The Fourth Military District existed in the American South during the Reconstruction era that followed the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. It included the occupation troops in the states of Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 and Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. At various times, the district was commanded by generals Edward Ord

Edward Ord

Edward Otho Cresap Ord was the designer of Fort Sam Houston, and a United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the Civil War, and was instrumental in forcing the surrender of Confederate...

, Alvan Cullem Gillem

Alvan Cullem Gillem

Alvan Cullem Gillem was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although Southern-born, he remained loyal to the Federal government and fought in several battles in the Western Theater before commanding occupation troops in Mississippi and Arkansas during Reconstruction...

, and Adelbert Ames

Adelbert Ames

Adelbert Ames was an American sailor, soldier, and politician. He served with distinction as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. As a Radical Republican and a Carpetbagger, he was military governor, Senator and civilian governor in Reconstruction-era Mississippi...

.

Following the completion of the Civil War, the Federal government under President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

 sought to restore order within the states that had composed the defeated Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

. Johnson, a loyal Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

an, advocated a lenient strategy to remove all commercial and social restrictions between the states, with the intention for the South to return to its former position in the Union. He believed that former Confederates should receive amnesty for their actions during the war and regain full rights of citizenship. However, the Radical Republicans in Congress vehemently disagreed, and passed the 1866 Reconstruction Acts, which divided the former Confederacy into military districts, in which a military commander controlled all social, economic, and political activity in the region. The Fourth Military District comprised the states of Mississippi and Arkansas, with its headquarters in Vicksburg

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

.

Edward Ord served as the district's first commander, with Alvan C. Gillem, like Johnson a loyal Tennessean, in charge of the sub-district of Mississippi. Gillem was later appointed as the district's commander. He favored the policy of leniency towards the former Confederates, invoking the displeasure of the Radicals in Congress. When Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

 became president, he removed Gillem from command and reassigned him to Texas, replacing him again with Ord, a personal friend who had served under Grant during the Civil War. When Ord was later assigned command of the District of California, another former Civil War general, Adelbert Ames, assumed command in 1868, and was also named as Governor of Mississippi, replacing former Confederate general Benjamin G. Humphreys

Benjamin G. Humphreys

Benjamin Grubb Humphreys was an American politician from Mississippi. He was a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and served as Governor of Mississippi from 1865 to 1868, during Reconstruction.-Early life:Humphreys was born in Claiborne County, Mississippi, on the...

.

When Mississippi was readmitted to the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

in 1870, the Fourth Military District was abolished and control of the state reverted to the newly elected state government.