Stories and Anecdotes About Abraham Lincoln

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LINCOLN'S "ORDER NO. 252."

After the United States had enlisted former negro slaves as soldiers to fight alongside the Northern troops for the maintenance of the integrity of the Union, so great was the indignation of the Confederate Government that President Davis declared he would not recognize blacks captured in battle and in uniform as prisoners of war. This meant that he would have them returned to their previous owners, have them flogged and fined for running away from their masters, or even shot if he felt like it. This attitude of the President of the Confederate States of America led to the promulgation of President Lincoln's famous "Order No. 252," which, in effect, was a notification to the commanding officers of the Southern forces that if negro prisoners of war were not treated as such, the Union commanders would retaliate. "Harper's Weekly" of August 15th, 1863, contained a clever cartoon, which we reproduce, representing President Lincoln holding the South by the collar, while "Old Abe" shouts the following words of warning to Jeff Davis, who, cat-o'-nine-tails in hand, is in pursuit of a terrified little negro boy:

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