On May 1, 1862, nearing the second year of the Civil War, Commodore Farragut captured the city of New Orleans for the Union; General Benjamin Butler was subsequently given the charge of keeping order in the city. His policy was that of terror not only against the Confederate army but also against the people of New Orleans, and more specifically, the white women of New Orlenas. Provoked by lower class women who allegedly spat and in one instance emptied a chamber pot from a French Quarter balcony on Farragut’s head (Benfey 51), General Butler passed Order Number 28, better known as the “Women Order,” in which he projected:
As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subjected to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans, in return for the most scrupulous noninterference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall, by word, gesture, or movement, insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States, she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation (qtd. Faust)
This order was not only looked down upon by Confederate President Davis, who in a Proclamation declared "the said Benjamin F. Butler to be a felon, deserving of capital punishment" (qtd. Faust), but also by the British Prime minister and most French Diplomats. Historian Gerald Capers in fact regarded the order as “one of the greatest atrocity stories of the Civil War” (qtd. Benfey 52). The order was an “atrocity story” because it signified a declaration of a war on women in New Orleans.
The son of a Creole mother from New Orleans, Degas would have inevitably taken interest in news of General Butler's Women Order on that fateful May 15, 1862. And if he had not, the exile of his relatives – Estelle, Didi and Mme. Michel Musson – from the United States to France would have served as a stark reminder of the plight of women in New Orleans. Thus, the suffering of women became a thematic concern for Degas throughout the decade from 1863 to 1873 (Benfey 58). His perception of the melancholy position of women culminates in The Scene of a War from the Middle Ages (1863) at the time of his relative’s arrival in Paris. In this painting, Degas’ portrayal of beaten, naked women at the left and dressed men riding on horses at the right showcases the brutality shown against women. Although his anachronism - which is illustrated by his mixing armors from circa 1740 and bows too short for medieval times (Benfey 58) - appears to betray the idea that his is a depiction of the suffering of women during the Civil War, it actually contributes to the portrayal of Butler’s war on women as primitive and savage. The Scene of a War from the Middle Ages, therefore, depicts a medieval battle fought in modern times against women. This battle lasted two years, from 1862 to 1864, when General Butler was finally removed from his post. Not coincidentally, the Musson women went back to their native town at the conclusion of the reign of “Butler the Beast.”
Images:
Unknown source, Banner protesting the Women Orders, c1862 (Fause).
Degas, Edgar. The Scenes of a War from the Middle Ages. Unknown Collection, c1863.