Secretary of War.
PROCLAMATION SUSPENDING THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS,
JULY 5, 1864.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, by a proclamation which was issued on the 15th day of April, 1861, the President of the United States announced and declared that the laws of the United States had been for some time past, and then were, opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in certain States therein mentioned, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings or by the power vested in the marshals by law; and
Whereas, immediately after the issuing of the said proclamation the land and naval forces of the United States were put into activity to suppress the said insurrections and rebellion; and
Whereas, the Congress of the United States, by an act approved on the third day of March, 1863, did enact that during the said rebellion the President of the United States, whenever in his judgment the public safety may require it, is authorized to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in any case throughout the United States, or any part thereof; and
Whereas, the said insurrection and rebellion still continue, endangering the existence of the Constitution and Government of the United States; and