Civil War History

Robert Bruce Murray's book is a historical treatise and analysis of jurisprudence arising out of the Civil War, and he recounts the litigation that went before the Supreme Court from 1861 to 1871. The Civil War and its aftermath led to a number of legal dilemmas that involved topics like property rights, political radicalism, loyalty oaths, currency issues, war financing, contract disputes, and prisoners of war. Murray divides each case into three sections: an overview, the argument before the court, and the opinion of the court, including summaries of justices who dissented with the majority ruling.

The Supreme Court dealt with subjects that reflected the political, economic, and social climate of the period. Murray provides information about famous cases such as Vallandigham and Milligan, regarding the use of military commissions against civilians, and the Prize cases involving the constitutionality of the Union blockade against Southern ports. The author also includes Court cases that are not as nationally recognized, particularly chapters on legal tender-specie, bond issues, Confederate money, and taxation.

The Justice case illustrated procurement problems during the conflict. Philip S. Justice was a Union gun supplier who sued the government for full payment for rendered services. During a second inspection of his arms in Pennsylvania, troops found the muskets to be defective. The opinion of the Court upheld the refusal to pay because the guns did not constitute honest representation by a contractor. However, Dean v. Nelson characterized the complications of Northerners and Southerners who did business together once the conflict began. Thompson Dean, a resident of Cincinnati, held shares in a company operating in Memphis. He transferred his shares to James H. Pepper, who then sold them to Thomas A. Nelson. Dean proceeded to foreclose because Nelson could not make the payments. The Supreme Court ruled that the foreclosure was invalid since Nelson could not possibly fulfill the contract in sufficient time while living in the South. The justices' decisions regarding these cases continue to determine the boundaries of congressional [End Page 325] and presidential powers. For example, the Supreme Court ruled in the Pacific Insurance Company case that taxes based on income were excise rather than a direct tax, so the law and its amendments were constitutional.

The book does have some minor shortcomings. Murray relies upon the U.S. Supreme Court Reports as the primary source to compile the summaries for each case. He does provide a one-page selective bibliography, but a more complete and extensive list of secondary sources of available scholarship would be desirable. The result is that the end notes for each chapter are very limited in scope. But Appendixes A and B are very helpful for the reader: the first is a brief summary of each case, and the second includes the personal background of the justices. In another instance, Murray refers to the Judiciary Acts of 1789 and 1869 throughout the narrative but fails to provide an appendix that would have served as a good tool for reference and information while reading specific cases. In addition, the author could have provided some concluding paragraphs on the outcomes of certain cases. For example, the justices ordered a new trial in Hickman v. Jones that involved malicious prosecution for treason against the Confederacy or in Delmas v. Henderson, where the Court remanded a mortgage note issue back to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Overall, this work is an excellent introduction for those who wish to study judicial matters that emerged from a turbulent time in United States history. Murray's clarity in presenting each case makes the book a must-read for legal and nineteenth-century American history scholars. Legal Cases of the Civil War is a welcome addition in this field of study and can easily be adapted for use in graduate history programs and law school courses.