Presidential Order Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order—General Orders: 104

•

Saturday, December 28, 1867

•

1 min read (223 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Andrew Johnson on 1867-12-28, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "—General Orders: 104." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ Brevet Major-General John Pope is hereby relieved of the command of the Third Military District, and will report without delay at the Headquarters of the Army for further orders, turning over his command to the next senior officer until the arrival of his successor.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

223

1,399 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

11.3

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order, "Executive Order—General Orders: 104," Andrew Johnson (Dec 28, 1867). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-general-orders-104.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE By direction of the President of the United States, the following orders are made: I. Brevet Major-General E. O. C. Ord will turn over the command of the Fourth Military District to Brevet Major-General A.C. Gillem, and proceed to San Francisco, Cal., to take command of the Department of California. II. On being relieved by Brevet Major-General Ord, Brevet Major-General Irvin McDowell will proceed to Vicksburg, Miss., and relieve General Gillem in command of the Fourth Military District. III. Brevet Major-General John Pope is hereby relieved of the command of the Third Military District, and will report without delay at the Headquarters of the Army for further orders, turning over his command to the next senior officer until the arrival of his successor. IV. Major-General George G. Meade is assigned to the command of the Third Military District, and will assume it without delay. The Department of the East will be commanded by the senior officer now on duty in it until a commander is named by the President. V. The officers assigned in the foregoing orders to command of military districts will exercise therein any and all powers conferred by acts of Congress upon district commanders, and also any and all powers pertaining to military-department commanders. By command of General Grant: E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant-General.