Charles Halpine Battle Orders. Three pages, on Head Quarters Department of the South bifolium, 7.75" x 9.75", docketed on the verso, Hilton Head, South Carolina, June 20, 1862, to Lt. Col. Lewis Bell. In a remarkable letter, Assistant-Adjutant-General Halpine gives orders to transport Union soldiers, guilty of harboring and and informing a Confederate sergeant, to his headquarters, held in heavy irons. He then goes on to order the Lt. Col. that he "shall take the most rigorous and prompt measures for the suppression" of "roving bands of Confederate guerillas" known to capture and hang Southern civilians loyal to the Union, including the threat of arming of "all negroes and Indians who may be willing to enter the service." 

Charles G. Halpine was an Irish immigrant, author, and journalist, writing and editing for the Boston Post and New York Times. In 1861, at the beginning of the Civil War, Halpine enlisted in the army and went on to earn the rank of major, accompanying General David Hunter to Hilton Head as assistant-adjutant-general. While there, he wrote a series of poems in the character of an Irish private, as well as these orders. He died from an undiluted dose of chloroform on August 3, 1868.

Condition: Smooth folds, even toning with slight yellowing at the left edge, and a small stain at the upper-right edge.