General Order No. 11
General Order No. 11 was the title of an order issued by Major-General Ulysses S. Grant on 17 December 1862, during the American Civil War. The military order instructed the expulsion of all Jews in Grant's military district, comprising areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. The order was issued as part of a campaign against a black market in Southern cotton, which was stated to be run "mostly by Jews and other unprincipled traders."
Following protests from Jewish community leaders and an outcry by members of Congress and the press, it was revoked a few weeks later by order of President Abraham Lincoln.
Grant later claimed it had been drafted by a subordinate and that he had signed it without reading it. He claimed that he had wanted to act without prejudice to address a problem that "certain Jews had caused".
See also
- Confederate revisionism: Jewish aspects - On aspects such as Lincoln not revoking harsh deportations of various Southern civilian groups.
