The military occupation of Richmond, 1865-1870

It has been my hope to present this paper as a part of the historical portrayal of the U. S. Amy\u27s experience with \u27\u27military government and civil affairs. With this view in mind, I have devoted the first chapter to a brief history of the army\u27s occupation experiences, especially through the Civil War. Additionally, I have attempted to define and clarify several terms used to differentiate the use of military authority. More specifically, the purpose of this thesis is to determine the extent of military control affecting the govermant of Richmond during the 1865-1870 period following the Civil War. l have not attempted to evaluate the motives of Congress or the Presidents for their actions which established and continued military occupation in Richmond for almost five years. Nor have I sought to justify or defend Congressional Reconstruction, but only to explain it so far as it affected Richmond. I have been primarily concerned with the orders, letters, and actions of military commanders which dealt with the operation and management of the city\u27s government. One signtficant research problem encountered was that of the Freedmen\u27s Bureau. Although scattered Bureau records have been used, l have made no attempt to assess the local Bureau records deposited in the National Archives in Washington. Any total evaluation of the federal government\u27s activity in Richmond for this period would necessitate extensive research in these records