Book___Aj___
I
I
/
THE LINCOLN FAMILY
From an Engraving by A. B. Walter after the Painting by F. Schell
THE
WORKS
OF
ABRAHAM
LINCOLN
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
MESSAGES TO CONGRESS
MILITARY ORDERS
MEMORANDA, Etc.
Introductions and Special Articles by
Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft
Charles E. Hughes Joseph H. Choate
Henry Watterson Robert G. Ingersoll
And Others
Managing Editors
JOHN H. CLIFFORD
MARION M. MILLER
Volume VIII
THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC,
NEW YORK
.'I I
LIBRARY of CONGRESS
Two Copies Recerved
FEB 10 1909
^ Ocpyrigiit entry _
0LA88 «- XXft No.
COPY S.
.,.ncolntaTit
Copyright, 1908
By The University Society Inc.
CONTENTS
Letters, Telegrams, etc.
Adams, Green, page 218. Andrews, — , 326.
Andrews, Israel D., 265. Armstrong, Mrs.
Hannah, 304. Army of the Potomac^ 201. Ar-
nold, I. N., 349. Ashmun, George, 376. Astor,
John Jacob, Jr., and Others, 316.
Baldwin. D. S. D., 358. Banks, Nathaniel
P., 112. Baptist Home Mission Society, 349.
Bates, Edward, 194. Belmont, August, 147.
Bennett, James Gordon, Z7Z- Birchard, M., and
Others, 267. Bixbv, Mrs., 362. Blair, Francis
P., Sr., 288. Blair, Montgomery, 285. Blow,
H. T., and Others, 249. Blunt, J. G., 296.
Boker, George H., 312. Bouligny, J. E., 240.
Boyle, J. T., 143. Bradford, A. W., 3i4- Bram-
lette, Thomas E., 324. Brown, B. Gratz, 218.
Bryant, J. H., 351. Bryant, William Cullen, 248.
Buell, Don Carlos, 64. Bullitt, Cuthbert, 144.
Burbridge, S. G., 357. Burnside, Ambrose E.,
130.
Campbell, William B., and Others, 360.
Canby, Edward R. S., 365. Capen, F. L., 241.
Carney, Thomas, 283. Chandler, Zachariah,
318. Choate, Joseph H., 367. Clay, Clement C,
and Others, 354. Clay, John M., 150. Clay,
Thomas H., 171. Conkling, F. A., and Others,
351. Conkling, James C, 298. Cooper Insti-
tute Committee, 319. Corning, Erastus, and
Others, 252, Cottman, Thomas, 320. Craw-
ford, S. W., 304. Creswell, J. A. J., 335- Cris-
field, J. W., 130. Curtin, Andrew G., 151.
Gushing, William B., 364.
Davis, Henry Winter, 236. Democratic Meet-
ing at Albany, 251. Dennison, William, 341.
Dix, John A., 138. Dodge, G. M., 369. Drake,
V
THE CORRESPONDENCE OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
(After March 4, 1861)
[Continued]
CORRESPONDENCE
(After March 4, 1861)
\_Continucd.']
Henry W. Halleck.^
On December 2, 1861, the President authorized Gen-
eral Halleck, of the Department of Missouri, to sus-
pend therein the writ of habeas corpus and to exercise
martial law in his discretion.
[Telcgrain.]
Washington, D. C, December 31, 1861.
General H. W. Halleck, St. Louis, Missouri.
General McClellan is sick. Are General Buell
and yourself in concert? When he moves on
Bowling Green, what hinders it being reinforced
from Columbus? A simultaneous movement by
you on Columbus might prevent it.
A. Lincoln.
[Similar despatch to Buell same date.]
Executive Mansion, January i, 1862.
My dear General Halleck: General McClellan
is not dangerously ill, as I hope, but would better
not be disturbed with business. I am very anx-
'At the outbreak of the war General Halleck rivalled
General George B. McClellan in reputation as a military-
authority. A graduate of West Point in 1839, he published
in 1846 a book, The Elements of Military Art and Science,
which was regarded as a classic. He was prominent in
military and political movements in California from 1846
to 1854. The President appointed him commander of the
Department of Missouri in November, 1861.
2 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ious that, in case of General Buell's moving to-
ward Nashville, the enemy shall not be greatly
reinforced, and I think there is danger he will
be from Columbus. It seems to me that a real
or feigned attack on Columbus from up-river at
the same time would either prevent this or com-
pensate for it by throwing Columbus into our
hands. I wrote General Buell a letter similar to
this, meaning that he and you shall communicate
and act in concert, unless it be your judgment
and his that there is no necessity for it. You
and he will understand much better than I how
to do it. Please do not lose time in this matter.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter to Don Carlos Buell, on January i, 1862;
on January 7, 1862 ; on January 13, 1862 ; and on March
8, 1862.
On January 6, 1862, General Halleck wrote the Presi-
dent, describing the helpless condition of his depart-
ment, and stating the impossibility of his aiding Buell
in Kentucky. He said :
Some of the brigadier-generals assigned to this de-
partment are entirely ignorant of their duties and unfit
for any command. I assure you, Mr. President, it is
very difficult to accomplish much with such means. I
am in the condition of a carpenter who is required to
build a bridge with a dull ax, a broken saw, and rotten
timber. It is true that I have some very good green
timber, which will answer the purpose as soon as I can
get it into shape and season it a little. . . .
General Buell's army and the forces at Paducah oc-
cupy precisely the same position in relation to each
other and to the enemy as did the armies of McDowell
and Patterson before the battle of Bull Run.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H. W. Halleck, Major-General.
On this letter the President wrote the following in-
dorsement :
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 3
^Indorsement.']
The within is a copy of a letter just received
from General Halleck. It is exceedingly dis-
couraging. As everywhere else, nothing can be
done. A. Lincoln.
January 10, 1862.
Washington, D. C, January 15, 1862.
Major-General Halleck.
My dear Sir : This will introduce Governor G.
Koerner, of Illinois, who is my personal friend,
and who calls on you at my particular request.
Please open the sealed letter he will hand you
before he leaves you and confer with him as to
its contents. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[^Inclosure.]
Executive Mansion, January 15, 1862.
Major-General Halleck.
My dear Sir : The Germans are true and patri-
otic, and so far as they have got cross in Mis-
souri it is upon mistake and misunderstanding.
Without a knowledge of its contents, Governor
Koerner, of Illinois, will hand you this letter.
He is an educated and talented German gentle-
man, as true a man as lives. With his assistance
you can set everything right with the Germans.
I write this without his knowledge, asking him
at the same time, by letter, to deliver it. ]\Iy clear
judgment is that, with reference to the German
element in your command, you should have Gov-
ernor Koerner with you ; and if agreeable to you
and him, I will make him a brigadier-general, so
that he can afford to so give his time. He does
4 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
not wish to command in the field, though he has
more military knowledge than many who do. If
he goes into the place he will simply be an effi-
cient, zealous, and unselfish assistant to you. I
say all this upon intimate personal acquaintance
with Governor Koerner.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, February i6, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, St. Louis, Missouri.
You have Fort Donelson safe, unless Grant
shall be overwhelmed from outside ; to prevent
which latter will, I think, require all the vigilance,
energy, and skill of yourself and Buell, acting in
full cooperation. Columbus will not get at Grant,
but the force from Bowling Green will. They
hold the railroad from Bowling Green to within
a few miles of Fort Donelson, with the bridge
at Clarksville undisturbed. It is unsafe to rely
that they will not dare to expose Nashville to
Buell. A small part of their force can retire
slowly toward Nashville, breaking up the rail-
road as they go, and keep Buell out of that city
twenty days. Meanwhile Nashville will be abun-
dantly defended by forces from all South and
perhaps from here at Manassas. Could not a
cavalry force from General Thomas on the Up-
per Cumberland dash across, almost unresisted,
and cut the railroad at or near Knoxville, Ten-
nessee ? In the midst of a bombardment at Fort
Donelson, why could not a gunboat run up and
destroy the bridge at Clarksville? Our success
or failure at Fort Donelson is vastly important,
and I beg you to put your soul in the effort. I
send a copy of this to Buell. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS $
[Telegram.']
War Department, April 23, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Pittsburg Landing.
The President desires to know why you have
made no official report to this department respect-
ing the late battle at Pittsburg Landing, and
whether any neglect or misconduct of General
Grant or any other officer contributed to the
sad casualties that befell our forces on Sunday.^
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May I, 1862.
Major-General Halleck,
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee.
I am pressed by the Missouri members of
Congress to give General Schofield independent
command in Missouri. They insist that for want
of this their local troubles gradually grow worse.
I have forborne, so far, for fear of interfering
with and embarrassing your operations. Please
answer, telling me whether anything, and what,
I can do for them without injuriously interfering
with you. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 24, 1862.
Major-General Halleck,
Near Corinth, Mississippi.
Several despatches from Assistant Secretary
Scott and one from Governor Morton asking
^ April 6, 1862. It was unofficially charged that Grant
was drunk during the battle. Lincoln replied to the charge
by inquiring the name of the brand of Grant's whiskey, say-
ing he should like to send some of it to certain other gen-
erals.
6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
reinforcements for you have been received. -I
beg you to be assured we do the best we can.
I mean to cast no blame when I tell you each of
our commanders along our line from Richmond
to Corinth supposes himself to be confronted by
numbers superior to his own. Under this pres-
sure we thinned the line on the upper Potomac,
until yesterday it was broken at heavy loss to us,
and General Banks ^ put in great peril, out of
which he is not yet extricated, and may be actu-
ally captured. We need men to repair this
breach, and have them not at hand. My dear
general, I feel justified to rely very much on you.
I believe you and the brave officers and men with
you can and will get the victory at Corinth.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 8, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
We are changing one of the departmental lines,
so as to give you all of Kentucky and Tennessee.
In your movement upon Chattanooga I think it
probable that you include some combination of
the force near Cumberland Gap under General
Morgan. Do you? A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 18, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
It would be of both interest and value to us
here to know how the expedition toward East
Tennessee is progressing, if in your judgment
you can give us the information with safety.
A. Lincoln.
^ See correspondence with N. P. Banks and with John C.
Fremont.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 7
[Telegram.']
War Department, June 28, 1862.
^lajor-General Halleck.
The enemy have concentrated in such force at
Richmond as to render it absolutely necessary, in
the opinion of the President, for you immediately
to detach 25,000 of your force and forward it
by the nearest and quickest route by way of Bal-
timore and Washington to Richmond. It is be-
lieved that the quickest route would be by way
of Columbus, Ky., and up the Ohio River. But
in detaching your force the President directs that
it be done in such a way as to enable you to hold
your ground and not interfere with the move-
ment against Chattanooga and East Tennessee..
This condition being observed, the forces to be
detached and the routes they are to be sent are
left to your own judgment.
The direction to send these forces immediately
is rendered imperative by a serious reverse suf-
fered by General McClellan before Richmond
yesterday. . . .
Edwin ]\I. Stanton, Secretary of War.
Washington, D. C, June 30, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
Would be very glad of 25,000 infantry ; no ar-
tillery or cavalry; but please do not send a man
if it endangers any place you deem important to
hold, or if it forces you to give up or weaken or
delay the expedition against Chattanooga. To
take and hold the railroad at or east of Cleve-
land, in East Tennessee, I think fully as impor-
tant as the taking and holding of Richmond.
A. Lincoln.
8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
War Department, June 30, 1862. 3 p. m.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth.
Your telegram of this date just received. The
Chattanooga expedition must not on any account
be given up. The President regards that and
the movement against East Tennessee as one of
the most important movements of the war, and
its occupation nearly as important as the capture
of Richmond. He is not pleased with the tardi-
ness of the movement toward Chattanooga, and
directs that no force be sent here if you cannot
do it without breaking up the operations against
that point and East Tennessee. Infantry only
are needed ; our cavalry and artillery are strong
enough. The first reports from Richmond were
more discouraging than the truth warranted. If
the advantage is not on our side, it is balanced.
General McClellan has moved his whole force on
the line of the James River, and is supported
there by our gunboats ; but he must be largely
strengthened before advancing, and hence the
call on you, which I am glad you answered so
promptly. Let me know to what point on the
river you will send your forces, so as to provide
immediately for transportation.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
ITelegramJ]
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
Your several despatches of yesterday to Sec-
retary of War and myself received. I did say,
and now repeat, I would be exceedingly glad for
some reinforcements from you. Still do not send
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 9
a man if in your judgment it will endanger any
point you deem important to hold, or will force
you to give up or weaken or delay the Chatta-
nooga expedition.
Please tell me could you not make me a flying
visit for consultation without endangering the
service in your department. A. Lincoln.
[Telegrain.]
War Department, July 4, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
You do not know how much you would oblige
us if, without abandoning any of your positions
or plans, you could promptly send us even 10,000
infantry. Can you not? Some part of the Cor-
inth army is certainly fighting McClellan in front
of Richmond. Prisoners are in our hands from
the late Corinth army. A. Lincoln.
War Department, July 6, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, IMississippi.
]My dear Sir: This introduces Governor Wil-
liam Sprague, of Rhode Island. He is now gov-
ernor for the third time, and senator-elect of the
United States.
I know the object of his visit to you. He has
my cheerful consent to go, but not my direction.
He wishes to get you and part of your force,
one or both, to come here. You already know I
should be exceedingly glad of this if, in your
judgment, it could be without endangering posi-
tions and operations in the southwest ; and I now
repeat what I have more than once said by tele-
graph, "Do not come or send a man if, in your
judgment, it will endanger any point you deem
lo LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
important to hold, or endangers or delays the
Chattanooga expedition."
Still, please give my friend, Governor Sprague,
a full and fair hearing.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Order.']
Executive Mansion, July ii, 1862.
Ordered, That Major-General Henry W, Hal-
leck be assigned to command the whole land
forces of the United States, as general-in-chief,
and that he repair to this capital so soon as he
can with safety to the positions and operations
within the department now under his charge.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, July 11, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth.
Governor Johnson, at Nashville, is in great
trouble and anxiety about a raid into Kentucky.
The Governor is a true and a valuable man — in-
dispensable to us in Tennessee. Will you please
get in communication with him, and have a full
conference with him before you leave for here?
I have telegraphed him on the subject.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, July 13, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
They are having a stampede in Kentucky.
Please look to it. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS ii
[Telegram.']
War Department, July 14, 1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
I am very anxious — almost impatient — to have
you here. Have due regard to what you leave
behind. When can you reach here?
A. Lincoln.
[Order.']
Washington, D. C, September 3, 1862.
Ordered, That the general-in-chief, Major-
General Halleck, immediately commence, and
proceed with all possible despatch, to organize
an army, for active operations, from all the ma-
terial within and coming within his control,
independent of the forces he may deem necessary
for the defense of Washington when such active
army shall take the field.
By order of the President:
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
McClellan's Headquarters, October 3, 1862.
^Major-General Halleck.
General Stuart, of the rebel army, has sent in
a few of our prisoners under a flag of truce,
paroled with terms to prevent their fighting the
Indians, and evidently seeking to commit us to
their right to parole our prisoners in that way.
My inclination is to send the prisoners back with
a distinct notice that we will recognize no paroles
given to our prisoners by rebels as extending
beyond the prohibition against fighting them, yet
I wish your opinion upon it based both upon the
general law and our cartel. I wish to avoid vio-
lations of law and bad faith. Answer as quickly
12 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
as possible, as the thing if done at all should be
done at once. A. Lincoln, President.
Steamer Baltimore, off Aquia Creek,
Virginia, November 2^, 1862.
Major-General Halleck.
Sir: I have just had a long conference with
General Burnside. He believes that General
Lee's whole army, or nearly the whole of it, is
in front of him, at and near Fredericksburg.
General Burnside says he could take into battle
now any day about 110,000 men; that his army
is in good spirit, good condition, good morale,
and that in all respects he is satisfied with offi-
cers and men; that he does not want more men
with him, because he could not handle them to
advantage; that he thinks he can cross the river
in face of the enemy and drive him away ; but
that, to use his own expression, it is somewhat
risky. I wish the case to stand more favorably
than this in two respects : First, I wish his cross-
ing of the river to be nearly free from risk ; and,
secondly, I wish the enemy to be prevented from
falling back, accumulating strength as he goes,
into his intrenchments at Richmond. I therefore
propose that General Burnside shall not move
immediately ; that we accumulate a force on the
south bank of the Rappahannock — at, say. Port
Royal — under protection of one or two gunboats,
as nearly up to 25,000 strong as we can ; at the
same time another force of about the same
strength as high up the Pamunkey as can be
protected by gunboats. These being ready, let
all three forces move simultaneously: General
Burnside's force in its attempt to cross the river,
the Rappahannock force moving directly up the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 13
south side of the river to his assistance, and
ready, if found admissible, to deflect off to the
turnpike bridge over the Mattapony in the direc-
tion of Richmond ; the Pamunkey force to move
as rapidly as possible up the north side of the
Pamunkey, holding all the bridges, and espe-
cially the turnpike bridge immediately north of
Hanover Court House ; hurry north and seize
and hold the Mattapony bridge before men-
tioned, and also, if possible, press higher up the
streams and destroy the railroad bridges. Then
if General Burnside succeeds in driving the ene-
my from Fredericksburg, he (the enemy) no
longer has the road to Richmond, but vv^e have
it, and can march into the city. Or, possibly,
having forced the enemy from his line, we could
move upon and destroy his army. General
Burnside's main army w^ould have the same line
of supply and retreat as he has now provided.
The Rappahannock force would have that river
for supply, and gunboats to fall back upon; and
the Pamunkey force would have that river for
supply, and a line between the. two rivers — Pa-
munkey and Mattapony — along which to fall back
upon its gunboats. I think the plan promises
the best results, with the least hazard, of any
now conceivable.
Note. — The above plan proposed by me was
rejected by General Halleck and General Burn-
side on the. ground that we could not raise and
put in position the Pamunkey force without too
much waste of time. A. L.
14 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, January i, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
My dear Sir : General Burnside wishes to cross
the Rappahannock with his army, but his grand
division commanders all oppose the movement.
If in such a difficulty as this you do not help,
you fail me precisely in the point for which I
sought your assistance. You know what Gen-
eral Burnside's plan is, and it is my wish that
you go with him to the ground, examine it as
far as practicable, confer with the officers, get-
ting their judgment and ascertaining their tem-
per — in a word, gather all the elements for form-
ing a judgment of your own, and then tell Gen-
eral Burnside that you do approve or that you
do not approve his plan. Your military skill is
useless to me if you will not do this.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.']
January i, 1863.
Withdrawn, because considered harsh by Gen-
eral Halleck. A. Lincoln.
Headquarters of the Army,
January I, 1863.
Hon. E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War,
Washington, D, C.
Sir: From my recent interview with the President
and yourself, and from the President's letter of this
morning, which you deHvered to me at your reception,
I am led to believe that there is a very important dif-
ference of opinion in regard to my relations toward
generals commanding armies in the field, and that I
cannot perform the duties of my present office satis-
factorily at the same time to the President and to my-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 15
self. I therefore respectfully request that I may be re-
lieved from further duties as general-in-chief/
Very respectfully your obedient servant,
H. W. Halleck.
See letter to Ambrose E. Burnside of January 5,
1863.
Executive Mansion, January 7, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
My dear Sir: What think you of forming a
reserve cavalry corps of, say, 6,000, for the
Army of the Potomac? Might not such a corps
be constituted from the cavalry of Slgel's and
Slocum's corps with scraps we could pick up
here and there? Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Soldiers' Home,
Washington, July 6, 1863. 7 p. m.
Major-General Halleck.
I left the telegraph office a good deal dissat-
isfied. You know I did not like the phrase — In
Orders, No. 68,- I believe — "Drive the Invaders
from our soil." Since that, I see a despatch
from General French, saying the enemy Is cross-
ing his wounded over the river In flats, without
saying why he does not stop It, or even Intimat-
ing a thought that It ought to be stopped. Still
later, another despatch from General Pleasonton,
by direction of General Meade, to General
French, stating that the main army is halted be-
cause it Is believed the rebels are concentrating
''on the road toward Hagerstown, beyond Fair-
field," and Is not to move until It is ascertained
^ This application was withdrawn upon the withdrawal of
the President's letter.
- Issued by Meade on July 4, after his defeat of Lee at
Gettysburg, Pa.
i6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
that the rebels intend to evacuate Cumberland
Valley.
These things all appear to me to be connected
with a purpose to cover Baltimore and Wash-
ington, and to get the enemy across the river
again without a further collision, and they do not
appear connected with a purpose to prevent his
crossing and to destroy him. I do fear the for-
mer purpose is acted upon and the latter is
rejected.
If you are satisfied the latter purpose is enter-
tained, and is judiciously pursued, I am content.
If you are not so satisfied, please look to it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 29, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
Seeing General Meade's despatch of yesterday
to yourself causes me to fear that he supposes
the Government here is demanding of him to
bring on a general engagement with Lee as soon
as possible. I am claiming no such thing of him.
In fact, my judgment is against it; which judg-
ment, of course, I will yield if yours and his
are the contrary. If he could not safely engage
Lee at Williamsport, it seems absurd to suppose
he can safely engage him now when he has
scarcely more than two thirds of the force he
had at Williamsport, while it must be that Lee
has been reinforced. True, I desired General
Meade to pursue Lee across the Potomac, hop-
ing, as has proved true, that he would thereby
clear the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and get
some advantages by harassing him on his re-
treat. These being past, I am unwilling he
should now get into a general engagement on
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 17
the impression that we here are pressing him,
and I shall be glad for you to so inform him,
unless your own judgment is against it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Note.']
August 31, 1863.
It is not improbable that retaliation for the
recent great outrage at Lawrence, in Kansas,^
may extend to indiscriminate slaughter on the
Missouri border, unless averted by very judi-
cious action. I shall be obliged if the general-
in-chief can make any suggestions to General
Schofield upon the subject. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September 15, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
If I did not misunderstand General ]\Ieade's
last despatch, he posts you on facts as weir as he
can, and desires your views and those of the
Government as to what he shall do. My opin-
ion is that he should move upon Lee at once in
manner of general attack, leaving to develop-
ments whether he will make it a real attack. I
think this would develop Lee's real condition and
purposes better than the cavalry alone can do.
Of course my opinion is not to control you and
General Meade. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive ^Mansion, September 19, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
By General Meade's despatch to you of yes-
terday it appears that he desires your views and
those of the Government as to whether he shall
advance upon the enemy. I am not prepared to
^ Quantrell's massacre of August 21, 1S63.
i8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
order, or even advise, an advance In this case,
wherein I know so Httle of particulars, and
wherein he, in the field, thinks the risk is so
great, and the promise of advantage so small.
And yet the case presents matter for very seri-
ous consideration in another aspect. These two
armies confront each other across a small river,
substantially midway between the two capitals,
each defending its own capital, and menacing the
other. General Meade estimates the enemy's in-
fantry in front of him at not less than 40,000.
Suppose we add fifty per cent, to this for cav-
alry, artillery, and extra-duty men stretching as
far as Richmond, making the whole force of the
enemy 60,000.
General IMeade, as shown by the returns, has
with him, and between him and Washington, of
the same classes of well men, over 90,000.
Neither can bring the whole of his men into a
battle ; but each can bring as large a percentage
in as the other. For a battle, then, General
Meade has three men to General Lee's two. Yet,
it having been determined that choosing ground
and standing on the defensive gives so great ad-
vantage that the three cannot safely attack the
two, the three are left simply standing on the
defensive- also.
If the enemy's 60,000 are sufficient to keep
our 90,000 away from Richmond, why, by the
same rule, may not 40,000 of ours keep their
60,000 away from Washington, leaving us 50,-
000 to put to some other use? Having practi-
cally come to the mere defensive, it seems to be
no economy at all to employ twice as many men
for that object as are needed. With no object,
certainly, to mislead myself, I can perceive no
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 19
fault in this statement, unless we admit we are
not the equal of the enemy, man for man. I hope
you will consider it.
To avoid misunderstanding, let me say that to
attempt to fight the enemy slowly back into his
intrenchments at Richmond, and then to capture
him, is an idea I have been trying to repudiate
for quite a year.
My judgment is so clear against it that I
would scarcely allow the attempt to be made if
the general in command should desire to make
it. My last attempt upon Richmond was to get
McClellan, when he was nearer there than the
enemy was, to run in ahead of him.^ Since then
I have constantly desired the Army of the Poto-
mac to make Lee's army, and not Richmond, its
objective point. If our army cannot fall upon
the enemy and hurt him where he is, it is plain
to me it can gain nothing by attempting to fol-
low him over a succession of intrenched lines
into a fortified city.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September 21, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
I think it very important for General Rose-
crans to hold his position at or about Chatta-
nooga, because if held from that place to Cleve-
land, both inclusive, it keeps all Tennessee clear
of the enemy, and also breaks one of his most
important railroad lines. To prevent these con-
sequences is so vital to his cause that he cannot
give up the effort to dislodge us from the posi-
tion, thus bringing him to us and saving us the
labor, expense, and hazard of going farther to
^ See letter to George B. McClellan of October 13, 1862.
20 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
find him, and also giving us the advantage of
choosing our own ground and preparing it to
fight him upon. The details must, of course, be
left to General Rosecrans, while we must fur-
nish him the means to the utmost of our ability.
If you concur, I think he would better be in-
formed that we are not pushing him beyond this
position; and that, in fact, our judgment is
rather against his going beyond it. If he can
only maintain this position, without more, this
rebellion can only eke out a short and feeble
existence, as an animal sometimes may with a
thorn in its vitals. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, October 16, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
I do not believe Lee can have over 60,000
effective men.
Longstreet's corps would not be sent away to
bring an equal force back upon the same road;
and there is no other direction for them to have
come from.
Doubtless, in making the present movement,
Lee gathered in all available scraps, and added
them to Hill's and Ewell's corps ; but that is all,
and he made the movement in the belief that four
corps had left General Meade; and General
Meade's apparently avoiding a collision with
him has confirmed him in that belief. If General
Meade can now attack him on a field no worse
than equal for us, and will do so with all the
skill and courage which he, his officers, and men
possess, the honor will be his if he succeeds, and
the blame may be mine if he fails.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 21
Executive Mansion, October 24, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
Taking all our information together, I think it
probable that Ewell's corps has started for East
Tennessee by way of Abingdon, marching last
Monday, say, from Meade's front directly to the
railroad at Charlottesville.
First, the object of Lee.'s recent movement
against Meade ; his destruction of the Alexan-
dria and Orange Railroad, and subsequent with-
drawal, without more motive, not otherwise ap-
parent, would be explained by this hypothesis.
Secondly, the direct statement of Sharpe's men
that Ewell has gone to Tennessee.
Thirdly, the Irishman's statement that he has
not gone through Richmond and his further
statement of an appeal made to the people at
Richmond to go and protect their salt, which
could only refer to the works near Abingdon.
Fourthly, Graham's statement from Martins-
burg that Imboden is in retreat for Harrison-
burg. This last matches with the idea that Lee
has retained his cavalry, sending Imboden and
perhaps other scraps to join Ewell. Upon this
probability what is to be done ?
If you have a plan matured, I have nothing to
say. If you have not, then I suggest that, with
all possible expedition, the Army of the Potomac
get ready to attack Lee, and that in the mean
time a raid shall, at all hazards, break the rail-
road at or near Lynchburg.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
22 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, January 28, 1864.
Major-General Halleck.
Some citizens of Missouri, vicinity of Kansas
City, are apprehensive that there is special dan-
ger of renewed troubles in that neighborhood,
and thence on the route toward New Mexico. I
am not impressed that the danger is very great
or imminent, but I .will thank you to give Gen-
erals Rosecrans and Curtis, respectively, such or-
ders as may turn their attention thereto and
prevent as far as possible the apprehended dis-
turbance. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Washington City, July 27, 1864.
Major-General Halleck.
General : Lieutenant-General Grant having
signified that, owing to the difficulties and delay
of communication between his headquarters and
Washington, it is necessary that in the present
emergency military orders must be issued di-
rectly from Washington, the President directs
me to instruct you that all the military operations
for the defense of the Middle Department, the
Department of the Susquehanna, the Depart-
ment of Washington, and the Department of
West Virginia, and all the forces in those de-
partments, are placed under your general com-
mand, and that you will be expected to take all
military measures necessary for defense against
any attack of the enemy and for his capture and
destruction. You \\W\ issue from time to time
such orders to the commanders of the respective
departments and to the military authorities there-
in as may be proper.
Your obedient servant,
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 23
George B. McClellan.^
See letter to Winfield Scott of November i, 1861.
Executive Mansion, December 6, 1861.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: Captain Francis G. Young, of
the California regiment (Colonel Baker's), is in
some difficulty — I do not precisely understand
what. I believe you know I was unfavorably
impressed toward him because of apparently con-
tradictory accounts he gave me of some matters
at the battle of Ball's Blufif. At length he has
brought me the paper which accompanies this,
showing, I think, that he is entitled to respectful
consideration. As you see, it is signed by several
senators and representatives as well as other
well-known and respectable gentlemen. I attach
considerable consequence to the name of Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Shaler, late Major Shaler, of the
New York Seventh. These things, and his late
connection with Colonel Baker, induce me to ask
you if, consistently with the public service, the
past, whatever it is, cannot be waived, and he
placed in service and given another chance?
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^ McClellan was considered the leading military engineer
of the country. At West Point he led his class in mathe-
matics, and he served with credit in the only United States
corps of engineers in the Mexican War. He visited Europe
in 1855 to report on foreign army organization and the
Crimean War. His report was published in 1861 as a
book entitled The Armies of Europe, and brought him great
praise. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was a rail-
road president. On April 23, 1861, he was appointed
major-general of Ohio volunteers. He invaded West Vir-
ginia and captured it for the Union. For his success he
was called to Washington to organize the Army of the
Potomac, of which he was made commander August 20,
1861.
24 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Washington, December lo, 1861.
Your Excellency: I inclose the paper you left with
me, filled as requested/ In arriving at the numbers
given, I have left the minimum number in garrison and
observation.
Information received recently leads me to believe that
the enemy could meet us in front with equal forces
nearly, and I have now my mind actively turned toward
another plan of campaign that I do not think at all
anticipated by the enemy nor by many of our own
people.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
George B. McClellan, Major-General.
[Inclosure.']
If it were determined to make a forward
movement of the Army of the Potomac without
awaiting further increase of numbers or better
drill and discipline, how long would it require
to actually get in motion?
// bridge trams ready by December 15, prob-
ably 2^th.
After leaving all that would be necessary, how
many troops could join the movement from
southwest of the river?
Seventy-one thousand.
How many from northeast of it?
Thirty-three thousand.
Suppose, then, that of those southwest of the
river fifty thousand move forward and menace
the enemy at Centreville ; the remainder of the
movable force on that side move rapidly to the
crossing of the Occoquan by the road from
Alexandria to Richmond, there to be joined by
the whole movable force from northeast of the
river, having landed from the Potomac, just
^ McClellan's notes are written in pencil. They are here
printed in italics.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 25
below the mouth of the Occoquan, moved by
land up the south side of that stream to the
crossing point named, then the whole move to-
.c;ether by the road thence to B rents ville and
beyond to the railroad just south of its crossing
of Broad Run, a strong detachment of cavalry
having gone rapidly ahead to destroy the rail-
road bridges south and north of the point.
If the crossing of the Occoquan by those
from above be resisted, those landing from the
Potomac below to take the resisting force of the
enemy in rear; or, if the landing from the Poto-
mac be resisted, those crossing the Occoquan
from above to take that resisting force in the
rear. Both points will probably not be success-
fully resisted at the same time.
The force in front of Centreville, if pressed
too hardly, should fight back slowly into the in-
trenchments behind them.
Armed vessels and transportation should re-
main at the Potomac landing to cover a possible
retreat.
Executive Mansion, February 3, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: You and I have distinct and
different plans for a movement of the Army of
the Potomac — yours to be down the Chesapeake,
up the Rappahannock to Urbana, and across
land to the terminus of the railroad on the York
River ; mine to move directly to a point on the
railroad southwest of Manassas.
If you will give me satisfactory answers to
the following questions, I shall gladly yield my
plan to yours.
First. Does not your plan involve a greatly
26 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
larger expenditure of time and money than
mme
Second. Wherein is a victory more certain by
your plan than mine?
Third. Wherein is a victory more valuable by
your plan than mine?
Fourth. In fact, would it not be less valuable
in this, that it would break no great line of the
enemy's communications, while mine would?
Fifth. In case of disaster, would not a retreat
be more difficult by your plan than mine ?
Yours truly, Abraham Lincoln.
[Memorandum.']
First. Suppose the enemy should attack us in
force before we reach the Occoquan, what?
Second. Suppose the enemy in force shall dis-
pute the crossing of the Occoquan, what? In
view of this, might it not be safest for us to cross
the Occoquan at Colchester, rather than at the
village of Occoquan? This would cost the ene-
my two miles more of travel to meet us, but
would, on the contrary, leave us two miles far-
ther from our ultimate destination.
Third. Suppose we reach Maple Valley with-
out an attack, will we not be attacked there in
force by the enemy marching by the several
roads from Manassas; and if so, what?
Executive Mansion, March 31, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Aly dear Sir: This morning I felt constrained
to order Blenker's division to Fremont, and I
write this to assure you I did so with great pain,
understanding that you would wish it otherwise.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 27
If you could know the full pressure of the case,
I am confident that you would justify it, even be-
yond a mere acknowledgment that the com-
mander-in-chief may order what he pleases.
Yours very truly, Abraham Lincoln.
[Tclegrmn.']
Washington, April 6, 1862. 8 p. m.
General G. B. iMcClellan.
Yours of II a. m. to-day received. Secretary
of War informs me that the forwarding of
transportation, ammunition, and Woodbury's
brigade, under your orders, is not, and will not
be, interfered with. You now have over one
hundred thousand troops with you^ independent
of General Wool's command. I think you better
break the enemy's line from Yorktown to War-
wick River at once. This will probably use time
as advantageously as you can.
A. Lincoln, President.
Washington, April 9, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: Your despatches, complaining
that you are not properly sustained, while they
do not offend me, do pain me very much.
Blenker's division was withdrawn from you
before you left here, and you knew the pressure
under which I did it, and, as I thought, acqui-
esced in it — certainly not without reluctance.
After you left I ascertained that less than 20,-
000 unorganized men, without a single field-
battery, were all you designed to be left for the
defense of Washington and Manassas Junction,
and part of this even was to go to General
28 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Hooker's old position; General Banks's corps,
once designed for Manassas Junction, was di-
vided and tied up on the line of Winchester and
Strasburg, and could not leave it without again
exposing the upper Potomac and the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad. This presented (or would
present, when McDowell and Sumner ^ should be
gone) a great temptation to the enemy to turn
back from the Rappahannock and sack Wash-
ington. My explicit order that Washington
should, by the judgment of all the commanders
of corps, be left entirely secure, had been neg-
lected. It was precisely this that drove me to
detain McDowell.
I do not forget that I was satisfied with your
arrangements to leave Banks at Manassas Junc-
tion; but when that arrangement was broken up
and nothing was substituted for it, of course I
was not satisfied. I was constrained to substi-
tute something for it myself.
And now allow me to ask, do you really think
I should permit the line from Richmond via
Manassas Junction to this city to be entirely
open, except what resistance could be presented
by less than 20,000 unorganized troops? This
is a question which the country will not allow
me to evade.
There is a curious mystery about the number
of the troops now with you. When I tele-
graphed you on the 6th, saying you had over
100,000 with you, I had just obtained from the
Secretary of War a statement, taken as he said
from your own returns, making 108,000 then
with you and en route to you. You now say you
will have but 85,000 when all en route to you
^ General Edwin V. Sumner.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 29
shall have reached you. How can this discrep-
ancy of 23,000 be accounted for?
