CIVIL War General John Pope Command Order 1862

  

General John Pope was a notable Frontier Army officer prewar, and served with distinction in the Western theater of the Civil War. In 1862 he was commanded to form the Army of Virginia. An original Civil War Union Army War Department General Order, issued Washington, DC, Aug 12, 1862, by Order of the President creating the Army of Virginia with command of the Army assigned to General John Pope, the Army to consist of three Army Corps comprised of the forces under Generals Fremont, Banks & McDowell. W punch holes the order was originally issued and bound in the field by a regimental adjutant with red cloth string (the origin of the expression "government red tape").

General & Special Orders were issued to communicate commands and information to the Army. Each order, issued in writing by a command, was then printed for distribution to each unit, either at an army department headquarter or by commanders at local headquarters, sometimes in the field on portable printing presses. The orders were then issued to regiments, often to be read aloud to the troops. General Orders were printed as issued with date & location; at the end of a year the regimental adjutant might retain them loose or simply string bind them by punching holes and stringing on ¼" red cloth string tape (the source of the old expression "government red tape). Sometimes an officer or HQ clerk might take a group of orders to a local print shop or bookbinder and have an accumulation bound with leather or cloth covers.

Usually, American Military Orders of the 19. Century including Civil War era were printed on an 8 x 5 sheet of quality rag paper. NOTE: Any repair to a paper item is listed. I use only museum curator approved archival repair tape. All items are unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic and in the condition as described.