Jackson Tennessee CIVIL War Courtmartial Order General Jeremiah Sullivan 1863

  

Jackson, Madison County Mississippi on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad was a strategic Civil War railroad center and was raided by Nathan Bedford Forrest in Dec, 1862, but the 12th Michigan Volunteers, Shiloh veterans successfully held the key railroad fortification. An original Civil War Special Order, issued March 3, 1863 at HQ, District of Jackson, Jackson, Tennessee by General Jeremiah Sullivan, orders Captain Henry Yates to appear at HQ to answer charges of neglect of duty. The Order is signed in pencil on the reverse by various 12th Michigan men incl Wm H Ford, 1p 8 x 5 ptd, with pencil notations. 2 punch holes on left margin, Age stains, edge wear, back page trimmed, not affecting content.

Captain Yates of the 106th Illinois Volunteers was found not guilty and breveted a brigadier general for his War service. General & Special Orders were issued to communicate commands and information to the Army. Each order, issued in writing by a commander, 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.