As to General Wool's command, I understand
it is doing for you precisely what a like number
of your own would have to do if that command
was away. I suppose the whole force which has
gone forward to you is with you by this time;
and if so, I think it is the precise time for you
to strike a blow. By delay the enemy will rela-
tively gain upon you — that is, he will gain faster
by fortifications and reinforcements than you
can by reinforcements alone.
And once more let me tell you it is indispen-
sable to you that you strike a blow. I am
powerless to help this. You will do me the jus-
tice to remember I always insisted that going
down the bay in search of a field, instead of
fighting at or near Manassas, was only shifting
and not surmounting a difficulty ; that we would
find the same enemy and the same or equal in-
trenchments at either place. The country will
not fail to note — is noting now — that the present
hesitation to move upon an intrenched enemy is
but the story of Manassas repeated.
I beg to assure you that I have never written
you or spoken to you in greater kindness of feel-
ing than now, nor with a fuller purpose to sus-
tain you, so far as in my most anxious judgment
I consistently can ; but you must act.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, April 21, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch of the 19th was received that
day. Fredericksburg is evacuated and the bridges
so LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
destroyed by the enemy, and a small part of Mc-
Dowell's command occupies this side of the Rap-
pahannock, opposite the town. He purposes
moving his whole force to that point.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, May I, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your call for Parrott guns ^ from Washington
alarms me, chiefly because it argues indefinite
procrastination. Is anything to be done?
A. Lincoln.
Fort Monroe, Virginia, May 9, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: I have just assisted the Secre-
tary of War in framing part of a despatch to you
relating to army corps, which despatch of course
will have reached you long before this will.
I wish to say a few words to you privately on
this subject. I ordered the army corps organiza-
tion not only on the unanimous opinion of the
twelve generals whom you had selected and as-
signed as generals of division, but also on the
unanimous opinion of every military man I could
get an opinion from (and every modern military
book), yourself only excepted. Of course I did
not on my own judgment pretend to understand
the subject. I now think it indispensable for you
to know how your struggle against it is received
in quarters which we cannot entirely disregard.
It is looked upon as merely an effort to pamper
* Rifled cannon of long range and great endurance, in-
vented by Robert P. Parrott. superintendent of the West
Point cannon foundry at Cold Spring, N. Y. He refused
to enrich himself from the Government by his invention.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 31
one or two pets and to persecute and degrade
their supposed rivals. I have had no word from
Sumner, Heintzehnan, or Keyes. The com-
manders of these corps are of course the three
highest officers with you, but I am constantly
told that you have no consultation or communi-
cation with them ; that you consult and com-
municate with nobody but General Fitz-John
Porter and perhaps General Franklin. I do not
say these complaints are true or just, but at all
events it is proper you should know of their
existence.^ Do the commanders of corps disobey
your orders in anything?
When you relieved General Hamilton of his
command the other day, you thereby lost the con-
fidence of at least one of your best friends in
the Senate. And here let me say, not as applica-
ble to you personally, that senators and repre-
sentatives speak of me in their places as they
please without question, and that officers of the
army must cease addressing insulting letters to
them for taking no greater liberty with them.
But to return. Are you strong enough — are
you strong enough, even with my help — to set
your foot upon the necks of Sumner, Heintzel-
man, and Keyes all at once? This is a practical
and verv serious question for you.
The success of your army and the cause of the
country are the same, and of course I only de-
sire the good of the cause.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^ This charge of favoritism soon received substantiation
by McClellan dividing the army into two provisional army
corps commanded one by Porter and one by Franklin.
32 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington City, May 15, 1862.
Major-General McClellan,
Cumberland, Virginia.
Your long despatch of yesterday is just re-
ceived. I will answer more fully soon. Will say
now that all your despatches to the Secretary
of War have been promptly shown to me. Have
done and shall do all I could and can to sustain
you. Hoped that the opening of James River
and putting Wool and Burnside in communica-
tion, with an open road to Richmond, or to you,
had efifected something in that direction. I am
still unwilling to take all our force off the direct
line between Richmond and here.
A. Lincoln.
Washington, May 18, 1862. 2 p. m.
Major-General George B. McClellan, Command-
ing Army of the Potomac, before Richmond*
General : Your despatch to the President, ask-
ing reinforcements, has been received and care-
fully considered.
The President is not willing to uncover the
capital entirely ; and it is believed that even if
this were prudent, it would require more time
to effect a junction between your army and that
of the Rappahannock by the way of the Potomac
and York Rivers than by a land march. In order,
therefore, to increase the strength of the attack
upon Richmond at the earliest moment, General
McDowell has been ordered to march upon that
city by the shortest route. He is ordered, keep-
ing himself always in position to save the capital
from all possible attack, so to operate as to put
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS zs
his left wing in communication with your right
wing, and you are instructed to cooperate so as
to estabHsh this communication as soon as pos-
sible by extending your right wing to the north
of Richmond.
It is believed that this communication can be
safely established either north or south of the
Pamunkey River.
In any event, you will be able to prevent
the main body of the enemy's forces from
leaving Richmond and falling in overwhelming
force upon General McDowell. He will move
with between thirty-five and forty thousand
men.
A copy of the instructions to General Mc-
Dowell are with this. The specific task assigned
to his command has been to provide against any
danger to the capital of the nation.
At your earnest call for reinforcements, he is
sent forward to cooperate in the reduction of
Richmond, but charged, in attempting this, not
to uncover the city of Washington ; and you will
give no order, either before or after your junc-
tion, which can put him out of position to cover
this city. You and he will communicate with
each other by telegraph or otherwise as fre-
quently as may be necessary for efficient co-
operation. When General McDowell is in posi-
tion on your right, his supplies must be drawn
from West Point, ^ and you will instruct your
staff-officers to be prepared to supply him by
that route.
The President desires that General McDowell
retain the command of the Department of the
^ In King William Co., Va., at the head of York River,
an arm of Chesapeake Bay.
34 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Rappahannock and of the forces with which he
moves forward.
By order of the President:
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 21, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I have just been waited on by a large commit-
tee who present a petition signed by twenty-three
senators and eighty-four representatives asking
me to restore General Hamilton to his division.
I wish to do this, and yet I do not wish to be
understood as rebuking you. Please answer at
once. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington City, May 22, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your long despatch of yesterday just received.
You will have just such control of General Mc-
Dowell and his forces as you therein indicate.
McDowell can reach you by land sooner than
he could get aboard of boats, if the boats were
ready at Fredericksburg, unless his march shall
be resisted, in which case the force resisting him
will certainly not be confronting you at Rich-
mond. By land he can reach you in five days
after starting, whereas by water he would not
reach you in two weeks, judging by past expe-
rience. Franklin's single division did not reach
you in ten days after I ordered it.
A. Lincoln, President United States.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 35
[Telegram.']
Washington, Alay 24, 1862.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
I left General McDowell's camp at dark last
evening. Shields's command is there, but it is
so worn that he cannot move before Monday
morning, the 26th. We have so thinned our line
to get troops for other places that it was broken
yesterday at Front Royal, with a probable loss
to us of one regiment infantry, two companies
cavalry, putting General Banks in some peril.
The enemy's forces under General Anderson ^
now opposing General McDowell's advance have
as their line of supply and retreat the road to
Richmond.
If, in conjunction with IMcDowell's movement
against Anderson, you could send a force from
your right to cut oflf the enemy's supplies from
Richmond, preserve the railroad bridges across
the two forks of the Pamunkey, and intercept the
enemy's retreat, you will prevent the army now
opposed to you from receiving an accession of
numbers of nearly 15,000 men; and if you suc-
ceed in saving the bridges you will secure a line
of railroad for supplies in addition to the one
you now have. Can you not do this almost as
well as not while you are building the Chicka-
hominy bridges ? McDowell and Shields both say
they can, and positively will, move Monday morn-
ing. I wish you to move cautiously and safely.
You will have command of McDowell, after
he joins you, precisely as you indicated in your
long despatch to us of the 21st.
A. Lincoln.
^ Richard H. Anderson.
36 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
{Telegram.']
Washington, May 24, 1862. 4 p. m.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
In consequence of General Banks's critical po-
sition, I have been compelled to suspend General
McDowell's movements to join you. The ene-
my ^ are making a desperate push upon Harper's
Ferry, and we are trying to throw General Fre-
mont's force and part of General McDowell's in
their rear. A. Lincoln, President.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 25, 1862. 2 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
The enemy is moving north in sufficient force
to drive General Banks before him — precisely in
what force we cannot tell. He is also threaten-
ing Leesburg and Geary, on the Manassas Gap
Railroad, from both north and south — in pre-
cisely what force we cannot tell. I think the
movement is a general and concerted one, such
as would not be if he was acting upon the pur-
pose of a very desperate defense of Richmond.
I think the time is near when you must either
attack Richmond or give up the job and come
to the defense of Washington. Let me hear from
you instantly. A. Lincoln, President.
[Telegram in Cipher.]
War Department, May 25, 1862. 8.30 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch received. General Banks was
at Strasburg, with about 6,000 men. Shields hav-
^ Under "Stonewall" Jackson (see Fremont correspond-
ence).
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS ^1
ing been taken from him to swell a column for
McDowell to aid you at Richmond, and the rest
of his force scattered at various places. On the
23d a rebel force of 7,000 to 10,000 fell upon
one regiment and two companies guarding the
bridge at Front Royal, destroying it entirely ;
crossed the Shenandoah, and on the 24th (yes-
terday) pushed to get north of Banks, on the
road to Winchester. Banks ran a race with them,
beating them into Winchester yesterday evening.
This morning a battle ensued between the two
forces, in which Banks was beaten back into full
retreat toward Martinsburg, and probably is
broken up into a total rout. Geary, on the Ma-
nassas Gap Railroad, just now reports that Jack-
son is now near Front Royal, with 10,000, fol-
lowing up and supporting, as I understand, the
force now pursuing Banks ; also that another
force of 10,000 is near Orleans, following on in
the same direction. Stripped bare, as we are
here, it will be all we can do to prevent them
crossing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry or
above. We have about 20,000 of McDowell's
force moving back to the vicinity of Front Royal,
and General Fremont, who was at Franklin, is
moving to Harrisonburg ; both these movements
intended to get in the enemy's rear.
One more of McDowell's brigades is ordered
through here to Harper's Ferry ; the rest of his
force remains for the present at Fredericksburg.
We are sending such regiments and dribs from
here and Baltimore as we can spare to Harper's
Ferry, supplying their places in some sort by
calling in militia from the adjacent States. We
also have eighteen cannon on the road to Har-
per's Ferry, of which arm there is not a sin-
38 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
gle one yet at that point. This is now our
situation.
If McDowell's force was now beyond our
reach, we should be utterly helpless. Appre-
hension of something like this, and no unwilling-
ness to sustain you, has always been my reason
for withholding McDowell's force from you.
Please understand this, and do the best you can
with the force you have. A. Lincoln.
\Telegrani.']
Washington, May 26, 1862. 12.40 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
We have General Banks's official report. He
has saved his army and baggage, and has made
a safe retreat to the river, and is probably safe
at Williamsport. He reports the attacking force
at 15,000. A. Lincoln, President.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 26, 1862.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
Can you not cut the Aquia Creek Railroad?
Also, what impression have you as to intrenched
works for you to contend with in front of Rich-
mond? Can you get near enough to throw shells
into the city? A. Lincoln, President.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 28, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
What of F. J. Porter's expedition? Please
answer. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 39
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 28, 1862. 840 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
I am very glad of General F. J. Porter's vic-
tory. ^ Still, if it was a total rout of the enemy,
I am puzzled to know why the Richmond and
Fredericksburg Railroad was not seized again,
as you say you have all the railroads but the
Richmond and Fredericksburg. I am puzzled to
see how, lacking that, you can have any, except
the scrap from Richmond to West Point. The
scrap of the Virginia Central from Richmond to
Hanover Junction, without more, is simply noth-
ing. That the whole of the enemy is concen-
trating on Richmond, I think cannot be certainly
known to you or me. Saxton, at Harper's Ferry,
informs us that large forces, supposed to be
Jackson's and Ewell's, forced his advance from
Charlestown to-day. General King telegraphs
us from Fredericksburg that contrabands give
certain information that 15,000 left Hanover
Junction Monday morning to reinforce Jackson.
I am painfully impressed with the importance of
the struggle before you, and shall aid you all I
can consistently with my view of due regard to
all points. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 29, 1862. 10.30 a. m.
]\Iajor-General McClellan.
I think we shall be able within three days to
tell you certainly whether any considerable force
^ On May 2y Porter defeated General Branch. There
was no practical result of the victory. Porter marched
back to camp.
40 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
of the enemy — Jackson or any one else — Is mov-
ing on to Harper's Ferry or vicinity. Take this
expected development into your calculations.
A. Lincoln.
ITelegram.'}
Washington, May 31, 1862. 10.20 p. m.
Major-General McCle'llan.
A circle whose circumference shall pass through
Harper's Ferry, Front Royal, and Strasburg, and
whose center shall be a little northeast of Win-
chester, almost certainly has within it this morn-
ing the forces of Jackson, Ewell, and Edward
Johnson. Quite certainly they were within it
two days ago. Some part of their forces at-
tacked Harper's Ferry at dark last evening, and
are still in sight this morning. Shields, with
McDowell's advance, retook Front Royal at 11
a. m. yesterday, with a dozen of our own prison-
ers taken there a week ago, 150 of the enemy,
two locomotives, and eleven cars, some other
property and stores, and saved the bridge.
General Fremont, from the direction of Moore-
field, promises to be at or near Strasburg at 5
p. m. to-day. General Banks at Williamsport,
with his old force and his new force at Harper's
Ferry, is directed to cooperate.^ Shields at Front
Royal reports a rumor of still an additional force
of the enemy, supposed to be Anderson's, having
entered the valley of Virginia. This last may
or may not be true. Corinth is certainly in the
hands of General Halleck. A. Lincoln.
^ See Fremont correspondence.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 41
[Telegram.']
Washington City, D.C., June i, 1862. 9.30.
Major-General McClellan.
You are probably engaged with the enemy. I
suppose he made the attack. Stand well on your
guard, hold all your ground, or yield any only
inch bv inch and in good order. This morning
we merge General Wool's department into yours,
giving you command of the whole, and sending
General Dix to Fort Monroe and General Wool
to Fort McHenry. We also send General Sigel
to report to you for duty. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, June i, 1862. 5 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Thanks for what you could and did say in
your despatch of noon to-day to the Secretary
of War. If the enemy shall not have renewed
the attack this afternoon, I think the hardest of
your work is done.
Shields's advance came in collision with part
of the enemy yesterday evening, six miles from
Front Rovaf, in a direction between Winchester
and Strasburg, driving them back, capturing a
few prisoners and one rifled cannon. Firing in
that direction to-day, heard both from Harper's
Ferry and Front Royal, indicates a probability
that Fremont has met the enemy.
We have concluded to send General Sigel to
Harper's Ferrv, so that what I telegraphed you
about him this morning is revoked. Dix goes
to Fort Monroe to-night. A. Lincoln.
42 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 3, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
With these continuous rains I am very anx-
ious about the Chickahominy — so close in your
rear and crossing your Hue of communication.
Please look to it. A. Lincoln, President.
War Department, June 15, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir : The night between your two late
battles of Saturday and Sunday I went earnestly
to work to find a way of putting General Wool's
force under your control without wounding any
one's feelings. But, after all, General Dix was
a little hurt at being taken from an independent
command and put in a dependent one. I could
not help this without giving up the principal ob-
ject of the move. So soon as you can (which
I do not expect is yet), I wish you to give me
the benefit of your suggestions as to how an in-
dependent command can be given him without
detriment.
The Secretary of War has turned over to me
your despatch about sending McDowell to you
by water, instead of by land. I now fear he can-
not get to you either way in time. Shields's divi-
sion has got so terribly out of shape, out at
elbows, and out at toes, that it will require a long
time to get it in again. I expect to see McDowell
within a day or two, when I will again talk with
him about the mode of moving. McCall's divi-
sion has nearly or quite reached you by now.
This, with what you get from General Wool's
old command, and the new regiments sent you,
1GRAMS 45
LETTERS AND TELL
be verv glad to
must give you an incre-^ase snice^^^^ ^^^j. camp,
of over twenty thousand. DouV/Liebs'vii^ .,
and other causes have decreased you half a.
much in the same time ; but then the enemy have
lost as many in the same way. I believe I would
come and see vou were it not that I fear my pres-
ence might divert you and the army from more
important matters.
Yours truly, A. Lmcoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, June i8, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Yours of to-day, making it probable that J ack-
son has been reinforced by about 10,000 from
Richmond, is corroborated by a despatch from
General King at Fredericksburg, saymg a
Frenchman, just arrived from Richmond by way
of Gordonsville, met 10,000 to 15,000 passmg
through the latter place to join Jackson.
If this is true, it is as good as a reinforcement
to you of an equal force. I could better dispose
of 'things if I could know about what day you
can attack Richmond, and would be glad to be
informed, if vou think you can inform me with
safety. ' A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, June 19, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Yours of last night just received, and for
which I thank you.
If large reinforcements are going from Rich-
mond to Tackson, it proves one of two things;
either that thcv are very strong at Richmond, or
do not mean to defend the place desperately.
46 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
L
day. I have not said yo- uvere ungenerous for
saying you needed rei'' ^'^Oiements. I thought
you were ungenerous in assuming that I did not
send them as fast as I could. I feel any mis-
fortune to you and your army quite as keenly as
you feel it yourself. If you have had a drawn
battle, or a repulse, it is the price we pay for the
enemy not being in Washington. We protected
Washington and the enemy concentrated on you.
Had we stripped Washington, he would have
been upon us before the troops could have gotten
to you. Less than a week ago you notified us
that reinforcements were leaving Richmond to
come in front of us. It is the nature of the case,
and neither you nor the Government is to blame.
Please tell at once the present condition and
aspect of things. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, July i, 1862. 3.30 p. m.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
It is impossible to reinforce you for your pres-
ent emergency. If we had a million of men, we
could not get them to you in time. We have
not the men to send. If you are not strong
enough to face the enemy, you must find a place
of security, and wait, rest, and repair. Maintain
your ground if you can, but save the army at all
events, even if you fall back to Fort Monroe.
We still have strength enough in the country,
and will bring it out. A Lincoln.
War Department, July 2, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch of Tuesday morning induces
me to hope your army is having some rest. In
this hope allow me to reason with you a mo-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 47
ment. When you ask for 50,000 men to be
promptly sent you, you surely labor under some
gross mistake of fact. Recently you sent papers
showing your disposal of forces made last spring
for the defense of Washington, and advising a
return to that plan. I find it included in and
about Washington 75,000 men. Now, please be
assured I have not men enough to fill that very
plan by 15,000. All of Fremont's in the valley,
all of Banks's, all of McDowell's not with you,
and all in Washington, taken together, do not
exceed, if they reach, 60,000. VVith Wool and
Dix added to those mentioned, I have not, out-
side of your army, 75,000 men east of the moun-
tains. Thus the idea of sending you 50,000, or
any other considerable force, promptly, is simply
absurd. If, in your frequent mention of respon-
sibility, you have the impression that I blame
you for not doing more than you can, please be
relieved of such impression. I only beg that in
like manner you will not ask impossibilities of
me. If you think you are not strong enough to
take Richmond just now, I do not ask you to
try just now. Save the army, material and per-
sonal, and I will strengthen it for the offensive
again as fast as I can. The governors of
eighteen States offer me a new levy of 300.000,
which I accept. A. Lincoln.
War Department, July 3, 1862.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
Yours of 5.30 yesterday is just received. I
am satisfied that yourself, officers, and men have
done the best you could. All accounts say better
fighting was never done. Ten thousand thanks
for it.
48 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
On the 28th we sent General Burnside an or-
der to send all the force he could spare to you.
We then learned that you had requested him to
go to Goldsborough ; upon which we said to him
our order was intended for your benefit, and we
did not wish to be in conflict with your views.
We hope you will have help from him soon.
To-day we have ordered General Hunter to send
3^ou all he can spare. At last advices General
Halleck thinks he cannot send reinforcements
without endangering all he has gained.
A. Lincoln, President.
War Department,
Washington City, D. C., July 4, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I understand your position as stated in your
letter and by General Marcy. To reinforce you
so as to enable you to resume the offensive with-
in a month, or even six weeks, is impossible. In
addition to that arrived and now arriving from
the Potomac (about 10,000 men, I suppose, and
about 10,000 I hope you will have from Burn-
side very soon, and about 5,000 from Hunter a
little later), I do not see how I can send you
another man within a month. Under these cir-
cumstances the defensive for the present must
be your only care. Save the army — first, where
you are, if you can ; secondly, by removal, if
you must. You, on the ground, must be the
judge as to which you will attempt, and of the
means for effecting it. I but give it as my
opinion that with the aid of the gunboats and
the reinforcements mentioned above, you can
hold your present position — provided, and so
long as, you can keep the James River open be-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 49
low you. If you are not tolerably confident you
can keep the James River open, you had better
remove as soon as possible. I do not remember
that you have expressed any apprehension as to
the danger of having your communication cut on
the river below you, yet I do not suppose it can
have escaped your attention.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
P. S. If at any time you feel able to take the
offensive, you are not restrained from doing so.
A. L.
Washington, July 5, 1862. 9 a. m.
Major-General George B. AlcClellan.
A thousand thanks for the relief your two de-
spatches of 12 and I p. m. yesterday gave me.
Be assured the heroism and skill of yourself and
officers and men is^ and forever will be, appre-
ciated.
If you can hold your present position, we shall
have the enemy yet. A. Lincoln.
On July 9, 1862, the President had an interview with
General McClellan and other officers at McClellan's
headquarters at Harrison's Landing, Virginia. In this
the President inquired categorically about number of
troops, their health, the location, strength, and condi-
tion of enemy, possibility of easy withdrawal of Union
troops, and their security in present position.
Executive Mansion,
Washington, July 13, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir : I am told that over 160,000 men
have gone into your armj on the Peninsula.
When I was with you the other day we made
out 86,500 remaining, leaving 73,500 to be ac-
50 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS \
counted for. I believe 23,500 will cover all the
killed, wounded, and missing in all your battles
and skirmishes, leaving 50,000 who have left
otherwise. Not more than 5,000 of these have
died, leaving 45,000 of your army still alive and
not with it. I believe half or two thirds of them
are fit for duty to-day. Have you any more per-
fect knowledge of this than I have? If I am
right, and you had these men with you, you
could go into Richmond in the next three days.
How can they be got to you, and how can they
be prevented from getting away in such num-
bers for the future? A. Lincoln.
On August 3, 1862, General McClellan was ordered
to move his army to Aquia Creek, an arm of the Po-
tomac in Stafford County, northern Virginia. He was
three weeks in doing so. On the 29th and 30th of
August Pope was defeated by Longstreet and Jackson
in the second battle of Bull Run.
\T el eg}' am.']
Washington, August 29, 1862. 4.10 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Yours of to-day just received. I think your
first alternative — to wit, *'to concentrate all our
available forces to open communication with
Pope" — is the right one, but I wish not to con-
trol. That I now leave to General Halleck,
aided by your counsels. A. Lincoln.
Halleck, in despair over Pope's defeat, called ]\IcClel-
lan to Washington for counsel. On September 2d the
President placed the defense of Washington in ]\IcClel-
lan's hands. In five days McClellan had reorganized
the demoralized defense. On September 7th Lee had
crossed the Potomac into Maryland, and McClellan set
out to meet him.
I
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 51
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C,
September 8, 1862. 5 p. m.
Major-General McClellan, Rockville, Md.
How does it look now? A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
September 11, 1862. 6 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
This is explanatory. If Porter, Heintzelman,
and Sigel were sent you, it would sweep ever}'-
thins: from the other side of the river, because
the new troops have been distributed among
them, as I understand. Porter reports himself
21,000 strong, which can only be by the addition
of new troops. He is ordered to-night to join
you as quickly as possible. I am for sending you
all that can be spared, and I hope others can fol-
low Porter very soon. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington City, D. C,
September 12, 1862. 5.45 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Governor Curtin telegraphs me:
I have advices that Jackson is crossing the Potomac
at Williamsport, and probably the whole rebel army will
be drawn from Maryland.
Receiving nothing from Harper's Ferry or
INIartinsburg to-day, and positive information
from Wheeling that the line is cut, corroborates
52 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the idea that the enemy is recrossing the Poto-
mac. Please do not let him get off without being
hurt. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.l
War Department, Washington,
September 15, 1862. 2.45 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch of to-day received. God bless
you, and all with you. Destroy the rebel army
if possible. A. Lincoln.
McClellan defeated Lee at Antietam Creek, Md., on
September 17th.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, October 6, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I am instructed to telegraph you as follows:
The President directs that you cross the Poto-
mac and give battle to the enemy, or drive him
south. Your army must move now, while the
roads are good. If you cross the river between
the enemy and Washington, and cover the latter
by your operation, you can be reinforced with
30,000 men. If you move up the valley of the
Shenandoah, not more than 12,000 or 15,000 can
be sent to you. The President advises the in-
terior line between Washington and the enemy,
but does not order it. He is very desirous that
your army move as soon as possible. You will
immediately report what line you adopt, and
when you intend to cross the river; also to what
point the reinforcements are to be sent. It is
necessary that the plan of your operations be
positively determined on before orders are given
for building bridges and repairing railroads. I
am directed to add that the Secretary of War
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 53
and the general-in-chief fully concur with the
President in these instructions.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
Executive Mansion, October 13, 1862.
]\Iajor-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: You remember my speaking to
you of what I called your over-cautiousness.
Are you not over-cautious when you assume that
you cannot do what the enemy is constantly do-
ing? Should you not claim to be at least his
equal in prowess, and act upon the claim ? As I
understand, you telegraphed General Halleck
that you cannot subsist your army at Winchester
unless the railroad from Harper's Ferry to that
point be put in w^orking order. But the enemy
does now subsist his army at Winchester, at a
distance nearly twice as great from railroad
transportation as you would have to do without
the railroad last named. He now wagons from
Culpeper Court House, which is just about twice
as far as you would have to do from Harper's
Ferry. He is certainly not more than half as
well provided with wagons as you are. I cer-
tainly should be pleased for you to have the
advantage of the railroad from Harper's Ferry
to Winchester, but it wastes all the remainder of
autumn to give it to you, and in fact ignores
the question of time, which cannot and must not
be ignored. Again, one of the standard maxims
of war, as you know, is to ''operate upon the
enemy's communications as much as possible
without exposing your own." You seem to act
as if this applies against you, but cannot apply
in your favor. Change positions with the enemy,
and think you not he would break your com-
54 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
munications with Richmond within the next
twenty-four hours? You dread his going into
Pennsylvania; but if he does so in full force, he
gives up his communications to you absolutely,
and you have nothing to do but to follow and
ruin him. If he does so with less than full force,
fall upon and beat what is left behind all the
easier. Exclusive of the water-line, you are now
nearer Richmond than the enemy is by the route
that you can and he must take. Why can you
not reach there before him, unless you admit that
he is more than your equal on a march? His
route is the arc of a circle, while yours is the
chord. The roads are as good on yours as on
his. You know I desired, but did not order, you
to cross the Potomac below, instead of above,
the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge. My idea was
that this w^ould at once menace the enemy's com-
munications, which I would seize if he would
permit.
If he should move northward, I would follow
him closely, holding his communications. If he
should prevent our seizing his communications
and move toward Richmond, I would press
closely to him, fight him if a favorable oppor-
tunity should present, and at least try to beat him
to Richmond on the inside track. I say ''try" ;
if we never try, we shall never succeed. If he
makes a stand at Winchester, moving neither
north nor south, I would fight him there, on the
idea that if we cannot beat him when he bears
the wastage of coming to us, we never can when
we bear the wastage of going to him. This
proposition is a simple truth, and is too impor-
tant to be lost sight of for a moment. In coming
to us he tenders us an advantage which we
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 55
should not waive. We should not so operate as
to merely drive him away. As we must beat him
somewhere or fail finally, we can do it, if at all,
easier nearer to us than far away. If we cannot
beat the enemy where he now is, we never can,
he again being within the intrenchments of Rich-
mond.
Recurring to the idea of going to Richmond
on the inside track, the facility of supplying from
the side away from the enemy is remarkable, as
it were, by the different spokes of a wheel ex-
tending from the hub toward the rim, and this
whether you move directly by the chord or on
the inside arc, hugging the Blue Ridge more
closely. The chord-line, as you see, carries you
by Aldie, Hay Market, and Fredericksburg; and
you see how turnpikes, railroads, and finally the
Potomac, by Aquia Creek, meet you at all points
from Washington ; the same, only the lines
lengthened a little, if you press closer to the Blue
Ridge part of the way.
The gaps through the Blue Ridge I under-
stand to be about the following distances from
Harper's Ferry, to wit : Vestal's, 5 miles ; Greg-
ory's, 13; Snicker's, 18; Ashby's, 28; Manassas,
38 ; Chester, 45 ; and Thornton's, 53. I should
think it preferable to take the route nearest the
enemy, disabling him to make an important
move without your knowledge, and compelling
him to keep his forces together for dread of you.
The gaps would enable you to attack if you
should wish. For a great part of the way you
would be practically between the enemy and both
Washington and Richmond, enabling us to spare
you the greatest number of troops from here.
When at length running for Richmond ahead of
56 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
him enables him to move this way, if he does so,
turn and attack him in rear. But I think he
should be engaged long before such point is
reached. It is all easy if our troops march as
well as the enemy, and it is unmanly to say they
cannot do it. This letter is in no sense an order.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, October 21, 1862. 3 p. m.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
Your telegram of 12 m. has been submitted to
the President. He directs me to say that he has
no change to make in his order of the 6th in-
stant. If you have not been and are not now in
condition to obey it, you will be able to show
such want of ability. The President does not ex-
pect impossibilities, but he is very anxious that
all this good weather should not be wasted in
inactivity. Telegraph when you will move, and
on what lines you propose to march.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
[Telegram.']
War Department, October 24, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I have just read your despatch about sore-
tongued and fatigued horses. Will you pardon
me for asking what the horses of your army have
done since the battle of Antietam that fatigues
anything? A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 57
t
{Telegram.^
Executive Mansion,
October 26, 1862. 11.30 a. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Yours, in reply to mine about horses, received.
Of course you know the facts better than I ;
still, two considerations remain. Stuart's cav-
alry outmarched ours, having certainly done
more marked service on the Peninsula and every-
where since. Secondly, will not a movement of
our army be a relief to the cavalry, compelling
the enemy to concentrate instead of foraging in
squads everywhere*? But I am so rejoiced to
learn from your despatch to General Halleck
that you begin crossing the river this morning.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
October 27, 1862. 12.10 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Yours of yesterday received. Most certainly
I intend no injustice to any, and if I have done
any I deeply regret it. To be told, after more
than five weeks' total inaction of the army, and
during which period we have sent to the army
every fresh horse we possibly could, amounting
in the whole to 7,918, that the cavalry horses
were too much fatigued to move, presents a very
cheerless, almost hopeless, prospect for the fu-
ture, and it may have forced something of impa-
tience in my despatch. If not recruited and rested
then, when could they ever be? I suppose the
river is rising, and I am glad to believe you are
crossinsf. A. Lincoln.
58 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS-
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
October 2y, 1862. 3.25 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch of 3 p. m. to-day, in regard to
filling up old regiments with drafted men, is re-
ceived, and the request therein shall be complied
with as far as practicable.
And now I ask a distinct answer to the ques-
tion, Is it your purpose not to go into action
again until the men now being drafted in the
States are incorporated into the old regiments?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, October 29, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatches of night before last, yester-
day, and last night all received. I am much
pleased with the movement of the army. When
you get entirely across the river let me know.
What do you know of the enemy?
A. Lincoln.
[Order.]
Executive Mansion, November 5, 1862.
By direction of the President, it is ordered
that Major-General McClellan be relieved from
the command of the Army of the Potomac, and
that Major-General Burnside take the command
of that army. Also that Major-General Hunter
take command of the corps in said army which
is now commanded by General Burnside. That
Major-General Fitz-John Porter be relieved from
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 59
command of the corps he now commands in said
army, and that Alajor-General Hooker take com-
mand of said corps.
The general-in-chief is authorized, in [Ellis']
discretion, to issue an order substantially as the
above, forthwith, or so soon as he may deem
proper. A. Lincoln.
David Hunter.
Executive Mansion, December 31, 1861.
Major-General Hunter.
Dear Sir : Yours of the 23d is received, and
I am constrained to say it is difficult to answer
so ugly a letter in good temper. I am, as you
intimate, losing much of the great confidence I
placed in you, not from any act or omission of
yours touching the public service, up to the time
you were sent to Leavenworth, but from the
flood of grumbling despatches and letters I have
seen from you since. I knew you were being
ordered to Leavenworth at the time it was done ;
and I aver that with as tender a regard for your
honor and your sensibilities as I had for my own,
it never occurred to me that you were being
"humiliated, insulted and disgraced" ; nor have
I, up to this day, heard an intimation that you
have been wronged, coming from any one but
yourself — No one has blamed you for the retro-
grade movement from Springfield, nor for the
information you gave General Cameron ; and this
you could readily understand, if it were not for
your unwarranted assumption that the ordering
you to Leavenworth must necessarily have been
done as a piiiiisJimcnt for some fault. I thought
then, and think yet, the position assigned to you
is as responsible, and as honorable, as that as-
6o LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
signed to Buell — I know that General McClellan j
expected more important results from it. My
impression is that at the time you were assigned
to the new Western Department, it had not been
determined to replace General Sherman in Ken-
tucky ; but of this I am not certain, because the
idea that a command in Kentucky was very de-
sirable, and one in the farther West undesirable,
had never occurred to me. You constantly speak
of being placed in command of only 3,000. Now
tell me, is this not mere impatience? Have you
not known all the while that you are to command
four or five times that many?
I have been, and am sincerely your friend ;
and if, as such, I dare to make a suggestion, I
would say you are adopting the best possible
way to ruin yourself. "Act well your part, there
all the honor lies." He who does something at
the head of one regiment, will eclipse him who
does nothing at the head of a hundred.
Your friend, as ever, A. Lincoln.
On the outside of the envelope in which this letter
was found, General Hunter had written :
''The President's reply to my 'ugly letter.' This lay
on his table a month after it was written, and when
finally sent was by a special conveyance, with the direc-
tion that it was only to be given to me when I was in a
good humor."
In March, 1862, General Hunter was transferred to
the Department of the South with headquarters at Port
Royal, S. C. On April 12th he issued an order freeing
the slaves of enemies of the United States. This com-
ing to the attention of the President, on May 17th he
indorsed on the order :
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 6i
May 17, 1862.
No commanding general shall do such a thing
upon my responsibility without consulting me.
A. Lincoln.
See letter to George B. McClellan of November 5,
1862.
{^Private.']
Executive Mansion, April i, 1863.
Major-General Hunter.
Aly dear Sir : I am glad to see the accounts of
your colored force at Jacksonville, Florida. I
see the enemy are driving at them fiercely, as is
to be expected. It is important to the enemy
that such a force shall not take shape and grow
and thrive in the South, and in precisely the
same proportion it is important to us that it shall.
Hence the utmost caution and vigilance is neces-
sary on our part. The enemy will make extra
efforts to destroy them, and we should do the
same to preserve and increase them.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive IMansion, April 14, 1863.
General Hunter and Admiral Dupont.
This is intended to clear up an apparent incon-
sistency between the recent order to continue
operations before Charleston and the former one
to remove to another point in a certain contin-
gency. No censure upon you, or either of you,
is intended. We still hope that by cordial and
judicious cooperation you can take the batteries
on Morris Island and Sullivan's Island and Fort
Sumter. But whether you can or not, we wish
the demonstration kept up for a time, for a col-
lateral and very important object. We wish the
62 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
attempt to be a real one, though not a desperate
one, if it affords any considerable chance of suc-
cess. But if prosecuted as a demonstration only,
this must not become pubHc, or the whole eft"ect
will be lost. Once again before Charleston, do
not leave till further orders from here. Of course
this is not intended to force you to leave unduly
exposed Hilton Head or other near points in your
charge. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
P. S. — Whoever receives this first, please send
a copy to the other immediately A. L.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, April 30, 1863.
