In March of 1865, the situation of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was desperate. As the hungry army was in its last weeks of existence, men were deserting in ever increasing numbers. Some left because they feared what was likely to be Grant’s final offensive against their weary and depleted force. Other ran off because they could no longer justify the sacrifice their families endured for what had become a lost cause. Others were driven away by hunger.
On March 27, 1865, Lee issued General Order Number 8 through his adjutant warning his men that jesting about desertion to their comrades might be punished by execution. The problem was serious, that even as the army was collapsing, Lee demanded that his officers read the order to the men every week for a month.
Note: Caroline Janney’s new book Ends of War discusses Lee’s desertion crisis and the Joke Order.
Source: Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Series 1 Vol. 46 Section 3.
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