African American History, General Orders, signed by T. D. Hodges, Capt of the 35th United States Colored Troops. Document titled Headquarters, Department of the South, Hilton Head, SC April 5, 1865 is regarding a ceremony to raise the flag over Ft Sumter by Major General Anderson on14th April, 1865. ***The 35th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863. ***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 19th century including Civil War era were printed on an 8 x 5? sheet of quality rag paper.