Major-General Hunter.
My dear Sir : This morning I was presented
an order of yours, dismissing from the service,
subject to my approval, a Captain Schaadt, of
one of the Pennsylvania regiments. Disloyalty,
without any statement of the evidence supposed
to have proved it, is assigned as the cause of
the dismissal ; and he represents at home — as I
am told — that the sole evidence was his refusal
to sanction a resolution (indorsing the Emanci-
pation Proclamation, I believe) ; and our friends
assure me that this statement is doing the Union
cause great harm in his neighborhood and coun-
ty, especially as he is a man of character, did
good service in raising troops for us last fall, and
still declares for the Union and his wish to fight
for it.
On this state of the case I wrote a special in-
dorsement on the order, which I suppose he will
present to you ; and I write this merely to assure
you that no censure is intended upon you; but
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 63
that It is hoped that you will inquire into the case
more minutely, and that if there be no evidence
but his refusal to sanction the resolution, you
will restore him.
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, June 30, 1863.
'Major-General Hunter.
My dear General: I have just received your
letter of the 25th of June.
I assure you, and you may feel authorized in
stating, that the recent change of commanders
in the Department of the South was made for no
reasons which convey any imputation upon your
known energy, efficiency, and patriotism ; but for
causes which seemed sufficient, while they were
in no degree incompatible with the respect and
! esteem in which I have always held you as a man
[and an officer.
I cannot, by giving my consent to a publica-
tion of whose details I know nothing, assume the
responsibility of whatever you may w^ite. In
this matter your own sense of military propriety
must be»your guide, and the regulations of the
service your rule of conduct.
I am very truly your friend, A. Lincoln.
In May, 1864, General Hunter was placed in com-
mand of the Department of West Virginia.
\Telegram.'\
[Washington], July 17, 1864.
Major-General Hunter,
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.
Yours of this morning received. You mis-
conceive. The order you complain of was only
64 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
nominally mine, and was framed by those who
really made it with no thought of making you a
scapegoat. It seemed to be General Grant's
wish that the forces under General Wright and
those under you should join and drive at the
enemy under General Wright. Wright had the
larger part of the force, but you had the rank.
It was thought that you would prefer Crook's
commanding your part to your serving in person
under Wright. That is all of it. General Grant
wishes you to remain in command of the depart-
ment, and I do not wish to order otherwise.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram in Cipher J\
War Department, July 23, 1864.
Major-General Hunter,
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.
Are you able to take care of the enemy, when
he turns back upon you, as he probably will on
finding that Wright has left? A. Lincoln.
Don Carlos Buell.^
[Telegram.']
Washington City, January i, 1862.
Brigadier-General Buell, Louisville.
General McClellan should not yet be disturbed
with business. I think you better get in concert
with General Halleck at once. I write you to-
night. I also telegraph and write Halleck.
A. Lincoln.
^ In November, 1861, General Buell succeeded General
W. T. Sherman in command in Kentucky.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 65
' Executive Mansion, January 6, 1862.
I Brigadier-General Buell.
i My dear Sir : Your despatch of yesterday has
I been received, and it disappoints and distresses
' me. I have shown it to General McClellan, who
'■ says he will write you to-day. I am not com-
i petent to criticise your views, and therefore what
' I offer is in justification of myself. Of the two,
• I would rather have a point on the railroad south
of Cumberland Gap than Nashville. First, be-
cause it cuts a great artery of the enemy's com-
munication, wdiich Nashville does not; and sec-
ondly, because it is in the midst of loyal people
who would rally around it, while Nashville is
not. Again, I cannot see why the movement in
East Tennessee would not be a diversion in your
favor rather than a disadvantage, assuming that
a movement toward Nashville is the main object.
But my distress is that our friends in East Ten-
nessee are being hanged and driven to despair,
and even now, I fear, are thinking of taking rebel
arms for the sake of personal protection. In this
we lose the most valuable stake we have in the
South. My despatch, to which yours is an an-
swer, was sent with the knowledge of Senator
Johnson and Representative Maynard of East
Tennessee, and they will be upon me to know
the answer, which I cannot safely show them.
They would despair, possibly resign to go and
save their families somehow, or die with them.
I do not intend this to be an order in any sense,
but merely, as intimated before, to show you
the grounds of my anxiety.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
66 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Washington, January 7, 1862.
Brigadier-General D. C. Buell, Louisville.
Please name as early a day as you safely can
on or before which you can be ready to move
southward in concert with Major-General Hal- ,
leek. Delay is ruining us, and it is indispensable
for me to have something definite. I send a like
despatch to Major-General Halleck.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 13, 1862.
Brigadier-General Buell.
My dear Sir: Your despatch of yesterday is
received, in which you say : "I have received your
letter and General McClellan's, and will at once
devote all my efforts to your views and his."
In the midst of my many cares, I have not seen
or asked to see General McClellan's letter to
you. For my own views, I have not offered
and do not now offer them as orders ; and while
I am glad to have them respectfully considered,
I would blame you to follow them contrary to
your own clear judgment, unless I should put
them in the form of orders. As to General
McClellan's views, you understand your duty in
regard to them better than I do. With this
preliminary, I state my general idea of this war
to be that we have the greater numbers, and the
enemy has the greater facility of concentrating
forces upon points of collision ; that we must
fail unless we can find some way of making our
advantage an overmatch for his ; and that this
can only be done by menacing him with superior
forces at different points at the same time, so that
we can safely attack one or both if he makes no
change ; and if he weakens one to strengthen the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 67
other, forbear to attack the strengthened one, but
seize and hold the weakened one, gaining so
much. To illustrate : Suppose, last summer,
when Winchester ran away to reinforce Manas-
sas, we had forborne to attack Manassas, but
had seized and held Winchester. I mention this
to illustrate and not to criticise. I did not lose
confidence in ]\IcDowell, and I think less harshly
of Patterson than some others seem to. In ap-
plication of the general rule I am suggesting,
every particular case will have its modifying cir-
cumstances, among which the most constantly
present and most difficult to meet will be the want
of perfect knowledge of the enemy's movements.
This had its part in the Bull Run case ; but
worse in that case was the expiration of the
terms of the three months' men. Applying the
principle to your case, my idea is that Halleck
shall menace Columbus and "down river" gen-
erally, wdiile you menace Bowling Green and
East Tennessee. If the enemy shall concentrate
at Bowling Green, do not retire from his front,
yet do not fight him there either, but seize Co-
lumbus and East Tennessee, one or both, left
exposed by the concentration at Bowling Green.
It is a matter of no small anxiety to me, and
one which I am sure you will not overlook, that
the East Tennessee line is so long and over so
bad a road. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.']
January 13, 1862.
Having to-day written General Buell a letter,
it occurs to me to send General Halleck a copy
of it. A. Lincoln.
68 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Washington, March lo, 1862.
General D. C. Buell.
The evidence is very strong that the enemy in
front of us here is breaking up and moving off.
General McClellan is after him. Some part of
the force may be destined to meet you. Look
out and be prepared. I telegraphed Halleck,
asking him to assist you if needed.
A. Lincoln.
{Telegram.']
War Department,
September 8, 1862. 7.20 p. m.
General Buell.
What degree of certainty have you that Bragg,
with his command, is not now in the valley of
the Shenandoah, Virginia? A. Lincoln.
War Department,.
October 19, 1862. 1.33 p. m.
Major-General Buell, Mount Vernon, Kentucky.
Your telegram of the 17th was received this
morning, and has been laid before the President,
who concurs in the views expressed in my tele-
gram to you yesterday. The capture of East
Tennessee should be the main object of your
campaign. You say it is the heart of the ene-
my's resources ; make it the heart of yours. Your;
army can live there if the enemy's can. You
must in a great measure live upon the country,
paying for your supplies where proper, and levy-
ing contributions where necessary. I am directed
by the President to say to you that your army
must enter East Tennessee this fall, and that it
ought to move there while the roads are passable.
Once between the enemy and Nashville, there
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 69
will be no serious difficulty in reopening your
communications with that place. He does not
understand why we cannot march as the enemy
marches, live as he lives, and fight as he fights,
unless we admit the inferiority of our troops and
of our generals. Once hold the valley of the
upper Tennessee, and the operations of guerrillas
in that State and Kentucky will soon cease.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
Edwin M. Stanton.^
Executive Mansion, January 22, 1862.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir : On reflection I think it will not
do, as a rule, for the adjutant-general to attend
me wherever I go: not that I have any objec-
tion to his presence, but that it would be an un-
compensating encumbrance both to him and me.
When it shall occur to me to go anywhere, I
wish to be free to go at once, and not to have to
notify the adjutant-general and wait till he can
get ready.
It is better, too, for the public service that he
shall give his time to the business of his office,
and not to personal attendance on me.
While I thank you for the kindness of the
suggestion, my view of the matter is as I have
stated. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^ When, on the 15th of January, 1862, the President was
able to remove his incompetent Secretary of War, Simon
Cameron, he appointed to the place Mr. Stanton, an able
lawyer, and a patriot, as he had proved himself as Attor-
ney-General in Buchanan's Cabinet in 1860-1861. While
of an irritable temper, that in petty matters brought him
into clashes with the President, he was Lincoln's mainstay.
70 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, January 31, 1862.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir : It is my wish that the expedi-
tion commonly called the "Lane Expedition"
shall be, as much as has been promised at the
adjutant-general's office, under the supervision of
General McClellan, and not any more. I have
not intended, and do not now intend, that it shall
be a great, exhausting affair, but a snug, sober
column of 10,000 or 15,000. General Lane has
been told by me many times that he is under the
command of General Hunter, and assented to it
as often as told. It was the distinct agreement
between him and me, when I appointed him, that
he was to be under Hunter.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
On March 15, 1862, the President wrote Secretary
Stanton in reference to arms delivered by the manu-
facturers after time set in contract. He said:
If . . . these men acted in good faith, I think
they should not be ruined by the transaction, but
that the guns should be accepted and paid for.
Of course, I understand the principle of strict
law would not oblige the Government to take
them, even if it were an individual.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April 3, 1862.
The Secretary of War will order that one or
the other of the corps of General McDowell and
General Sumner remain in front of Washington
until further orders from the department, to
operate at or in the direction of Manassas Junc-
tion, or otherwise, as occasion may require ; that
the other corps not so ordered to remain go for-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 71
ward to General McClellan as speedily as pos-
sible ; that General McClellan commence his for-
ward movements from his new base at once,
and that such incidental modifications as the
foregoing may render proper be also made.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 22, 1862.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir : I think it will be better to do nothing now
which can be construed into a demand for troops
in addition to the three hundred thousand for
which we have recently called. We do not need
more, nor, indeed, so many, if we could have the
vSmaller number very soon. It is a very impor-
tant consideration, too, that one recruited into
an old regiment is nearly or quite equal in value
to two in a new one. We can scarcely afford to
forego any plan within our power which may
facilitate the filling of the old regiments with re-
cruits. If, on consideration, you are of opinion
that this object can be advanced by causing the
militia of the several States to be enrolled, and
by drafts therefrom, you are at liberty to take
the proper steps and do so, provided that any
number of recruits so obtained from any State
within the next three months shall, if practicable,
be an abatement of the quota of volunteers from
such State under the recent call.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
On August 12, 1862, the President wrote Secretary
Stanton about a soldier who was with his brother (also
in the army), the support of their widowed mother. He
had been a deserter, but had reenlisted in another com-
pany :
72 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Let him be discharged from arrest and go to
duty. I think, too, he should have his pay for
duty actually performed. Loss of pay falls so
hard upon poor families.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January i, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear Sir : Yesterday a piteous appeal was made
to me by an old lady of genteel appearance, say-
ing she had, with what she thought sufficient as-
surance that she would not be disturbed by the
Government, fitted up the two south divisions of
the old "Duff Green" building in order to take
boarders, and has boarders already in it, and
others, including members of Congress, engaged ;
and that now she is ordered to be out of it by
Saturday, the 3d instant ; and that independently
of the ruin it brings on her by her lost outlay,
she neither has nor can find another shelter for
her own head. I know nothing about it myself,
but promised to bring it to your notice.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 23, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir : I think General Butler should go to New
Orleans again. He is unwilling to go unless he
is restored to the command of the department.
He should start by the first of February, and
should take some force with him. The whole
must be so managed as to not wrong or wound
the feelings of General Banks. His original wish
was to go to Texas ; and it must be arranged for
him to do this now with a substantial force ; and
yet he must not go to the endangering the open-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 73
ing of the Mississippi. I hope this may be done
by the time General Butler shall arrive there;
but whether or not, I think we cannot longer
dispense with General Butler's services.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, May ii, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear Sir: I have again concluded to relieve
General Curtis. I see no other way to avoid
the worst consequences there. I think of Gen-
eral Schofield as his successor, but I do not wish
to take the matter of a successor out of the hands
of yourself and General Halleck.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
General Schofield was appointed.
Executive Mansion, July 21, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir : I desire that a renewed and vig-
orous effort be made to raise colored forces
along the shores of the Mississippi. Please con-
sult the general-in-chief, and if it is perceived
that any acceleration of the matter can be ef-
fected, let it be done. I think the evidence is
nearly conclusive that General Thomas is one
of the best (if not the very best) instruments for
this service. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
General Lorenzo Thomas, who had been Adjutant-
General, was sent on this service.
Executive Mansion, July 28, 1863. •
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: A young son of Senator Brown
of Mississippi, not yet twenty, as I understand,
74 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
was wounded and made a prisoner at Gettysburg.
His mother is sister of Mrs. P. R. Fendall, of
this city. Mr. Fendall, on behalf of himself and
family, asks that he and they may have charge
of the boy to cure him up, being responsible for
his person and good behavior. Would it not be
rather a grateful and graceful thing to let them
have him? Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 29, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir: Can we not renew the effort to organize
a force to go to Western Texas ? ^
Please consult with the general-in-chief on the
subject.
If the Governor of New Jersey shall furnish
any new regiments, might not they be put into
such an expedition? Please think of it.
I believe no local object is now more desirable.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 21, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: In the autumn of 1861, certain
persons in armed rebellion against the United
States, within the counties of Accomac and
Northampton, laid down their arms upon certain
terms then proposed to them by General Dix, in
and by a certain proclamation. It is now said
that these persons, or some of them, are about
to be forced into the military lines of the existing
rebellion, unless they will take an oath prescribed
to them since, and not included in General Dix's
^ This was to prevent the establishment of a Mexican
monarchy under Maximilian. General N. P. Banks was
sent on the expedition.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 75
]M-oclamation referred to. Now, my judgment
is that no one of these men should be forced
from his home, who has not broken faith with
the Government, according to the terms fixed
by General Dix and these men.
It is bad faith in the Government to force new
terms upon such as have kept faith with it — at
least so it seems to me. A. Lincoln.
On August 26, 1863, the President gave instructions
about the conduct of the draft, with particular reference
to New York State. He closed his letter as follows :
I wish that also to go forward, and I wish
Governor Seymour notified of it ; so that if he
choose, he can place agents of his with ours to
see the work fairly done.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September i, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir : I am now informed, contrary to
my impression when I last talked with you, that
the order compelling the four hundred on the
eastern shore of Virginia to take the oath or be
sent away is about being carried into execution.
As this, and also the assessment for damage done
to and at the lighthouse, are very strong meas-
ures, and as I have to bear the responsibility of
them, I wish them suspended until I can at least
be better satisfied of their propriety than I am
now. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
The orders were suspended.
76 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, November ii, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear Sir: I personally wish Jacob Freese, of
New Jersey, to be appointed colonel for a col-
ored regiment, and this regardless of whether
he can tell the exact shade of Julius Caesar's hair.
Yours, etc., " A. Lincoln.
On November 17, 1863, Secretary Stanton sent the
President a schedule of close train arrangements to
go to Gettysburg, Pa., for the dedication ceremonies of
the National Cemetery, and to return within one day.
On this the President made the following indorsement :
[Indorsement.']
I do not like this arrangement. I do not wish
to so go that by the slightest accident we fail
entirely, and, at the best, the whole be a mere
breathless running of the gauntlet. But, any
way. A. Lincoln.
November 17, 1863.
Executive Mansion, December 18, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir : I believe General Schofield must
be relieved from command of the department
of Missouri; otherwise a question of veracity,
in relation to his declarations as to his interfer-
ing, or not, with the Missouri legislature, will
be made with him, which will create an addi-
tional amount of trouble, not to be overcome
by even a correct decision of the question. The
question Itself must be avoided. Now for the
mode. Senator Henderson, his friend, thinks he
can be induced to ask to be relieved, if he shall
understand he will be generously treated; and,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 77
on this latter point, Gratz Brown will help his
nomination as a major-general through the Sen-
ate. In no other way can he be confirmed ; and
upon his rejection alone it would be difficult for
me to sustain him as commander of the depart-
ment. Besides, his being relieved from command
of the department, and at the same time con-
firmed as a major-general, will be the means of
Henderson and Brown leading off together as
friends, and will go far to heal the Missouri dif-
ficulty. Another point. I find it is scarcely less
than indispensable for me to do something for
General Rosecrans ; and I find Henderson and
Brown will agree to him for the commander of
their department.
Again, I have received such evidence and ex-
planations, in regard to the supposed cotton trans-
actions of General Curtis, as fully restore in
my mind the fair presumption of his innocence ;
and, as he is my friend, and what is more, as
I think, the country's friend, I would be glad to
relieve him from the impression that I think him
dishonest by giving him a command. ]\Iost of
the Iowa and Kansas delegations, a large part
of that of Missouri, and the delegates from Ne-
braska and Colorado, ask this in behalf of Gen-
eral C, and suggest Kansas and other contigu-
ous territory west of Missouri as a department
for him. In a purely military point of view it
may be that none of these things are indispen-
sable, or perhaps advantageous ; but in another
aspect, scarcely less important, they would give
great relief ; while, at the worst, I think they
could not injure the military service much. I
therefore shall be greatly obliged if yourself and
General Halleck can give me your hearty co-
78 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
operation in making the arrangement. Perhaps
the first thing would be to send General Scho-
field's nomination to me. Let me hear from you
before you take any actual step in the matter.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Private.]
Executive Mansion, December 21, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: Sending a note to the Secre-
tary of the Navy, as I promised, he called over
and said that the strikes in the ship-yards had
thrown the completion of vessels back so much
that he thought General Gillmore's proposition
entirely proper. He only wishes (and in which
I concur) that General Gillmore will cour-
teously confer with, and explain to. Admiral
Dahlgren.
In regard to the Western matter, I believe the
program will have to stand substantially as I
first put it. Henderson, and especially Brown,
believe that the social influence of St. Louis
would inevitably tell injuriously upon General
Pope in the particular difficulty existing there,
and I think there is some force in that view.
As to retaining General Schofield temporarily,
if this should be done, I believe I should scarcely
be able to get his nomination through the Senate.
Send me over his nomination, which, however,
I am not quite ready to send to the Senate.
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 31, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir: Please fix up the department to which
Curtis is to go, without waiting to wind up the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 79
Missouri matter. Lane is very anxious to have
Fort Smith in it, and I am wilhng, unless there
be decided mihtary reasons to the contrary, in
which case of course, I am not for it. It will
oblige me to have the Curtis department fixed at
once. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
On the next day General Curtis was appointed to the
department of Kansas.
Executive Alansion, February i, 1864.
Hon. Edwin i\L Stanton, Secretary of War.
Sir: You are directed to have a transport
(either a steam or sailing vessel, as may be
deemed proper by the Quartermaster-General)
sent to the colored colony established by the
United States at the Island of Vache, on the
coast of San Domingo, to bring back to this
country such of the colonists there as desire to
return. You will have the transport furnished
with suitable supplies for that purpose, and detail
an officer of the Quartermaster's department,
who, under special intructions to be given, shall
have charge of the business. The colonists will
be brought to Washington unless otherwise here-
after directed, and be employed and provided for
at the camps for colored persons around that
city.
Those only will be brought from the island
who desire to return, and their effects will be
brought with them. Abraham Lincoln.
[Indorsement upon a form of oatli.'\
Submitted to the Secretary of War. On prin-
ciple I dislike an oath which requires a man to
swear he has not done wrong. It rejects the
8o LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of
repentance. I think it is enough if the man does
no wrong hereafter. A. Lincohi.
February 5, 1864.
Executive INIansion, February 11, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: In January, 1863, The Provost-
Marshal at St. Louis, having taken the control
of a certain church from one set of men and
given it to another, I wrote General Curtis on the
subject as follows:
The United States Government must not, as by this
order, undertake to run the churches. When an indi-
vidual in a church or out of it becomes dangerous to
the public interest, he must be checked ; but the
churches, as such, must take care of themselves. It
will not do for the United States to appoint trustees,
supervisors, or other agents for the churches.
Some trouble remaining in this same case, I,
on the twenty-second of December, 1863, in a
letter to Mr. O. D. Filley, repeated the above
language, and among other things added :
I have never interfered nor thought of interfering
as to who shall or shall not preach in any church ; nor
have I knowingly or believingly tolerated any one else
to so interfere by my authority. If any one is so inter-
fering by color of my authority, I would like to have it
specifically made known to me. ... I will not have
control of any church on any side.
After having made these declarations in good
faith, and in writing, you can conceive of my
embarrassment at now having brought to me
what purports to be a formal order of the War
Department, bearing date November 30, 1863,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 8i
giving Bishop Ames control and possession of all
the Methodist churches in certain Southern mili-
tary departments, whose pastors have not been
appointed by a loyal bishop or bishops, and or-
dering the military to aid him against any resis-
tance which may be made to his taking such
possession and control. What is to be done
about it? Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Stanton modified the objectionable features of his
order.
On February 27, 1864, the President wrote to Sec-
retary Stanton upon a report of special commissioners
on the draft in New York. Referring to his instruc-
tions of August 26, 1863, he said :
My idea was to do the work over according to
the law, in presence of the complaining party,
and thereby to correct anything which might be
found amiss. The commission, whose work I
am considering, seem to have proceeded upon a
totally different idea. Not going forth to find
men at all, they have proceeded altogether upon
paper examinations and mental processes. One
of their conclusions, as I understand, is that, as
the law stands, and attempting to follow it, the
enrolling officers could not have made the enrol-
ments much more accurately than they did. . . .
[Yet] the commission conclude [admit?] that the
quotas for the draft should be based upon en-
tire population, and they . . . give a table for
the State of New York, in which some districts
are reduced and some increased. For the now
ensuing draft, let the quotas stand as made by
the enrolling officers, in the districts wherein
this table requires them to be increased ; and let
them be reduced according to the table in the
82 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
others : this to be no precedent for the subse-
quent action. . . .
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March i, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: A poor widow, by the name of
Baird, has a son in the army, that for some of-
fense has been sentenced to serve a long time
without pay, or at most with very little pay. I
do not like this punishment of withholding pay
— it falls so very hard upon poor families. After
he had been serving in this way for several
months, at the tearful appeal of the poor mother,
I made a direction that he be allowed to enlist
for a new term, on the same conditions as others.
She now comes and says she cannot get it acted
upon. Please do it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Memorandinn.']
I think the Amsterdam projectile is too good
a thing to be lost to the service, and if offered
at the Hotchkiss prices, and not in excessive
quantities, nor unreasonable terms in other re-
spects, by either or both parties to the patent
controversy, take it, so that the test be fully
made. I am for the Government having the best
articles in spite of patent controversies.
A. Lincoln.
March 10, 1864.
Executive Mansion, March 18, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: I am so pressed in regard to
prisoners of war in our custody, whose homes
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 83
are within our lines, and who wish to not be ex-
changed, but to take the oath and be discharged,
that I hope you will pardon me for again calling
up the subject. My impression is that we will
not ever force the exchange of any of this class ;
that, taking the oath and being discharged, none
of them will again go to the rebellion ; but the
rebellion again coming to them, a considerable
percentage of them, probably not a majority,
would rejoin it; that, by a cautious discrimina-
tion, the number so discharged would not be
large enough to do any considerable mischief in
any event, will relieve distress in at least some
meritorious cases, and would give me some re-
lief from an intolerable pressure. I shall be
glad, therefore, to have your cheerful assent to
the discharge of those whose names I may send,
which I will only do with circumspection. . . .
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March 28, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir : The Governor of Kentucky is
here, and desires to have the following points
definitely fixed :
First. That the quotas of troops furnished,
and to be furnished, by Kentucky may be ad-
justed upon the basis as actually reduced by able-
bodied men of hers having gone into the rebel
service ; and that she be required to furnish no
more than her just quotas upon fair adjustment
upon such basis.
Second. To whatever extent the enlistment and
drafting, one or both, of colored troops may be
found necessary within the State, it may be con-
ducted \yithin the law of Congress ; and, so far
84 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
as practicable, free from collateral embarrass-
ments, disorders, and provocations.
I think these requests of the Governor are rea-
sonable ; and I shall be obliged if you will give
him a full hearing, and do the best you can to
effect these objects.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 14, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir: Your note of to-day inclosing General
Halleck's letter of yesterday relative to offen-
sive remarks supposed to have been made by the
Postmaster-General ^ concerning the military of-
ficers on duty about Washington is received.
The General's letter in substance demands of me
that if I approve the remarks I shall strike the
names of those officers from the rolls ; and that
if I do not approve them the Postmaster-General
shall be dismissed from the Cabinet.
Whether the remarks were really made I do
not know, nor do I suppose such knowledge is
necessary to a correct response. If they were
made, I do not approve them ; and yet, under the
circumstances, I would not dismiss a member of
the Cabinet therefor. I do not consider what
may have been hastily said in a moment of vexa-
tion at so severe a loss is sufficient ground for
so grave a step. Besides this, truth is generally
the best vindication against slander. I propose
continuing to be myself the judge as to when
a member of the Cabinet shall be dismissed.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^Montgomery Blair (see correspondence with him).
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 85
Executive Mansion, August 22, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: I very much wish to obHge
Henry Ward Beecher by releasing Howard ; ^
but I wish you to be satisfied when it is done.
What say you? Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
I have no objection if you think it right — and
this a proper time. E. M. S.
Let Howard, imprisoned in regard to the
bogus proclamation, be discharged.
A. Lincoln.
August 22,, .1864.
Executive Mansion, August 27, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: If General Sigel has asked for
an inquiry, let him have it, if there is not some
insurmountable, or at least, very serious obstacle.
He is fairly entitled to this consideration.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, October 31, 1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir: Herewith is a letter of Governor Curtin,
w^hich speaks for itself. I suggest for your con-
sideration, whether, to the extent of, say, 5,000,
Ave might not exempt from the draft, upon the
men being put in good shape to defend and give
assurance to the border. I have not said even
^ Joseph Howard, a New York journalist, forged a proc-
lamation about the draft for stock-rigging purposes. He
was imprisoned for the crime in Fort Lafayette, and the
World and the Journal of Commerce, papers which pub-
lished the proclamation, were temporarily suspended.
86 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
this much to the bearer, General Todd,^ whom I
hope you will see and hear.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 19, 1865.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear Sir: You remember that from time to
time appeals have been made to us by persons
claiming to have attempted to come through our
lines with their effects to take the benefit of the
amnesty proclamation, and to have been de-
spoiled of their effects under General Butler's
administration. Some of these claims have color
of merit, and may be really meritorious. Please
consider whether we cannot set on foot an in-
vestigation which may advance justice in the
premises. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
\Telegrarn.'\
City Point, Virginia,
March 25, 1865. 8.30 a. m.
Hon. Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.
. . . General Lee has sent the Russell letter
back, concluding, as I understand from Grant,
that their dignity does not admit of their receiv-
ing the document from us. Robert just now
tells me there was a little rumpus up the line this
morning, ending about where it began.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
City Point, Virginia,
March 2y, 1865. 3.35 p. m.
Hon. Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.
Yours inclosing Fort Sumter order received.
^John B. S. Todd.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 87
I think of but one suggestion. I feel quiet con-
fident that Sumter fell on the 13th, and not on
the 14th of April, as you have it. It fell on Sat-
urday, the 13th; the first call for troops on our
part was got up on Sunday, the 14th, and given
date and issued on Monday, the 15th. Look up
the old almanac and other data, and see if I am
not right. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
City Point, Virginia, March 28, 1865. 12 m.
Hon. Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.
After your explanation, I think it is little or
no difference whether the Fort Sumter ceremony
takes place on the 13th or 14th. . . .
A. Lincoln.
City Point, Va., March 30, 1865. 7.30 p. m.
Hon. Secretary of War.
I begin to feel that I ought to be at home and
yet I dislike to leave without seeing nearer to
the end of General Grant's present movement.
He has now been out since yesterday morning
and although he has not yet been diverted from
his programme no considerable effort has yet
been produced so far as we know here. Last
night at 10.15 p. m. when it was dark as a rainy
night without a moon could be, a furious can-
nonade soon joined in by a heavy musketry fire
opened near Petersburg and lasted about two
hours. The sound was very distinct here as also
were the flashes of the guns upon the clouds. It
seemed to me a great battle, but the older hands
here scarcely noticed it and sure enough this
morning it was found that very little had been
done. A. Lincoln.
88 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Cipher Telegram.']
City Point, Va., April 3, 1865. 5 p. m.
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton^
Secretary of War.
Yours received. Thanks for your caution, but
I have already been to Petersburg, stayed with
General Grant an hour and a half and returned
here. It is certain now that Richmond is in our
hands, and I think I will go there to-morrow.
I will take care of myself. A. Lincoln.
Nathaniel Gordon.
On February 4, 1862, the President having refused
the petition of "a large number of respectable citizens"
to commute the death sentence of Nathaniel Gordon,
convicted of being a slave trader, gave him a respite
from February 7, 1862, to February 21, 1862, because
of the seeming probability that the expectation of a
commutation of sentence may have prevented Gordon
''from making the necessary preparation for the awful
change which awaits him."
In granting this respite it becomes my painful
duty to admonish the prisoner that, relinquishing
all expectation of pardon by human authority, he
refer himself alone to the mercy of the common
God and Father of all men.
In testimony, etc. Abraham Lincoln.
By the President :
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
Samuel F. Dupont.
In conformity with an act of Congress approved De-
cember 21, 1861, ''further to promote the efficiency of
the navy," Captain Dupont was nominated to the Sen-
ate to continue as flag-officer in command of the
squadron "which recently rendered such important
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 89
service to the Union in the expedition to the coast of
South Carolina." On February 4, 1862, the President
sent a Message to Congress in which he said :
Believing that no occasion could arise which
would more fully correspond with the intention
of the law, or be more pregnant with happy
influence as an example, I cordially recommend
that Captain Samuel F. Dupont receive a vote
of thanks of Congress for his services and gal-
lantry displayed in the capture of Forts Walker
and Beauregard, commanding the entrance of
Port Royal harbor, on the 7th of November,
1 86 1. Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, February 4, 1862.
\_Message to Congress.']
March 20, 1862.
I cordially recommend that Captain Samuel F.
Dupont receive a vote of thanks of Congress
for his services and gallantry displayed in the
capture, since the 21st of December, 1861, of
various points on the coasts of Georgia and
Florida, particularly Brunswick, Cumberland
Island and Sound, Amelia Island, the towns of
St. Mary's, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Fer-
nandina. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, April 13, 1863.
Admiral Dupont.
Hold your position inside the bar near Charles-
ton ; or, if you shall have left it, return to it, and
hold it till further orders. Do not allow the
enemy to erect new batteries or defenses on
Morris Island. If he has begun it, drive him
90 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
out. I do not herein order you to renew the
general attack. That is to depend on your own
discretion or a further order. A. Lincoln.
See letter to David Hunter of April 14, 1863.
Louis M. Goldsborough.
[Message to Congress.^
To the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States : . . .
Believing that no occasion could arise which
would more fully correspond with the intention
of the law [authorizing the President to recom-
mend to Congress naval oMcers to receive vote
of thanks for gallant service], or be more preg-
nant with happy influence as an example, I cor-
dially recommend that Louis M. Goldsborough
receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his ser-
vices and gallantry displayed in the combined
attack of the forces commanded by him and
Brigadier-General Burnside in the capture of
Roanoke Island and the destruction of rebel gun-
boats on the 7th, 8th, and loth of February, 1862.
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, February 15, 1862.
[Telegram.]
Fort Monroe, Virginia, May 7, 1862.
Flag-ofiflcer Goldsborough.
Sir : Major-General McClellan telegraphs that
he has ascertained by a reconnaissance that the
battery at Jamestown has been abandoned, and
he again requests that gunboats may be sent up
the James River.
If you have tolerable confidence that you can
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 91
successfully contend with the Mcrriinac without
the help of the Galena and two accompanying
gunboats, send the Galena and two gunboats up
the James River at once. Please report your
action on this to me at once. I shall be found
either at General Wool's headquarters or on
board the Miami.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Fort Monroe, Virginia, May 10, 1862.
Flag-officer Goldsborough.
My dear Sir: I send you this copy of your
report of yesterday for the purpose of saying to
you in writing that you are quite right in sup-
posing that the movement made by you and
therein reported was made in accordance with
my wishes verbally expressed to you in advance.
I avail myself of the occasion to thank you for
your courtesy and all your conduct, so far as
known to me, during my brief visit here.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
Washington, D. C, June 28, 1862.
Flag-officer Goldsborough, Fort Monroe.
Enemy has cut McClellan's communication
with White House, and is driving Stoneman
back on that point. Do what you can for him
with gunboats at or near your place. McClellan's
main force is between the Chickahominy and the
James. Also do what you can to communicate
with him and support him there. A. Lincoln.
92 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Henry J. Raymond.
^Private.']
Executive Mansion, March 9, 1862.
Hon. Henry J. Raymond.
My dear Sir: I am grateful to the New York
journals, and not less so to the Times than to
others, for the kind notices of the late special
message to Congress.
Your paper, however, intimates that the propo-
sition, though well intentioned, must fail on the
score of expense. I do hope you will reconsider
this. Have you noticed the facts that less than
one half day's cost of this war would pay for
all the slaves in Delaware at $400 per head — that
eighty-seven days' cost of this war would pay for
all in Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia,
Kentucky, and Missouri at the same price ? Were
those States to take the step, do you doubt that
it would shorten the war more than eighty-seven
days, and thus be an actual saving of expense?
Please look at these things and consider whether
there should not be another article in the Times.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 15, 1864.
Hon. Henry J. Raymond.
My dear Sir : I have proposed to Mr. Greeley
that the Niagara correspondence be published,
suppressing only the parts of his letters over
which the red pencil is drawn in the copy which
I herewith send. He declines giving his consent
to the publication of his letters unless these parts
be published with the rest. I have concluded
that it is better for me to submit for the time to
the consequences of the false position in which
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 93
I consider he has placed me than to subject the
country to the consequences of publishing their
discouraging and injurious parts. I send you
this and the accompanying copy, not for publi-
cation, but merely to explain to you, and that
you may preserve them until the proper time shall
come. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
James A. McDougall.
Executive Mansion, March 14, 1862.
Hon. James A. McDougall, United States Sen-
ate.
My dear Sir: As to the expensiveness of the
plan of gradual emancipation with compensation,
proposed in the late message, please allow me
one or two brief suggestions.
Less than one-half day's cost of this war would
pay for all the slaves in Delaware at four hun-
dred dollars per head.
Thus, all the slaves in Delaware by
the census of i860, are 1,798
400
Cost of the slaves $719,200
One day's cost of the war 2,000,000
Again, less than eighty-seven days' cost of this
war would, at the same price, pay for all in Dela-
ware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Kentucky,
and Missouri.
