The Confederate Congress had voted Jefferson Davis the authority to declare martial law and suspend habeas corpus in "cities threatened with invasion." He made use of this power, declaring these restrictions in place in the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, including the surrounding countryside up to the distance of ten miles. Davis followed this with a similar declarion including Richmond, the capital, two days later. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1862), IV: 43.
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Lawmaking/Litigating
