Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

[Nathan Dodds]

Hello all!

I have been reading some information a relative of mine sent my dad several years ago, about my 4x great-grandfather. In this information it lists that after the war, as many former Confederate soldiers did, he
signed an oath of allegiance to the United States on July 30, 1867. My question is, how did this oath system work? Where did this signed oath go after it was submitted and where can I find record of it today? Unfortunately I am not able to contact the relative that gave me this information. Any Help would be greatly appreciated!

[4vaadjutant]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

Hello, Nathan! My great-grandfather also signed an oath of allegiance, which I found in his military service records at the National Archives. It seems appropriate that such documents would have become a part of their records, so you might check your ancestor’s records there. You might also find other interesting items in those records, such a pay vouchers. In the files of my ancestors who were officers I have found correspondence, requisition forms, letters of recommendation for promotions, and in one file I found a nine page letter written to support an application for discharge. The letter outlined his military service from when he first enlisted in 1861 to shortly after the Battle of Chickamauga. For Confederate soldiers the records are more hit or miss, which should be anticipated as a result of the collapse of the Confederate government at the end f the war. Best of luck with your research.

Tom Williams
4th Virginia Infantry
Indianapolis

[WpnsMan]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

Oaths of Allegiance were generally subscribed to before a POW was released on parole.

In the immediate post war period, Soldiers who were not present at an actual surrender but were included in the terms (those hospitalized, on medical furlough, detached duty or, those who just disbanded) were required to report to a local Provost Marshall or, Notary Public to sign an Amnesty Oath. Until the did so, they were not considered citizens with the right thereof.

Robert E. Lee didn't sign an Amnesty Oath until Oct of 1865 in Lexington.

[Savez]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

What's his name and regiment? I'll try to find the record.

[Nathan Dodds]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

James M. Dodds, 10th Georgia Infantry.

[4vaadjutant]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

Since the Oath of Allegiance signed by Gen. Robert E. Lee has been referenced in this thread, the story about the restoration of his U. S. citizenship might be of interest to some readers. More details about how the amnesty procedure and use of the Form of Oath are also contained in this information. I hope this helps in understanding this important process.

When Lee met with Gen. U. S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, he was particularly pleased with the last sentence of the document outlining the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. Grant had written, “. . . each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes not to be disturbed by the United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.” It was obvious that Grant, representing the wishes of President Abraham Lincoln, wanted the Confederate soldiers to go home and resume their occupations in a reunited nation. Little did the two icons of the concluding war realize how important those words would be.

Following the surrender of Lee’s army at Appomattox, Grant recognized the importance of reunifying the country as quickly as practicable. In 1863 and again in 1864 Lincoln had issued proclamations of general amnesty to all Confederates except for certain classes. All that most soldiers had to do was sign a simple oath of allegiance to the United States and agree to live as a law abiding citizen. After Lincoln’s death, the signing of an oath of allegiance as a condition of receiving amnesty remained tacitly in effect; but, it is significant to note this requirement was not generally understood throughout the South.

Grant felt that if Lee would apply for amnesty, his leadership could be an important example to achieving the goal of reuniting the nation quickly and peaceably. On May 5, just a few days more than three weeks after Appomattox, Grant wrote to Major General Halleck to explain his belief: “Although it would meet with opposition in the North to allow Lee the benefit of amnesty, I think it would have the best possible effect toward restoring good feeling and peace in the South to have him come in. All the people except a few political leaders in the South will accept whatever he does as right, and will be guided to a great extent by his example.”

On the same day that Grant wrote to Halleck, Lee was visited by an old friend of his from the old army, General George Gordon Meade, who urged him to sign the oath as an example to others in the South. Matters in the South, especially in Virginia, were a bit unsettled at that time and Lee told Meade that he could not take a personal position on the question until the policies of the Federal government became clearer. Besides, he argued, he had already made a similar pledge when he was paroled after the surrender at Appomattox. However, if his further action in this regard was to serve as an example, he must be governed by what he thought would be best for the people of the South. On that impasse, Lee and Meade parted.