Thus, slaves in Delaware 1,798
Maryland 87,188
" " Dist. of Columbia. 3,181
" " Kentucky 225,490
" " Missouri 114.965
432,622
400
Cost of slaves $173,048,800
Eighty-seven days' cost of the war 174,000,000
94 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Do you doubt that taking the initiatory steps
on the part of those States and this District would
shorten the war more than eighty-seven days,
and thus be an actual saving of expense ?
A word as to the time and manner of incur-
ring the expense. Suppose, for instance, a State
devises and adopts a system by which the insti-
tution absolutely ceases therein by a named day
— say January i, 1882. Then let the sum to
be paid to such a State by the United States be
ascertained by taking from the census of i860
the number of slaves within the State, and
multiplying that number by four hundred — the
United States to pay such sums to the State in
twenty equal annual instalments, in six per cent,
bonds of the United States.
The sum thus given, as to time and manner,
I think, would not be half as onerous as would
be an equal sum raised now for the indefinite
prosecution of the war ; but of this you can judge
as well as I. I inclose a census table for your
convenience. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Samuel Boyd Tobey.
Executive Mansion, March 19, 1862.
Dr. Samuel Boyd Tobey.
My dear Sir: A domestic affliction, of which
doubtless you are informed, has delayed me so
long in making acknowledgment of the very kind
and appropriate letter signed . . . by . . . rep-
resentatives of the Society of Friends for New
England, held at Providence, Rhode Island, the
8th of second month, 1862. . . .
Engaged as I am in a great war, I fear it will
be difficult for the world to understand how
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 95
fully I appreciate the principles of peace inciil-
'cated in this letter and everywhere by the Society
of Friends.
Grateful to the good people you represent for
the prayers in behalf of our common country, I
look forward hopefully to an early end of war
and return to peace.
Your obliged friend, A. Lincoln.
Richard Yates and William Butler.
[Tele grain.']
Washington, April 10, 1862.
Hon. R. Yates and William Butler, Springfield,
Illinois.
I fully appreciate General Pope's splendid
achievements, with their invaluable results ; but
you must know that major-generalships in the
jregular army are not as plenty as blackberries.
A. Lincoln.
Andrew Johnson.
On April 27, 1862, the President telegraphed Gov-
ernor Johnson in regard to military operations in Ten-
nessee :
War Department, April 2^, 1862.
jGovernor Andrew Johnson,
Nashville, Tennessee.
General Halleck understands better than we
can here, and he must be allowed to control in
that quarter. If you are not in communication
with Halleck, telegraph him at once, freely and
frankly. A. Lincoln.
96 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegrmw in Cipher.']
Washington, June 4, 1862.
Hon. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Do you really wish to have control of the ques-
tion of releasing rebel prisoners so far as the}
may be Tennesseeans ? If you do, please tell us
so. Your answer not to be made public.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 7, 1862.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
The President has received your two despatches
of the 5th instant. He approves your proceed-
ings of reprisal against the secessionists.
In regard to the release of the rebel prisoners
he holds the question as to the time when execu-
tive clemency shall be exercised under considera-
tion. It has always been the design of the Gov-
ernment to leave the exercise of that clemenc}
to your judgment and discretion whenever the
period arrives that it can properly be exercised
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram in Cipher,']
Washington, June 9, 1862.
Hon. Andrew Johnson,
Nashville, Tennessee.
Your despatch about seizing seventy rebels tc
exchange for a like number of Union men was
duly received. I certainly do not disapprove th(
proposition. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 97
\_TeIcgrain.]
War Department, July ii, 1862.
Hon. Andrew Johnson.
My dear Sir: Yours of yesterday is received.
Do you not, my good friend, perceive that what
you ask is simply to put you in command in the
West? I do not suppose you desire this. You
only wish to control in your own localities ; but
this you must know may derange all other posts.
Can you not, and will you not, have a full con-
ference with General Halleck? Telegraph him,
and meet him at such place as he and you can
agree upon. I telegraph him to meet you and
confer fully with you. A. Lincoln.
See also letter to Henry W. Halleck of July 11, 1862.
[Telegram.]
War Department, October 31, 1862.
Gov. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tenn., via
Louisville, Ky.
Yours of the 29th received. I shall take it to
General Halleck, but I already know it will be
very inconvenient to take General Morgan's com-
mand from where it now is. I am glad to hear
you speak hopefully for Tennessee. I sincerely
hope Rosecrans may find it possible to do some-
thing for her. David Nelson, son of the M. C.
of your State, regrets his father's final defection,
and asks me for a situation. Do you know him?
Could he be of service to you or to Tennessee
in any capacity in which I could send him ?
A. Lincoln.
98 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
War Department, November 14, 1862.
Gov. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Your despatch of the 4th, about returning-
.troops from western Virginia to Tennessee, is
just received, and I have been to General Hal-
leck with it. He says an order has already been
made by which those troops have already moved,
or soon will move, to Tennessee. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, January 8, 1863.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
A despatch of yesterday from Nashville says
the body of Captain Todd, of the Sixth Ken-
tucky, was brought in to-day.
Please tell me what was his Christian name,
and whether he was in our service or that of
the enemy. I shall also be glad to have your
impressions as to the effect the late operations
about Murfreesborough will have on the pros-
pects of Tennessee. ^ A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, January 10, 1863.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Yours received. I presume the remains of
Captain Todd are in the hands of his family and
friends, and I wish to give no order on the sub-
ject; but I do wish your opinion of the effects
of the late battles about Murfreesborough upon
the prospects of Tennessee. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 99
[Private.']
Executive jNIansion, March 26, 1863.
Hon. Andrew Johnson.
My dear Sir: I am told you have at least
thought of raising a negro military force. In
my opinion the country now needs no specific
thing so much as some man of your ability and
position to go to this work. When I speak of
your position, I mean that of an eminent citizen
of a slave State and himself a slaveholder. The
colored population is the great available and yet
unavailed of force for restoring the Union. The
bare sight of fifty thousand armed and drilled
black soldiers upon the banks of the Mississippi
would end the rebellion at once ; and who doubts
that we can present that sight if we but take
hold in earnest? If vou have been thinking of
it, please do not dismiss the thought.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
\TeJegram.'\
Executive Mansion,
Washington, September 8, 1863. 9.30 a. m.
Hon. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Despatch of yesterday just received. I shall
try to find the paper you mention and carefully
consider it. In the meantime let me urge that
you do your utmost to get every man you can,
black and white, under arms at the very earliest
moment, to guard roads, bridges and trains, al-
lowing all the better trained soldiers to go for-
ward to Rosecrans. Of course I mean for you
to act in cooperation with, and not independent-
ly of, the military authorities. A. Lincoln.
loo LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, September ii, 1863.
Hon. Andrew Johnson.
My dear Sir : All Tennessee is now clear of
armed insurrectionists. You need not to be re-
minded that it is the nick of time for reinaugu-
rating a loyal State government. Not a moment
should be lost. You and the cooperating friends
there can better judge of the ways and means
than can be judged by any here. I only offer
a few suggestions. The reinauguration must not
be such as to give control of the State and its
representation in Congress to the enemies of the
Union, driving its friends there into political ex-
ile. The whole struggle for Tennessee will have
been profitless to both State and nation if it so
ends that Governor Johnson is put down and
Governor Harris is put up. It must not be so.
You must have it otherwise. Let the recon-
struction be the work of such men only as can
be trusted for the Union. Exclude all others,
and trust that your government so organized will
be recognized here as being the one of republican
form to be guaranteed to the State, and to be
protected against invasion and domestic violence.
It is something on the question of time to re-
member that it cannot be known who is next to
occupy the position I now hold, nor what he will
do. i see that you have declared in favor of
emancipation in Tennessee, for which may God
bless you. Get emancipation into your new State
government — constitution — and there will be no
such word as fail for your case. The raising of
colored troops, I think, will greatly help every
way. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS loi
[Inclosiire.']
Executive Mansion, September 19, 1863.
Hon. Andrew Johnson, Military Governor of
Tennessee.
In addition to the matters contained in the
orders and instructions given you by the Secre-
tary of War, you are hereby authorized to ex-
ercise such powers as may be necessary and
proper to enable the loyal people of Tennessee
to present such a republican form of State gov-
ernment as will entitle the State to the guaranty
of the United States therefor, and to be pro-
tected under such State government by the
United States against invasion and domestic vio-
lence, all according to the fourth section of the
fourth article of the Constitution of the United
States. Abraham Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, July 27, 1864.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
I also received yours about General Carl
Schurz. I appreciate him certainly, as highly as
you do ; but you can never know until you have
the trial, how difficult it is to find a place for
an officer of so high rank when there is no place
seeking him. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
Washington, August 25, 1864.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Thanks to General Gillam for making the
news, and also to you for sending it. Does Joe
Heiskell's ''walking to meet us" mean any more
102 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
than that ''Joe" was scared and wanted to save
his skin? A. Lincohi.
See letter of October 22, 1864, to William B. Camp-
bell.
In the fall election of 1864 Governor Johnson wa;
elected Vice-President.
\Tclegram.'\
Washington, D. C, January 14, 1865.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Yours announcing ordinance of emancipatior
received. Thanks to the convention and to you,
When do you expect to be here ? Would be glad
to have your suggestions as to supplying youi
place of military governor. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, January 24, 1865.
Hon. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Several members of the Cabinet, with myself,
considered the question to-day as to the time of
your coming on here. While we fully appreciate
your wish to remain in Tennessee until her State
government shall be completely reinaugurated, it
is our unanimous conclusion that it is unsafe for
you to not be here on the 4th of March. Be
sure to reach here by that time. A. Lincoln.
Charles P. Stone.
[Message to the Senate.]
To the Senate of the United States : In answer
to the resolution of the Senate [of April 22]
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 103
in relation to Brigadier-General Stone, ^ I have
the honor to state that he was arrested and im-
prisoned under my general authority, and upon
evidence which, whether he be guilty or innocent,
required, as appears to me, such proceedings to
be had against him for the public safety. I deem
it incompatible with the public interest, as also,
perhaps, unjust to General Stone, to make a more
particular statement of the evidence.
He has not been tried because, in the state of
military operations at the time of his arrest and
since, the officers to constitute a court martial
and for witnesses could not be withdrawn from
duty without serious injury to the service. He
will be allowed a trial without any unnecessary
delay ; the charges and specifications will be fur-
nished him in due season, and every facility for
his defense will be afforded him by the War
Department. Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, May i, 1862.
David G. Farragut.^
[Message to Congress.']
May 14, 1862.
The President recommends "that Captain D. G. Far-
ragut receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his
services and gallantry displayed in the capture, since
the 2ist of December, 1861, of Forts Jackson and St.
^ General Charles P. Stone was arrested after the defeat
of Ball's Bluff, for conspiracy. He was confined for six
months in Fort Lafayette, New York City, and then, no
proof developing, was discharged.
- Farragut, the most distinguished naval officer of the
war, was a native of Tennessee, and, at the outbreak of
the war, a resident of Norfolk, Va. He heartily approved
of the President's call for troops to suppress the rebellion,
and, when told that a person with such sentiments could
not live in Norfolk, moved North. In December, 1861,
I04 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Philip, city of New Orleans, and the destruction o
various rebel gun-boats, rams, etc." The Presideri
names thirty other officers who distinguished themselve
in these operations, and recommends that they also re
ceive the thanks of Congress.
\^Inclosure.'\
Executive Mansion, November 6, 1864.
Naval officer in command at Mobile Bay.
Do not on any account, or on any showing o
authority whatever, from whomsoever purport
ing to come, allow the blockade to be violated.
A. Lincoln.
See letter to E. R. S. Canby of December 12, 1864.
Members of Methodist Conference.
About the middle of May the President replied as fol
lows to resolutions of the East Baltimore Conferenc
of the Methodist Episcopal Church:
These kind words of approval, coming fron
so numerous a body of intelligent Christian peo
pie, and so free from all suspicion of siniste:
motives, are indeed encouraging to me. By th<
help of an all-wise Providence, I shall endeavoi
to do my duty, and I shall expect the continu
ance of your prayers for a right solution of oui
national difficulties and the restoration of oui
country to peace and prosperity.
Your obliged and humble servant,
A. Lincoln.
he was ordered to command an expedition to the Gulf o
Mexico. He sailed from Hampton Roads, Va., on Febru
ary 2, 1862. His capture of New Orleans was an heroi<
feat, and one of the most important events of the war
leading to the conquest of the entire Mississippi, and caus
ing Napoleon HI. of France to abandon his idea of recog
nizing the Confederacy as a nation.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 105
Irvin McDowell.
[Memorandum. ]
May 17, 1862.
You will retain the separate command of the
forces taken with you; but while co-operating
with General McClellan you will obey his orders,
except that you are to judge, and are not to allow
your force to be disposed otherwise than so as
to give the greatest protection to this capital
which may be possible from that distance.
[Indorsement.^
To the Secretary of War.
The President having shown this to me, I suggest
that it is dangerous to direct a subordinate not to obey
the orders of his superior in any case, and that to give
instructions to General McClellan to this same end and
furnish General McDowell with a copy thereof would
effect the object desired by the President. He desired
me to say that the sketch of instructions to General
McClellan herewith he thought made this addition un-
necessary.
Respectfully, ]\I. C. M.
[Quartermaster-General Meigs.]
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 24, 1862. 5 p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Frededricksburg.
General Fremont has been ordered by tele-
graph to move from Franklin on Harrisonburg
to relieve General Banks, and capture or destroy
Jackson's and Ewell's forces.^
You are instructed, laying aside for the pres-
ent the movement on Richmond, to put 20,000
men in m.otion at once for the Shenandoah, mov-
^ See Fremont correspondence.
io6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ing on the line or In advance of the line of the
Manassas Gap Railroad. Your object will be
to capture the forces of Jackson and Ewell, either
in co-operation with General Fremont, or, in case
want of supplies or of transportation interferes
with his movements, it is believed that the force
which you move will be sufficient to accomplish
this object alone. The information thus far re-
ceived here makes it probable that if the enemy
operate actively against General Banks, you will
not be able to count upon much assistance from
him, but may even have to release him.
Reports received this moment are that Banks
is fighting with Ewell eight miles from Win-
chester. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 24, 1862.
Major-General McDowell, Falmouth.
In view of the operations of the enemy on the
line of General Banks, the President thinks the
whole force you designed to move from Fred-
ericksburg should not be taken away, and he
therefore directs that one brigade in addition to
what you designed to leave at Fredericksburg
should be left there : this brigade to be the least
effective of your command.
Edwin M. Stanton.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 24, 1862. 8 p. m.
Major-General McDowell.
I am highly gratified by your alacrity in obey-
ing my order. The change was as painful to me
as it can possibly be to you or to any one.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS . 107
Everything now depends upon the celerity and
vigor of your movement. A. Lincoln.
\Telegrafn.'\
War Department, May 26, 1862. i p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Falmouth, Virginia.
. . . Should not the remainder of your forces,
except sufficient to hold the point at Fredericks-
burg, move this way — to Manassas Junction or
Alexandria? As commander of this department,
should you not be here ? I ask these questions.
A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
Washington, May 28, 1862. i p. m.
General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
... If Porter effects a lodgment on both
railroads near Hanover Court House, consider
whether your forces in front of Fredericksburg
should not push through and join him.
A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
Washington, May 28, 1862. 4 p. m.
General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
You say General Geary's scouts report that
they find no enemy this side of the Blue Ridge.
Neither do L Have they been to the Blue Ridge
looking for them? A. Lincoln.
\Telegrani.'\
Washington, May 28, 1862. 5.40 p. m.
General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
I think the evidence now preponderates that
Ewell and Jackson are still about Winchester.
Assuming this, it is for you a question of legs.
io8 . LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Put In all the speed you can. I have told Fre-
mont as much, and directed him to drive at them
as fast as possible. By the way, I suppose you
know Fremont has got up to Moorefield, instead
of going to Harrisonburg. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 29, 1862. 12 m.
Major-General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
General Fremont's force should, and probably
will, be at or near Strasburg by twelve (noon)
to-morrow. Try to have your force, or the ad-
vance of it, at Front Royal as soon.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 30, 1862. 9.30 p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Rectortown, Virginia.
I send you a despatch just received from Sax-
ton at Harper's Ferry :
. . . The enemy appeared this morning- and then re-
tired, with the intention of drawing us on. . . .
It seems the game is before you. Have sent a
copy to General Fremont. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 30, 1862. 10 a. m.
Major-General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
I somewhat apprehend that Fremont's force, in
its present condition, may not be quite strong
enough in case it comes in collision with the ene-
my. For this additional reason I wish you to
push forward your column as rapidly as possi-
ble. Tell me what number your force reaching
Front Royal will amount to. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 109
[Telegram.'\
Washington, May 30, 1862. 12.40 p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Rectortown.
Your despatch of to-day received and is satis-
factory. Fremont has nominally 22,000, really
about 17,000. Blenker's division is part of it.
I have a despatch from Fremont this morning,
not telling me v^here he is ; but he says :
Scouts and men from Winchester represent Jackson's
force variously at 30,000 to 60,000. With him Generals
Ewell and Longstreet.
The high figures erroneous, of course. Do
you know where Longstreet is ? Corinth is evac-
uated and occupied by us. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.}
Washington, May 30, 1862. 2.30 p. m.
Major-General McDowell.
Herewith I send a telegram just received from
General Fremont. The despatch is dated of last
night, and the point he says he will be at five
o'clock Saturday afternoon is "Strasburg, or as
near it as it may be to the enemy at that time."
I direct Fremont to come to time as fixed by
himself, and you will act your discretion, taking
this information into your calculation.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, June 3, 1862. 6.15 p.m.
Major-General McDowell, Front Royal, \^ir-
ginia.
Anxious to know whether Shields can head or
flank Jackson. Please tell about where Shields
and Jackson, respectively, are at the time this
reaches you. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram in Cipher.]
Washington, June 6, 1862.
Major-General McDowell.
The President directs that McCall's division
be sent by water to General McClellan imme-
diately, and that you place such force at Fred-
ericksburg by the time ]\IcCall leaves there as
may, in your judgment, be necessary to hold that
place. In respect to the operations of the resi-
due of your force, the President reserves direc-
tions, to be given as soon as he determines.
Transportation has been ordered up the Rap-
pahannock from here and from Fortress Monroe.
Adjutant-General shall issue the order.
Edwin M. Stanton.
G. Montague Hicks.
[Indorsement on Letter.]
This note, as Colonel Hicks did verbally yes-
terday, attempts to excite me against the Sec-
retary of War, and therein is offensive to me.
My "order," as he is pleased to call it, is plainly
no order at all. A. Lincoln.
Alay 22, 1862.
RuFus Saxton.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 24, 1862. i p. m.
General Saxton.
Geary reports Jackson with 20,000 moving
from Ashby's Gap by the Little River turnpike.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS iir
through Aldie, toward Centreville. This, he says^
is rehable. He is also informed of large forces
south of him. We know a force of some 15,000
broke up Saturday night from in front of Fred-
ericksburg and went we know not where. Please
inform us, if possible, what has become of the
force which pursued Banks yesterday ; also any
other information you have. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 25, 1862. 4.15 p. m.
General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
If Banks reaches Martinsburg, is he any the
better for it? Will not the enemy cut him from
thence to Harper's Ferry? Have you sent any-
thing to meet him and assist him at Martinsburg?
This is an inquiry, not an order. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 25, 1862. 6.50 p. m.
General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
One good six-gun battery, complete in its men
and appointments, is now on its way to you from
Baltimore. Eleven other guns, of different sorts,
are on their way to you from here. Hope they
will all reach you before morning. As you have
but 2,500 men at Harper's Ferry, where are the
rest which were in that vicinity and which we
have sent forward? Have any of them been cut
off? A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 25, 1862.
General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
I fear you have mistaken me. I did not mean
to question the correctness of your conduct; on
112 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the contrary, I approve what you have done. As
the 2,500 reported by you seemed small to me,
I feared some had got to Banks and been cut off
v^ith him. Please tell me the exact number you
now have in hand. A. Lincoln.
See also correspondence with Fremont, McDowell,
and Banks.
D. S. Miles.
War Department, May 24, 1862. 1.36 p. m.
Colonel Miles, Harper's Ferry, Virginia.
Could you not send scouts from Winchester
who would tell whether enemy are north of
Banks, moving on Winchester ? What is the lat-
est you have? A. Lincoln.
Nathaniel P. Banks.
War Department, May 24, 1862.
Major-General Banks, Winchester.
In your despatch of this evening to the Presi-
dent, you say that you intend to return with your
command to Strasburg. The question is sug-
gested whether you will not by that movement
expose your stores and trains at Winchester.
The President desires, therefore, more detailed
information than you have yet furnished respect-
ing the force and position of the enemy in your
neighborhood before you make a movement that
will subject Winchester or Harper's Ferry to
danger from sudden attack.
You will please report fully before moving.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 113
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 29, 1862. 12 m.
Major-General Banks, Williamsport, Maryland.
General McDowell's advance should, and prob-
ably will, be at or near Front Royal at twelve
(noon) to-morrow. General Fremont will be at
or near Strasburg as soon. Please watch the
enemy closely, and follow and harass and detain
him if he attempts to retire. I mean this for
General Saxton's force as well as that imme-
diately with you. A. Lincoln.
[ Telegram. ]
Washington, May 30, 1862. 10.15 a. m.
Major-General Banks,
Williamsport, Maryland, via Harper's Ferry.
If the enemy in force is in or about Martins-
burg, Charlestown, and Winchester, or any or
all of them, he may come in collision with Fre-
mont, in which case I am anxious that your
force, with you and at Harper's Ferry, should
so operate as to assist Fremont if possible ; the
same if the enemy should engage AIcDowell.
This was the meaning of my despatch yesterday.
A. Lincoln.
{Telegram.']
On June i, 1862, Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of
War, telegraphed General Banks at Williamsport of the
addition to his force of Major-General Sigel with
10,000 men, adding — "the President desires you to as-
sume actively the offensive against the retreating enemy
without the loss of an hour."
114 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
War Department, June 22, 1862.
Major-General Banks, Middletown.
I am very glad you are looking well to the
west for a movement of the enemy in that direc-
tion. You know my anxiety on that point. All
was quiet at General McClellan's headquarters
at two o'clock to-day. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 22, 1862.
My dear General Banks : Early last week you
left me in high hope with your assurance that
you would be off with your expedition at the
end of that week, or early in this. It is now
the end of this, and I have just been over-
whelmed and confounded with the sight of a
requisition made by you which, I am assured,
cannot be filled and got off within an hour short
of two months. I inclose you a copy of the
requisition, in some hope that it is not genuine
— that you have never seen it. My dear gen-
eral, this expanding and piling up of impedi-
menta has been, so far, almost our ruin, and
will be our final ruin if it is not abandoned. If
you had the articles of this requisition upon the
wharf, with the necessary animals to make them
of any use, and forage for the animals, you could
not get vessels together in two weeks to carry
the whole, to say nothing of your twenty thou-
sand men; and, having the vessels, you could not
put the cargoes aboard in two weeks more.
And, after all, where you are going you have no
use for them. When you parted with me you
had no such ideas in your mind. I know you
had not, or you could not have expected to be
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 115
off so soon as you said. You must get back to
something- like the plan you had then, or your
expedition is a failure before you start. You
must be off before Congress meets. You would
be better off anywhere, and especially where you
are going, for not having a thousand wagons
doing nothing but hauling forage to feed the
animals that draw them, and taking at least two
thousand men to care for the wagons and ani-
mals, who otherwise might be two thousand
good soldiers. Now, dear general, do not think
this is an ill-natured letter ; it is the very reverse.
The simple publication of this requisition would
ruin you.
Very truly your friend, A. Lincoln.
The President's letter was effective, and the expedi-
tion proceeded expeditiously. Arrived at New Orleans,
General Banks superseded General Benjamin F. Butler
in command.
[Private Letter.]
Executive Mansion, March 29, 1863.
Major-General Banks.
My dear Sir: Hon. Daniel Ullman, with a
commission of a brigadier-general and two or
three hundred other gentlemen as officers, goes
to your department and reports to you, for the
purpose of raising a colored brigade. To now
avail ourselves of this element of force is very
important, if not indispensable. I therefore will
thank you to help General Ullman forward with
his undertaking as much and as rapidly as you
can ; and also to carry the general object beyond
his particular organization if you find it practi-
cable. The necessity of this is palpable if, as
I understand, you are now unable to effect any-
ii6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
thing with your present force; and which force
is soon to be greatly diminished by the expira-
tion of terms of service, as well as by ordinary
causes. I shall be very glad if you will take hold
of the matter in earnest. You will receive from
the [War] Department a regular order upon this
subject. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 5, 1863.
My dear General Banks:
Being a poor correspondent is the only apol-
ogy I offer for not having sooner tendered my
thanks for your very successful and very valu-
able military operations this year. The final
stroke in opening the Mississippi never should,
and I think never will, be forgotten.
Recent events in Mexico, I think, render early
action in Texas more important than ever. I
expect, however, the general-in-chief will ad-
dress you more fully upon this subject.
Governor Boutwell read me to-day that part
of your letter to him which relates to Louisiana
affairs. While I very well know what I would
be glad for Louisiana to do, it is quite a diff'erent
thing for me to assume direction of the matter.
I would be glad for her to make a new consti-
tution recognizing the Emancipation Proclama-
tion, and adopting emancipation in those parts
of the State to which the proclamation does not
apply. And while she is at it, I think it would
not be objectionable for her to adopt some prac-
tical system by which the two races could
gradually live themselves out of the old relation
to each other, and both come out better prepared
for the new. Education for young blacks should
be included in the plan. After all, the power or
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS n;
element of "contract" may be sufficient for thi:
probationary period ; and, by its simplicity anc
flexibility, may be the better.
As an anti-slaver}' man, I have a motive t(
desire emancipation which pro-slavery men d(
not have ; but even they have strong enough rea
son to thus place themselves again under th(
shield of the Union; and to thus perpetualh
hedge against the recurrence of the scene:
through which we are now passing.
Governor Shepley has informed me that Mr
Durant is now taking a registry, with a viev\
to the election of a constitutional convention ir
Louisiana. This to me appears proper. If sucl
convention were to ask my views, I could pre-
sent little else than what I now say to you. ]
think the thing should be pushed forward, sc
that, if possible, its mature work may reach her(
by the meeting of Congress.
For my own part, I think I shall not, in an)
event, retract the Emancipation Proclamation
nor, as executive, ever return to slavery any per-
son who is freed by the terms of that proclama-
tion, or by any of the acts of Congress.
If Louisiana shall send members to Congress
their admission to seats will depend, as yov
know, upon the respective Houses, and not upor
the President.
If these views can be of any advantage in giv-
ing shape and impetus to action there, I shal
be glad for you to use them prudently for thai
object. Of course you will confer with intelli-
gent and trusty citizens of the State, among
whom I would suggest Messrs. Flanders, Hahn,
and Durant ; and to each of whom I now think ]
may send copies of this letter.
ii8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Still, it is perhaps better to not make the letter
generally public.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.']
Copies sent to Messrs. Flanders, Hahn, and
Durant, each indorsed as follows :
The within is a copy of a letter to General
Banks.
Please observe my directions to him. Do not
mention the paragraph about Mexico.
A. Lincoln.
August 6, 1863.
Executive Mansion, November 5, 1863.
. . . Mr. Flanders ... is now here, and he
says nothing has yet been done [about the reg-
istry of voters]. This disappoints me bitterly;
yet I do not throw blame on you or on them.
I do, however, urge both you and them to
lose no more time.
Governor Shepley has special instructions
from the War Department. I wish him — those
gentlemen and others cooperating — without
waiting for more territory, to go to work and
give me a tangible nucleus which the remainder
of the State may rally around as fast as it can,
and which I can at once recognize and sustain
as the true State government. And in that work
I wish you and all under your command to give
them a hearty sympathy and support.
The instruction to Governor Shepley bases the
movement (and rightfully, too) upon the loyal
element. Time is important. There is danger,
even now, that the adverse element seeks insidi-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 119
ouslv to preoccupy the ground. If a few pro-
fessedly loyal men shall draw the disloyal about
them, and colorably set up a State government,
repudiating the Emancipation Proclamation, and
reestablishing slavery, I cannot recognize or sus-
tain their work. I should fall powerless in the
attempt. This Government in such an attitude
would be a house divided against itself.
I have said, and say again, that if a new State
governmicnt, acting in harmony with this Gov-
ernment, and consistently with general freedom,
shall think best to adopt a reasonable temporary
arrangement in relation to the landless and
homeless freed people, I do not object; but my
word is out to be for and not against them on
the question of their permanent freedom. I do
not insist upon such temporary arrangement, but
only say such would not be objectionable to me.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 24, 1863.
Major-General Banks.
Yours of the sixth instant has been received
and fully considered. I deeply regret to have
said or done anything which could give you pain
or uneasiness. I have all the while intended
you to be master, as well in regard to reorgan-
izing a State government for Louisiana, as in
regard to the military matters of the depart-
ment ; and hence my letters on reconstruction
have nearly, if not quite, all been addressed tc
you. My error has been that it did not occui
to me that Governor Shepley or any one else
would set up a claim to act independently oi
you ; and hence I said nothing expressly upor
the point.
I20 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Language has not been guarded at a point
where no danger was thought of. I now tell you
that in every dispute with whomsoever, you are
master.
Governor Shepley was appointed to assist the
commander of the department, and not to thwart
him or act independently of him. Instructions
have been given directly to him merely to spare
you detail labor, and not to supersede your au-
thority. This, in its liability to be misconstrued,
it now seems was an error in us. But it is past.
I now distinctly tell you that you are master of
all, and that I wish you to take the case as you
find it, and give us a free State reorganization
of Louisiana in the shortest possible time. What
I say here is to have a reasonable construction.
I do not mean that you are to withdraw from
Texas, or abandon any other military measure
which you may deem important. Nor do I mean
that you are to throw away available work al-
ready done for reconstruction ; nor that war is
to be made upon Governor Shepley, or upon any
one else, unless it be found that they will not
cooperate with you, in which case, and in all
cases you are master while you remain in com-
mand of the department.
My thanks for your successful and valuable
operations in Texas. ^
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
On December 29, 1863, the President wrote General
Banks a letter in which he said :
^ During the preceding month General Banks had cap-
tured Brownsville, Tex., and commanded the coast be-
tween it and Galveston.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 121
I Intend you to be master in every controversy
made with you. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 13, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I have received two letters from you, which
are duplicates each of the other, except that one
bears date the 27th and the other the 30th of
December. Your confidence in the practicability
of constructing a free-State government speedily
for Louisiana, and your zeal to accomplish it are
very gratifying. It is a connection than in
which the words ''can" and ''will" were never
more precious. I am much in hope that on the
authority of my letter of December 24, you have
already ' begun the work. Whether you shall
have done so or not, please, on receiving this,
proceed with all possible despatch, using your
own absolute discretion in all matters which may
not carry you away from the conditions stated
in your letters to me, nor from those of the mes-
sage and proclamation of December 8. Frame
orders, and fix times and places for this and that,
according to your own judgment. I am much
gratified to know that Mr. Dennison, the Col-
lector at New Orleans, and who bears you this,
understands your views and will give you his
full and zealous cooperation. It is my wish and
purpose that all others holding authority from
me shall do the like ; and, to spare me writing, I
will thank you to make this known to them.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
122 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, January 31, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
Yours of the 22d instant is just received. In
the proclamation of December 8, which contains
the oath that you say some loyal people wish to
avoid taking, I said : '*And still further, that this
proclamation is intended to present the people
of the States wherein the national authority has
been suspended, and loyal State governments
have been subverted, a mode in and by wdiich
the national authority and loyal State govern-
ments may be reestablished within said States,
or in any of them ; and while the mode pre-
sented is the best the executive can suggest with
his present impressions, it must not be under-
stood that no other possible mode would be ac-
ceptable."
And speaking of this in the message [of De-
cember 8, i5'dj] I said: "Saying that reconstruc-
tion will be accepted if presented in a specified
way, it is not said it will never be accepted in
any other way."
These things were put into these documents
on purpose that some conformity to circum-
stances should be admissible; and when I have,
more than once, said to you in my letters that
available labor already done should not be
thrown away, I had in my mind the very class
of cases you now mention. So you see it is not
even a modification of anything I have hereto-
fore said, when I tell you that you are at liberty
to adopt any rule which shall admit to vote any
tmquestionably loyal free-State men and none
others.
And yet I do wish they would all take the
oath. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 123
Executive Mansion, August 9, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I have just seen the new constitution adopted
by the convention of Louisiana ; and I am anx-
ious that it shall be ratified by the people. I will
thank you to let the civil officers in Louisiana,
holding under me, know that this is my wish,
and let me know at once who of them openly
declare for the constitution, and who of them,
if any, decline to so declare.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 26, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I had a full conference this morning with the
Secretary of War in relation to yourself. The
conclusion is that it will be best for all if you
proceed to New Orleans and act there in obe-
dience to your order ; and, in doing which, hav-
ing continued, say, one month, if it shall then,
as now, be your wish to resign, your resignation
will be accepted. Please take this course.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 2, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I know you are dissatisfied, which pains me
very much, but I wish not to be argued with
further. I entertain no abatement of confidence
or friendship for you. I have told you why I
cannot order General Canby from the Depart-
ment of the Gulf — that he whom I must hold
responsible for military results is not agreed.
Yet I do believe that you, of all men, can best
perform the part of advancing the new State
government of Louisiana, and therefore I have
124 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
wished you to go and try, leaving it to yourself
to give up the trial at the end of a month if you
find it impracticable, or personally too disagree-
able.
This is certainly meant in no unkindness, but
I wish to avoid further struggle about it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
R. B. Marcy.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 29, 1862. 1.20 p. m.
General R. B. Marcy.
Your despatch as to the South Anna and
Ashland being seized by our forces this morn-
ing is received. Understanding these points to
be on the Richmond and Fredericksburg Rail-
road, I heartily congratulate the country, and
thank General McClellan and his army for their
seizure. A. Lincoln.
G. A. McCall.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 31, 1862.
General McCall.
The President directs me to say to you that
there can be nothing to justify a panic at Fred-
ericksburg. He expects you to maintain your
position there as becomes a soldier and a general.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 125
Franz Sigel.
\Telegram.'\
Washington, June 12, 1862.
Major-General Sigel, Winchester.
Your despatches of yesterday and to-day were
received. It cannot be possible that Jackson has
any such reinforcement as thirty or thirty-five
thousand.
McClellan telegraphs that two regiments of
reinforcements were sent from Richmond to
Jackson.
What necessity can there be for General
Banks to fall back from Front Royal and his
positions until Fremont comes up ?
Does it not leave a gap for Jackson to pass
through Front Royal as before?
The President directs that your forces and
Banks's shall not fall back from Front Royal
and their present positions until further develop-
ments.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 17, 1862.
General Sigel, Winchester.
The forces at Front Royal are there by order
of the President.
When he desires their position to be changed,
the order will be given by him.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
See also letter to William Cullen Bryant of May 14,
1863, and letter to Edwin M. Stanton of August 27t
1864.
126 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Carl Schurz.
See letter to Simon Cameron of May 13, 1861.
Washington, June 16, 1862.
Brigadier-General Schurz, Mount Jackson, Vir-
ginia.
Your long letter is received. The information
you give is valuable. You say it is fortunate
that Fremont did not intercept Jackson ; that
Jackson had the superior force, and would have
overwhelmed him. If this is so, how happened
it that Fremont fairly fought and routed him on
the 8th ? Or is the account that he did fight and
rout him false and fabricated? Both General
Fremont and you speak of Jackson having beaten
Shields. By our accounts he did not beat Shields.
He had no engagement with Shields. He did
meet and drive back with disaster about 2,000
of Shields's advance till they were met by an
additional brigade of Shields's, when Jackson
himself turned and retreated. Shields himself
and more than half his force were not nearer
than twenty miles to any of it. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 24, 1862.
