Francis Lieber: Establishing the US Military’s Code of Conduct

In this installment of ‘Profiles in History,’ a Prussian immigrant’s insights on liberty, law, and war become foundational to international law.

Written by legal scholar Francis Lieber, the Lieber Code became the basis for how American military units were to conduct themselves and for the humanitarian treatment during wartime. Public Domain

Francis (Franz) Lieber (1798–1872) wept as he stared out his window in Berlin. Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grande Armée had just defeated the Prussian army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt on Oct. 14, 1806. The French army was now marching in Berlin. The Napoleonic Wars would leave a lasting impression on the German boy; he would grow up to help defeat Napoleon and guide a young nation in formulating its military’s code of conduct.

Lieber, born in Berlin, was the 10th of 12 children born to an ironware dealer. In the spring of 1814, the man who had brought him to tears was defeated. Napoleon abdicated and went into exile at Elba. The teenaged Lieber had not been involved in the fight against Napoleon. But when the French military leader escaped from exile and roused his troops, Lieber did join the war effort.