Alaska was purchased form Russia by the efforts of Secretary of State William Seward in 1867 and became the Department of Alaska with the capital at Sitka. In 1868 Alaska was put under military rule and renamed the District of Alaska for the next 2 decades. An original US Army General Order by General Ulysses S Grant, Headquarters of the Army, Washington, March 18, 1868 directing the District of Alaska will constitute a Military Department  with General Jefferson C Davis Commanding, HQ at Sitka. 1p 8 x 5" ptd.  Age spots, edge wear, 2 punch holes in left margin, Overall VG.

General & Special Orders were issued to communicate commands and information to the Army. Each order, issued in writing by a command, was then printed for distribution to each unit, either at an army department headquarter or by commanders at local headquarters, sometimes in the field on portable printing presses. The orders were then issued to regiments, often to be read aloud to the troops.

General Orders were printed as issued with date & location; at the end of a year the  regimental adjutant might retain them loose or simply string bind them by punching holes or cut slits in the left margin and stringing on ¼” red cloth string tape (the source of the old expression "government red tape"). Sometimes an officer or HQ clerk might take a group of orders to a local print shop or bookbinder and have an accumulation bound with leather or cloth covers.

Usually, American Military Orders of the 19^th century including Civil War era were printed on an 8 x 5” sheet of quality rag paper.

Welcome to my Ebay Auctions and Ebay Store. I am a specialist in early American Military & Historical items, especially American Civil War ephemera- letters, military & historic documents including broadsides, commissions,  General Orders and other imprints.  I have been collecting and selling original American Civil War & US Military memorabilia for 35 years

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