General Order Number 38
Encyclopedia
General Order Number 38 was issued by American
Union
general Ambrose Burnside
on April 13, 1863, during the American Civil War
, while Burnside commanded the Department of the Ohio
. Among other issues, the order attempted to make it illegal to criticize the war within that Department:
Any kind of opposition to the war — such as that expressed by the Copperheads
peace movement — was considered sympathy to the enemy, and the order was immediately used as justification to arrest Ohio congressman Clement Vallandigham
, a prominent leader in the movement (in fact, he was arrested for criticizing the order itself), and to try him in a military court.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
general Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Burnside
Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator...
on April 13, 1863, during 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...
, while Burnside commanded the Department of the Ohio
Department of the Ohio
The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River.General Orders No...
. Among other issues, the order attempted to make it illegal to criticize the war within that Department:
That hereafter all persons found within our lines who commit acts for the benefit of the enemies of our country, will be tried as spies or traitors, and, if convicted, will suffer death. This order includes the following classes of persons:
...
The habit of declaring sympathies for the enemy will no longer be tolerated in the department. Persons committing such offences will be at once arrested, with a view to being tried as above stated, or sent beyond our lines into the lines of their friends.
Any kind of opposition to the war — such as that expressed by the Copperheads
Copperheads (politics)
The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake...
peace movement — was considered sympathy to the enemy, and the order was immediately used as justification to arrest Ohio congressman Clement Vallandigham
Clement Vallandigham
Clement Laird Vallandigham was an Ohio resident of the Copperhead faction of anti-war Democrats during the American Civil War. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives.-Biography:...
, a prominent leader in the movement (in fact, he was arrested for criticizing the order itself), and to try him in a military court.