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Many Proclamations by Abraham Lincoln Surgeon's Volume of General Orders Relating to the Volunteer Force
Many Proclamations by Abraham Lincoln Surgeon's Volume of General Orders Relating to the Volunteer Force
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Description:

Many Proclamations by Abraham Lincoln Surgeon's Volume of General Orders Relating to the Volunteer Force

This volume of printed General Orders from the Adjutant General's Office of the War Department covers orders issued in 1861, 1862, and 1863, related to "The Volunteer Force." It begins with General Orders No. 15, issued May 4, 1861, which details the organization of the volunteer forces. It concludes with General Orders No. 400, issued December 28, 1863, which reports a Joint Resolution of Congress related to appropriations for bounties for volunteers.

Several General Orders deal with slavery and African American soldiers, including General Orders, No. 1 of January 2, 1863, which promulgates President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. This volume belonged to Brigade Surgeon George S. Kemble of the Medical Department, U.S. Volunteers.

[ABRAHAM LINCOLN.] General Orders Affecting the Volunteer Force. Adjutant General's Office, 3 vols., 1861-1863. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1862-1864. Three volumes bound in one; separately paginated. 558 pp., 5.5" x 7.5". Minor toning at page edges; light stains and scuffs to contemporary green cloth; spine gilt-lettered.

Excerpts
[Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend, General Orders, No. 91, July 29, 1862:]
"The following Resolutions, Acts, and Extracts from Acts of Congress, are published for the information of all concerned:...
"In pursuance of the sixth section of the act of Congress entitled 'An act to suppress insurrection, and to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes,' Approved July 17, 1862; and which act, and the Joint Resolution explanatory, thereof, are herewith published; I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim to, and warn all persons within the contemplation of said sixth section to cease participating in, aiding, countenancing, or abetting the existing rebellion, or any rebellion, against the government of the United States, and to return to their proper allegiance to the United States, on pain of the forfeitures and seizures, as within, and by said sixth section provided." (2:71-72)
"And be it further enacted, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to receive into the service of the United States, for the purpose of constructing entrenchments, or performing camp service or any other labor, or any military or naval service for which they may be found competent, persons of African descent, and such persons shall be enrolled and organized under such regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws, as the President may prescribe." (2:87)
"And be it further enacted, That when any man or boy of African descent, who by the laws of any State shall owe service or labor to any person who, during the present rebellion, has levied war or has borne arms against the United States, or adhered to their enemies by giving them aid and comfort, shall render any such service as is provided for in this act, he, his mother and his wife and children, shall forever thereafter be free, any law, usage, or custom whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided, That the mother, wife and children of such man or boy of African descent shall not be made free by the operation of this act except where such mother, wife or children owe service or labor to some person who, during the present rebellion, has borne arms against the United States or adhered to their enemies by giving them aid and comfort." (2:87)

[Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend, General Orders, No. 109, August 16, 1862:]
"The following is an order of the President of the United States, dated July 22, 1862:
"Ordered...That military and naval commanders shall employ as laborers, within and from said States, so many persons of African descent as can be advantageously used for military or naval purposes, giving them reasonable wages for their labor." (2:104)

[Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, General Orders, No. 139, September 24, 1862:]
"The following proclamation by the President is published for the information and government of the Army and all concerned:...
"I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States, and each of the States, and the people thereof, in which States that relation is, or may be suspended, or disturbed....
"That on the first day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any state, or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom."

[Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, General Orders, No. 3, January 2, 1863:]
"The following Proclamation by the President is published for the information and government of the Army and all concerned....
"Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States.... And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons." (3:1-2)

[Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend, General Orders, No. 163, June 4, 1863:]
"The following revised order, in relation to advance pay, bounties, and premiums, as paid by the United States, is published for the information of all concerned, and will govern in lieu of all other orders on the subject:...
"Persons of African descent who enlist under the act approved July 17th, 1862, are entitled to 'ten dollars per month and one ration; three dollars of which monthly pay may be in clothing.'" (3:123)

[Assistant Adjutant General Edward D. Townsend, General Orders, No. 252, July 31, 1863:]
"It is the duty of every government to give protection to its citizens, of whatever class, color, or condition, and especially to those who are duly organized as soldiers in the public service. The law of nations and the usages and customs of war as carried on by civilized powers, permit no distinction as to color in the treatment of prisoners of war as public enemies. To sell or enslave any captured person, on account of his color, and for no offence against the laws of war, is a relapse into barbarism and a crime against the civilization of the age.
"The government of the United States will give the same protection to all its soldiers, and if the enemy shall sell or enslave anyone because of his color, the offense shall be punished by retaliation upon the enemy's prisoners in our possession.
"It is therefore ordered that for every soldier of the United States killed in violation of the laws of war, a rebel soldier shall be executed; and for every one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery, a rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the public works and continued at such labor until the other shall be released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of war.
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN." (3:157)

George S. Kemble (1827-1884) was born in Pennsylvania and graduated from Jefferson College, where he studied medicine. He practiced medicine in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. He enlisted as a surgeon in September 1861 in the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry and soon received a commission in the U.S. Volunteers Medical Staff. He served as brigade surgeon on the staff of General Isaac I. Stevens and participated in the Battles of Port Royal (November 1861) and Secessionville (June 1862) in South Carolina, for the latter of which he received a special commendation from Stevens for his "good arrangements and activity." In September 1862, Kemble participated in the Battle of Chantilly in Virginia, in which Stevens was killed. Kemble was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel in October 1865 and mustered out later that month. He returned to Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, where he continued to practice medicine.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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