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Military Justice and the Civil War, Virtual Presentation

Hosted by the North Jersey Civil War Roundtable

During the Civil War, military tribunals raised constitutional & civil liberty concerns. Explore the trial of Andersonville commander Henry Wirz & the Supreme Court’s 1868 Ex parte Milligan ruling.

During the Civil War, the Union forces frequently used military tribunals as an alternative forum instead of civilian courts to maintain law and order in both the North and areas in the South under their control. Their use raised serious constitutional and civil liberty concerns. Nevertheless, they were an important feature of the laws of war that were then being developed by the Lincoln Administration. The program will focus on the notorious 1865 trial by military tribunal of Confederate Captain Henry Wirz, the commandant of Andersonville Prison, who was the only person executed for the wartime atrocities. It will also  examine the limitations on the use of military tribunals established in the famous Supreme Court case, Ex parte Milligan (1868). Along the way, we will explore the fairness of military tribunals and their use  in enforcing individual responsibility for wartime atrocities — questions that would surface again in the war-crimes trials of the 20th century. 

Chat Room opens at 6:30pm and the program begins at 7pm 

About the Presenters: 

John C. ("Jay") Maloney, Jr. is a trial lawyer and complex commercial litigation attorney at a Morristown law firm who practices in both New Jersey and New York. He has been studying and lecturing on the  Civil War and constitutional history for over fifty years. He and his wife live in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

Maurice Lefkort has been studying, writing about and lecturing on the Civil War and legal history for over forty years.  Maurice practices corporate law at a major New York law firm where he advises clients on complex transactions that transform businesses.  He is married, with two children, and resides in New Jersey.

Tom Hildner retired from the practice of law after serving for 50 years as a trial lawyer in New Jersey, New York and other states. He has a particular interest in Civil War and Reconstruction era legal topics and has presented  before the NJCWRT on numerous occasions. He is a U.S. Army veteran. He and his wife live in Essex County, New Jersey.

About the North Jersey Civil War Round Table: One of the largest round tables in the United States, the North Jersey Civil War Round Table is known for the caliber of our speakers and membership participation. The NJCWRT stresses the military/socio/economic aspects of the Civil War and its lasting legacy. Members include noted historians, teachers, and scholars, members of the judiciary, professionals and others who are interested in the Civil War.  Speakers have included two Pulitzer Prize winners, James M. McPherson and Eric Foner; Civil War icon, Ed Bearss; New Jersey historian John T. Cunningham; Rutgers Professor Louis Masur; S.C. Gwynne; Craig L .Symonds;  James Bud Robertson; Thomas Fleming; and pre-eminent Lincoln scholar, Michael Burlingame.

Register online or by calling the Roxbury Library at 973 584-2400.  This program is hosted by the North Jersey Civil War Roundtable.

The virtual link will be sent the day before the program.

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