General Carl Schurz.
My dear Sir: I have just received and read
your letter of the 20th. The purport of it is
that we lost the late elections and the Adminis-
tration is failing because the war is unsuccessful,
and that I must not flatter myself that I am not
justly to blame for it. I certainly know that if
the war fails, the Administration fails, and that
I will be blamed for it, whether I deserve it or
not. And I ought to be blamed if I could do
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 127
better. You think I could do better ; therefore,
you blame me already. I think I could not do
better ; therefore I blame you for blaming me. I
understand you now to be willing to accept the
help of men who are not Republicans, provided
they have ''heart in it." Agreed. I want no
others. But who is to be the judge of hearts,
or of "heart in it"? If I must discard my own
judgment and take yours, I must also take that
of others ; and by the time I should reject all I
should be advised to reject, I should have none
left, Republicans or others — not even yourself.
For be assured, my dear sir, there are men who
have "heart in it" that think you are performing
your part as poorly as you think I am perform-
ing mine. I certainly have been dissatisfied with
the slowness of Buell and McClellan ; but before
I relieved them I had great fears I should not
find successors to them who would do better ; and
I am sorry to add that I have seen little since to
relieve those fears.
I do not clearly see the prospect of any more
rapid movements. I fear we shall at last find
out that the difficulty is in our case rather than
in particular generals. I wish to disparage no
one — certainly not those who sympathize with
me; but I must say I need success more than I
need sympathy, and that I have not seen the so
much greater evidence of getting success from
my sympathizers than from those who are de-
nounced as the contrary. It does seem to me
that in the field the two classes have been very
much alike in what they have done and what
they have failed to do. In sealing their faith
with their blood, Baker and Lyon and Bohlen
and Richardson, Republicans, did all that men
128 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
could do; but did they any more than Keani)
and Stevens and Reno and Mansfield, none oi
whom were Republicans, and some at least oj
whom have been bitterly and repeatedly de-
nounced to me as secession sympathizers ? I wil
not perform the ungrateful task of comparing
cases of failure.
In answer to your question, ''Has it not beer
publicly stated in the newspapers, and apparently
proved as a fact, that from the commencement
of the war the enemy was continually supplied
with information by some of the confidential sub-
ordinates of as important an officer as Adjutant-
General Thomas?" I must say "No," as far as
my knowledge extends. And I add that if you
can give any tangible evidence upon the subject,
I will thank you to come to this city and do so.
Very truly your friend, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April ii, 1863.
Major-General Schurz.
My dear Sir: I cannot comply with your re-
quest to take your division away from the Army
of the Potomac. General Hooker does not wish
it done. I do not myself see a good reason why
it should be done. The division will do itself
and its officers more honor and the country more
service where it is. Besides these general rea-
sons, as I understand, the Army of the Potomac
will move before these proposed changes could
be conveniently made. I always wish to oblige
you, but I cannot in this case.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 129
[Private.}
Washington, March 13, 1864.
Major-General Schiirz.
My dear Sir : Yours of February 29 reached me
only four days ago ; but the delay was of little con-
sequence because I found, on feeling around, I could
not invite you here without a difficulty which at least
would be unpleasant, and perhaps would be detrimental
to the public service. Allow me to suggest that if you
wish to remain in the military service, it is very dan-
gerous for you to get temporarily out of it ; because,
with a major-general once out, it is next to impossible
for even the President to get him in again. With my
appreciation of your ability and correct principle, of
course I would be very glad to have your service for
the country in the approaching political canvass ; but
I fear we cannot properly have it without separating
you from the military.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March 23, 1864.
Major-General Schurz.
My dear Sir : The letter, of which the above
is a copy, was sent to you before Mr. Willman
saw me, and now yours of the 19th tells me you
did not receive it. I do not wish to be more spe-
cific about the difficulty of your coming to Wash-
ington. I think you can easily conjecture it.
I perceive no objection to your making a politi-
cal speech when you are where one is to be
made ; but quite surely speaking in the North
and fighting in the South at the same time are
not possible; nor could I be justified to detail
any officer to the political campaign during its
continuance and then return him to the army.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
See also letter to Andrew Johnson of July 27, 1864.
I30 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
J. W. Crisfield.
Executive Mansion, June 26, 1862.
Hon. John W. Crisfield.
My dear Sir : I have been considering the ap-
peal made by yourself and Senator Pearce in
behalf of Judge Carmichael. His charge to the
Grand Jury was left with me by the senator, and
on reading it I must confess I was not very fa-
vorably impressed toward the judge. The object
of the charge, I understand, was to procure
prosecution and punishment of some men for
arresting or doing violence to some secessionists
■ — that is, the judge was trying to help a little by
giving the protection of law to those who were
endeavoring to overthrow the supreme law — try-
ing if he could find a safe place for certain men
to stand on the Constitution, whilst they should
stab it in another place.
But possibly I am mistaken.
The Secretary of War and I have agreed that
if the judge will take the oath of allegiance usu-
ally taken in such cases, he may be discharged.
Please ascertain and inform me whether he will
do it. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln, i
Ambrose E. Burnside. |
Ambrose E. Burnside, a West Point graduate, was
treasurer of the Illinois Central Railroad at the out-
break of the war. He commanded the first troops sent
out by Rhode Island, and at the battle of Bull Run
acted with notable bravery. Early in 1862 he cap-
tured the North Carolina coast, and was about to take
Goldsboro, an important railroad center, when he re-
ceived the following telegram:
J
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 131
War Department, June 28, 1862.
Major-General Burnside, Newbern.
We have intelligence that General McClellan
has been attacked in large force and compelled
to fall back toward the James River. We are
not advised of his exact condition, but the Presi-
dent directs that you shall send him all the rein-
forcements from your command to the James
River that you can safely do without abandoning
your own position. Let it be infantry entirely,
as he said yesterday that he had cavalry enough.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 28, 1862.
General Burnside.
I think you had better go, with any reinforce-
ments you can spare, to General McClellan.
A. Lincoln.
See letter to George B. McClellan of November 5,
1862.
On November 5, 1862, General Burnside succeeded
General McClellan in command of the Army of the
Potomac.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
November 25, 1862. 11.30 a. m.
Major-General Burnside, Falmouth, Virginia.
If I should be in boat off Aquia Creek at dark
to-morrow (Wednesday) evening, could you,
without inconvenience, meet me and pass an
hour or two with me? A. Lincoln.
On November 27 General Burnside held this inter-
view with the President. It was decided that he should
132 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
cross the Rappahannock and attack Lee in Fredericks-
burg. He did so, and was disastrously defeated on
December 13, being compelled to withdraw over the
Rappahannock.
[Telegram.']
War Department,
December 30, 1862. 3.30 p. m.
Major-General Burnside.
I have good reason for saying you must not
make a general movement of the army without
letting me know. A. Lincoln.
On January 5, 1863, General Burnside wrote to the
President that the general officers of his command were
opposed to another crossing of the Rappahannock to
'attack Fredericksburg, but that he had issued orders
to the engineers and artillery to prepare for it. Real-
izing that this determination might run counter to other
plans of the President of which he was ignorant, Burn-
side offered his resignation to relieve Lincoln of em-
barrassment. General Halleck replied to this letter on
the 7th, endorsing the idea of the movement, if a
crossing could be effected on favorable or equal terms
with the enemy. "It will not do to keep your army
inactive. As you yourself admit, it devolves on you
to decide upon the time, place, and character of the
crossing. ... I can only advise that the attempt be
made, and as early as possible."
On this letter the President made the following in-
dorsement:
[Indorsement.']
January 8, 1863.
General Burnside.
I understand General Halleck has sent you
a letter of which this is a copy. I approve this
letter. I deplore the want of concurrence with
you in opinion by your general of^cers, but I do
not see the remedy. Be cautious, and do not
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 133
understand that the Government or country Is
driving you. I do not yet see how I could profit
by changing the command of the Army of the
Potomac; and if I did, I should not wish to do
it by accepting the resignation of your commis-
sion. A. Lincoln.
[Order Relieving General A. E. Burnside and
Making Other Changes.]
(General Orders No. 20.)
War Department, Adjutant-General's Office,
Washington, D. C., January 25, 1863.
I. The President of the United States has
directed :
1st. That Major-General A. E. Burnside, at
his own request, be relieved from the command
of the Army of the Potomac.
2d. That Major-General E. V. Sumner, at his
own request, be relieved from duty in the Army
of the Potomiac.
3d. That Major-General W\ B. Franklin be
relieved from duty in the Army of the Potomac.
4th. That Major-General J. Hooker be as-
signed to the command of the Army of the
Potomac.
II. The officers relieved as above will report
in person to the adjutant-general of the army.
By order of the Secretary of War :
E. D. Townsend,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
On March 25, 1863, General Burnside was placed in
command of the Department of the Ohio, with head-
quarters at Cincinnati.
On April 13, 1863, General Burnside issued "Order
No. 38" that "all persons . . . who commit acts for the
134 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
benefit of the enemies of our country will be tried [by
martial law] as spies or traitors, and if convicted, will
suffer death," and that "persons declaring sympathy
with such offenses will be . . . sent beyond our lines
into the lines of their friends [the Rebels]." Under
this order he arrested and convicted a prominent Demo-
cratic ex-Congressman of Ohio, Clement L. Vallandig-
ham, for inciting his auditors to resist the draft.
War Department, April 29, 1863.
Major-General Ambrose E. Burnside,
Commanding Department of the Ohio, Cin-
cinnati.
A telegram from Louisville, published in the
National Intelligencer of this morning, contains
the following paragraph:
During the sale of a lot of negroes at the court-house
this morning, the provost-marshal notified the owners
that four were free under the President's proclamation.
They nevertheless went on, when the matter of the four
contrabands was turned over to the district judge, who
will take measures to annul the sale.
The President directs me to say to you that
he is much surprised to find that persons who
are free under his proclamation have been suf-
fered to be sold under any pretense whatever;
and also desires me to remind you of the terms
of the acts of Congress by which the fugitive
negroes of rebel owners taking refuge within
our lines are declared to be ''captives of war."
He desires you to take immediate measures to
prevent any persons who, by act of Congress, are
entitled to protection from the Government as
"captives of war" from being returned to bond-
age or suffering any wrong prohibited by that
act. A detailed despatch, with instructions, will
be sent to you to-day. Your vigilant and earnest
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 135
attention to this subject within your department
is specially requested.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
War Department, May 20, 1863.
Major-General A. E. Burnside,
Commanding Department of the Ohio, Cincin-
nati, Ohio.
Your despatch of three o'clock this afternoon
to the Secretary of War has been received and
shown to the President. He thinks the best dis-
position to be made of Vallandigham is to put
him beyond the lines, as directed in the order
transmitted to you last evening, and directs that
you execute that order by sending him forward
under secure guard without delay to General
Rosecrans.
By order of the President :
Ed. R. S. Canby, Brigadier-General.
\Telcgram.'\
Washington, May 29, 1863.
Major-General Burnside, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Your despatch of to-day received. When I
shall wish to supersede you I will let you know.
All the Cabinet regretted the necessity of arrest-
ing, for instance, Vallandigham, some perhaps
doubting there was a real necessity for it; but,
being done, all were for seeing you through
with it. A. Lincoln.
\Telcgrani.'\
War Department, July 27, 1863.
Major-General Burnside, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Let me explain. Li General Grant's first de-
spatch after the fall of Vicksburg, he said, among
136 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Other things, he would send the Ninth Corps to
you. Thinking it would be pleasant to you, I
asked the Secretary of War to telegraph you the
news. For some reasons never mentioned to us
by General Grant, they have not been sent,
though we have seen outside intimations that
they took part in the expedition against Jack-
son. General Grant is a copious worker and
fighter, but a very meager writer or telegrapher.
No doubt he changed his purpose in regard to
the Ninth Corps for some sufficient reason, but
has forgotten to notify us of it. A. Lincoln.
On August i6, 1863, Burnside started for the seat of
war at Chattanooga, Tenn. By rapid marches over the
mountains he eluded Buckner, waiting for him at Cum-
berland Gap, and entered Knoxville on September 4.
[Telegram.^
Washington, September 11, 1863. 11.30 a. m.
Major-General Burnside, Cumberland Gap.
Yours received. A thousand thanks for the
late successes you have given us. We cannot al-
low you to resign until things shall be a little
more settled in East Tennessee. If then, purely
on your own account, you wish to resign, we
will not further refuse you. A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
War Department,
September 21, 1863. 11 a.m.
General Burnside, Greenville, Tennessee.
If you are to do any good to Rosecrans it will
not do to waste time with Jonesboro. It is al-
ready too late to do the most good that might
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 137
have been done, but I hope it will still do some
good. Please do not lose a moment.
A. Lincoln.
\Telcgram.'\
War Department, September 21, 1863.
General Burnside, Knoxville, Tenn.
Go to Rosecrans with your force without a
moment's delay. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.'] ^
War Department,
September 2y, 1863. 8 p. m.
Major-General Burnside, Knoxville, Tennessee.
It was suggested to you, not ordered, that you
should move to Rosecrans on the north side of
the river, because it was believed the enemy
would not permit you to join him if you should
move on the south side. Hold your present posi-
tions, and send Rosecrans what you can spare,
in the quickest and safest way. In the mean-
time hold the remainder as nearly in readiness
to go to him as you can consistently with the
duty it is to perform while it remains. East
Tennessee can be no more than temporarily lost
so long as Chattanooga is firmly held.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department,
September 2y, 1863. 6.45 p. m.
Major-General Burnside, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Your despatch just received. My order to you
meant simply that you should save Rosecrans
from being crushed out, believing if he lost his
^ This telegram was sent in place of a stinging despatch,
■which the President held two days, and then determined
not to send.
138 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
position you could not hold East Tennessee in
any event ; and that if he held his position, East
Tennessee was substantially safe in any event.
This despatch is in no sense an order. General
Halleck will answer you fully. A. Lincoln.
John A. Dix.^
[Telegram.']
War Department, June 28, 1862.
General Dix.
Communication with McClellan by White
House is cut ofif. Strain every nerve to open
communication with him by James River, or any
other way you can. Report to me.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 22, 1862.
Major-General Dix.
Owing to extreme pressure of business, I have
neglected for a week to write this note. Gen-
eral Busteed is with you. I bespeak for him
your kindest consideration. His case is peculiar.
Without much military experience, he has en-
tered the service from purely patriotic motiVes.
Please assign him the position best adapted to his
case which may be within your power.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
^ Dix was a prominent Democratic statesman of New
York, a senator from 1845 to 1849, and Secretary of the
Treasury under Buchanan in 1861. While in the latter
position he ordered the captain of a revenue cutter at New
Orleans to bring it to New York. The captain refused,
and Secretary Dix telegraphed for another man to arrest
the captain and assume command, adding : "If any one
attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on
the spot." Dix enlisted on the first call for troops, and
in /uly was put in command at Baltimore.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 139
[Private and Confidential.^
Executive Mansion, January 14, 1863.
Major-General Dix.
My dear Sir: The proclamation has been is-
sued. We were not succeeding — at best were
progressing too slowly — without it. Now that
we have it, and bear all the disadvantages of it
(as we do bear some in certain quarters), we
must also take some benefit from it, if practi-
cable. I therefore will thank you for your well-
considered opinion whether Fortress Monroe
and Yorktown, one or both, could not, in whole
or in part, be garrisoned by colored troops, leav-
ing the white forces now necessary at those
places to be employed elsewhere.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter to J. J. Astor and others of November 9,
1863.
In the summer of 1863, after the draft riots in New
York, General Dix was transferred to that city.
[Order.']
Executive Mansion, May 18, 1864.
Major-General Dix, Commanding at New York.
Whereas there has been wickedly and traitor-
ously printed and published this morning in the
New York World and New York Jonrnal of
Commerce, newspapers printed and published in
the city of New York, a false and spurious proc-
lamation, purporting to be signed by the Presi-
dent and to be countersigned by the Secretary
of State, which publication is of a treasonable
nature designed to give aid and comfort to the
enemies of the United States and to the rebels
now at war against the Government, and their
aiders and abettors : you are therefore hereby
commanded forthwith to arrest and imprison, in
any fort or mihtary prison in your command, the
editors, proprietors, and pubhshers of the afore-
said newspapers, and all such persons as, after
public notice has been given of the falsehood of
said publication, print and publish the same with
intent to give aid and comfort to the enemy ; and
you will hold the persons so arrested in close J
custody until they can be brought to trial before |
a military commission for their offense. You
will also take possession by military force, of the
printing establishments of the New York World
and Journal of Commerce, and hold the same
until further orders, and prevent any further
publication therefrom. A. Lincoln,
President of the United States.
By the President:
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
GOVERNORS OF MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VER-
MONT, CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JER-
SEY, PENNSYLVANIA, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA,
MICHIGAN, TENNESSEE, MISSOURI, INDIANA,
OHIO, MINNESOTA, ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN,
AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE MILITARY
BOARD OF KENTUCKY.
On June 28 the above State executives, inspired by
the President, asked the President to "call upon the
several States for such number of men as may be re-
quired to fill up all military organizations now in the
field, and add to the armies heretofore organized such
additional number of men as may, in [his] judgment, be
necessary to garrison and hold all the numerous cities
and military positions that have been captured by our
armies, and to speedily crush the rebellion that still
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 141
exists in several of our Southern States, thus prac-
tically restoring to the civilized world our great and
good government." In reply the President wrote as
follows :
Executive Mansion, July i, 1862.
Gentlemen : Fully concurring in the wisdom
of the views expressed to me in so patriotic a
manner by you, in the communication of the
twenty-eighth day of June, I have decided to
call into the service an additional force of 300,-
000 men. I suggest and recommend that the
troops should be chiefly of infantry. The quota
of your State would be . I trust that they
may be enrolled without delay, so as to bring
this unnecessary and injurious civil war to a
speedy and satisfactory conclusion. An order
fixing the quotas of the respective States will
be issued by the War Department to-morrow.
Abraham Lincoln.
[Circular Letter. Private and Confidential.']
War Department, July 3, 1862. 10.30 a. m.
Governor Washburn, Maine [and other govern-
ors].
I should not want the half of 300,000 new
troops if I could have them now. If I had 50,000
additional troops here now, I believe I could
substantially close the war in two weeks. But
time is everything, and if I get 50,000 new men
in a month, I shall have lost 20,000 old ones
during the same month, having gained only 30,-
000, with the difference between old and new
troops still against me. The quicker you send,
the fewer you will have to send. Time is every-
thing. Please act in view of this. The enemy
142 i^niinr^C) /ii\u i ni^rL^ji'i/iivio
having given up Corinth, it is not wonderful that
he is thereby enabled to check us for a time at
Richmond. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Andrew H. Foote.
[Message to Congress.^
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
I most cordially recommend that Captain An-
drew H. Foote, of the United States Navy, re-
ceive a vote of thanks of Congress for his emi-
nent services in organizing the flotilla on the
western waters, and for his gallantry at Fort
Henry, Fort Donelson, Island Number Ten, and
at various other places, whilst in command of
the naval forces, embracing a period of nearly
ten months. Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, July i, 1862.
Naval Officers.
[Message to Congress.']
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
I recommend that the thanks of Congress be
given to the following officers of the United
States Navy:
Captain John L. Lardner, for meritorious con-
duct at the battle of Port Royal, and distin-
guished services on the coast of the United
States against the enemy.
Captain Charles Henry Davis, for distin-
guished services in conflict with the enemy at
Fort Pillow, at Memphis, and for successful
operations at other points in the waters of the
Mississippi River.
Commander John A. Dahlgren, for distin-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 143
guished services in the line of his profession,
improvements in ordnance, and zealous and
efficient labors in the ordnance branch of the
service.
Commander Stephen C. Rowan, for distin-
guished services in the waters of North Caro-
lina, and particularly in the capture of Newbern,
being in chief command of the naval forces.
Commander David D. Porter, for distin-
guished services in the conception and prepara-
tion of the means used for the capture of the
forts below New Orleans, and for highly meri-
torious conduct in the management of the mor-
tar flotilla during the bombardment of Forts
Jackson and St. Philip.
Captain Silas H. Stringham, now on the re-
tired list, for distinguished services in the cap-
ture of Forts Hatteras and Clark.
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, July 11, 1862.
J. T. Boyle.
On July 13, 1862, the President telegraphed General
J. T. Boyle at Louisville, Ky., that "we cannot venture
to order troops from General Buell ... he may be
attacked himself," and that he should call on General
Halleck, "who commands, and whose business it is to
understand and care for the whole field."
On September 12, 1862, the President again tele-
graphed General Boyle in reply to further importunity :
"For us to control him [General Halleck] there on the
ground would be a babel of confusion which would be
utterly ruinous. Where do you understand Buell to be,
and what is he doing? A. Lincoln.
On February i, 1863, President Lincoln wrote to
General Boyle enclosing his endorsement of Senator
Powell's request that moneys collected from citizens in
144 LtTTEKS AND TELEGRAMS
certain Kentucky counties be refunded them. Of this
collection the President says: "This course of pro-
cedure, though just and politic in some cases, is so liable
to gross abuse as to do great injustice in some others,
and give the Government immense trouble."
Cornelius Vanderbilt.
On July 17, 1862, the President informed Congress
by message that Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New York,
had "gratuitously presented to the United States the
ocean-steamer Vanderbilt, by many considered the finest
steamer in the world. She has ever since been, and
still is, doing valuable service to the Government. For
the patriotic act in making this magnificent and valuable
present to the country, I recommend that some suitable
acknowledgment be made."
CuTHBERT Bullitt.
[Private.']
Washington, D. C, July 28, 1862.
Cuthbert Bullitt, Esq., New Orleans, Louisiana.
Sir : The copy of a letter addressed to your-
self by Mr. Thomas J. Durant has been shown
to me. The writer appears to. be an able, a dis-
passionate, and an entirely sincere man. The
first part of the letter is devoted to an effort to
show that the secession ordinance of Louisiana
was adopted against the will of a majority of
the people. This is probably true, and in that
fact may be found some instruction. Why did
they allow the ordinance to go into effect?
Why did they not assert themselves? Why
stand passive and allow themselves to be trodden
down by a minority? Why did the^ not hold
popular meetings and have a convention of their
own to express and enforce the true sentiment
of the State? If preorganization was against
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 145
them then, why not do this now that the United
States army is present to protect them? The
paralysis — the dead palsy — of the Government in
this whole struggle is, that this class of men will
do nothing for the Government, nothing for
themselves, except demanding that the Govern-
ment shall not strike its open enemies lest they
be struck by accident !
Mr. Durant complains that in various ways
the relation of master and slave is disturbed by
the presence of our army, and he considers it
particularly vexatious that this, in part, is done
under cover of an act of Congress, while con-
stitutional guaranties are suspended on the plea
of military necessity. The truth is, that what is
done and omitted about slaves is done and
omitted on the same military necessity. It is a
military necessity to have men and money ; and
we can get neither in sufficient numbers or
amounts if we keep from or drive from our lines
slaves coming to them. Mr. Durant cannot be
ignorant of the pressure in this direction, nor of
my efforts to hold it within bounds till he and
such as he shall have time to help themselves.
I am not posted to speak understandingly on
all the police regulations of which Mr. Durant
complains. If experience shows any one of them
to be wrong, let them be set right. I think
I can perceive in the freedom of trade which
Mr. Durant urges that he would relieve both
friends and enemies from the pressure of the
blockade. By this he would serve the enemy
more effectively than the enemy is able to serve
himself. I do not say or believe that to serve
the enemy is the purpose of Mr. Durant, or that
he is conscious of any purpose other than na-
146 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
tional and patriotic ones. Still, if there were
a class of men who, having no choice of sides in
the contest, were anxious only to have quiet and
comfort for themselves while it rages, and to
fall in with the victorious side at the end of it
without loss to themselves, their advice as to the
mode of conducting the contest would be pre-
cisely such as his is. He speaks of no duty —
apparently thinks of none — resting upon Union
men. He even thinks it injurious to the Union
cause that they should be restrained in trade and
passage without taking sides. They are to touch
neither a sail nor a pump, but to be merely pas-
sengers — deadheads at that — to be carried snug
and dry throughout the storm, and safely landed
right side up. Nay, more : even a mutineer is
to go untouched, lest these sacred passengers re-
ceive an accidental wound. Of course the rebel-
lion will never be suppressed in Louisiana if the
professed Union men there will neither help to
do it nor permit the Government to do it without
their help. Now, I think the true remedy is very
different from what is suggested by Mr. Durant.
It does not lie in rounding the rough angles of
the war, but in removing the necessity for the
war. The people of Louisiana who wish pro-
tection to person and property have but to reach
forth their hands and take it. Let them in good
faith reinaugurate the national authority, and set
up a State government conforming thereto un-
der the Constitution. They know how to do it,
and can have the protection of the army while
doing it. The army will be withdrawn so soon
as such State government can dispense with its
presence ; and the people of the State can then,
upon the old constitutional terms, govern them-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 147
selves to their own liking. This is very simple
and easy.
If they will not do this — if they prefer to
hazard all for the sake of destroying the Govern-
ment, it is for them to consider whether it is
probable I will surrender the Government to save
them from losing all. If the}' decline what I
suggest, you scarcely need to ask what I will
do. What would you do in my position ? Would
you drop the war where it is? Or would you
prosecute it in future with elder-stalk squirts
charged with rose-water? W^ould you deal
lighter blows rather than heavier ones? Would
you give up the contest, leaving any available
means unapplied? I am in no boastful mood.
I shall not do more than I can, and I shall do
all I can, to save the Government, which is my
sworn duty as well as my personal inclination.
I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with
is too vast for malicious dealing.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
August Belmont.
July 31, 1862.
Dear Sir : You send to Mr. W an extract
from a letter written at New Orleans the 9th
instant, which is shown to me. You do not give
the writer's name ; but plainly he is a man of
ability, and probably of some note. He says:
**The time has arrived when Mr. Lincoln must
take a decisive course. Trying to please every-
body, he will satisfy nobody. A vacillating pol-
icy in matters of importance is the very worst.
Now is the time, if ever, for honest men who
love their country to rally to its support. Why
will not the North say officially that it wishes
for the restoration of the Union as it was?"
And so, it seems, this is the point on which
the writer thinks I have no policy. Why will
he not read and understand what I have said?
The substance of the very declaration he de-
sires is in the inaugural, in each of the two regu-
lar messages to Congress, and in many, if not
all, the minor documents issued by the Execu-
tive since the inauguration.
Broken eggs cannot be mended; but Louisi-
ana has nothing to do now but to take her
place in the Union as it was, barring the al-
ready broken eggs. The sooner she does so, the
smaller will be the amount of that which will be
past mending. This Government cannot much
longer play a game in which it stakes all, and its
enemies stake nothing. Those enemies must
understand that they cannot experiment for ten
years trying to destroy the Government, and if
they fail still come back into the Union unhurt.
If they expect in any contingency to ever have
the Union as it was, I join with the writer in
saying, ''Now is the time."
How much better it would have been for the
writer to have gone at this, under the protection
of the army at New Orleans, than to have sat
down in a closet writing complaining letters
northward ! Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Count Gasparin.
Executive Mansion, August 4, 1862.
To Count A. de Gasparin.
Dear Sir: Your very acceptable letter, dated
Orbe, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland, i8th of
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 149
July, 1862, is received. The moral effect was
the worst of the affair before Richmond, and
that has run its course downward. We are now
at a stand, and shall soon be rising again, as we
hope. I believe it is true that, in men and ma-
terial, the enemy suffered more than we in that
series of conflicts, while it is certain he is less
able to bear it.
With us every soldier is a man of character,
and must be treated with more consideration
than is customary in Europe. Hence our great
army, for slighter causes than could have pre-
vailed there, has dwindled rapidly, bringing the
necessity for a new call earlier than was antici-
pated. We shall easily obtain the new levy,
however. Be not alarmed if you shall learn that
we shall have resorted to a draft for part of
this. It seems strange even to me, but it is true,
that the Government is now pressed to this
course by a popular demand. Thousands who
wish not to personally enter the service, are nev-
ertheless anxious to pay and send substitutes,
provided they can have assurance that unwilling
persons, similarly situated, will be compelled to
do likewise. Besides this, volunteers mostly
choose to enter newly forming regiments, while
drafted men can be sent to fill up the old ones,
wherein man for man they are quite doubly as
valuable.
You ask, ''Why is it that the North with her
great armies so often is found with inferiority
of numbers face to face with the armies of the
South?" Wliile I painfully know the fact, a
military man — which I am not — would better
answer the question. The fact, I know, has not
been overlooked; and I suppose the cause of its
ISO LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
continuance lies mainly in the other facts that
the enemy holds the interior and we the exterior
lines ; and that we operate where the people con-
vey information to the enemy, while he operates
where they convey none to us.
I have received the volume and letter which
you did me the honor of addressing to me, and
for which please accept my sincere thanks. You
are much admired in America for the ability of
your writings, and much loved for your gen-
erosity to us and your devotion to liberal prin-
ciples generally.
You are quite right as to the importance to
us, for its bearing upon Europe, that we should
achieve military successes, and the same is true
for us at home as well as abroad. Yet it seems
unreasonable that a series of successes, extend-
ing through half a year, and clearing more than
100,000 square miles of country, should help us
so little, while a single half defeat should hurt
us so much. But let us be patient.
I am very happy to know that my course has
not conflicted with your judgment of propriety
and policy. I can only say that I have acted
upon my best convictions, without selfishness or
malice, and that by the help of God I shall con-
tinue to do so.
Please be assured of my highest respect and
esteem. A. Lincoln.
John M. Clay.
Executive Mansion, August 9, 1862.
Mr. John M. Clay.
My dear Sir: The snuff-box you sent, with
the accompanying note, was received yesterday.
Thanks for this memento of your great and pa-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 151
triotic father. Thanks also for the assurance
that, in these days of derehction, you remain
true to his principles. In the concurrent senti-
ment of your venerable mother, so long the part-
ner of his bosom and his honors, and lingering
now where he was but for the call to rejoin him
where he is, I recognize his voice, speaking, as
it ever spoke, for the Union, the Constitution,
and the freedom of mankind.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Andrew G. Curtin.
[Telegram.^
War Department, August 12, 1862.
Governor Curtin, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
It is very important for some regiments to
arrive here at once. What lack you from us?
What can we do to expedite matters? Answer.
A. Lincoln.
War Department, September 11, 1862.
His Excellency Andrew G. Curtin, Governor of
Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Sir : The application made to me by your adju-
tant-general for authority to call out the militia
of the State of Pennsylvania has received careful
consideration. It is my anxious desire to afford,
as far as possible, the means and power of the
Federal Government to protect the State of Penn-
sylvania from invasion by the rebel forces ; ^ and
since, in your judgment, the militia of the State
are required, and have been called upon by you,
to organize for home defense and protection, I
^ Lee had crossed the Potomac September 4-7.
152 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
sanction the call that you have made, and will
receive them into the service and pay of the
United States to the extent they can be armed,
equipped, and usefully employed. . . .
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department,
September 12, 1862. 10.35 a- "^•
Hon. Andrew G. Curtin, Harrisburg, Pennsyl-
vania.
Your despatch asking for 80,000 disciplined
troops to be sent to Pennsylvania is received.
Please consider we have not to exceed 80,000
disciplined troops, properly so called, this side of
the mountains ; and most of them, with many
of the new regiments, are now close in the
rear of the enemy supposed to be invading Penn-
sylvania. Start half of them to Harrisburg, and
the enemy will turn upon and beat the remaining
half, and then reach Harrisburg before the part
going there, and beat it too when it comes. The
best possible security for Pennsylvania is putting
the strongest force possible in rear of the enemy.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April 13, 1863.
Hon. Andrew G. Curtin.
My dear Sir : K, after the expiration of your
present term as Governor of Penns3dvania, I
shall continue in office here, and you shall desire
to go abroad, you can do so with one of the first-
class missions. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 153
[^Telegram.']
War Department, April 28, 1863.
Hon. A. G. Curtin, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
I do not think the people of Pennsylvania
should be uneasy about an invasion. Doubtless
a small force of the enemy is flourishing about
in the northern part of Virginia, on the "skew-
horn" principle,^ on purpose to divert us in an-
other quarter. I believe it is nothing more. We
think we have adequate force close after them.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, May i, 1863.
Governor Curtin, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The whole disposable force at Baltimore and
elsewhere in reach have already been sent after
the enemy which alarms you. The worst thing
the enemy could do for himself would be to
weaken himself before Hooker, and therefore
it is safe to believe he is not doing it ; and the
best thing he could do for himself would be to
get us so scared as to bring part of Hooker's
force away, and that is just what he is trying
to do.
I will telegraph you in the morning about call-
ing out the militia. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, May 2, 1863.
Governor Curtin, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
General Halleck tells me he has a despatch
from General Schenck this morning, informing
him that our forces have joined, and that the
^ /. e., twisted horn, or crooked, devious.
154 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
enemy menacing Pennsylvania will have to fight
or run to-day. I hope I am not less anxious to
do my duty to Pennsylvania than yourself, but
I really do not yet see the justification for incur-
ring the trouble and expense of calling out the
militia. I shall keep watch, and try to do my
duty. A. Lincoln.
P. S. Our forces are exactly between the
enemy and Pennsylvania.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, October 17, 1864.
Governor A. G. Curtin, Harrisburg, Pennsyl-
vania.
Your information is erroneous. No part of
Sheridan's force has left him, except by expira-
tion of terms of service. I think there is not
much danger of a raid into Pennsylvania.
A. Lincoln.
George P. Fisher.
On August 16, 1862, the President wrote to George
P. Fisher in regard to various propositions made to the
War Department. The letter ended as follows :
I do hope you will not indulge a thought which
will admit of your saying the Administration
turns you over to the fury of your enemies.
You certainly know I wish you success as
much as you can wish it yourself.
Your friend, as ever, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS i55
GiLLET F. Watson.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, August 21, 1862.
Gillet F. Watson, Williamsburg, Va.
Your telegram in regard to the lunatic asylum
has been received. It is certainly a case of dif-
ficulty, but if you cannot remain, I cannot con-
'^.eive who under my authority can. Remain as
!'«;ong as you safely can, and provide as well as
you can for the poor inmates of the institution.
A. Lincoln.
Horace Greeley.
Executive Mansion, August 22, 1862.
Hon. Horace Greeley.
Dear Sir: I have just read yours of the 19th,
addressed to myself through the N'ezv York
Tribune. If there be in it any statements or
assumptions of fact which I may know to be
erroneous, I do not, now and here, controvert
them. If there be in it any inferences which I
may believe to be falsely drawn, I do not, now
and here, argue against them. If there be per-
ceptible in it an impatient and dictatorial tone,
I waive it in deference to an old friend whose
heart I have always supposed to be right.
As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing," as
you say, I have not meant to leave any one in
doubt.
I would save the Union. I would save it the
shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner
the national authority can be restored, the nearer
the Union will be "the Union as it was." If
there be those who would not save the Union
unless they could at the same time save slavery.
156 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
I do not agree with them. • If there be those who
would not save the Union unless they could at
the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree
with them. My paramount object in this strug-
gle is to save the Union, and is not either to save
or to destroy slavery, ^li I could save the Union
without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if
I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would
do it ; and if I could save it by freeing some and
leaving others alone, I would also do thatV What
I do about slavery and the colored race, I do be-
cause I believe it helps to save the Union; and
what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe
it would help to save the Union. I shall do less
whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts
the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall
believe doing more will help the cause. I shall
try to correct errors when shown to be errors,
and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall
appear to be true views,
I have here stated my purpose according to
my view of official duty ; and I intend no modi-
fication of my oft-expressed personal wish that
all men everywhere could be free.
Yours, A. Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, July 9, 1864.
Hon. Horace Greeley.
Dear Sir : Your letter of the 7th, with inclo-
sures, received.^
If you can find any person, anywhere, profess-
ing to have any proposition of Jefferson Davis
in writing, for peace, embracing the restoration
^ This was in reference to a proposition of Clement C.
