Description
Original Oil by world-reknowned artist Mort Kunstler
Limited Edition Corps prints are available ONLY through the Association.
Historical Information:
On May 27, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln sent a letter to Union General John M. Schofield with the following instructions: “Let your military measures be strong enough to repel the invader and keep the peace, and not so strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute the people.” This message came one month after Lincoln had established the Lieber Code, which was the first formal codification of behavior for the Army of the United States of America. This directive, formally titled Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, General Order No. 100, outlined the Federal army code of conduct during war, as well as the institution of Martial Law. It would later become the basis for all international treaties, including the Hague Conventions in 1907and the Geneva Accords of 1954. Named for the German-American philosopher Francis Lieber, a highly esteemed professor at Columbia University who had been commissioned by the president, the Lieber Code presented policies for four major aspects of war: martial law, military jurisdiction, punishment of spies/deserters and the treatment of prisoners of war. Lieber spent over a year working on the procedure while researching military procedures of the past, analyzing the current wartime climate and conferring with an array of experts, including soldiers and politicians. Lincoln was pleased with Lieber’s proposal, and considered an official code of conduct to be an absolute necessity to maintain order and a sense of decency among the ranks. On April 24, 1863, the Lieber Code was formally issued. For this historic occasion, Lincoln gathered together pertinent members of his cabinet and the military, including Brigadier General Joseph Holt, the Judge Advocate General of the Army. This forever changed not only how the American military behaved, but how militaries around the world would behave for generations to come.
