Major-General Ulysses S. Grant: General Orders No. 50, August 1, 1863

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 50.}

HDQRS. DEPT. OF THE TENNESSEE,        

Vicksburg, Miss., August 1, 1863.

I. All regularly organized bodies of the enemy having been driven from those parts of Kentucky and Tennessee west of the Tennessee River, and from all of Mississippi west of the Mississippi Central Railroad, and it being to the interest of those districts not to invite the presence of armed bodies of men among them, it is announced that the most rigorous penalties will hereafter be inflicted upon the following classes of prisoners, to wit: All irregular bodies of cavalry not mustered and paid by the Confederate authorities; all persons engaged in conscripting, enforcing the conscription, or in apprehending deserters, whether regular or irregular; all citizens encouraging or aiding the same; and all persons detected in firing upon unarmed transports.

It is not contemplated that this order shall affect the treatment due to prisoners of war, Captured within the districts named, when they are members of legally organized companies, and when their acts are in accordance with the usages of civilized warfare.

II. The citizens of Mississippi within the limits above described are called upon to pursue their peaceful avocations, in obedience to the laws of the United States. Whilst doing so in good faith, all United States forces are prohibited from molesting them in any way. It is earnestly recommended that the freedom of negroes be acknowledged, and that, instead of compulsory labor, contracts upon fair terms be entered into between the former masters and servants, or between the latter and such other persons as may be willing to give them employment. Such a system as this, honestly followed, will result in substantial advantages to all parties.

All private property will be respected except when the use of it is necessary for the Government, in which case it must be taken under the direction of a corps commander, and by a proper detail under charge of a commissioned officer, with specific instructions to seize certain property and no other. A staff officer of the quartermaster's or subsistence department will in each instance be designated to receipt for such property as may be seized, the property to be paid for at the end of the war, on proof of loyalty, or on proper adjustment of the claim, under such regulations or laws as may hereafter be established. All property seized under this order must be taken up on returns by the officer giving receipts, and disposed of in accordance with existing regulations.

III. Persons having cotton or other produce not required by the army, will be allowed to bring the same to any military post within the State of Mississippi, and abandon it to the agent of the Treasury Department at said post, to be disposed of in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may establish. At posts where there is no such agent the post quartermaster will receive all such property, and, at the option of the owner, hold it till the arrival of the agent, or send it to Memphis, directed to Capt. A. R. Eddy, assistant quartermaster, who will turn it over to the properly authorized agent at that place.

IV. Within the county of Warren, laid waste by the long presence of contending armies, the following rules to prevent suffering will be observed:

Major-General Sherman, commanding the Fifteenth Army Corps, and Major-General McPherson, commanding the Seventeenth Army Corps, will each designate a commissary of subsistence, who will issue articles of prime necessity to all destitute families calling for them, under such restrictions for the protection of the Government as they may deem necessary. Families who are able to pay for the provisions drawn will in all cases be required to do so.

V. Conduct disgraceful to the American name has been frequently reported to the major-general commanding, particularly on the part of portions of the cavalry. Hereafter, if the guilty parties cannot be reached, the commanders of regiments and detachments will be held responsible, and those who prove themselves unequal to the task of preserving discipline in their commands will be promptly reported to the War Department for muster-out. Summary punishment must be inflicted upon all officers and soldiers apprehended in acts of violence or lawlessness.

By order of Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant:

T. S. BOWERS,        

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 24, Part 3 (Serial No. 38), p. 570-1

Brigadier-General John A. Rawlins, July 28, 1864 [Later.]

City Point, July 28, 1864.

. . . Matters are now such that it is impossible for me to leave here at present. Active operations have commenced, which with the fact of the General's forgetting himself, in that one danger of which I wrote you this morning, renders my being here of an importance that you can appreciate as fully as any person living, although it deprives you of an immediate visit from me, a visit which my health demands . . .

Since writing the foregoing I have had a long talk with the General and Colonel Bowers, and they conclude I had better go as early as the first of next month, and I have thought, all things considered, I can perhaps as well be spared by that time as at any time thereafter. So you may begin to look for me about next Wednesday if I have no delays. . . .

