Nebraska advertiser., 1863-05-21

been coSouerred, and to consptracies, that is, secret
ogreenenfs leading to such resumption OF arms II bands
Of whatever number, or, which is still worse, plans TO
murder from secret places. -4h4to
cine war rebel has been universally treated Win me
rtr-ost IGOR of the military law. He exposes the oc-
o-1.;,g INV to the greatest danger, ana essentially
inie-faTea with the mitigation Of the severity OF war,
wbichtt is one Of the noblest objects Of the modefn law
- va 10 obtain. whether the war rebel rises on his
oz-n aesount. or whether he has been secretly called
upon BY the enemy to do 50, would make no dlHerence
And particular attention is further called to the fol-
lowing extract from a letter Of inStrrc lions, addressed
by the &c aeFal-in-Chief to the Commanding General OF
this Department:
can Of Missouri is now in the military occupation Of
the United States. The Inhabitants are therefore
bound by the laws of war (wluhout any regard 60 their
civil allegiance to the Governmental the United States,
as the sovereign power,) to render Obediance to the Oc-
cupving military authority. If they take up arms in
insurrection, OF render aid and assistance to the enc
my, they become military insurgents, or military trail
tors, and thereby forfeit their lives and property
Every one who was not in arms at the time ofthe occu-
patton and who has not continued IN arms, but who
subsequently takes up arms within the territory mil
itarily occupied by US, is not to be regarded as a prls-
Oner OF war, but Is TO be punished as a military lhSuI-
gent. SO every one, be he a citizen Of Missouri or not,
who comes within our lines as a n-on-combatant, and
afterwards takes up arms, is a military insurgent."
The above remarks are applicable to all other parts Of
this Department now in the military occupation Of the
United States.
recruit. thereby melting insurrection, become them
selves when not indeed actual spies) military insu--
gents. Such, also, ara Knights OF the Golden ClTcIeS
ami members Of other secret organizations looking TO
any opposition to the laws Of the United States being
in the nature Of conspiritors.
Whoever shall be convicted as a military insursent
shall suffer death. according to the usages OF nations,
by sentence of a military Commission.
ID. The Partisan.-"The partisan corps d~esignates
bodies detached from the main army. The par
tiSan leader commands a corpse whose OBJ ecL is 10 IN
jure the enemy by action separate from that OF his own
main army the partisan acts Chiefly upon the enemys
lines Of connection and communication, and outside Of
or beyond the lines OF operation Of his own army IN the
rear and on the fanks Of the enemy. Rapid anu vary
ing movements and surprises are the Chlet means OF
his success , but he is part and parcel Of the army, and
as such, considered entitled to the privileges Of the
laws Of war. so IOng as he does not transgress them"
Partisan soldiers must have the organization and
equipments of soldiers, or they are brigands or guerril-
las, and will be punished as such.
guage, the soldier who detacnes himself from his troops
and commits robbery, naturally accompanied IN many
cases with murder, and other crimes Of violence. His
punishment, inflicted even by his own authorities, is
death. The word brigand, derived as it is from brig
ner, to beg, meant originally beggar, but it soon came
to be applied to armed strollers, "A class of men which
swarmed in all countries in the middle ages. The term
has, however, received a wider meaning 10 modern
military Technology. He that assailS the enemy
without or against the authority OF his own government
is called, even though his object should be wholly free
from any intention Of pillage, a b~rigand-subject to the
infection Of death, if captured. When
Major Won Schill, commanding a Prusian regiment Of
huZZars, marched, in the year 1879, against the French
without the order OF his Government, for the purpose
Of causing a rising Of the people in the North OF Ger
many, while Napoleon was occupied in the South with
Austria, SchilI was declared by Napoleon and his broth
e, a %brigand; aud the King Of Westphalia, Jerome
B~Onaparte, offered a reward Of ten thousand francs for
his head. Schill was killed in battle; but twelve
young officers Of his troop, taken prisoners, were car
rled by the French to the Fortress Wesel, where a
court martial declared them prisoners OF war. Napo-
leon quasbed the finding ordered "A new court martial
and they were all shot as %brigands. Napoleon is not
cited as an authority IN The law u war; he, and many
OF his Generals, frequently substituted the harshest vi
olence for martial usages. The case is menIiOned as an
illustration Of the meaning attached to the. word bril-
! gaDd IN the law of war. and of the fact that death Is the
acknowledged punishment for the brigand."
whoever shall be convicted as a briaand, no matter
whether of our own forces or those Of the enemy, shall
suffer death, according to the usage Of nations bv SEN
tence Of a Military Commission.