After the cessation of hostilities and all of the organized Confederate armies had surrendered to Federal authorities, President Andrew Johnson issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon on May 29, 1865, about six weeks after the surrender of Lee’s Army at Appomattox, to “induce all persons to return to their loyalty” to the United States of America. Each person swearing an Oath of Amnesty would have all rights of property restored except that of owning slaves. When Lee read about the proclamation in a newspaper, it was a statement of Federal policy that he told Meade he needed before he could seek a pardon. What Lee saw was that by taking this oath of loyalty to the United States most of those who had sworn to support the Confederacy could be reinstated as citizens.

Certain classes of individuals, however, were exempted from the benefits of this proclamation, which included Robert E. Lee, who qualified for any one of three of the fourteen classes. Those that applied to Lee were: he held a rank higher than a colonel in the Confederate Army; he had resigned from the U. S. Army to “evade duty in resisting the rebellion; and, he had been educated by the Government at the Military Academy at West Point. The terms of the proclamation allowed people in the special classes to apply directly to the President for a pardon. While Lee considered some aspects of the oath-taking to be “absurd,” he felt they were within the parameters acceptable to him.

While Lee considered the benefits and meaning of taking advantage of the President’s amnesty proclamation, another serious problem came to his attention. In mid-June, 1865, Lee was informed that a Federal grand jury in Norfolk had indicted him for treason, a crime possibly punishable by death by hanging. When this news became public it caused much fear and anger throughout the South, which was counterproductive to Grant’s plans at reuniting the Southern States. Numerous lawyers from both Northern and Southern states offered to assist Lee with his defense. First, however, he wanted to ascertain his rights with regard to the terms of the parole given to him and his soldiers by Grant upon their surrender. It was his belief that the words “not to be disturbed by the United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside” meant just that and no further action would be taken against them, including Lee.

Lee contacted Grant with his question about the intent of the terms of surrender, who quickly responded to Lee that he was in complete agreement. Grant encouraged Lee to apply for his pardon, which Grant would endorse. Although Lee did not know it, Grant also let be known in Washington’s political circles that he would resign from the army in protest if Lee were arrested.

On June 13, 1865, six days after being indicted for treason, Lee forwarded to Grant his application to President Johnson for “the benefits and full restoration of all rights and privileges” of U. S. citizenship. In his letter to Grant, Lee said it was important to him that everyone understand that he had determined to apply for citizenship before learning of the treason indictment, and he did not want anyone to believe he was seeking a pardon to avoid a trial. Lee did not include a Form of Oath with his application because no order requiring it had been received in Richmond at the time he wrote to Grant.

Grant wrote to Johnson giving an “earnest recommendation” that Lee be pardoned. He further asked that the Federal judge in whose jurisdiction the Lee indictment was filed “be ordered to quash all indictments against paroled prisoners of war, and to desist from further prosecution of them.” Johnson ignored the recommendations.

Lee’s action caused mixed results in the North and South. In the North many felt that Lee would be let off too easily, while others such as Henry Ward Beecher, the famous preacher, abolitionist, and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, strongly commended Lee for his decision. In the South, while some felt betrayed by his action, thousands of former Confederate soldiers followed his lead.

The Form of Oath signed by Lee that is in the files of the National Archives is dated October 2, 1865. There is no clear record of why his oath was signed almost four months after submitting his pardon request to the President through Grant. Piecing the evidence together shows the requirement of the Form of Oath was not known in Richmond at the time of Lee’s application for amnesty, as reported earlier. It appears that Grant might not have been aware of the oath requirement as he received, endorsed and forwarded Lee’s letter requesting the restoration of his rights without a Form of Oath. If Grant was aware of the oath requirement, he might not have believed it was necessary in Lee’s case because of the terms agreed to at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Subsequent to submitting his application for amnesty Lee was approached by the trustees of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, to serve as its president. He at first declined the invitation, in part because of the amnesty issue and the cloud of the treason indictment potentially tarnishing the image and reputation of the institution. He was assured that his experience as the superintendant of the West Point Military Academy would benefit the operations of the college, and the trustees did not view the amnesty and treason questions with any serious concern. In fact, the chairman of the school’s board of trustees, Judge John Brockenbrough, assured Lee that far from hurting the college by associating his name with it, “you have only to stretch forth your powerful arm to rescue it,” and further stated that “You alone can fill its halls, by attracting to them not the youth of Virginia alone but of all the Southern and some even of the Northern States.”