SOURCE: James Harrison Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 249

Colonel Theodore S. Bowers to Brigadier-General John Rawlins, August 10, 1864

. . . I have tried to induce the General to remove Halleck. While he confesses to having been deceived in him and having now his eyes open as to Halleck's position and conduct, he will not bring himself at present to take the step we urge. He has, however, settled Halleck down into a mere staff officer for Stanton. Halleck has no control over troops except as Grant delegates it. He can give no orders and exercise no discretion. Grant now runs the whole machine independently of the Washington directory. I am glad to say he is fully himself, works vigorously and will soon devise another plan for discomfiting the enemies of the country. . . .

James Harrison Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 257

Colonel Theodore S. Bowers to Brigadier-General John Rawlins, August 12, 1864

. . . If the movement succeeds it will give us Richmond. The prospects are fair. Indeed my expectations are up to the highest pitch. After debating the subject seriously I this morning telegraphed you to come up by the first train. I was not only agonizing to have you here but I feared you would think me unfaithful if I neglected to recall you on the eve of important action. I know the General would be rejoiced to have you present but his solicitude for your restoration to health would prevent his sending for you as long as he could. I think when I see you you will approve my action in telegraphing you to return.

James Harrison Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 257

Colonel Theodore S. Bowers to Brigadier-General John Rawlins, August 20, 1864

. . . The impression is becoming almost universal that for political considerations the President will suspend the draft. If he does, good-bye United States.

James Harrison Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 257

Colonel Theodore S. Bowers to Brigadier-General John Rawlins, August 21, 1864

. . . I never before saw Grant so intensely anxious to do something. He appears determined to try every possible expedient. His plans are good but the great difficulty is that our troops cannot be relied upon. The failure to take advantage of opportunities pains and chafes him beyond anything I have ever before known him to manifest.

Each and every member of the staff daily requests me to present you his kindest remembrances. . . .

James Harrison Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 258

Colonel Theodore S. Bowers to Brigadier-General John Rawlins, August 25, 1864

. . . Anxious as we all are to have you return we trust you will remain until your health has permanently improved, unless the necessities of the service here make your presence indispensable. In the latter case we shall promptly telegraph you to come. I will show portions of your letter to the General in the morning and to-morrow will give you his views on the subject. I regret to say that Grant has been quite unwell for the past ten days. He feels languid and feeble and is hardly able to keep about, yet he tends to business promptly and his daily walk and conduct are unexceptionable. . . .

James Harrison Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 258

Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant to Colonel Theodore S. Bowers

BOYDTON ROAD, NEAR PETERSBURG,         

April 2, 1865—4.40.

Col. T. S. BOWERS,

City Point:

We are now up, and have a continuous line of troops, and in a few hours will be intrenched from the Appomattox, below Petersburg, to the river above. Heth's and Wilcox's divisions — such part of them as were not captured — were cut off from town, either designedly on their part or because they could not help it. Sheridan, with the cavalry and Fifth Corps, is above them. Miles' division, Second Corps, was sent from the White Oak road to Sutherland's Station, on the South Side Railroad, where he met them, and at last accounts was engaged with them. Not knowing whether Sheridan would get up in time General Humphreys was sent with another division from here. The whole captures since the army started out gunning will not amount to less than 12,000 men, and probably 50 pieces of artillery. I do not know the number of men, and guns accurately, however. A portion of General Foster's division, Twenty-fourth Corps, made one of the most gallant charges and captured a very important fort from the enemy, with its entire garrison. All seems well with us, and everything quiet just now. I think the President might come out and pay us a visit to-morrow.

U.S. GRANT,

Lieutenant-General.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 449

Lieutenant-Colonel Ely S. Parker to Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore S. Bowers, March 29, 1865

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,

March 29, 1865.  (Received 9.15 p.m.)

Lieut. Col. T. S. BOWERS:

The two corps moved out, meeting with no serious opposition until quite late in the afternoon, when Griffin's division, of Warren's corps, struck the enemy and had quite a fight. Griffin captured about 100 of the enemy. His loss not reported. Warren promptly brought up his whole corps, and upon advancing he found that the enemy had retired to his main works. Humphreys met with no opposition in his advance. Warren's left is across the plank road. Humphreys' right is on Hatcher's. Sheridan is at Dinwiddie, and no enemy to oppose him.

 E. S. PARKER,

 Lieutenant-Colonel, &c.

SOURCE: Arthur Caswell Parker, The Life of General Ely S. Parker, p. 121-2; The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 46, Part 3 (Serial No. 97), p. 242