A code for the government of armies in the field as authorized by the laws and usages of war on land : printed as manuscript for the Board appointed by the Secretary of War [Special Orders, no. 399] "to propose amendments or changes in the rules and articles of war, and a code of regulations for the government of armies in the field, as authorized by the laws and usages of war" / by Francis Lieber.

  • Lieber, Francis, 1800-1872.
Date:
[1863]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A code for the government of armies in the field as authorized by the laws and usages of war on land : printed as manuscript for the Board appointed by the Secretary of War [Special Orders, no. 399] "to propose amendments or changes in the rules and articles of war, and a code of regulations for the government of armies in the field, as authorized by the laws and usages of war" / by Francis Lieber. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    It disclaims all extortions and other transactions for individual gain ; all acts of private revenge or connivance at such acts. Offences to the contrary shall be severely punished in the American army, and especially so if committed by officers. § 12. Whenever feasible. Martial Law is carried out, in cases of individual offences, by courts-martial, and sentences of death shall be executed only by the approval of the com- mander of the army corps, provided the urgency of the case does not require a speedier execution. In no case shall a sentence of death by court-martial be executed without the approval of a general officer. The finding of a court-martial, judging an enemy, may be set aside, in urgent cases, by the authority which has c;dled together the court-martial, when a new court-martial is to be ordered ; but it is against the plain demands of justice and fairness, if the authority, which has ordered a court-martial, not only sets aside the finding, but inflicts a severer punishment than that in the finding. Instances to the contrary of this rule, in the history of war, although in the case of great captains, are not to be imitated. §13. The law of war can no more wholly dispense with Retaliation than can the law of nations, of which it is a branch. Yet civilized nations acknowledge Retaliation as the sternest feature of war. A reckless enemy often leaves to his opponent no other mean- of securing himself against the repetition of barbarous outrage. The American people demand of their generals that Re- taliation lie never resorted to as a measure of mere revenge, but only as a means of protective retribution, and, moreover, cautiously, justly, and unavoidably; that is to say, retalia- tion shall only be resorted to after careful inquiry, not blinded by pas-ion, into the real occurrence, and the character of the misdeeds that may demand retribution, after an unsuccessful summons of the enemy to punish the evil-doers, and without transgressing the bounds of strict retaliation. Doubtful Retaliation removes the belligerents farther and farther from the mitigating rules of a regular war, and by rapid steps leads them nearer to the internecine wars of savages.