It can be reasonably speculated that Lee learned of the Form of Oath requirement some time after submitting his letter requesting a pardon. A glimpse into how he framed his view about signing the oath might be gleaned from a letter by him to the board of trustees, in which he states: “I think it the duty of every citizen, in the present condition of the Country, to do all in his power to aid in the restoration of peace and harmony, and in no way to oppose the policy of the State or General Government directed to that object. It is particularly incumbent upon those charged with the instruction of the young to set them an example of submission to authority . . .” The act of setting an example for other Southerners, especially the younger people of the South, as encouraged by Grant and Meade, appears to have gained Lee’s acceptance.

On the morning of October 2, 1865, Lee commenced a new chapter of his life when he was ushered into a classroom in South Hall of Washington College to be installed as the school’s new president. The trustees wanted to make the day a holiday with a brass band playing and a public parade to mark the occasion, but Lee would have none of it because he did not favor such demonstrations. The town was also under martial law at the time and Lee did not want to become the center of attention in the commuity.

The room was filled with early-arriving students, the faculty, local officials and the ministers of the town’s churches. There was even a correspondent from the New York Herald in attendance who described Lee as being “dressed in a plain but elegant suit of gray” – one of is uniforms, stripped of insignia because he had no other suits at that time. The reporter was surprised that the pastor of Lexington’s Presbyterian Church “prayed for the President of the United States” during his invocation. After Lee was verbally administered the oath of office as president of Washington College he signed a document confirming his pledge.

That was not the only oath signed by Lee that day. Because he had not included a Form of Oath with his application for pardon, as discussed earlier, he signed the form to complete his appeal and do all he could to protect the college. Lee submitted the form to Washington by reliable channels, but he never received a receipt of it from any Federal office. He felt this indicated to him the government’s desire to keep him in a state of limbo, neither pardoned nor brought to trial for treason (after Grant’s intervention the court decided to not pursue the matter but also refused to dismiss the case against Lee). He decided not to pursue the matter of amnesty.

Lee’s Oath of Allegiance somehow landed on the desk of Secretary of State William Seward, the official who would soon purchase Alaska from Russia. It appears he believed that since the document had been directed to his office it had been processed and duly recorded on Lee’s behalf. He consequently gave the form as a souvenir to a friend who pigeonholed the document in his desk and forgot about it. One hundred five years later, in 1970, the form was found in a bundle of papers at the National Archives. Over the next five years three attempts to have Congress restore President Lee’s citizenship finally succeeded on a 407-10 vote by the House of Representatives.

To Lee’s detractors as well as those who were pushing for harsh reparations on the states of the former Confederacy during the years of Reconstruction, they had the satisfaction that the former commander of the Army of Northern Virginia was never pardoned during their lifetime and died stateless.

Sources Used for this Article.

Dowdey, Clifford, "Lee," Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1965.

Dowdey, Clifford and Manarin, Louis H., "The Wartime Papers of R. E. Lee," Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1961.

Flood, Charles Bracelen, "Lee: The Last Years," Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1981.

Freeman, Douglas Southall, "R. E. Lee, A Biography," Vol. IV, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1935.

Lee, Robert E., Jr., "Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee," Doubleday, Page & Company, New York, 1904.

National Archives Internet Website.

Taylor, Walter H., "General Lee – His Campaigns in Virginia 1861-1865," Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, 1975.

Tom Williams
4thVirginia Infantry
Indianapolis

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

Awesome, Tom! Thank you!

[Nathan Dodds]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

Very interesting read, thanks!!

[Savez]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

It seems that J. M. Dodds was discharged from Confederate Service in November of 1862 after having his left forearm amputated. The Oath of Allegiance is not located in his service records. It wasn't located in his pension records either. He did receive 100 dollars for the loss of his arm when he filed for pension.

[Nathan Dodds]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

Clint, thanks for that info! Would the record of the oath of allegiance typically be seen in service and pension records?

[JLH]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

'The Oath of Allegiance' in the South is known as 'Swallowing the Dog'

During Reconstruction, Ladies in the South would have to 'Pledge their Allegiance' before being able to buy goods.

[maillemaker]

Re: Confederate Oaths of Allegiance after the Civil War?

One hundred five years later, in 1970, the form was found in a bundle of papers at the National Archives. Over the next five years three attempts to have Congress restore President Lee’s citizenship finally succeeded on a 407-10 vote by the House of Representatives.

Does this mean that Lee was restored his citizenship in 1975?

Steve