General Orders 1863

Lot 294

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Rare Books, Autographs & Maps

By Doyle

Nov 25, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-11-25 10:00:00 2025-11-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Rare Books, Autographs & Maps https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/doyle/rare-books-autographs-maps-21321 Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 10am Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Collection Doyle info@doyle.com

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Lot Description

[EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION] A set of War Department General Orders for 1863, including the Emancipation Proclamation. Washington: January 1863-December 1863. Two volumes, half black leather over marbled boards with gilt title stamped on spine, 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches (14 x 10 cm); The first volume comprises the General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Numbers 1-221, 2 January 1863 to 16 July 1863, lacking general orders 55, 63, 116-119, 148. The second volume comprises General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Numbers 222-400, 16 July 1863 to 28 December 1863. Both volumes with much annotation in ink, some light soiling but the text very clean overall. Bindings shelfworn; upper board of volume 1 is detached and its spine almost loose. Joints on volume 2 tender but holding. Provenance: The front pastedowns with the signature of Bvt. Col. E.J. Welles(??) A rare complete collection of the original War Department General Orders of 1862-63, including the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation (General Order No. 139, September 22, 1862) and the official Emancipation Proclamation issued as General Order No. 1 on 2 January 1863. According to Eberstadt, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation is the fourth printing overall and the first issued to the military, and the Emancipation Proclamation is the fifth edition overall. President Lincoln waited until the Union had repelled the Confederates at Antietam to issue the preliminary proclamation, which took effect on the first day of 1863. The Proclamation is noted for its direct and decisive language: "By the President of the United States of America ... That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom." This order would have been seen as a critical moment in the war by the generals and captains who received the order. Beyond the Emancipation Proclamation, the orders, regulations, and court-martial records in these volumes provide a fascinating look at the texture of life as a soldier or officer in the Civil War. Eberstadt 12; Grolier Club, One Hundred Influential American Books, 71; Streeter 1751.

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