Clay, Jacob Thompson, et al., to negotiate peace with the
Confederacy.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 157
of the Union and abandonment of slavery, what-
ever else it embraces, say to him he may come
to me with you ; and that if he really brings such
proposition, he shall at the least have safe con-
duct with the paper (and without publicity, if
he chooses) to the point where you shall have
met him. The same if there be two or more
persons. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Letter Carried by Major John Hay.^
Executive Mansion, July 15, 1864.
Hon. Horace Greeley.
My dear Sir: Yours of the 13th is just re-
ceived, and I am disappointed that you have not
already reached here with those commissioners,
if they would consent to come on being shown
my letter to you of the 9th instant. Show that
and this to them, and if they will come on the
terms stated in the former, bring them. I not
only intend a sincere effort for peace, but I in-
tend that you shall be a personal witness that it
is made. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
{Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, August 6, 1864.
Hon. Horace Greeley, New York.
Yours to Major Hay about publication of our
correspondence received. With the suppression
of a few passages in your letters in regard to
which I think you and I would not disagree, I
should be glad of the publication. Please come
over and see me. A. Lincoln.
158 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, August 9, 1864.
Hon. Horace Greeley.
Dear Sir : Herewith is a full copy of the cor-
respondence, and which I have had privately
printed, but not made public. The parts of your
letters which I wish suppressed are only those
which, as I think, give too gloomy an aspect to
our cause, and those which present the carrying
of elections as a motive of action. I have, as you
see, drawn a red pencil over the parts I wish
suppressed.
As to the Alexander H. Stephens matter, so
much pressed by you, I can only say that he
sought to come to Washington in the name of
the "Confederate States," in a vessel of "the Con-
federate States navy," and with no pretense even
that he would bear any proposal for peace ; but
with language showing that his mission would be
military, and not civil or diplomatic. Nor has he
at any time since pretended that he had terms
of peace, so far as I know or believe. On the
contrary, Jefferson Davis has, in the most formal
manner, declared that Stephens had no terms of
peace. I thought vv^e could not afford to give this
quasi-acknowledgment of the independence of the
Confederacy, in a case where there was not even
an intimation of anything for our good. Still, as
the parts of your letters relating to Stephens
contain nothing worse than a questioning of my
action, I do not ask a suppression of those parts.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
See also correspondence with Clement C. Clay.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 159
Washington Talcott.
Executive Mansion, August 2y, 1862.
Hon. Washington Talcott,
My dear Sir : I have determined to appoint
you collector. I now have a very special request
to make of you, which is, that you will make
no war upon Mr. Washburne, who is also my
friend, and of longer standing than yourself. I
will even be obliged if you can do something
for him if occasion presents.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Note of Introduction.']
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Com-
missioner of Internal Revenue will please see
Mr. Talcott, one of the best men there is, and,
if any difference, one they would like better than
they do me. A. Lincoln.
August 18, 1862.
Alexander Ramsey.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, August 2y, 1862.
Governor Ramsey, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Yours received. Attend to the Indians. If
the draft cannot proceed, of course it will not
proceed. Necessity knows no law. The Govern-
ment cannot extend the time. A. Lincoln.
i6o LhllhKS AND IhLhLrKAMS
Thomas Webster.
[Telegram.']
Washington, September 9, 1862.
Thomas Webster, Philadelphia.
Your despatch received, and referred to Ger
eral Halleck, who must control the question
presented. While I am not surprised at you
anxiety, I do not think you are in any dange:
If half our troops were in Philadelphia, tli
enemy could take it, because he would not fea
to leave the other half in his rear ; but with tli
whole of them here, he dares not leave them i
his rear. A. Lincoln.
Alexander Henry.
[Telegram.]
War Department, September 12, 1862.
Hon. Alexander Henry, Philadelphia.
Yours of to-day received. General Hallec
has made the best provision he can for genera!
in Pennsylvania. Please do not be offended whe
I assure you that in my confident belief Philade
phia is in no danger. Governor Curtin has ju:
telegraphed me :
I have advices that Jackson is crossing the Potom?
at Williamsport, and probably the whole rebel army wi
be drawn from Maryland,
At all events, Philadelphia is more than 15
miles from Hagerstown, and could not be reache
by the rebel army in ten days, if no hindranc
was interposed. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS i6i
Jesse K. Dubois.
On September 15, 1862, the President wrote his friend
Dubois in Springfield, 111., a strangely optimistic antici-
pation of the not very decisive victory of Antietam,
which did not take place until September 17 :
I now consider it safe to say that General
}JcClellan has gained a great victory over the
great rebel army in Maryland, between Freder-
icktown and Hagerstown. He is now pursuing
tl;e flying foe.
Had McClellan attacked Lee on the 15th, before the
Confederate forces were united, as Lincoln expected he
I would, it is the opinion of military experts that he
would have driven the invader back with a crushing
defeat which might have brought the war to an early
termination.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, July 11, 1863. 9 a.m.
Hon. J. K. Dubois, Springfield, 111.
It is certain that after three days' fighting at
^Gettysburg, Lee withdrew and made for the Po-
'tomac; that he found the river so swollen as
to prevent his crossing; that he is still this side,
near Hagerstown and Williamsport, preparing
to defend himself ; and that Meade is close upon
,him, and preparing to attack him, heavy skir-
mishing having occurred nearly all day yester-
day.
I am more than satisfied with what has hap-
pened north of the Potomac so far, and am anx-
ious and hopeful for what is to come.
A. Lincoln.
i62 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram in Cipher.']
Washington, September 13, 1863.
Hon. J. K. Dubois, Hon. O. M. Hatch.
What nation do you desire General Allen to
be made quartermaster-general of? This nation
already has a quartermaster-general.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, September 22, 1863.
Hon. O. M. Hatch, Hon. J. K. Dubois, Spring-
field, 111.
Your letter is just received. The particular
form of my despatch was jocular, which I sup-
posed you gentlemen knew me well enough to un-
derstand. General Allen is considered here as a
very faithful and capable officer, and one who
would be at least thought of for quartermaster-
general if that office were vacant.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, November 15, 1864.
Hon. Jesse K. Dubois, Springfield, Illinois.
. . . You say: "State gone 25,000." Which
way did it go ? How stand the members of Con-
gress and the other officers? A. Lincoln.
Edward Everett.
[Letter of Introduction.]
Executive Mansion, September 24, 1862.
Whom it May Concern: Hon. Edward Ever-
ett goes to Europe shortly. His reputation and
the present condition of our country are such
that his visit there is sure to attract notice, and
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 163
may be misconstrued. I therefore think fit to
say that he bears no mission from this Govern-
ment ; and yet no gentleman is better able to
correct misunderstandings in the minds of for-
eigners in regard to American afifairs.
While I commend him to the consideration of
those whom he may meet, I am quite conscious
that he could better introduce me than I him in
Europe. Abraham Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 20, 1863.
Hon. Edward Everett.
Aly dear Sir : Your kind note of to-day is re-
ceived. In our respective parts yesterday, you
could not have been excused to make a short
address, nor I a long one. I am pleased to know
that, in your judgment, the little I did say was
not entirely a failure. Of course I knew Mr.
Everett would not fail, and yet, while the whole
discourse was eminently satisfactory, and will be
of great value, there were passages in it which
transcended my expectations. The point made
against the theory of the General Government
being only an agency whose principals are the
States, was new to me, and, as I think, is one
of the best arguments for the national suprem-
acy. The tribute to our noble women for their
angel ministering to the suffering soldiers sur-
passes in its way, as do the subjects of it, what-
ever has gone before.
Our sick boy,^ for whom you kindly inquire,
we hope is past the worst.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
^ Thomas ("Tad") Lincoln.
i64 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, February 4, 1864.
Hon. Edward Everett.
My dear Sir : Yours of January 30 was re-
ceived four days ago, and since then the address
mentioned has arrived. Thank' you for it.
I send herewith the manuscript of my remarks
at Gettysburg, which, with my note to you of
November 20, you are at Hberty to use for the
benefit of our soldiers, as you have requested.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
John Ross.
Executive Mansion, September 25, 1862.
John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee
Nation.
Sir: Your letter of the i6th instant was re-
ceived two days ago. In the multitude of cares
claiming my constant attention, I have been un-
able to examine and determine the exact treaty
relations between the United States and the
Cherokee Nation. Neither have I been able to
investigate and determine the exact state of facts
claimed by you as constituting a failure of treaty
obligations on our part, and excusing the Chero-
kee Nation for making a treaty with a portion
of the people of the United States in open rebel-
lion against the Government thereof.
This letter, therefore, must not be understood
to decide anything upon these questions. I shall,
however, cause a careful investigation of them
to be made. Meanwhile the Cherokee people
remaining practically loyal to the Federal Union
will receive all the protection which can be given
them consistently with the duty of the Govern-
ment to the whole country. I sincerely hope the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 165
Cherokee Nation may not again be overrun by
the enemy, and I shall do all I consistently can
to prevent it.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
See letter to S. R. Curtis of October 10, 1862.
John J. Key.
Executive Mansion, September 26, 1862.
Major John J. Key.
Sir : I am informed that in answer to the ques-
tion, "Why was not the rebel army bagged im-
mediately after the battle near Sharpsburg?''
propounded to you by Major Levi C. Turner,
judge-advocate, etc., you answered, "That is not
the game. The object is that neither army shall
get much advantage of the other, that both shall
be kept in the field till they are exhausted, when
we will make a compromise and save slavery.'*
I shall be very happy if you will, within twenty-
four hours from the receipt of this, prove to me
by Major Turner that you did not, either liter-
ally or in substance, make the answer stated.
Yours, A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.^
Copy delivered to Major Key at 10.25 a. m.,
September 27, 1862. John Hay.
At about eleven o'clock a. m., September 27,
1862, Major Key and Major Turner appear be-
fore me. Major Turner says : "As I remember
it, the conversation was : I asked the question
why we did not bag them after the battle of
Sharpsburg. Major Key's reply was, 'That was
not the game ; that we should tire the rebels out
i66 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
and ourselves. That that was the only way the
Union could be preserved. We must come to-
gether fraternally, and slavery be saved.' " On
cross-examination Major Turner says he has
frequently heard Major Key converse in regard
to the present troubles, and never heard him
utter a sentiment unfavorable to the -mainte-
nance of the Union. He has never uttered any-
thing which he (Major T.) would call disloyalty.
The particular conversation detailed was a pri-
vate one. A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.^
In my view it is wholly inadmissible for any
gentleman holding a military commission from
the United States to utter such sentiments as
Major Key is within proved to have done.
Therefore let Major John J. Key be forthwith
dismissed from the military service of the United
States. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 24, 1862.
Major John J. Key.
Dear Sir: A bundle of letters, including one
from yourself, was early last week handed me by
General Halleck, as I understood at your re-
quest.
I sincerely sympathize with you in the death
of your brave and noble son.
In regard to my dismissal of yourself from the
military service, it seems to me you misunder-
stand me. I did not charge, or intend to charge,
you with disloyalty.
I had been brought to fear that there was a
class of officers in the army, not very incon-
siderable in numbers, who were playing a game
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 167
to not beat the enemy when they could, on some
pecuHar notion as to the proper way of saving
the Union ; and when you were proved to me,
in your own presence, to have avowed yourself
in favor of that "game," and did not attempt to
controvert the proof, I dismissed you as an ex-
ample and a warning to that supposed class.
I bear you no ill will, and I regret that I could
not have the example without wounding you per-
sonally. But can I now, in view of the public
interest, restore you to the service, by which
the army would understand that I indorse and
approve that game myself? If there was any
doubt of your having made the avowal, the case
would be different. But when it was proved to
me, in your presence, you did not deny or at-
tempt to deny it, but confirmed it, in my mind,
by attempting to sustain the position by argu-
ment.
I am really sorry for the pain the case gives
you ; but I do not see how, consistently with duty,
I can change it. Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
[htdorsemejit.]
The within, as appears, was written some time
ago. On full reconsideration, I cannot find suffi-
cient ground to change the conclusion therein
arrived at. A. Lincoln.
December 2y, 1862.
i68 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Hannibal Hamlin.
^Strictly Private.']
Executive Mansion, September 28, 1862.
Hon. Hannibal Hamlin.
My dear Sir: Your kind letter of the 25th is
just received. It is known to some that while I
hope something from the proclamation,^ my ex-
pectations are not as sanguine as are those of
some friends. The time for its effect southward
has not come ; but northward the effect should
be instantaneous.
It is six days old, and while commendation in
newspapers and by distinguished individuals is
all that a vain man could wish, the stocks have
declined, and troops come forward more slowly
than ever. This, looked soberly in the face, is
not very satisfactory. We have fewer troops in
the field at the end of the six days than we had
at the beginning — the attrition among the old out-
numbering the addition by the "new. The North
responds to the proclamation sufficiently in
breath ; but breath alone kills no rebels.
I wish I could write more cheerfully; nor do
I thank you the less for the kindness of your let-
ter. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, October 29, 1863.
His Excellency H. Hamlin, Vice-President.
My dear Sir : The above act of Congress - was
^Emancipation Proclamation, issued September 22, 1862.
2 To Regulate the Duties of the Clerk of the House of
Representatives in Preparing for the Organization of the
House. It provided that the clerk should place on the roll
only those members whose credentials indicated that they
had been elected in accordance with the laws of their re-
spective States, or of the United States.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 169
passed, as I suppose, to exclude improper appli-
cants from seats in the House of Representatives,
and there is danger now that it will be used to
exclude proper ones. The attempt will be made,
if at all, upon the members of those States whose
delegations are entirely, or by a majority, Union
men, and of which your State is one.
I suppose your members already have the usual
certificates — which let them bring on. I suggest
that for greater caution, yourself, the two sena-
tors, Messrs. Fessenden and Morrill, and the
Governor consider this matter, and that the Gov-
ernor make out an additional certificate, or set
of certificates, in the form on the other half of
this sheet, and still another, if on studying the
law you gentlemen shall be able to frame one
which will give additional security ; and bring the
whole with you, to be used if found necessary.
Let it all be done quietly. The members of Con-
gress themselves need not know of it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Eliza P. Gurney.
Executive Mansion, September 4, 1864.
Eliza P. Gurney.
My esteemed Friend : I have not forgotten —
probably never shall forget — the very impressive
occasion when yourself and friends visited me
on a Sabbath forenoon two years ago. Nor has
your kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever
been forgotten. In all it has been your purpose
to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much
indebted to the good Christian people of the
country for their constant prayers and consola-
tions ; and to no one of them more than to your-
I70 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
self. The purposes of the Ahnighty are perfect,
and must prevail, though we erring mortals may
fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We
hoped for a happy termination of this terrible
war long before this ; but God knows best, and
has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge
His wisdom, and our own error therein. Mean-
while we must work earnestly in the best lights
he gives us, trusting that so working still con-
duces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He
intends some great good to follow this mighty
convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no
mortal could stay. Your people, the Friends,
have had, and are having, a very great trial. On
principle and faith opposed to both war and op-
pression, they can only practically oppose oppres-
sion by war. In this hard dilemma some have
chosen one horn, and some the other. For those
appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I have
done, and shall do, the best I could and can, in
my own conscience, under my oath to the law.
That you believe this I doubt not ; and, believing
it, I shall still receive for our country and myself
your earnest prayers to our Father in heaven.
Your sincere friend, A. Lincoln.
Edward Stanley.
On September 29, 1862, the President wrote Edward
Stanley approbation of his course as military governor
of North Carolina, and asking him to have congres-
sional elections held in that State before January. "It
is my sincere wish that North Carolina may again gov-
ern herself conformably to the Constitution of the
United States."
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 171
Thomas H. Clay.
War Department, October 8, 1862.
Thomas H. Clay, Cincinnati, Ohio.
You cannot have reflected seriously when you
ask that I shall order General Morgan's com-
mand to Kentucky as a favor because they have
marched from Cumberland Gap. The precedent
established by it would evidently break up the
whole army. Buell's old troops, now in pursuit
of Bragg, have done more hard marching re-
cently; and, in fact, if you include marching and
fighting, there are scarcely any old troops east
or west of the mountains that have not done as
hard service. I sincerely wish war was an easier
and pleasanter business than it is ; but it does not
admit of holidays. On Morgan's command,
where it is now sent, as I understand, depends
the question whether the enemy will get to the
Ohio River in another place. A. Lincoln.
Ulysses S. Grant.
{Telegram.^
Washington, D. C, October 8, 1862.
Major-General Grant.
I congratulate you and all concerned in your
recent battles and victories.^ How does it all
sum up? I especially regret the death of Gen-
eral Hackleman, and am very anxious to know
the condition of General Oglesby, who is an in-
timate personal friend. A. Lincoln.
^ On July 23, 1862, Grant was assigned to the command
of the Department of the Tennessee. On September 19
and 20, General Rosecrans, his subordinate, defeated Gen-
eral Sterling Price at luka, and on October 3 and 4 Gen-
eral Van Dorn at Corinth.
172 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Headquarters of the Army,
Washington, January 21, 1863.
Major-General Grant, Memphis.
General : The President has directed that so
much of Arkansas as you may desire to control
be temporarily attached to your department.
This will give you control of both banks of the
river.
In your operations down the Mississippi you
must not rely too confidently upon any direct
cooperation of General Banks and the lower flo-
tilla, as it is possible that they may not be able
to pass or reduce Port Hudson. They, however,
will do everything in their power to form a junc-
tion with you at Vicksburg. If they should not
be able to effect this, they will at least occupy
a portion of the enemy's forces, and prevent
them from reinforcing Vicksburg. I hope, how-
ever, that they will do still better and be able to
join you.
It may be proper to give you some explanation
of the revocation of your order expelling all
Jews from your department. The President has
no objection to your expelling traitors and Jew
peddlers, which I suppose, was the object of
your orders ; but as it in terms proscribed an
entire religious class, some of whom are fight-
ing in our ranks, the President deemed it neces-
sary to revoke it.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
See letter to Thomas Knox of March 20, 1863.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 173
[Telegram.l
War Department, June 2, 1863.
Major-General Grant,
Vicksburg, via Memphis.
Are you in cbmmunication with General
Banks ? Is he coming toward you or going far-
ther off? Is there or has there been anything to
hinder his coming directly to you by water from
Alexandria? A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 13, 1863.
Major-General Grant.
My dear General : I do not remember that you
and I ever met personally. I write this now as
a grateful acknowledgment for the almost in-
estimable service you have done the country. I
wish to say a word further. When you first
reached the vicinity of Vicksburg, I thought you
should do what you finally did — march the
troops across the neck, run the batteries with the
transports, and thus go below ; and I never had
any faith, except a general hope that you knew
better than I, that the Yazoo Pass expedition
and the like could succeed. When you got be-
low and took Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, and
vicinity, I thought you should go down the river
and join General Banks, and when you turned
northward, east of the Big Black, I feared it was
a mistake. I now wish to make the personal
acknowledgment that you were right and I was
wrong. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter to Ambrose E, Burnside of July 27, 1863.
174- LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, August 9, 1863.
My dear General Grant:
I see by a despatch of yours that you incUne
quite strongly toward an expedition against Mo-
bile. This would appear tempting to me also,
were it not that in view of recent events in Mex-
ico I am greatly impressed with the importance
of reestablishing the national authority in West-
ern Texas as soon as possible. I am not making
an order, however; that I leave, for the present
at least, to the general-in-chief.
A word about another subject. General
Thomas has gone again to the Mississippi Val-
ley, with the view of raising colored troops. I
have no reason to doubt that you are doing what
you reasonably can upon the same subject. I
believe it is a resource which if vigorously ap-
plied now will soon close the contest. It works
doubly, weakening the enemy and strengthening
us. We were not fully ripe for it, until the river
was opened. Now, I think at least one hundred
thousand can and ought to be rapidly organized
along its shores, relieving all white troops to
serve elsewhere. Mr. Dana understands you as
believing that the Emancipation Proclamation has
helped some in your military operations. I am
very glad if this is so.
Did you receive a short letter from me dated
the thirteenth of July?
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter to John A. McClernand of August 12, 1863.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS ijS
[Telegram.]
Washington, December 8, 1863.
Major-General Grant.
Understanding that your lodgment at Chat-
tanooga and Knoxville is now secure, I wish to
tender you, and all under your command, my
more than thanks, my profoundest gratitude, for
the skill, courage, and perseverance with which
you and they, over so great difficulties, have ef-
fected that important object. God bless you all !
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, December 19, 1863.
General Grant, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Indiana delegation in Congress, or at
least a large part of them, are very anxious that
General Milroy shall enter active service again,
and I share in this feeling. He is not a difficult
man to satisfy — sincerity and courage being his
strong traits. Believing in our cause, and want-
ing to fight for it, is the whole matter with him.
Could you, without embarrassment, assign him
a place, if directed to report to you?
See letters to Governor Thomas E. Bramlette of Jan-
uary 6 and January 17, 1864.
[Order.]
Executive Mansion, March 10, 1864.
Under the authority of an act of Congress to
revive the grade of lieutenant-general in the
United States Army, approved February 29,
1864, Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant,
1^6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
United States Army, is assigned to the command
of the Armies of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March lo, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant, Army of the Potomac.
Mrs. Lincoln invites yourself and General
Meade to dine with us Saturday evening. Please
notify him, and answer whether you can be with
us at that time. A. Lincoln.
[Private Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, March 15, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant, Nashville, Tenn.
General McPherson having been assigned to
the command of a department, could not General
Frank Blair, without difficulty or detriment to
the service, be assigned to command the corps he
commanded a while last autumn?
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April 30, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
Not expecting to see you again before the
spring campaign opens, I wish to express in this
way my entire satisfaction with what you have
done up to this time, so far as I understand it.
The particulars of your plans I neither knov/ nor
seek to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant;
and, pleased with this, I wish not to obtrude any
constraints or restraints upon you. While I am
very anxious that any great disaster or capture
of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, I
know these points are less likely to escape your
attention than they would be mine. If there is
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 177
anything wanting which is within my power to
give, do not fail to let me know it. And now,
with a brave army and a just cause, may God
sustain you. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter to F. A. Conkling of June 3, 1864.
[Telegram.]
Washington, June 15, 1864. 7 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant,
Headquarters Army of the Potomac.
I have just received your despatch of i p. m.
yesterday. I begin to see it: you will succeed.
God bless you all. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington City, July 10, 1864. 2 p. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Your despatch to General Halleck, referring
to what I may think in the present emergency,
is shown me. General Halleck says we have
absolutely no force here fit to go to the field.
He thinks that with the hundred-day men and
invalids we have here we can defend Washing-
ton, and, scarcely, Baltimore. Besides these
there are about 8,000, not very reliable, under
Howe, at Harper's Ferry, with Hunter approach-
ing that point very slowly, with what number I
suppose you know better than L Wallace, with
some odds and ends, and part of what came up
with Ricketts, was so badly beaten yesterday at
Monocacy, that what is left can attempt no more
than to defend Baltimore. What we shall get in
from Pennsylvania and New York will scarcely
be worth counting, I fear. Now, what I think
is, that you should provide to retain your hold
178 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
where you are, certainly, and bring the rest with
you personally, and make a vigorous effort to
destroy the enemy's forces in this vicinity. I
think there is really a fair chance to do this, if
the movement is prompt. This is what I think
upon your suggestion, and is not an order.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, July ii, 1864. 8 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Yours of 10.30 p. m. yesterday received, and
very satisfactory. The enemy will learn of
Wright's arrival, and then the difficulty will be
to unite Wright and Hunter south of the enemy
before he will recross the Potomac. Some firing
between Rockville and here now.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C,
July 12, 1864. 11.30 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Vague rumors have been reaching us for two
or three days that Longstreet's corps is also on
its way [to] this vicinity. Look out for its ab-
sence from your front. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
[Washington], July 17, 1864. 12.25 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
In 3'our despatch of yesterday to General
Sherman, I find the following, to wit:
I shall make a desperate effort to get a position here,
which will hold the enemy without the necessity of so
many men.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 179
Pressed as we are by lapse of time I am glad
to hear you say this ; and yet I do hope you may
find a way that the effort shall not be desperate
in the sense of great loss of life.
Abraham Lincoln, President.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, July 20, 1864. 4.30 p. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Yours of yesterday, about a call for 300,000,
is received. I suppose you had not seen the call
for 500,000, made the day before, and which, I
suppose, covers the case. Always glad to have
your suggestions. A. Lincoln.
[TeJegrain.']
Washington, D. C, July 26, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
General Rawlins arrived this morning. The
President desires you to name, if you can, a time
when it would be convenient for you to meet
him in person at Fortress Monroe after Thurs-
day morning.
Edwin ]\L Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.']
Executive Alansion, July 28, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Will meet you at Fort Monroe, at 8 p. m., on
Saturday, the 30th, unless you shall notify me
that it will be inconvenient to you.
A. Lincoln.
i8o LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, July 29, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I have changed my purpose, so that now I ex-
pect to reach Fort Monroe at 10 a. m., Sunday
the 31st. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram in Cipher.]
Washington, D. C, August 3, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I have seen your despatch in which you say,
"I want Sheridan put in command of all the
troops in the field, with instructions to put him-
self south of the enemy, and follow him to the
death. Wherever the enemy goes, let our troops
go also." This, I think, is exactly right as to
how our forces should move ; but please look
over the despatches you may have received from
here, ever since you made that order, and dis-
cover, if you can, that there is any idea in the
head of any one here of "putting our army south
of the enemy," or of following him to the
*'death," in any direction. I repeat to you, it
will neither be done nor attempted, unless you
watch it every day and hour, and force it.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C,
August 14, 1864. 1.30 p. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
The Secretary of War and I concur that you
had better confer with General Lee, and stipu-
late for a mutual discontinuance of house burn-
ing and other destruction of private property.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS i8i
The time and manner of conference and particu-
lars of stipulation we leave, on our part, to your
convenience and judgment. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
August 17, 1864. 10.30 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I have seen your despatch expressing your un-
willingness to break your hold where you are.
Neither am I willing. Hold on with a bulldog
grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September 12, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
Sheridan and Early are facing each other at a
dead-lock. Could we not pick up a regiment
here and there, to the number of say ten thou-
sand men, and quietly but suddenly concentrate
them at Sheridan's camp and enable him to make
a strike?
This is but a suggestion.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September 22, 1864.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
I send this as an explanation to you, and to do
justice to the Secretary of War. I was induced,
upon pressing application, to authorize the
agents of one of the districts of Pennsylvania to
recruit in one of the prison depots in Illinois;
and the thing went so far before it came to the
knowledge of the Secretary that, in my judg-
ment, it could not be abandoned without greater
i82 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
evil than would follow its going through. I did
not know at the time that you had protested
against that class of thing being done; and I
now say that while this particular job must be
completed, no other of the sort will be author-
ized, without an understanding with you, if at
all. The Secretary of War is wholly free of any
part in this blunder.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C,
September 29, 1864. 10 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I hope it will have no constraint on you, nor
do harm any way, for me to say I am a little
afraid lest Lee sends reinforcements to Early,
and thus enables him to turn upon Sheridan.
A. Lincoln.
On October 5, 1864, the President wrote Grant re-
questing him to permit an exchange of a few naval pris-
oners through his lines under supervision of General
Benjamin F. Butler. He added:
Still, you are at liberty to arrest the whole
operation if in your judgment the public good
requires it. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[TcJegrarn.']
Washington, D. C, January 14, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
You have perhaps seen in the papers that ex-
Senator Foote, with his family, attempted to es-
cape from Richmond to Washington, and that he
was pursued and taken back. His wife and child
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 183
are now here. Please give me the earhest In-
formation you may receive concerning him, what
is hkely to be done with him, etc,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 19, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
Please read and answer this letter as though
I was not President, but only a friend. My son,
now in his twenty-second year, having graduated
at Harvard, wishes to see something of the war
before it ends. I do not wish to put him in the
ranks, nor yet to give him a commission, to
which those who have already served long are
better entitled and better qualified to hold. Could
he, without embarrassment to you or detriment
to the service, go into your military family with
some nominal rank, I, and not the public, fur-
nishing his necessary means? If no, say so with-
out the least hesitation, because I am as anxious
and as deeply interested that you shall not be
encumbered as you can be yourself.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, February i, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Let nothing which is transpiring change, hin-
der, or delay your military movements or plans.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion (about February i, 1865).
Lieutenant-General Grant.
Some time ago you telegraphed that you had
stopped a Mr. Laws from passing our lines with
a boat and cargo ; and I directed you to be in-
i84 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
formed that you must be allowed to do as you
please in such matters. To-night Mr. Laws calls
on me, and I have told him, and now tell you,
that the matter as to his passing the lines is
under your control absolutely; and that he can
have any relaxation you choose to give him and
none other. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, February 2, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Say to the gentlemen ^ I will meet them per-
sonally at Fort Monroe as soon as I can get
there. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, February 7, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
General Singleton, who bears you this, claims
that he already has arrangements made, if you
consent, to bring a large amount of Southern
produce through your lines. For its bearing on
our finances I would be glad for this to be done
if it can be without injuriously disturbing your
military operations, or supplying the enemy. I
wish you to be judge and master on these points.
Please see and hear him fully, and decide
whether anything, and if anything what, can be
done in the premises.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^ The Confederate Peace Commissioners, Vice-President
Alexander H. Stephens, Senator R. M. T. Hunter, and John
A. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of War. The conference
was abortive.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 185
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, February 8, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I "am called on by the House of Representa-
tives to give an account of my interview with
Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell, and it
is very desirable to me to put in your despatch
of February i, to the Secretary of War, in
which, among other things, you say : "I fear now
their going back without any expression from
any one in authority will have a bad influence."
I think the despatch does you credit, while I do
not see that it can embarrass you. May I use it ?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, February 24, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I am in a little perplexity. I was induced to
authorize a gentleman to bring Roger A. Pryor
here with a view of effecting an exchange of
him ; but since then I have seen a despatch of
yours showing that you specially object to his
exchange. Meantime he has reached here and
reported to me. It is an ungracious thing for
me to send him back to prison, and yet inad-
missible for him to remain here long. Cannot
you help me out with it? I can conceive that
there may be difference to you in days, and I can
keep him a few days to accommodate on that
point. I have not heard of my son's reaching
you. A. Lincoln.
i86 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, February 25, 1865.
Lieiitenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
General Sheridan's despatch to you, of to-
day, in which he says he ''will be off on
Monday," and that he "will leave behind about
2,000 men," causes the Secretary of War and
myself considerable anxiety. Have you well
considered whether you do not again leave open
the Shenandoah Valley entrance to Maryland
and Pennsylvania, or, at least, to the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad? A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C., February 27, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Subsequent reflection, conference with General
Halleck, your despatch, and one from General
Sheridan, have relieved my anxiety ; and so I
beg that you will dismiss any concern you may
have on my account, in the matter of my last
despatch. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, March 3, 1865. 12 p. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
The President directs me to say that he wishes
you to have no conference with General Lee un-
less it be for capitulation of General Lee's army,
or on some minor or purely military matter. He
instructs me to say that you are not to decide,
discuss, or confer upon any political questions.
Such questions the President holds in his own
hands, and will submit them to no military con-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 187
ferences or conventions. Meanwhile you are to
press to the utmost your miUtary advantages.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
Executive Mansion, March 7, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
In accordance with a joint resolution of Con-
gress, approved December 17, 1863, I now have
the honor of transmitting and presenting to you,
in the name of the people of the United States
of America, a copy of said resolution, engrossed
on parchment, together with the gold medal
therein ordered and directed.
Please accept for yourself and all under your
command the renewed expression of my grati-
tude for your and their arduous and well-per-
formed public service.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, March 9, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
I see your despatch to the Secretary of War,
objecting to rebel prisoners being allowed to
take the oath and go free. Supposing that I am
responsible for what is done in this way, I think
fit to say that there is no general rule of action,
allowing prisoners to be discharged merely on
taking the oath. What has been done is that
members of Congress come to me, from time to
time, with lists of names, alleging that from per-
sonal knowledge, and evidence of reliable per-
sons, they are satisfied that it is safe to discharge
the particular persons named on the lists, and I
have ordered their discharge. These members
are chiefly from the border States, and those
they get discharged are their neighbors and
i8S LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
neighbors' sons. They tell me that they do not
bring to me one-tenth of the names which are
brought to them, bringing only such as their
knowledge or the proof satisfies them about. I
have, on the same principle, discharged some on
the representations of others than members of
Congress ; as, for instance, Governor Johnson, of
Tennessee. The number I have discharged has
been rather larger than I liked, reaching, I
should think, an average of fifty a day since the
recent general exchange commenced. On the
same grounds, last year, I discharged quite a
number at different times, aggregating perhaps
a thousand Missourians and Kentuckians; and
their members, returning here since the prison-
ers' return to their homes, report to me only two
cases of proving false. Doubtless some more
have proved false; but, on the whole, I believe
what I have done in this way has done good
rather than harm. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, March 20, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
Your kind invitation received. Had already
thought of going immediately after the next
rain. Will go sooner if any reason for it. Mrs.
Lincoln and a few others will probably accom-
pany me. Will notify you of exact time, once it
shall be fixed upon. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, March 23, 1865.
Lieutenant-General Grant, City Point, Virginia.
We start to you at i p. m. to-day. Alay lie
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 189
over during the dark hours of the night. Very
small party of us. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
City Point, April i, 1865. 5.45 p. m. '
Lieutenant-General Grant.
Yours showing Sheridan's success of to-day is
just received, and highly appreciated.^ Having
no great deal to do here, ~I am still sending the
substance of your despatches to the Secretary of
War. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Headquarters Armies of the United States,
City Point, April 6, 1865. 12 m.
Lieutenant-General Grant, in the Field.
Secretary Seward was thrown from his car-
riage yesterday and seriously injured. This,
with other matters, will take me to Washington
soon. I was at Richmond yesterday and the day
before, when and where Judge Campbell, who
was with Messrs. Hunter and Stephens in Feb-
ruary, called on me, and made such representa-
tions as induced me to put in his hands an in-
formal paper, repeating the propositions in my
letter of instructions to Mr. Seward, which you
remember, and adding that if the war be now
further persisted in by the rebels, confiscated
property shall at the least bear the additional
cost, and that confiscation shall be remitted to
the people of any State which will now promptly
and in good faith withdraw its troops and other
support from resistance to the Government.
Judge Campbell thought it not impossible that
the rebel legislature of Virginia would do the
^ Victory of Five Forks, Va.
I90 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
latter if permitted ; and accordingly I addressed
a private letter to General Weitzel, with permis-
sion to Judge Campbell to see it, telling him
(General Weitzel) that if they attempt this, to
permit and protect them, unless they attempt
something hostile to the United States, in which
case to give them notice and time to leave, and
to arrest any remaining after such time.
I do not think it very probable that anything
will come of this, but I have thought best to
notify you so that if you should see signs you
may understand them.
From your recent despatches it seems that you
are pretty effectually withdrawing the Virginia
troops from opposition to the Government. Noth-
ing that I have done, or probably shall do, is to
delay, hinder, or interfere with your work.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Headquarters Armies of the United States,
City Point, April 7, 1865. 11 a. m.
Lieutenant-General Grant.
General Sheridan says "If the thing is pressed
I think that Lee will surrender." Let the thing
be pressed. A. Lincoln.
William R. Morrison.
Executive Mansion, November 5, 1862.
Colonel William R. Morrison, Waterloo, Illinois.
Your letter of September 23 is this moment
received. While your words of kindness are
very grateful, your suspicions that I intend you
injustice are very painful to me. I assure you
such suspicions are groundless. I cannot even
conjecture what juniors of yours you suppose I
contemplate promoting over you. True, senior-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 191
ity has not been my rule in this connection ; but
in considering military merit, the world has
abundant evidence that I disregard politics.
A. Lincoln.
John Pope.
