts in port cities including Boston and Philadelphia. Compliance issues prompted correspondence among leaders including Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan, Joseph Hooker, and political figures like Stephen A. Douglas and members of Congress who oversaw wartime legislation. Disputes over application—especially concerning guerrilla bands and disputed insurgents—produced litigation touching on precedents from cases such as those heard by judges influenced by John Marshall-era doctrine.

Impact on Civil War Conduct

The manual influenced exchanges at cartel points such as Aquia Creek and affected how commanders conducted operations during sieges at Vicksburg and assaults at Fort Wagner. Its guidance altered treatment of prisoners taken in actions near Chattanooga and during campaigns led by commanders like William Tecumseh Sherman and Nathan Bedford Forrest, shaping administrative practice in camps including Andersonville and influencing humanitarian responses advocated by activists like Clara Barton. The policy also affected international perceptions among governments in London, Paris, and Madrid, interacting with naval incidents involving ships like the CSS Alabama and legal debates in admiralty courts presided over by judges trained at institutions such as King's College London.

Legal and Historical Legacy

Historically, the manual contributed to evolving norms that informed later instruments such as the Hague Conventions (1899) and influenced doctrinal developments adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court and scholars at Princeton University and Oxford University. Its concepts resurfaced in 20th-century debates on the laws of armed conflict considered by delegates at conferences where representatives from Germany, Italy, and Japan participated, and informed comparative studies published in journals associated with Cambridge University Press and legal commentaries by professors linked to Georgetown University Law Center. The legacy persists in modern military law curricula taught at academies like the United States Military Academy and the Naval War College, and in scholarship examining intersections among figures from the Civil War era such as Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and later commentators including Charles Sumner and Theodore Roosevelt.

Category:American Civil War documents