Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field

by Francis Lieber, Steve Sheppard (New Introduction), Joseph Perkovich (Editor)

Lieber, Francis. Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field. Originally published: Washington: Government Printing Office, 1898. 51 pp. [With] Lieber, Francis. Guerilla Parties Considered with Reference to the Laws and Usages of War. Originally published: New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862. 22 pp. With a new introduction by Steve Sheppard, William Enfield Professor of Law, University of Arkansas School of Law. A title in the Lawbook Exchange series Foundations of the Laws of War, General Editor Joseph Perkovich. Known officially as General Orders No. 100, Lieber's code (1863) was the first of its kind. The foundation of the modern international law of war, it served as the model for several European military codes and was an important source for the second and fourth Hague Conventions (1899, 1907). It was an authority during the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crime trials. Its use by the framers of the 1998 Rome Treaty, which established the International Criminal Court, demonstrates its lasting value in our time. Indeed, with only a handful of modifications it is used by the U.S. Military today. This edition, printed by the Adjutant General for use in the Spanish-American War, is unchanged from the original. It is enhanced by Professor Sheppard's illuminating introductory essay and the addition of Lieber's Guerrilla Parties Considered with Reference to the Laws and Usages of War (1862), which contains several ideas that were used in the Code.

90 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2005

About the author

Francis Lieber (1798 or 1800 – 1872), known as Franz Lieber in Germany, was a German-American jurist, gymnast and political philosopher. He edited an Encyclopaedia Americana. He was the author of the Lieber Code during the American Civil War, also known as Code for the Government of Armies in the Field (1863). The Lieber Code is considered the first document to comprehensively outline rules regulating the conduct of war, and laid the foundation for the Geneva Conventions.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and digestible manual for ethical warfare. The United States redefined modern warfare with The Lieber Code, which now all Western military law is based on. If I taught a civics class, this would be one of my required readings.