General Orders. Letterpress broadside. Head Quarters Dept. S.W. Virginia & East Tennessee, Dublin, Virginia, 5 September 1864. 11 7/8 x 10 5/8 in. Signed in type by Brig. General Echols and J.L. Sanford. 

A rare, previously unrecorded Confederate broadside issued by Confederate General John Echols (1823-1896), who had taken command of the District of Southwest Virginia on 22 August 1864. Here, he addresses the officers in the district, commanding them to control their men in regards to "depredations having been committed upon the property and citizens of South Western Va. and East Tennessee." The area was occupied by Confederate troops under Felix Zollicoffer from 1861 but there were met with fierce guerilla resistance. 

Throughout the war, the region, and especially East Tennessee, was a Unionist stronghold. Slaves represented only 9% of the total population, as opposed to 29% in Middle Tennessee and 34% in West Tennessee. Enslavement existed only as a luxury and did not form the economic foundation of the region. Representatives from the 26 eastern counties met twice in an attempt to secede from Tennessee and remain in the Federal Union. Confederates adopted tactics ranging from placatory to belligerent. Here, Echols urges his men to hold their own officers responsible. 

The broadside reads in full: "Frequent complaints having reached these Head Quarters of depredations having been committed upon the property of citizens of South Western Va. and East Tennessee, and of the willful and unnecessary waste of the substance of he country by the straggling squads of men connected with the various commands in the Department, the immediate attention of all Commanding Officers is directed thereto; and they are hereby ordered to bring all offenders in this respect to speedy and certain punishment. Officers are responsible for the conduct of their men and they will be held to such responsibility. All citizens, whose property is depredated upon, or whose rights are violated in any way by either officers or men in this Department, are requested to make complaint thereof to these Head Quarters, stating the names of the offenders, and the commands to which they belong, in order that the cases may be promptly investigated and punishment speedily inflicted and restitution made."

EXTREMELY RARE. NO OTHER COPIES LOCATED. Not listed in Parrish & Willingham or Hummel, Southeastern Broadsides. 
 

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