Following His Arrival In The East, Pope Issued A Number Of Incendiary Instructions Directed At Virginia's Civilian Population, Which Enraged The Soldiers In His Own Army

General Orders 5, 7, 11, and 19 were the orders that laid out Pope's plan for future operations in Virginia. Numbers 5 and 11 detailed how the army was to treat Virginia's civilian population, while number 5 said that "troops of this command will survive upon the nation in which their operations are carried on." Included were laws that prohibited civilian compensation for Confederate incursions into their lands, mandated immediate arrest or exile for any male who refused to swear allegiance to the Union, and held civilians accountable for any damage done to Union military property within five miles of their properties.

After arriving in Virginia, Pope gave a speech in which he claimed, "“I come to you from the West, where we have always seen the backs of our enemies; from an Army whose business it has been to seek the adversary and beat him when he was found, whose policy has been attack and not defense." Pope also alienated himself from his own men. Pope was later described as "I don’t care for a pinch of owl dung." by a fellow officer.