During August, 1862, the Sioux of Minnesota rose up
and massacred hundreds of settlers. Troops seized the
ringleaders, who were sentenced to be hanged.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, November 10, 1862.
Major-General Pope, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Your despatch giving the names of 300 In-
dians condemned to death is received. Please
forward as soon as possible the full and com-
plete record of their convictions ; and if the rec-
ord does not fully indicate the more guilty and
influential of the culprits, please have a careful
statement made on these points and forwarded
to me. Send all by mail. A. Lincoln.
On December i, 1862, the President inquired of the
Judge-Advocate General for his legal opinion "whether
if I should conclude to execute only a part of them, I
must myself designate which, or could I leave the
designation to some officer on the ground?" The opin-
ion was that the President should designate the Indians
to be executed, and this Lincoln did on December 6,
1862.
[Telegram.']
War Department,
Washington, April 11, 1863.
Major-General Pope, Milwaukee, Wis.
The President directs that under no circum-
stances will our troops cross the boundary line
into British territory without his authority.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
192 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
G. F. Shepley/
See letter to Benjamin F. Butler of October 14, 1862.
Executive Mansion, November 21, 1862.
Hon. G. F. Shepley. . . .
I wish elections for congressmen to take place
in Louisiana ; but I wish it to be a movement of
the people of the districts, and not a movement
of our military or quasi-military authorities
there. I merely wish our authorities to give the
people a chance — to protect them against seces-
sion interference. Of course the election cannot
be according to strict law. By State law there
is, I suppose, no election day before January ;
and the regular election officers will not act in
many cases, if in any. These knots must be cut,
the main object being to get an expression of
the people. If they would fix a day in a way
for themselves all the better ; but if they stand
idle, not seeming to know what to do, do you
fix these things for them by proclamation. And
do not waste a day about it, but fix the election
day early enough, that we can hear the result
here by the first of January. Fix a day for an
election in all the districts, and have it held in
as many places as you can.
Yours very truly, A Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 21, 1862.
Hon. G. F. Shepley.
Dear Sir: Dr. Kennedy, bearer of this, has
some apprehension that Federal officers not citi-
zens of Louisiana may be set up as candidates
^ Colonel Shepley was appointed military governor •£
Louisiana on June 10, 1S62.
I
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 193
for Congress in that State. In my view there
could be no possible object in such an election.
We do not particularly need members of Con-
gress from there to enable us to get along with
legislation here. What we do want is the con-
clusive evidence that respectable citizens of Lou-
isiana are willing to be members of Congress
and to swear support to the Constitution, and
that other respectable citizens there are willing
to vote for them and send them. To send a par-
cel of Northern men here as representatives,
elected, as would be understood (and perhaps
really so), at the point of the bayonet, would be
disgusting and outrageous; and were I a mem-
ber of Congress here, I would vote against ad-
mitting any such man to a seat.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letters to Nathaniel P. Banks of August 5, 1863;
November 5, 1863; and December 24, 1863.
George Robertson.
Executive Mansion,
Washington, November 26, 1862.
My dear Sir: A few days since I had a de-
spatch from you which I did not answer. If I
were to be wounded personally, I think I would
not shun it. But it is the life of the nation. I
now understand the trouble is with Colonel Ut-
ley : that he has five slaves in his camp, four of
whom belong to rebels, and one belonging to you.
If this be true, convey yours to Colonel Utley,
so that he can make him free, and I will pay you
any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars.
Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
194 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Edward Bates.
Executive Mansion, November 29, 1862.
Hon. Attorney- General.
My dear Sir: Few things perplex me more
than this question between Governor Gamble and
the War Department, as to whether the peculiar
force organized by the former in Missouri are
State troops or United States troops. Now, this
is either an immaterial or a mischievous ques-
tion. First, if no more is desired than to have
it settled what name the force is to be called by,
it is immaterial. Secondly, if it is desired for
more than the fixing a name, it can only be to
get a position from which to draw practical in-
ferences ; then it is mischievous. Instead of set-
tling one dispute by deciding the question, I
should merely furnish a nestful of eggs for
hatching new disputes. I believe the force is
not strictly either "State troops" or "United
States troops." It is of mixed character. I
therefore think it is safer, when a practical ques-
tion arises, to decide that question directly, and
not indirectly by deciding a general abstraction
supposed to include it, and also including a great
deal more. Without dispute Governor Gamble
appoints the officers of this force, and fills va-
cancies when they occur. The question now
practically in dispute is : Can Governor Gamble
make a vacancy by removing an officer or ac-
cepting a resignation? Now, while it is proper
that this question shall be settled, I do not per-
ceive why either Governor Gamble or the Gov-
ernment here should care which way it is settled.
I am perplexed with it only because there seems
to be pertinacity about it. It seems to me that
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 195
it might be either way without injury to the ser-
vice ; or that the offer of the Secretary of War
to let Governor Gamble make vacancies, and he
(the Secretary) to ratify the making of them,
ought to be satisfactory.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
John L. Worden,
\^Message to Congress.^
To the Senate and House of Representatives.
In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I
most cordially recommend that Commander John
L. Worden, United States Navy, receive a vote
of thanks of Congress for the eminent skill and
gallantry exhibited by him in the late remarkable
battle between the United States iron-clad steam-
er Monitor, under his command, and the rebel
iron-clad steamer Merrirnac, in March last. . . .
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, December 8, 1862.
George U. Morris.
[Message to Congress.^
To the Senate and House of Representatives.
In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I
most cordially recommend that Lieutenant-Com-
mander George U. Morris, United States Navy,
receive a vote of thanks of Congress for the
determined valor and heroism displayed in his
defense of the L^nited States ship of war Ciiui-
berland, temporarily under his command in the
naval engagement at Hampton Roads on the 8th
of March, 1862, with the rebel iron-clad steam-
frigate Mcrrimac. Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, D. C, December 10, 1862.
196 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Fernando Wood.
Executive Mansion, December 12, 1862.
Hon. Fernando Wood.
My dear Sir : Your letter of the 8th, with the
accompanying note of same date, was received
yesterday. The most important paragraph in the
letter, as I consider, is in these words : '' On the
25th of November last I was advised by an au-
thority which I deemed likely to be well informed
as well as reliable and truthful, that the Southern
States would send representatives to the next
Congress, provided that a full and general am-
nesty should permit them to do so. No guar-
anties or terms were asked for other than the
amnesty referred to."
I strongly suspect your information will prove
to be groundless ; nevertheless, I thank you for
communicating it to me. Understanding the
phrase in the paragraph above quoted — ''the
Southern States would send representatives to
the next Congress" — to be substantially the same
as that ''the people of the Southern States would
cease resistance, and would reinaugurate, submit
to, and maintain the national authority within the
limits of such States under the Constitution of
the United States," I say that in such case the
war would cease on the part of the United States ;
and that if within a reasonable time "a full and
general amnesty" were necessary to such end, it
would not be withheld.
I do not think it would be proper now for me
to communicate this formally or informally to
the people of the Southern States. My belief
is that they already know it; and when they
choose, if ever, they can communicate with me
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 197
unequivocally. Nor do I think it proper now to
suspend military operations to try any experi-
ment of negotiation.
I should nevertheless receive with great pleas-
ure the exact information you now have, and
also such other as you may in any way obtain.
Such information might be more valuable before
the ist of January than afterward.
While there is nothing in this letter which I
shall dread to see in history, it is, perhaps, better
for the present that its existence should not be-
come public. I therefore have to request that
you will regard it as confidential.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Abraham Lincoln (Mary Todd).
[Telegram.]
Washington, December 21, 1862.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, Continental Hotel.
Do not come on the night train. It is too cold.
Come in the morning. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, June 9, 1863.
Mrs. Lincoln, Philadelphia.
Think you had better put "Tad's" pistol away.
I had an ugly dream about him.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, June 16, 1863.
Mrs. Lincoln, Philadelphia, Pa.
It is a matter of choice with yourself whether
you come home. There is no reason why you
should not, that did not exist when you went
198 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
away. As bearing on the question of your com-
ing home, I do not think the raid into Pennsyl-
vania amounts to anything at all.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 8, 1863.
My dear Wife : All as well as usual, and no
particular trouble anyway. I put the money into
a Treasury at five per cent., with the privilege
of withdrawing it any time upon thirty days'
notice. I suppose you are glad to learn this.
Tell dear Tad poor "Nanny Goat" is lost, and
Mrs. Cuthbert and I are in distress about it. The
day you left, Nanny was found resting herself
and chewing her Httle cud on the middle of Tad's
bed ; but now she's gone ! The gardener kept
complaining that she destroyed the flowers, till
it was concluded to bring her down to the White
House. This was done, and the second day she
had disappeared and has not been heard of since.
This is the last we know of poor ''Nanny."
The weather continues dry and excessively
warm here. Nothing very important occurring.
The election in Kentucky has gone very strongly
right. Old Mr. Wickliffe got ugly, as you know :
ran for Governor, and is terribly beaten. Upon
Mr. Crittenden's death, Brutus Clay, Cassius's
brother, was put on the track for Congress, and
is largely elected. Mr. Menzies, who, as we
thought, behaved very badly last session of Con-
gress, is largely beaten in the district opposite
Cincinnati, by Green Clay Smith, Cassius Clay's
nephew. But enough.
Affectionately, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 199
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, September 21, 1863.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, Fifth Avenue Hotel, New
York.
The air is so clear and cool and apparently
healthy that I would be glad for you to come.
Nothing very particular but I would be glad to
see you and Tad. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, September 22, 1863.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, New York.
Did you receive my despatch of yesterday?
Mrs. Cuthbert did not correctly understand me.
I directed her to tell you to use your own pleas-
ure whether to stay or come, and I did not say
it is sickly and that you should on no account
come. So far as I see or know, it was never
healthier, and I really wish to see you. Answer
this on receipt. A. Lincoln.
On September 24, 1863, the President communicated
to his wife, with other war news, the information that
her brother-in-law Helm, a brigadier-general in the
Confederate army, had been killed in the battle of
Chickamauga.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, April 28, 1864.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, Metropolitan Hotel, New
York.
The draft will go to you. Tell Tad the goats
and father are very well, especially the goats.
A. Lincoln.
200 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, June 24, 1864.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, Boston, Massachvisetts.
All well and very warm. Tad and I have
been to General Grant's army. Returned yester-
day safe and sound. A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
Washington, D. C., June 29, 1864.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, New York.
All well. Tom is moving things out.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C., August 31, 1864.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, Manchester, Vermont.
All reasonably well. Bob not here yet. How
is dear Tad? A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, September 8, 1864.
Mrs. A. Lincoln, Manchester, Vermont.
All well, including Tad's pony and the goats.
Mrs. Colonel Dimmick died night before last.
Bob left Sunday afternoon. Said he did not
know whether he should see you.
A. Lincoln.
City Point, Va., April 2, 1865.
Mrs. Lincoln.
At 4.30 p. m. to-day General Grant telegraphs
that he has Petersburg completely enveloped from
river below to river above, and has captured since
he started last Wednesday, about 12,000 prison-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 201
ers and 50 guns. He suggests that I shall go
out and see him in the morning, which I think
I will do. Tad and I are both well, and will be
glad to see you and your party here at the time
you name. A. Lincoln.
Army of the Potomac.
The defeat of the Army of the Potomac at Freder-
icksburg, Va., on December 13, 1862, was a severe blow
to the morale of the soldiers, and the President issued
the following congratulations to them to lift up their
spirits :
Executive Mansion,
Washington, December 22, 1862.
To the Army of the Potomac : I have just read
your commanding general's report of the battle
of Fredericksburg. Although you were not suc-
cessful, the attempt was not an error, nor the
failure other than accident. The courage with
which you, in an open field, maintained the con-
test against an intrenched foe, and the consum-
mate skill and success with which you crossed
and recrossed the river in the face of the enemy,
show that you possess all the qualities of a great
army, which will yet give victory to the cause
of the country and of popular government.
Condoling with the mourners for the dead,
and sympathizing with the severely wounded, I
congratulate you that the number of both is com-
paratively so small.
I tender to you, officers and soldiers, the
thanks of the nation. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
W. B. Franklin and W. F. Smith.
Executive Mansion, December 22, 1862.
Major-General Franklin and Major-General
Smith.
Yours of the 20th, suggesting a plan of opera-
tions for the Army of the Potomac, is received.
I have hastily read the plan, and shall yet try
to give it more deliberate consideration, with the
aid of military men. Meanwhile let me say it
seems to me to present the old questions of pref-
erence between the line of the Peninsula and the
line you are now upon. The difficulties you point
out as pertaining to the Fredericksburg line are
obvious and palpable. But now, as heretofore, if
you go to James River, a large part of the army
must remain on or near the Fredericksburg line,
to protect Washington. It is the old difficulty.
When I saw General Franklin at Harrison's
Landing on James River last July, I cannot be
mistaken in saying that he distinctly advised the
bringing of the army away from there.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
For order relating to Franklin of January 25, 1863,
see letter to Ambrose E. Burnside.
Miss Fanny McCullough.
Executive Mansion, December 23, 1862.
Dear Fanny : It is with deep regret that I learn
of the death of your kind and brave father, and
especially that it is affecting your young heart
beyond what is common in such cases. In this
sad world of ours sorrow comes to all, and to
the young it comes with bitterer agony because
it takes them unawares. The older have learned
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 203
ever to expect it. I am anxious to afford some
alleviation to your present distress. Perfect re-
lief is not possible, except with time. You can-
not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is
not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are
sure to be happy again. To know this, which is
certainly true, will make you some less miserable
now. I have had experience enough to know
what I say, and you need only to believe it to
feel better at once. The memory of your dear
father, instead of an agony, will yet be a sad,
sweet feeling in your heart of a purer and holier
sort than you have known before.
Please present my kind regards to your af-
flicted mother.
Your sincere friend, A. Lincoln.
Compare with letters of condolence to the parents of
Colonel Ellsworth and to Mrs. Bixby.
W. S. ROSECRANS.^
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, January 5, 1863.
Major-General W. S. Rosecrans, Murfreesbor-
ough, Tennessee.
Your despatch announcing retreat of enemy
has just reached here. God bless you and all
^ General Rosecrans was a West Point graduate, and, at
the outbreak of the war, a prominent engineer. He first
served under General McClellan, winning the battle of
Rich Mountain, Va., on July 11, 1861. On July 25 he
succeeded McClellan in command of the Department of
the Ohio. Later he succeeded General Pope in command
of the Army of the Mississippi, and won the battles of
luka, September ig, 1862, and Corinth, October 3 and 4,
1862. On October 27 he became commander of the De-
partment of the Cumberland. On December 31, 1862, and
January i and 2, 1863. he defeated General Bragg at Mur-
freesborough, Tenn. (the battle being also known as Stone
River) .
204 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
with you! Please tender to all, and accept for
yourself, the nation's gratitude for your and
their skill, endurance, and dauntless courage.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, February 17, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans.
My dear Sir : In no other way does the enemy
give us so much trouble at so little expense to
himself as by the raids of rapidly moving small
bodies of troops, largely if not wholly mounted,
harassing and discouraging loyal residents, sup-
plying themselves with provisions, clothing,
horses, and the like, surprising and capturing
small detachments of our forces, and breaking
our communications. And this will increase just
in proportion as his larger armies shall weaken
and wane. Nor can these raids be successfully
met by even larger forces of our own of the same
kind acting merely on the defensive. I think we
should organize proper forces and make counter
raids. We should not capture so much of sup-
plies from them as they have done from us, but
it would trouble them more to repair railroads
and bridges than it does us. What think you
of trying to get up such a corps in your army?
Could you do it vv^ithout any or many additional
troops (which we have not to give you), pro-
vided we furnish horses, suitable arms, and other
appointments? Please consider this not as an
order, but as a suggestion.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 205
Executive Mansion, March 17, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans.
My dear Sir: I have just received your, tele-
gram saying that the "Secretary of War tele-
graphed after the battle of Stone River: 'Any-
thing you and your command want you can
have/ '' and then specifying several things you
have requested and have not received.
The promise of the Secretary, as you state it,
is certainly pretty broad ; nevertheless it accords
with the feeling of the whole Government here
toward you. I know not a single enemy of yours
here. Still the promise must have a reasonable
construction. We know you will not purposely
make an unreasonable request, nor persist in one
after it shall appear to be such. Now, as to the
matter of a paymaster, you desired one to be
permanently attached to your army, and, as I
understand, desired that Major Larned should
be the man. This was denied you ; and you seem
to think it was denied partly to disoblige you
and partly to disoblige Major Larned — the lat-
ter, as you suspect, at the instance of Paymaster-
General Andrews. On the contrary, the Secre-
tary of War assures me the request was refused
on no personal ground whatever, but because to
grant it would derange, and substantially break
up, the whole pay-system as now organized, and
so organized on very full consideration and sound
reason, as believed. There is powerful tempta-
tion in money ; and it was and is believed that
nothing can prevent the paymasters speculating
upon the soldiers but a system by which each is
to pay certain regiments so soon after he has
notice that he is to pay those particular regiments
that he has no time or opportunity to lay plans
for speculating upon them. This precaution is
all lost if paymasters respectively are to serve
permanently with the same regiments, and pay
them over and over during the war. No special
application of this has been intended to be made
to Major Larned or to your army. And as to
General Andrews, I have in another connection
felt a little aggrieved at what seemed to me his
implicit following the advice and suggestions of
Major Larned — so ready are we all to cry out
and ascribe motives when our own toes are
pinched.
Now as to your request that your commission
should date from December, 1861. Of course
you expected to gain something by this ; but you
should remember that precisely so much as you
should gain by it others would lose by it. If
the thing you sought had been exclusively ours,
we would have given it cheerfully ; but, being
the right of other men, we having a merely ar-
bitrary power over it, the taking it from them
and giving it to you became a more delicate mat-
ter and more deserving of consideration. Truth
to speak, I do not appreciate this matter of rank
on paper as you officers do. The world will not
forget that you fought the battle of Stone River,
and it will never care a fig whether you rank
General Grant on paper, or he so ranks you.
As to the appointment of an aide contrary to
your wishes, I knew nothing of it until I re-
ceived your despatch ; and the Secretary of War
tells me he has known nothing of it, but will
trace it out. The examination of course will
extend to the case of R. S. Thomas, whom you
say you wish appointed.
And now be assured you wrong both yourself
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 207
and us when you even suspect there is not the
best disposition on the part of us all here to
oblige you. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Washington, May 20, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans.
Yours of yesterday in relation to Colonel Hag-
gard is received. I am anxious that you shall
not misunderstand me. In no case have I in-
tended to censure you or to question your ability.
In Colonel Haggard's case I meant no more than
to suggest that possibly you might have been
mistaken in a point that could [he] corrected.
I frequently make mistakes myself in the many
things I am compelled to do hastily.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 21, 1863. 4.40 p. m.
Major-General Rosecrans.
For certain reasons it is thought best for Rev.
Dr. Jaquess not to come here.
Present my respects to him, and ask him to
write me fully on the subject he has in con-
templation. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 28, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans, Murfreesborough,
Tennessee.
I would not push you to any rashness, but I
am very anxious that you do your utmost, short
of rashness, to keep Bragg from getting off to
help Johnston against Grant. A. Lincoln.
2o8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, May 28, 1863.
Major-General Rosecrans.
My dear Sir: I have but a slight personal
acquaintance with Colonel Jaquess, though I
know him very well by character.
Such a mission as he proposes I think prom-
ises good, if it were free from difficulties, which
I fear it cannot be.
First. He cannot go with any government
authority whatever. This is absolute and im-
perative.
Secondly. If he goes without authority, he
takes a great deal of personal risk — he may be
condemned and executed as a spy.
If, for any reason, you think fit to give Colonel
Jaquess a furlough, and any authority from me
for that object is necessary, you hereby have it
for any length of time you see fit.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 10, 1863.
My dear General Rosecrans.
Yours of the ist was received two days ago.
I think you must have inferred more than Gen-
eral Halleck has intended, as to any dissatisfac-
tion of mine with you. I am sure you, as a
reasonable man, would not have been wounded
could you have heard all my words and seen all
my thoughts in regard to you. I have not abated
in my kind feeling for you and confidence in
you. I have seen most of your despatches to
General Halleck — probably all of them. After
Grant invested Vicksburg I was very anxious
lest Johnston should overwhelm him from the
outside, and when it appeared certain that part
of Bragg's force had gone and w^s going to
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 209
Johnston, it did seem to me it was exactly the
proper time for you to attack Bragg with what
force he had left. In all kindness let me say it
so seems to me yet. Finding from your de-
spatches to General Halleck that your judgment
was different, and being very anxious for Grant,
I, on one occasion, told General Halleck I thought
he should direct you to decide at once to imme-
diately attack Bragg or to stand on the defen-
sive and send part of your force to Grant. He
replied he had already so directed in substance.
Soon after, despatches from Grant abated my
anxiety for him, and in proportion abated my
anxiety about any movement of yours. * When
aftervvard, however, I saw a despatch of yours
arguing that the right time for you to attack
Bragg was not before, but would be after, the
fall of Vicksburg, it impressed me very strangely,
and I think I so stated to the Secretary of War
and General Halleck. It seemed no other than
the proposition that you could better fight Bragg
when Johnston should be at liberty to return and
assist him than you could before he could so
return to his assistance.
Since Grant has been entirely relieved by the
fall of Vicksburg, by which Johnston is also
relieved, it has seemed to me that your chance
for a stroke has been considerably diminished,
and I have not been pressing you directly or
indirectly. True, I am very anxious for East
Tennessee to be occupied by us ; but I see and
appreciate the difficulties you mention. The
question occurs, Can the thing be done at
all? Does preparation advance at all? Do
you not consume supplies as fast as you get
them forward? Have you more animals to-
2IO LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
day than you had at the battle of Stone Riv-
er? And yet have not more been furnished
you since then than your entire present stock?
I ask the same questions as to your mounted
force.
Do not misunderstand : I am not casting blame
upon you ; I rather think by great exertion you
can get to East Tennessee ; but a very important
question is, Can you stay there? I make no
order in the case — that I leave to General Halleck
and yourself.
And now be assured once more that I think
of you in all kindness and confidence, and that
I am not watching you with an evil eye.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 31, 1863.
My dear General Rosecrans.
Yours of the 22d was received yesterday.
When I wrote you before, I did [not] intend,
nor do I now, to engage in an argument with
you on military questions. You had informed
me you were impressed through General Hal-
leck that I was dissatisfied with you ; and I
could not bluntly deny that I was without un-
justly implicating him. I therefore concluded
to tell you the plain truth, being satisfied the
matter would thus appear much smaller than it
would if seen by mere glimpses. I repeat that
my appreciation of you has not abated. I can
never forget whilst I remember anything that
about the end of last year and beginning of this,
you gave us a hard-earned victory, which, had
there been a defeat instead, the nation could
scarcely have lived over.
Neither can I forget the check you so oppor-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 21 r
tunely gave to a dangerous sentiment which was
spreading in the North.
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
On September 9, 1863, General Rosecrans occupied
Chattanooga. He was defeated at Chickamauga Sep-
tember 18-20.
Washington, September 21, 1863. 12.55 p.m.
Major-General Rosecrans, Chattanooga.
Be of good cheer. We have unabated confi-
dence in you, and in your soldiers and officers.
In the main you must be the judge as to what is
to be done. If I were to suggest, I would say,
save your army by taking strong positions until
Burnside joins you, when, I hope, you can turn
the tide. I think you had better send a courier
to Burnside to hurry him up. We cannot reach
him by telegraph. We suppose some force is
going to you from Corinth, but for want of
communication we do not know how they are
getting along. We shall do our utmost to assist
you. Send us your present positions.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, September 23, 1863. 9.15 a.m.
Major-General Rosecrans, Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee.
Below is Bragg's despatch as found in the
Richmond papers. You see he does not claim
so many prisoners or captured guns as you were
inclined to concede. He also confesses to heavy
loss. An exchanged general of ours leaving
Richmond yesterday says two of Longstreet's
divisions and his entire artillery and two of
212 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Pickett's brigades and Wise's legion have gone
to Tennessee. He mentions no other.
Chickamauga River,
September 20 (via Ringgold, 21st).
General Cooper, Adjutant-General :
After two days' hard fighting we have driven the
enemy, after a desperate resistance, from several posi-
tions, and now hold the field ; but he still confronts us.
The losses are heavy on both sides, especially in our
officers. We have taken over twenty pieces of artillery
and some 2,500 prisoners.
Braxton Bragg.
A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
War Department,
September 24, 1863. 10 a. m.
Major-General Rosecrans, Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee.
Last night we received the rebel accounts,
through Richmond papers, of your late battle.
They give Major-General Hood as mortally
wounded. . . . With Burnside, Sherman, and
from elsewhere we shall get to you from forty to
sixty thousand additional men. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September 28, 1863.
My dear General Rosecrans.
We are sending you two small corps, one un-
der General Howard and one under General Slo-
cum, and the whole under General Hooker.
Unfortunately the relations between Generals
Hooker and Slocum are not such as to promise
good, if their present relative positions remain.
Therefore, let me beg^ — almost enjoin upon you
— that on their reaching you, you will make a
transposition by which General Slocum with his
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 213
corps may pass from under the command of
General Hooker, and General Hooker, in turn,
receive some other equal force. It is important
for this to be done, though we could not well
arrange it here. Please do it.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department,
October 4, 1863. 11.30 a. m.
Major-General Rosecrans, Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee.
Yours of yesterday received. If we can hold
Chattanooga and East Tennessee, I think the
rebellion must dwindle and die. I think you and
Burnside can do this, and hence doing so is your
main object. Of course to greatly damage or
destroy the enemy in your front would be a
greater object, because it would include the for-
mer and more, but it is not so certainly within
your power. I understand the main body of the
enemy is very near you, so near that you could
*'board at home," so to speak, and menace or
attack him any day. Would not the doing of
this be your best mode of counteracting his raid
on your communications? But this is not an
order. I intend doing something like what you
suggest whenever the case shall appear ripe
enough to have it accepted in the true under-
standing rather than as a confession of weakness
and fear. A. Lincoln.
214 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
\Telegram in Cipher. '\
War Department,
October 12, 1863. 8.35 a. m.
Major-General Rosecrans, Chattanooga, Ten-
nessee.
As I understand, Burnslde is menaced from
the west, and so cannot go to you without sur-
rendering East Tennessee. I now think the
enemy will not attack Chattanooga and I think
you will have to look out for his making a con-
centrated drive at Burnside. You and Burnside
now have him by the throat ; and he must break
your hold or perish. I therefore think you better
try to hold the road up to Kingston, leaving
Burnside to what is above there. Sherman is
coming to you, though gaps in the telegraph pre-
vent our knowing how far he is advanced. He
and Hooker will so support you on the west and
northwest as to enable you to look east and
northeast. This is not an order. General Hal-
leck will give his views. A. Lincoln.
General Rosecrans was assigned to the Department
of the Missouri in January, 1864.
Executive Mansion, March 10, 1864.
Major-General Rosecrans.
Please carefully examine and consider the
question whether, on the whole, it would be
advantageous to our military operations for the
United States to furnish iron for completing the
southwest branch of the Pacific Railroad, all or
any part of the way from Rolla to Springfield,
Missouri, so fast as the company shall do all the
other work for the completion, and to receive
pay for said iron in transportation upon said
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 215
newly made part of said road; and if your opin-
ion shall be in the affirmative, make a contract
with the company to that effect, subject to my
approval or rejection. In any event, report the
main facts, together with your reasoning, to me.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April 4, 1864.
Major-General Rosecrans.
My dear Sir: This is rather more social than
official ; containing suggestions rather than or-
ders. I somewhat dread the effect of your Spe-
cial Order No. 61, dated March 7, 1864. I have
found that men who have not even been sus-
pected of disloyalty are very averse to taking an
oath of any sort as a condition to exercising
an ordinary right of citizenship. The point will
probably be made that while men may, without
an oath, assemble in a noisy political meeting,
they must take the oath to assemble in a relig-
ious meeting. It is said, I know not whether
truly, that in some parts of Missouri assassina-
tions are systematically committed upon returned
rebels who wish to ground arms and behave
themselves. This should not be. Of course I
have not heard that you give countenance to or
wink at such assassinations. Again, it is com-
plained that the enlistment of negroes is not con-
ducted in as orderly a manner and with as little
collateral provocation as it might be. So far
you have got along in the Department of the
Missouri rather better than I dared to hope, and
I congratulate you and myself upon it.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
2i6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 8, 1864.
Major-General Rosecrans, St. Louis, Missouri.
Yours of to-day received. I am unable to con-
ceive how a message can be less safe by the
express than by a staff-officer. If you send a
verbal message, the messenger is one additional
person let into the secret. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, September 26, 1864.
Major-General Rosecrans.
One cannot always safely disregard a report,
even which one may not believe. I have a report
that you incline to deny the soldiers the right
of attending the election in Missouri, on the as-
sumed ground that they will get drunk and make
a disturbance. Last year I sent General Scho-
iield a letter of instruction, dated October i,
1863, which I suppose you will find on the files
of the department, and which contains among
other things the following: *'At elections see
that those, and only those, are allowed to vote
who are entitled to do so by the laws of Mis-
souri, including as of those laws the restrictions
laid by the Missouri convention upon those who
may have participated in the rebellion." This
I thought right then, and think right now; and,
I may add, I do not remember that either party
complained after the election of General Scho-
field's action under it. Wherever the law allows
vSoldiers to vote, their officers must also allow it.
Please write me on this subject.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
I
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 217
Executive Mansion, November 19, 1864.
Major-General Rosecrans.
A Major Wolf, as it seems, was under sentence
in your department to be executed in retalia-
tion for the murder of a Major Wilson, and I,
without any particular knowledge of the facts,
w^as induced by appeals for mercy to order the
suspension of his execution till further order.
Understanding that you so desire, this letter
places the case again within your control, with
the remark only that I wish you to do nothing
merely for revenge, but that what you may do
shall be solely done with reference to the security
of the future. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Caleb Russell and Sallie A. Fenton.
Washington, January 5, 1863.
My Good Friends :
The Honorable Senator Harlan has just placed
in my hands your letter of the 27th of Decem-
ber, which I have read with pleasure and grati-
tude.
It is most cheering and encouraging for me
to know that in the efforts which I have made
and am making for the restoration of a righteous
peace to our country, I am upheld and sustained
by the good wishes and prayers of God's people.
No one is more deeply than myself aware that
without His favor our highest wisdom is but as
foolishness and that our most strenuous efforts
would avail nothing in the shadow of His dis-
pleasure.
I am conscious of no desire for my country's
welfare that is not in consonance with His will,
and of no plan upon which we may not ask His
2i8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
blessing. It seems to me that if there be one sub-
ject upon which all good men may unitedly agree,
it is imploring the gracious favor of the God of
Nations upon the struggles our people are mak-
ing for the preservation of their precious birth-
right of civil and religious liberty.
Very truly your friend, A. Lincoln.
Green Adams.
Executive Mansion, January 7, 1863.
Hon. Green Adams.
My dear Sir : In answer to your inquiries of
this morning, I have to s^y that I am very anx-
ious to have the special force in Kentucky raised
and armed. But the changed conduct toward me
of some of her members of Congress, and the
ominous outgivings as to what the governor and
legislature of Kentucky intend doing, admonish
me to consider whether any additional arms I
may send there are not to be turned against the
Government. I hope this may clear up on the
right side. So far as I can see, Kentucky's sons
in the field are acting loyally and bravely. God
bless them ! I cannot help thinking the mass of
her people feel the same way.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
B. Gratz Brown.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C.,
January 7, 1863. 5.30 p. m.
Hon. B. Gratz Brown, Jefferson City, Missouri.
Yours of to-day just received. The Admin-
istration takes no part between its friends in
f
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 219
Missouri, of whom I, at least, consider you one;
and I have never before had an intimation that
appointees there were interfering, or were in-
cHned to interfere. A. Lincoln.
FiTz-JoHN Porter.^
See letter of November 5, 1862, to George B. Mc-
Clellan.
[Instructiojt to the Jiidge-Advocate-GcncraL]
War Department, January 12, 1863.
The Judge- Advocate-General is instructed to
i revise the proceedings of the court-martial in the
case of Major-General Fitz-John Poster, and to
report fully upon any legal questions that may
have arisen in them, and upon the bearing of
the testimony in reference to the charges and
specifications exhibited against the accused, and
upon which he was tried. Abraham Lincoln.
[Indorsement on the Proceedings and Sentence
of the Fitz-John Porter Court-MartiaL]
Headquarters of the Army,
Washington, January 13, 1863.
In compliance with the Sixty-fifth Article of War,
these whole proceedings are transmitted to the Secre-
tary of War, to be laid before the President of the
United States.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
^ General Fitz-John Porter was charged by his superior
general, John Pope, with disobeying orders at the Second
Battle of Bull Run, August 28 and 29, 1862. For this he
was deprived of command, but restored, and he served in
the Antietam campaign. In November, however, he was
court-martialed. In 1886 he was restored by Congress to
the army with the rank of colonel.
220 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
January 21, 1863.
The foregoing proceedings, findings, and sen-
tence in the foregoing case of Major-General
Fitz-John Porter are approved and confirmed,
and it is ordered that the said Fitz-John Porter
be, and he hereby is, cashiered and dismissed
from the service of the United States as a major-
general of vokmteers, and as colonel and brevet
brigadier-general in the regular service of the
United States, and forever disqualified from
holding any office of trust or profit under the
Government of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln.
Working-men of Manchester, England.
Executive Mansion, January 19, 1863.
To the Working-men of Manchester: I have
the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the ad-
dress and resolutions which you sent me on the
eve of the new year. When I came, on the 4th
of March, 1861, through a free and constitutional
election to preside in the Government of the
United States, the country was found at the
verge of civil war. Whatever might have been
the cause, or whosoever the fault, one duty,
paramount to all others, was before me, namely,
to maintain and preserve at once the Constitution
and the integrity of the Federal Republic. A
conscientious purpose to perform this duty is
the key to all the measures of administration
which have been and to all which will hereafter
be pursued. Under our frame of government
and my official oath, I could not depart from
this purpose if I would. It is not always in the
power of governments to enlarge or restrict the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 221
scope of moral results which follow the policies
that they may deem it necessary for the public
safety from time to time to adopt.
I have understood well that the duty of self-
preservation rests solely with the American peo-
ple ; but I have at the same time been aware that
favor or disfavor of foreign nations might have
a material influence in enlarging or prolonging
the struggle with disloyal men in which the coun-
try is engaged. A fair examination of history
has served to authorize a belief that the past ac-
tions and influences of the United States were
generally regarded as having been beneficial
toward mankind. I have, therefore, reckoned
upon the forbearance of nations. Circumstances
— to some of which you kindly allude — induce
me especially to expect that if justice and good
faith should be practised by the United States,
the}^ would encounter no hostile influence on the
part of Great Britain. It is now a pleasant duty
to acknowledge the demonstration you have given
of your desire that a spirit of amity and peace
toward this country may prevail in the councils
of your Queen, who is respected and esteemed
in your own country only more than she is by
the kindred nation which has its home on this
side of the Atlantic.
I know and deeply deplore the sufferings
which the working-men at Manchester, and in all
Europe, are called to endure in this crisis. It
has been often and studiously represented that
the attempt to overthrow this Government, which
was built upon the foundation of human rights,
and to substitute for it one which should rest
exclusively on the basis of human slavery, was
likely to obtain the favor of Europe. Through
222 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the action of our disloyal citizens, the working-
men of Europe have been subjected to severe
trials, for the purpose of forcing their sanction
to that attempt. Under the circumstances, I can-
not but regard your decisive utterances upon the
question as an instance of sublime Christian hero-
ism which has not been surpassed in any age or
in any country. It is indeed an energetic and
reinspiring assurance of the inherent power of
truth, and of the ultimate and universal triumph
of justice, humanity, and freedom. I do not
doubt that the sentiments you have expressed
'will be sustained by your great nation ; and, on
the other hand, I have no hesitation in assuring
you that they will excite admiration, esteem, and
the most reciprocal feelings of friendship among
the American people. I hail this interchange
of sentiment, therefore, as an augury that what-
ever else may happen, whatever misfortune may
befall your country or my own, the peace and
friendship which now exist between the two na-
tions will be, as it shall be my desire to make
them, perpetual. Abraham Lincoln.
