PREFACE. IN issuing this Report of the Trial of the Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham, by a Military Commission, convened in Cincinnati by order of Major-General Burnside, for language in violation of General Order No. 38, used at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and of the proceedings before the Hon. H. H. Leavitt, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio, under the application for a writ of Habeas Corpus, the publishers are influenced, in part, by the expressed desire of many members of the bar to have such publication made, but chiefly because the great principles involved in the investigation, and the ability and learning displayed in the arguments of counsel and the opinion of the Court, give the cases sufficient interest and importance to justify their preservation in the substantial form of a book. The military orders and the proceedings of the Military Commission are published with the consent of Major-General Burnside; while, through the courtesy of Brigadier-General Cox, the publishers have been enabled to verify their report by a careful comparison with the original record. The arguments of counsel and the opinion of the Court in the Habeas Corpus case have been prepared for the press by their respective authors. Thus the book obtains that authenticity which makes it per fectly reliable both in its historical and judicial aspects. RICKEY & CARROLL, GENERAL ORDER No. 38. HEAD-QUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, The Commanding General publishes, for the information of all concerned, that hereafter all persons found within our lines who commit acts for the benefit of the enemies of our country will be tried as spies or traitors, and, if convicted, will suffer death. This order includes the following class of persons: Carriers of secret mails. Writers of letters sent by secret mails. Secret recruiting officers within the lines. Persons who have entered into an agreement to pass our lines for the purpose of joining the enemy. Persons found concealed within our lines belonging to the service of the enemy, and, in fact, all persons found improperly within our lines, who could give private information to the enemy. All persons within our lines who harbor, protect, conceal, feed, clothe, or in any way aid the enemies of our country. The habit of declaring sympathies for the enemy will not be allowed in this Department. Persons committing such offenses will be at once arrested, with a view to being tried as above stated, or sent beyond our lines into the lines of their friends. It must be distinctly understood that treason, expressed or implied, will not be tolerated in this Department. All officers and soldiers are strictly charged with the execution of this order. By command of Major-General BURNSIDE. Official: D. R. LARNED, LEWIS RICHMOND, Assistant Adjutant-General. Captain and Assistant Adjutant-General. |