RAWLINS, JOHN AARON (1831-69) Union Brigadier General - Illinois; U.S. Secretary of War – 1869
Civil War-Date Document Signed - General Grant banishes Prostitutes from the District of West Tennessee
Document Signed, 7 ¾” x 10”, a manuscript special order, signed by Rawlins as assistant adjutant general on behalf of Major General Ulysses S. Grant. The order explicitly bans the unauthorized travel of women from northern rail points to the army’s encampments, along with their presence in camp.
“Head Quarters District of West Tennessee.
Corinth, Miss[issippi], July 20th 1862.
Special Order
No. 139.
No females will be allowed to leave Columbus, Kentucky, or any intermediate railway Station by Railroad, to join any part of the Army of this District without a special written permit from Department Head Quarters or these Head Quarters. All females from abroad remaining within Camp lines after the 31st instant, not having such permits, shall be arrested and sent out of the District. Division, Brigade, Port, Regimental, and Company Commanders will see to the faithful execution of this order throughout their respective Commands.
By Command of Maj[or] Gen[eral] U.S. Grant.
Jno. A. Rawlins,
Ass[istan]t Adj[uta]nt Gen[era]l.
As early-war offensives made inroads into Confederate territory, both east and west, the occupying Union Army was inevitably followed by another, consisting of profiteers and opportunists of all types, including prostitutes. By this order, Grant intends to thwart the proliferation of prostitution among army personnel in the newly occupied regions of Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and Alabama, secured by the recent Union victory at the Battle of Shiloh.
Excellent, with light, even toning and two horizontal folds.
