The Burlington weekly hawk-eye., 1863-03-21
Treatment Of Dlsloyal Persons.
HEADQUARTERS oP THE Army,
WASHINGTON, D. c., March 3, 1852.
Major General W. s. Rosecrans, Murfreesboro.

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HEADQUARTERS oP TIE Army, /
WASHINGTON, D. c., March 3, 1852.
: Major General ". s. Rosecrans, Murfreesbor,
Tennessee:
GENERAL: have just received Major Ger
Reynolds letter of February 10, with your en-
dorsement of Feb IS. The suggestions 0
Gen. Reynolds and Gen. Thomas with regar,
to more rigid treatment Of disloyal person
within the lines Of your army are approved
No additional instructions from these head
quarters are deemed necessary.
You have already been urged to procure
your subsistence, forage and means Of trans.
portation so far as possible in the country oc
cupied This you had a right to do without
any instructions. As the Commanding General
IN the field you have the right to enforce all
tne laws and usages Of war, however rigid and
severe they may be, unless there be some act
OF Congress. regulation, order or instruction
iorbldding or restricting such enforcement
AS general rule you must always be judge
when 1t is best to rigidly apply these laws, and
when more lenient course would be of great
er advantage to our cause
distinctions, however, should always be made
IN regard to the character of the people in the
district OF country which is militarily occupied
or passed over. The people of the country in
which you are likely to operate may be divided
into two classes.
Ffrst-The truly loyal, who neither aid or
assist the rebels except under compusiou, but
who favor or assist the Uuion troops Where it
can possibly be avoided this class of persons
should not be subjected to military regulations
but should receive the protection of our arms.
1t may. however, be necessary sometimes to
take their property, either for our own use or
to prevent its falling into the hands of the enc
my. They will be paid at the time the value of
such property, or, if that be impracticable,
they will hereafter be fully UNIDENTIFIED. Re-
ceipts should be given for all property SO taken
without being paid for.
Secsnd-Those who take no part in the war,
but belong to the class known as military non
contestants. In civil war like that now waged,
this class is supposed to sympath;zs with the
rebellion rather than with the Government
There can be no such thing as neutrality in
rebellion. This term is applicable only to for
egn powers Such persons, so long as they
commit no hostile act, and con6ne themselves
70 their private avocations, are not to be molest.
eu oy the military forces, nor is their property
70 70 oe ss'zsd, except as military necessity
Iney, however, are subject to forced loans and
military Iequisitions aud their houses to billets
tor soldiers quarters, and to appropriation for
other temporary military uses Subject to these
imposltlons, the non combatan inhabitants Of q
district miltarily occupied by one of the beli-
gerents are entitled to the military protection OF
the occupying forces. But while entitled to such
protection, they incur very serious obligations
obligations differing in some respects from those
OF civil allegiance, but equally binding. For
example, those who rise in arms against the oc-
cupying army or against the authority established
~ thn o. .ol1 ~,
and incur the penalty of death. They are not
entitled to be considered as prisoners of war
when captured. Their property is subject to
military seizure and military coDfscation. Mil
:tary treason of this kind is broadly ds,ipguish-
ed from the treason defined in constitutional and
statutory laws, and made punishable by the
civil courts
Military treason is military offense, punish
able by the common law of war; Again, persons
belonging to such occupied territory, and within
the military lines of the occupying forces, can
give no Information to the enemy of the occupy.
ing power, without proper authority, To do 60
the party forfeits not only all claims to protec-
tion, but subjects himself or herself to be pun
lshed, either as spy or military traitor, accord
ing to the character of the particular offenee-
Our treatment of such off.nses and such often
ders has hitherto been altogether too lepent.
more strict enforcement OF the laws of war IN
this respect is recommended Such offenders
should be Eoade to understand thf penalties they
incur, and TO know that these penalties will be
rigidly enforced.
7Aud-Those who are openly and avowedIy
hostile TO the occupying army, bu. who do not
bear arms against such forces. In other words,
while claiming to be non-combstsnts, they Ie-
pudia.e obligations tacitly or mpliedly incurred
hah Nf tbo ri.I
tory. Such persons no. only incur all the obi
cations imposed upon the other non>combatant
OF the same territory, and are liable
to the same punishment for off.nces committed,
but they may be treated as prisoners of war and
be subjected to the rigors of confinement or to
expulsion as combatant enemies. l am of the
opinion that such persons should not, as gen.
ersl rule, be permitted to 60 at large within our
lines. To force those capable Of bearing arms
to 20 within the lines of the enemy adds to his
effective forces To place them in confinement
will require guards and necessarily diminish
ours. You will determine at each particular
case which course will be most advantag geous.-
We have suffered very severely from that class,
and it is time that the laws Of war should be
more vigorously enforced against them. A
broad line of distinction must be drawn between
friends and enemies, loyal and disloyal
The foregoing remarks have reference only to
the military offences under the laws of war
They are not applicable to civil offences under
the Constitution and general laws of the land.
The law and usages of civilized war must be
your guide in the treatment of all classes of per.
sons in the country in which your army may
operate or which it may occupy; and you will be
permitted to decide for yourself where it ia best
TO act with rigor and when beat to be more le-
nient. You will not be trammeled with minute
Very respectfully, your obedient
servant, q. w. HALLEcK,
Genera-in- Chief
The OLD New YORK PLAN We have before
us an old volume, printed in 1892, containing
'.tbe laws of the State Of New York, aud prin-
Il IL IL.