Accordingly, on May 15, Butler issued an order to the effect that any woman insulting or showing contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States should be treated as a woman of the town "plying her avocation" - meaning soliciting of prostitution. The order had no sexual connotation; rather, it permitted soldiers to not treat women performing such acts as ladies. If a woman punched a soldier, for example, he could punch her back. Known as the "Woman's Order," it nonetheless was very controversial at home and abroad, and was a cause of Butler's removal from command of New Orleans on December 16, 1862.