4th. The Guerrilla Proper.-Guerrillas proper may
be defined as ''troOpS not belonging to a regular army,
consisting OF volunteers perhaps self-cOnstituted but
generally raised' within the lines Of the enemy as a
cOntradistinctlOn from military Insurgents. They do
not stand on the regular pay roll Of the army, or are
not paid at all, take up arms and lay them down at in.
tervals, and carry on petty war chiefly by raids, extOr-
ton, destruction and massacre, and who cannot encum-
Der themselves with many prisoners, and will therefore
generally give no quarter. They are peculiarly dan
gerOuS, because they easily evade pursuit, and by lay
ing down their arms become insiduOus enemies; be-
cause they cannot otherwise subsist than by rapine,
and almost always degenerate into simple robbers or
brgands."
Whoever shall be convicted as a guerrilla under this
order, shall suffer death. according to the usage Of ma
tons, by sentence of 3 Military Commission.
~. RELIEVING THE ENNMY.-56th Ardcle of War
whatsoever shall relieve the enemy with money,
victuals, or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbOr or
EAVeCSS an ACt4g sudll puAci utGtny II S4Cu PUNISH
ment as shall be ordered by the sentence Of a Court
Martiai.''
Those harboring and feeding guerrinas are included
in this class and VIII be so punished.
v. DISLoYAL PERSONS.-All persons not in the
military service who shall be convicted of diSlOyal eG-
pressionS, oral, written or printed, favoring the rebel
lion, shall be punished therefor by fine, assessment
or imprisonment, or both, or by being sent beyond the
lines, by sentence Of a Military Commission.
VI. Tr2nsgreSsiOns of he laws OF war is generally
punishable by sentence Of a Military Commission, and
commanders will see that the strictest punishment is
inflicted not less vigorously on the enemy, than thUSe OF
our own men who t~ranSgress tQem. Ii is only by strict
adherence to these laws (and the more strict conformity
should now be required, 0ecauseof the character Of this
war; that we can hope to restore peace to our distracted
homes. We are at war with those who were brothers,
friends, ~neighbors. They are now enemief. While we
show them the severity Of military power, we must not
forget that it is our object to bring them back again to
the relations enjoyed in the past times, and all inhic-
lions are only designed to subdue the febellion.
Although assessments have been suspended in this
department, they are not abrOgated. Nd law of Con-
gress or restraining order, revokes the laws OF war
foe and strengthen ourselves. Property can and will
be confscated as occasion may justify. General Order
No. u current series of this Department, relating to
this Departments, relating to this mattee, VIII be OBJ
served.
The following extracts from International Law .
and claws Of War" BY H. ". Halleck, now General
in-Chief of the Army, will suffice for held instructions:
CHAPTER XIX
|
70. "Priyatc property OF land is now, as a general
rule OF war exempt from seizure OF cOnhscatiOn; and
this general exemption extends even to cases Of abSolut
and qualified conquest. Some mOderu text writer's
Hautefeuille for example-cOntend for the ancient rule,
that drivate property on land is subject to seizure and
condscation. They are undoubtedly correct with re-
gard to the general abstract right, as deducted from the
law of nature and ancient practices but while the gen.
eral right continues, moneTn usage and the opinions Of
modern text writer's of the highest authority have lin
tied this right by establishing the rule of general eX-
emptiOn.
ID. But it must also be remembered that there are
many exceptions to that rule, or rather, that tie rule
itself IS not by any means absolute or universal. The
general theory of war is, as heretofore stated, that all
private property may be taken by TIE cOnquerer, and
such was the ancient practice. But the modern usage
is, not to touch private property on land, without max
ing compensation, except in certain specified cases.
: = list. oOndscatiOns or seizures by was Of penalty
for military offences; 2d, forced contributions Cor the
support ef the invading armies, or as an indemnity for
the expenses Of maintaining order, and %afOrding pro
lection for the conquered inhabitants.
Il. "In the first place, we may seize upon private
property by way of penalty for illegal acts Of individu-
ais or 10 the community to which they belong. Thus,
if an individual be guilty Of conduct in violation Of the
laws Of war, we may seize and confscate the private
property of the offender. SO, also, if the offence attach
itself t. a particular community or town, ali the indi-
vidusls of that community or town are liable to pun
ishment, and, We may either seize upon their property
or levy upon them a retaliatOry contribution, by way OF
penalty, When, however, we can discover and secure
the individuals so offending, it is more just to inhict the
punishment on them only but IL is a general law Of
war, that communities are accountable for the acts Of
their individual members. This makes it the interests
up to justice. Butt if these individuals are not given up,
or cannot be disco FeT, it is usual to impose a cOntribu-
ton upon the civil a~utorities Of the place where the
offence is Committed, and these authorities raise the