See letter to Working-men of London.
Joseph Hooker.
See letter of January 19, 1861, to J. K. F. Mansfield;
of November 5, 1862, to George B. McClellan; and of
January 25, 1863, to Ambrose E. Burnside.
Executive Mansion, January 26, 1863.
Major-General Hooker.
General : I have placed you at the head of the
Army of the Potomac. Of course I have done
this upon what appear to me to be sufficient
reasons, and yet I think it best for you to know
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 223
that there are some things in regard to which I
am not quite satisfied with you. I beheve you to
be a brave and skilful soldier, which of course
I like. I also believe you do not mix politics with
your profession, in which you are right. You
have confidence in yourself, which is a valuable
if*not an indispensable quality. You are ambi-
tious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good
rather than harm ; but I think that during Gen-
eral Burnside's command of the army you have
taken counsel of your ambition and thwarted him
as much as you could, in which you did a great
wrong to the country and to a most meritorious
and honorable brother officer. I have heard, in
such a way as to believe it, of your recently
saying that both the army and the Government
needed a dictator. Of course it was not for this,
but in spite of it, that I have given you the com-
mand. Only those generals who gain successes
can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is
military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.
The Government will support you to the utmost
of its ability, which is neither more nor less than
it has done and will do for all commanders. I
much fear that the spirit which you have aided
to infuse into the army, of criticising their com-
mander and withholding confidence from him,
will now turn upon you. I shall assist you as far
as I can to put it down. Neither you nor Napo-
leon, if he were alive again, could get any good
out of an army while such a spirit prevails in it;
and now beware of rashness. Beware of rash-
ness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go
forward and give us victories.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
224 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
On receiving this letter Hooker said of the Presi-
dent : " He talks to me like a father ; I shall not answer
this letter until I have won him a great victory."
\_Indorsement on General J. Hooker's Plan of
Campaign against Richmond.^
April II, 1863.
My opinion is that just now, with the enemy
directly ahead of us, there is no eligible route
for us into Richmond ; and consequently a ques-
tion of preference between the Rappahannock
route and the James River route is a contest
about nothing. Hence our prime object is the
enemy's army in front of us, and is not with or
about Richmond at all, unless it be incidental to
the main object.
What then ? The two armies are face to face,
with a narrow river between them. Our com-
munications are shorter and safer than are those
of the enemy. For this reason we can, with equal
powers, fret him more than he can us. I do not
think that by raids toward Washington he can
derange the Army of the Potomac at all. He has
no distant operations which can call any of the
Army of the Potomac away ; we have such oper-
ations which may call him away, at least in part.
While he remains intact I do not think we should
take the disadvantage of attacking him in his
intrenchments ; but we should continually harass
and menace him, so that he shall have no leisure
nor safety in sending away detachments. H he
weakens himself, then pitch into him.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 225
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C,
April 15, 1863. 10.15 p.m.
Major-General Hooker.
It is now 10.15 p. m. An hour ago I received
your letter of this morning, and a few moments
later your despatch of this evening. The latter
gives me considerable uneasiness. The rain and
mud of course were to be calculated upon. Gen-
eral S. is not moving rapidly enough to make the
expedition come to anything. He has now been
out three days, two of which were unusually fair
weather, and all three without hindrance from
the enemy, and yet he is not twenty-five miles
from where he started. To reach his point he
still has sixty to go, another river (the Rapidan)
to cross, and will be hindered by the enemy. By
arithmetic, how many days will it take him to
do it? I do not know that any better can be
done, but I greatly fear it is another failure
already. Write me often. I am very anxious.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
On May 2-4 Hooker was beaten at Chancellors-
ville, Va.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, May 6, 1863. 12.25 V-^-
Major-General Hooker.
We have through General Dix the contents of
Richmond papers of the 5th. General Dix's
despatch in full is going to you by Captain Fox
of the navy. The substance is General Lee's de-
spatch of the 3d (Sunday), claiming that he had
beaten you, and that you were then retreating
across the Rappahannock, distinctly stating that
226 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
two of Longstreet's divisions fought you on
Saturday, and that General [£. F.] Paxton was
killed, Stonewall Jackson severely wounded, and
Generals Heth and A. P. Hill slightly wounded.
The Richmond papers also stated, upon what au-
thority not mentioned, that our cavalry have been
at Ashland, Hanover Court House, and other
points, destroying several locomotives and a good
deal of other property, and all the railroad
bridges to within five miles of Richmond.
A. Lincoln.
\Telegrani.'\
Washington, D. C., May 6, 1863. 12.30 p.m.
General Hooker.
Just as I had telegraphed you contents of Rich-
mond papers showing that our cavalry had not
failed, I received General Butterfield's of 11
a. m. yesterday. This, with the great rain of
yesterday and last night securing your right
flank, I think puts a new face upon your case;
but you must be the judge. A. Lincoln.
Headquarters Army of the Potomac,
May 7, 1863.
Major-General Hooker.
My dear Sir: The recent movement of your
army is ended without effecting its object, except,
perhaps, some important breakings of the ene-
my's communications. What next? H possible,
I would be very glad of another movement early
enough to give us some benefit from the fact of
the enemy's communication being broken ; but
neither for this reason nor any other do I wish
anything done in desperation or rashness. An
early movement would also help to supersede the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 227
bad moral effect of the recent one, which is said
to be considerably injurious. Have you already
in your mind a plan wholly or partially formed ?
If you have, prosecute it without interference
from me. If you have not, please inform me, so
that I, incompetent as I may be, can try and as-
sist in the formation of some plan for the army.
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C, May 8, 1863. 4 p. m.
]\Iajor-General Hooker.
The news is here of the capture by our forces
of Grand Gulf — a large and very important
thing. General Willich, an exchanged prisoner
just from Richmond, has talked with me this
morning. He was there when our cavalry cut
the roads in that vicinity. He says there was
not a sound pair of legs in Richmond, and that
our men, had they known it, could have safely
gone in and burned everything and brought in
Jeff Davis. We captured and paroled 300 or
400 men. He says as he came to City Point
there was an army three miles long (Long-
street's, he thought) moving toward Richmond.
Milroy has captured a despatch of General
Lee, in which he says his loss was fearful in his
last battle with you. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C., May 13, 1863. i p.m.
Major-General Hooker.
If it will not interfere with the service, nor per-
sonally incommode you, please come up and see
me this evening. A. Lincoln.
228 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, May 14, 1863.
Major-General Hooker, Commanding.
My dear Sir : When I wrote on the 7th, I had
an impression that possibly by an early move-
ment you could get some advantage from the
supposed facts that the enemy's communications
were disturbed, and that he was somewhat de-
ranged in position. That idea has now passed
away, the enemy having reestablished his com-
munications, regained his positions, and actually
received reinforcements. It does not now appear
probable to me that you can gain anything by an
early renewal of the attempt to cross the Rappa-
hannock. I therefore shall not complain if you
do no more for a time than to keep the enemy
at bay and out of other mischief by menaces and
occasional cavalry raids, if practicable, and to
put your own army in good condition again.
Still, if in your own clear judgment you can re-
new the attack successfully, I do not mean to
restrain you. Bearing upon this last point, I
must tell you that I have some painful intima-
tions that some of your corps and division com-
manders are not giving you their entire con-
fidence. This would be ruinous, if true, and you
should therefore, first of all, ascertain the real
facts beyond all possibility of doubt.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
{Telegram.l
Washington, June 5, 1863. 4 p. m.
Major-General Hooker.
Yours of to-day was received an hour ago.
So much of professional military skill is requisite
to answer it, that I have turned the task over to
General Halleck. He promises to perform it
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 229
with his utmost care. I have but one idea which
I think worth suggesting to you, and that is, in
case you find Lee coming to the north of the
Rappahannock, I would by no means cross to the
south of it. If he should leave a rear force at
Fredericksburg, tempting you to fall upon it, it
would fight in intrenchments and have you at
disadvantage, and so, man for man, worst you at
that point, while his main force would in some
way be getting an advantage of you northward.
In one word, I would not take any risk of being
entangled upon the river, like an ox jumped half
over a fence and liable to be torn by dogs front
and rear without a fair chance to gore one way
or kick the other. If Lee would come to my side
of the river, I would keep on the same side, and
fight him or act on the defense, according as
might be my estimate of his strength relatively
to my own. But these are mere suggestions
which I desire to be controlled by the judgment
of yourself and General Llalleck.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 10, 1863. 6.40 p. m.
Major-General Hooker.
Your long despatch of to-day is just received.
If left to me, I would not go south of the Rappa-
hannock upon Lee's moving north of it. If you
had Richmond invested to-day, you would not
be able to take it in twenty days ; meanwhile
your communications, and with them your army,
would be ruined. I think Lee's army, and not
Richmond is your true objective point. If he
comes toward the upper Potomac, follow on his
flank and on his inside track, shortening your
230 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
lines while he lengthens his. Fight him, too,
when opportunity offers. If he stays where he
is, fret him and fret him. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram in Cipher.']
Executive Mansion, June 13, 1863.
Major-General Hooker.
I was coming down this afternoon, but if you
would prefer I should not, I shall blame you if
you do not tell me so. A. Lincoln.
{Telegram.']
Washington, June 14, 1863. 5.50 p. m.
Major-General Hooker.
So far as we can make out here, the enemy
have Milroy surrounded at Winchester and Ty-
ler at Martinsburg. If they could hold out a
few days, could you help them? If the head of
Lee's army is at Martinsburg and the tail of it
on the plank road between Fredericksburg and
Chancellorsville, the animal must be very slim
somewhere. Could you not break him?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 14, 1863. 11.55 P- J^-
Major-General Hooker.
Yours of 11.30 [11.75] ji^st received. You
have nearly all the elements for forming an
opinion whether Winchester is surrounded that
I have. I really fear — almost believe — it is. . . .
It is quite certain that a considerable force of
the enemy is thereabout, and I fear it is an over-
whelming one compared with Milroy's. I am
unable to give you any more certain opinions.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 231
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 15, 1863. 8.30 p. m.
Major-General Hooker, Fairfax Station.
The facts are now known here that Winches-
ter and Martinsburg were both besieged yester-
day. The troops from Martinsburg have got
into Harper's Ferry without loss. Those from
Winchester are also in, having lost in killed,
wounded, and missing about one-third of their
number. Of course, the enemy holds both
places, and I think the report is authentic that he
is crossing the Potomac at Williamsport. We
have not heard of his yet appearing at Harper's
Ferry or on the river anywhere below. I would
like to hear from you. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 16, 1863. 10 p. m.
Major-General Hooker.
To remove all misunderstanding, I now place
you in the strict military relation to General
Halleck of a commander of one of the armies to
the general-in-chief of all the armies. I have not
intended differently, but as it seems to be differ-
ently understood I shall direct him to give you
orders, and you to obey them. A. Lincoln.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, June 16, 1863.
My dear General.
I send you this by the hand of Captain Dahl-
gren. Your despatch of 11.30 a. m. to-day is
just received. When you say I have long been
aware that you do not enjoy the confidence of
232 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the major-general commanding, you state the
case much too strongly.
You do not lack his confidence in any degree
to do you any harm. On seeing him, after tele-
graphing you this morning, I found him more
nearly agreeing with you than I was myself.
Surely you do not mean to understand that I
am withholding my confidence from you when I
happen to express an opinion (certainly never
discourteously) differing from one of your own.
I believe Halleck is dissatisfied with you to
this extent only, that he knows that you write
and telegraph ("report," as he calls it) to me.
I think he is wrong to find fault with this ; but
I do not think he withholds any support from
you on account of it. If you and he would use
the same frankness to one another, and to me,
that I use to both of you, there would be no diffi-
culty. I need and must have the professional
skill of both, and yet these suspicions tend to
deprive me of both.
I believe you are aware that since you took
comma'nd of the army I have not believed you
had any chance to effect anything till now. As
it looks to me, Lee's now returning toward Har-
per's Ferry gives you back the chance that I
thought McClellan lost last fall. Quite possibly
I was wrong both then and now; but, in the
great responsibility resting upon me, I cannot be
entirely silent. Now, all I ask is that you will
be in such mood that we can get into our action
the best cordial judgment of yourself and Gen-
eral Halleck, with my poor mite added, if indeed
he and you shall think it entitled to any consid-
eration at all. Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 212,
Thurlow Weed.
Washington, January 29, 1863.
Hon. Thurlow Weed.
Dear Sir: Your valedictory to the patrons of
the Albany Evening Journal brings me a good
deal of uneasiness. What does it mean ?
Truly yours, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, October 14, 1863.
Hon. Thurlow Weed.
My dear Sir: I have been brought to fear re-
cently that somehow, by commission or omis-
sion, I have caused you some degree of pain. I
have never entertained an unkind feeling or a
disparaging thought toward you; and if I have
said or done anything which has been construed
into such unkindness or disparagement, it has
been misconstrued. I am sure if we could meet
we would not part with any unpleasant impres-
sion on either side.
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March 25, 1864.
Hon. Thurlow Weed.
My dear Sir: I have been both pained and
surprised recently at learning that you are
wounded because a suggestion of yours as to the
mode of conducting our national difficulty has
not been followed — pained because I very much
wish you to have no unpleasant feeling proceed-
ing from me, and surprised, because my impres-
sion is that I have seen you since the last mes-
sage issued, apparently feeling very cheerful and
happy. How is this?
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
234 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, March 15, 1865.
Dear Mr. Weed :
Every one likes a compliment. Thank you for
yours on my little notification speech and on the
recent inaugural address. I expect the latter to
wear as well as — perhaps better than — anything
I have produced; but I believe it is not imme-
diately popular. Men are not flattered by being
shown that there has been a difference of pur-
pose between the Almighty and them. To deny
it, however, in this case, is to deny that there is
a God governing the world. It is a truth which
I thought needed to be told, and, as whatever
of humiliation there is in it falls most directly
on myself, I thought others might afford for me
to tell it. Truly yours, A. Lincoln.
Working-men of London, England.
Executive Mansion, February 2, 1863.
To the Working-men of London : I have re-
ceived the New Year's address which you have
sent me, with a sincere appreciation of the ex-
alted and humane sentiments by which it was
inspired.
As these sentiments are manifestly the endur-
ing support of the free institutions of England,
so I am sure also that they constitute the only
reliable basis for free institutions throughout the
world.
The resources, advantages, and powers of the
American people are very great, and they have
consequently succeeded to equally great respon-
sibilities. It seems to have devolved upon them
to test whether a government established on the
principles of human freedom can be maintained
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 235
against an effort to build one upon the exclusive
foundation of human bondage. They will re-
joice with me in the new evidences which your
proceedings furnish that the magnanimity they
are exhibiting is justly estimated by the true
friends of freedom and humanity in foreign
countries.
Accept my best wishes for your individual
welfare, and for the welfare and happiness of
the whole British people.
Abraham Lincoln.
See leUer to Working-men of Manchester, England.
Alexander Reed.
Executive Mansion, February 22, 1863.
Rev. Alexander Reed.
My dear Sir: Your note, by which you, as
general superintendent of the United States
Christian Commission, invite me to preside at
a meeting to be held this day at the hall of the
House of Representatives in this city, is received.
While, for reasons which I deem sufficient, I
must decline to preside, I cannot withhold my
approval of the meeting and its worthy objects.
Whatever shall be sincerely, and in God's name,
devised for the good of the soldier and seaman
in their hard spheres of duty, can scarcely fail
to be blest. And whatever shall tend to turn our
thoughts from the unreasoning and uncharitable
passions, prejudices, and jealousies incident to
a great national trouble such as ours, and to fix
them upon the vast and long-enduring conse-
quences, for weal or for woe, which are to result
from the struggle, and especially to strengthen
our reliance on the Supreme Being for the final
236 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
triumph of the right, cannot but be well for
us all.
The birthday of Washington and the Christian
Sabbath coinciding this year, and suggesting to-
gether the highest interests of this life and of
that to come, is most propitious for the meeting
proposed.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Henry Winter Davis.
Executive Mansion, March i8, 1863.
Hon. Henry Winter Davis.
My dear Sir : There will be in the new House
of Representatives, as there were in the old,
some members openly opposing the war, some
supporting it unconditionally, and some support-
ing it with "buts," and "ifs," and "ands." They
will divide on the organization of the House —
on the election of a Speaker. As you ask my
opinion, I give it, that the supporters of the
war should send no man to Congress who will
not pledge himself to go into caucus with the
unconditional supporters of the war, and to
abide the action of such caucus and vote for the
person therein nominated for Speaker. Let the
friends of the Government first save the Gov-
ernment, and then administer it to their own
liking. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
P. S. This is not for publication, but to pre-
vent misunderstanding of what I verbally said
to you yesterday. A. L.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 237
Horatio Seymour.^
\_Private and Confidential.']
Executive Mansion, March 23, 1863.
His Excellency Governor Seymour.
Dear Sir: You and I are substantially stran-
gers, and I write this chiefly that we may be-
come better acquainted. I, for the time being,
am at the head of a nation that is in great peril,
and you are at the head of the greatest State of
that nation. As to maintaining the nation's life
and integrity, I assume and believe there cannot
be a difference of purpose between you and me.
If we should differ as to the means, it is impor-
tant that such difference should be as small as
possible ; that it should not be enhanced by un-
just suspicions on one side or the other. In the
performance of my duty the cooperation of your
State, as that of others, is needed — in fact, is
indispensable. This alone is a sufficient reason
why I should wish to be at a good understand-
ing with you. Please write me at least as long
a letter as this, of course saying in it just what
you think fit.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
During the absence of the New York militia at
Gettysburg, draft riots broke out in the city. The Gov-
ernor hastened thither and addressed the mob, promis-
ing that their grievances would be redressed. He then
^ Seymour was elected Governor of New York in 1862.
In his inaugural message of January 7, 1863, he declared
that "the mischievous opinion that . , . the North must
subjugate and destroy the South to save our Union has
weakened the hopes of our citizens at home, and destroyed
confidence in our success abroad." Lincoln set about seek-
ing the confidence of this powerful executive.
23S LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
wrote the President asking to have the draft stopped
that New York might till her quota with volunteers.
Executive Mansion, August y, 1863.
His Excellency Horatio Seymour, Governor of
New York.
Your communication of the third instant has
been received and attentively considered.
I cannot consent to suspend the draft in New
York, as you request, because, among other rea-
sons, time is too important. . . .
I do not object to abide a decision of the
United States Supreme Court, or of the judges
thereof, on the constitutionality of the draft law.
In fact, I should be walling to facilitate the ob-
taining of it, but I cannot consent to lose the
time while it is being obtained. We are contend-
ing with an enemy, who, as I understand, drives
every able-bodied man he can reach into his
ranks, very much as a butcher drives bullocks
into a slaughter-pen. No time is wasted, no ar-
gument is used. This produces an army which
Avill soon turn upon our now victorious soldiers,
already in the field, if they shall not be sustained
by recruits as they should be. It produces an
army with a rapidity not to be matched by our
side, if we first waste time to reexperiment with
the volunteer system already deemed by Con-
gress, and palpably, in fact, so far exhausted as
to be inadequate, and then more time to obtain
a court decision as to whether a law is constitu-
tional which requires a part of those not now
in the service to go to the aid of those who are
already in it, and still more time to determine
v^ith absolute certainty that we get those who
are to go in the precisely legal proportion to
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 239
those who are not to go. My purpose is to be
in my action just and constitutional, and yet
practical, in performing the important duty with
which I am charged, of maintaining the unity
and the free principles of our common country.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 16, 1863.
Governor Seymour, New York.
Your despatch of this morning is just received
and I fear I do not perfectly understand it.
My view of the principle is that every soldier
obtained voluntarily leaves one less to be ob-
tained by draft. The only difficulty is in apply-
ing the principle properly. Looking to time, as
heretofore, I am unwilling to give up a drafted
man now, even for the certainty, much less for
the mere chance of getting a volunteer hereafter
Again, after the draft in any district, would it
not make trouble to take any drafted man out
and put a volunteer in, for how shall it be deter-
mined which drafted man is to have the privilege
of thus going out, to the exclusion of all the
others.'^ And even before the draft in any dis-
trict the quota must be fixed; and the draft
might be postponed indefinitely if every time a
volunteer is offered the officers must stop and
reconstruct the quota. At least I fear there
might be this difficulty; but, at all events, let
credits for volunteers be given up to the 'last
moment which will not produce confusion or
de ay. That the principle of giving credits for
volunteers shall be applied by districts seems fair
and proper, though I do not know how far by
present statistics it is practicable. When for any
cause a fair credit is not given at one time, it
240 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
should be given as soon thereafter as practicable.
My purpose is to be just and fair, and yet to not
lose time. A. Lincoln.
See letter of August 26, 1863, to Edwin M. Stanton,
and of February 27, 1864.
On July 5, 1864, upon the invasion of Maryland by
General Jubal A, Early, the President wrote Governor
Seymour calling on him for 12,000 militia for one hun-
dred days' service.
J. E. BOULIGNY.
Executive Mansion, April 14, 1863.
Hon. J. E. Bouligny.
My dear Sir: I did not certainly know the ob-
ject of your call yesterday, but I had a strong
impression in regard to it. When our national
troubles began, you and I were not personally
acquainted, but all I heard of you placed you in
my estimation foremost among Louisianians as a
friend of the Union. I intended to find you a
position, and I did not conceal my inclination to
do so. When, last autumn, you bore a letter
from me to some parties at New Orleans, you
seemed to expect, and consequently I did expect,
you would return here as a member of one or
the other branch of Congress. But you were not
so returned, and this negative evidence, with
other of like character, brings me to think that
the Union people there for some reason prefer
others for the places there. Add to this that the
head of the department here in which finding a
place for you was contemplated, is not satisfied
for the appointment to be made, and it presents,
as you see, an embarrassing case for me. My
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 241
personal feelings for Mr. Boullgny are not less
kind than heretofore.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
On being appealed to by a member of one of the
warring Union factions in Missouri, who asked: "Shall
we be sustained by you?" the President, on April 16,
1863, replied: "I have stoutly tried to keep out of the
quarrel, and so mean to do."
F. L. Capen.
[Indorsement on Letter.]
It seems to me Mr. Capen knows nothing-
about the weather in advance. He told me three
days ago that it would not rain again till the
30th of April or ist of May. It is raining now,
and has been for ten hours. I cannot spare any
more time to Mr. Capen. A. Lincoln.
April 28, 1863.
John M. Schofield.
Executive Mansion, May 2^, 1863.
General John M. Schofield.
My dear Sir: Having relieved General Curtis
and assigned you to the command of the Depart-
ment of the Missouri, I think it may be of
some advantage for me to state to you why I did
it. I did not relieve General Curtis because of
any full conviction that he had done wrong by
commission or omission. I did it because of a
conviction in mv mind that the Union men of
Missouri, constituting, when united, a vast ma-
jority of the whole people, have entered into a
pestilent factional quarrel among themselves —
General Curtis, perhaps not of choice, being the
242 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
head of one faction and Governor Gamble that
of the other. After months of labor to recon-
cile the difficulty, it seemed to grow worse and
worse, until I felt it my duty to break it up
somehow ; and as I could not remove Governor
Gamble, I had to remove General Curtis. Now
that you are in the position I wish you to undo
nothing merely because General Curtis or Gov-
ernor Gamble did it, but to exercise your own
judgment, and do right for the public interest.
Let your military measures be strong enough to
repel the invader and keep the peace, and not so
strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute
the people. It is a difficult role, and so much
greater will be the honor if you perform it well.
If both factions, or neither, shall abuse you, you
v^^ill probably be about right. Beware of being
assailed by one and praised by the other.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, June 22, 1863.
General John M. Schofield.
My dear Sir: Your despatch, asking in sub-
stance whether, in case Missouri shall adopt
gradual emancipation, the General Government
will protect slave-owners in that species of prop-
erty during the short time it shall be permitted
by the State to exist within it, has been received.
Desirous as I am that emancipation shall be
adopted by Missouri, and believing as I do that
gradual can be made better than immediate for
both black and white, except when military ne-
cessity changes the case, my impulse is to say
that such protection would be given. I cannot
know exactly what shape an act of emancipation
may take. If the period from the initiation to
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 243
the final end should be comparatively short, and
the act should prevent persons being sold during
that period into more lasting slavery, the whole
would be easier. I do not wish to pledge the
General Government to the affirmative support
of even temporary slavery beyond what can be
fairly claimed under the Constitution. I sup-
pose, however, this is not desired, but that it is
desired for the military force of the United
States, while in Missouri, to not be used in sub-
verting the temporarily reserved legal rights in
slaves during the progress of emancipation. This
I would desire also. I have very earnestly urged
the slave States to adopt emancipation; and it
ought to be, and is, an object with me not to
overthrow or thwart what any of them may in
good faith do to that end. You are therefore
authorized to act in the spirit of this letter in
conjunction with what may appear to be the mili-
tary necessities of your department. Although
this letter will become public at some time, it is
not intended to be made so now.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter of July 23, 1863, to Hamilton R. Gamble.
{Telegram.l
Washington, D. C,
August 27, 1863. 8.30 a. m.
General Schofield, St. Louis.
I have just received the despatch which fol-
lows from two very influential citizens of Kan-
sas, whose names I omit. The severe blow they
have received naturally enough makes them in-
temperate even without there being any just
cause for blame. Please do your utmost to give
244 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
them future security and to punish their In-
vaders. A. Lincoln.
On September 30, 1863, the President wrote General
Schofield, at Saint Louis, Mo., enclosing a despatch
which stated that Union men were being driven out of
Missouri.
The President asked General Schofield to look into
the matter, "and if true, in whole or part, put a stop
to it."
Executive Mansion, October i, 1863.
General John M. Schofield.
There Is no organized military force In
avowed opposition to the General Government
now In Missouri, and If any such shall reappear,
your duty In regard to It will be too plain to re-
quire any special Instruction. Still, the condi-
tion of things both there and elsewhere Is such
as to render it Indispensable to maintain for a
time the United States military establishment In
that State, as well as to rely upon It for a fair
contribution of support to that establishment
generally. Your Immediate duty In regard to
Missouri now Is to advance the efficiency of that
establishment, and to so use It as far as prac-
ticable to compel the excited people there to
leave one another alone. Under your recent or-
der, which I have approved, you will only arrest
Individuals and suppress assemblies or newspa-
pers when they may be working palpable injury
to the military In your charge, and in no other
case will you Interfere with the expression of
opinion In any form or allow It to be Interfered
with violently by others. In this you have a dis-
cretion to exercise with great caution, calmness,
and forbearance. With the matters of removing
the Inhabitants of certain counties en masse, and
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 245
of removing certain individuals from time to
time who are supposed to be mischievous, I am
not now interfering, but am leaving to your own
discretion. Nor am I interfering with what may
still seem to you to be necessary restrictions
upon trade and intercourse. I think proper,
however, to enjoin upon you the following:
Allow no part of the military under your con-
mand to be engaged in either returning fugi-
tive slaves or in forcing or enticing slaves from
their homes, and, so far as practicable, enforce
the same forbearance upon the people.
Report to me your opinion upon the availa-
bility for good of the enrolled militia of the
State.
Allow no one to enlist colored troops except
upon orders from you or from here, through
you.
Allow no one to assume the functions of con-
fiscating property under the law of Congress, or
otherwise, except upon orders from here.
At elections see that those, and only those, are
allowed to vote who are entitled to do so by the
laws of Missouri, including", as of those laws, the
restriction laid by the Missouri convention upon
those who may have participated in the rebellion.
So far as practicable, you will, by means of
your military force, expel guerrillas, marauders,
and murderers, and all who are known to harbor,
aid, or abet them. But in like manner you will
repress assumptions of unauthorized individuals
to perform the same service because, under pre-
tense of doing this, they become marauders and
murderers themselves.
To now restore peace, let the military obey
orders, and those not of the military leave each
246 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
other alone, thus not breaking the peace them-
selves.
In giving the above directions, it is not in-
tended to restrain you in other expedient and
necessary matters not falling within their range.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
See letter of October 5, 1863, to Charles D. Drake.
[Private and Confidential.']
Executive Mansion, October 28, 1863.
General John M. Schofield.
There have recently reached the War Depart-
ment, and thence been laid before me, from Mis-
souri, three communications, all similar in import
and identical in object. . . . The general state-
ments of the whole are that the Federal and
State authorities are arming the disloyal and
disarming the loyal, and that the latter will all be
killed or driven out of the State unless there
shall be a change. . . . These papers contain al-
together thirty-one manuscript pages, and one
newspaper in extcnso, and yet I do not find it
anywhere charged in them that any loyal man
has been harmed by reason of being disarmed,
or that any disloyal one has harmed anybody by
reason of being armed by the Federal or State
Government. Of course, I have not had time
to carefully examine all ; but I have had most
of them examined and briefed by others, and the
result is as stated. The remarkable fact that the
actual evil is yet only anticipated — inferred —
induces me to suppose I understand the case ;
but I do not state my impression, because I
might be mistaken, and because your duty and
mine is plain in any event. The locality of
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 247
nearly all this seems to be St. Joseph and Bu-
chanan County. I wish you to give special at-
tention to this region, particularly on election
day. Prevent violence from whatever quarter,
and see that the soldiers themselves do no
wrong. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter of September 26, 1864, to W. S. Rosecrans.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, November 10, 1863.
General Schofield, Saint Louis, Mo.
I see a despatch here from Saint Louis, which
is a little difficult for me to understand. It says
^'General Schofield has refused leave of absence
to members in military service to attend the leg-
islature. All such are radical and administra-
tion men. The election of two Senators from
this place on Thursday will probably turn upon
this thing." What does this mean? Of course
members of the legislature must be allowed to
attend its sessions. But how is there a session
before the recent election returns are in? And
how is it to be at "this place" — and that is Saint
Louis? Please inform me. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, November 11, 1863.
General Schofield, Saint Louis, Mo.
I believe the Secretary of War has telegraphed
3^ou about members of the legislature. At all
events, allow those in the service to attend the
session, and we can afterward decide whether
they can stay through the entire session.
A. Lincoln.
248 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
William Cullen Bryant.
Washington, May 14, 1863.
Mr. W. C. Bryant.
My dear Sir: Yours, requesting that General
Sigel may be again assigned to command, is re-
ceived. Allow me to briefly explain. I kept
General Sigel in command for several mOnths»
he requesting to resign or to be relieved. At
length, at his urgent and repeated solicitation,
he was relieved. Now it is inconvenient to as-
sign him a command without relieving or de-
priving some other officer who is not asking and
perhaps would object to being so disposed of.
This is one of a class of cases, and you per-
ceive how embarrassing they are.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
On June 27, 1864, the President answered a com-
plaint of Mr. Bryant that a certain Mr, Henderson had
been removed from office and arrested. Said the Pres-
ident :
I shall be very glad indeed if he shall, as you
anticipate, establish his innocence ; or, to state it
more strongly and properly, "if the Government
shall fail to establish his guilt." I believe, how-
ever, the man who made the affidavit was of as
spotless reputation as Mr. Henderson, until he
was arrested on what his friends insist was out-
rageously insufficient evidence. I know the en-
tire city government of Washington, with many
other respectable citizens, appealed to me in his
behalf as a greatly injured gentleman.
While the subject is tip, may I ask whether
the Evening Post has not assailed me for sup-
posed too lenient dealing with persons charged
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 249
with fraud and crime? And that in cases of
which the Post could know but httle of the facts ?
I shall certainly deal as leniently with Mr. Hen-
derson as I have felt it my duty to deal with
others, notwithstanding any newspaper assaults.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
H. T. Blow and Others.
[Telegram.^
Executive Mansion, May 15, 1863.
Hon. H. T. Blow, C. D. Drake, and Others, St.
Louis, Missouri.
Your despatch of to-day is just received. It
is very painful to me that you in Missouri can-
not or will not settle your factional quarrel among
yourselves. I have been tormented with it be-
yond endurance for months by both sides.
Neither side pays the least respect to my appeals
to your reason. I am now compelled to take
hold of the case. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, July 13, 1863.
Hon. H. T. Blow, St. Louis, Mo.
I saw your despatch to the Secretary of War.
The publication of a letter without the leave
of the writer or the receiver I think cannot be
justified, but in this case I do not think it of
sufficient consequence to justify an arrest; and
again, the arrest being, through a parole, merely
nominal, does not deserve the importance sought
to be attached to it. Cannot this small matter
be dropped on both sides without further diffi-
culty? A. Lincoln.
2SO LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
F. J. Herron.
[Telegrani.l
War Department, May 17, 1863.
Major-General F. J. Herron, Rolla, Missouri.
Your despatch threatening to resign rather
than to serve under General Schofield has been
received and shown to the President. He directs
me to say that he is unaware of any vahd ob-
jection to General Schofield, he having recently
commanded the Department of the Missouri, giv-
ing almost universal satisfaction so far as the
President ever heard. He directs me to add that
he has appreciated the services of General Her-
ron and rewarded them by rapid promotions ; but
that, even in him, insubordination will be met as
insubordination, and that your resignation will
be acted upon as circumstances may require
whenever it is tendered.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
Charles Sumner.^
Executive Mansion, June i, 1863.
Hon. Charles Sumner.
My dear Sir : In relation to the matter spoken
of Saturday morning and this morning — to wit,
the raising of colored troops in the North, with
the understanding that they shall be commanded
by General Fremont — I have to say:
That while it is very objectionable, as a gen-
eral rule, to have troops raised on any special
^ Senator Sumner represented the extreme abolitionist
sentiment in the Union, and throughout the war was the
consistent advocate of emancipation and other interests of
the negro.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 251
terms, such as to serve only under a particular
commander or only at a particular place or
places, yet I would forego the objection in this
case upon a fair prospect that a large force of
this sort could thereby be the more rapidly raised.
That being raised, say to the number of ten
thousand, I would very cheerfully send them to
the field under General Fremont, assigning him
a department, made or to be made, with such
white force also as I might be able to put in.
That with the best wishes toward General Fre-
mont, I cannot now give him a department, be-
cause I have not spare troops to furnish a new
department, and I have not, as I think, justifiable
ground to relieve the present commander of any
old one. In the raising of the colored troops,
the same consent of governors would have to be
obtained as in case of white troops, and the Gov-
ernment would make the same provision for them
during organization as for white troops.
It would not be a point with me whether Gen-
eral Fremont should take charge of the organi-
zation, or take charge of the force only after
the organization.
If you think fit to communicate this to Gen-
eral Fremont, you are at liberty to do so.^
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Democratic Meeting at Albany.
Clement L. Vallandigham, ex-member of Congress
from Ohio, had been sent South for speaking against
the prosecution of the war. Democratic meetings were
held throughout the North to protest against this action.
^ General Fremont declined the command. Had he ac-
cepted it before the close of the war he would have com-
manded 200,000 troops, an army second only to Grant's.
252 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
One was held at Albany, N. Y., on May i6, whIcH
passed denunciatory resolutions, and sent them to the
President. To these he replied as follows :
Executive Mansion, June 12, 1863.
Hon. Erastus Corning and Others.
Gentlemen: Your letter of May 19, inclosing
the resolutions of a public meeting held at Al-
bany, New York, on the i6th of the same month,
was received several days ago.
The resolutions, as I understand them, are
resolvable into two propositions — first, the ex-
pression of a purpose to sustain the cause of
the Union, to secure peace through victory, and
to support the Administration in every consti-
tutional and lawful measure to suppress the re-
bellion; and, secondly, a declaration of censure
upon the Administration for supposed unconsti-
tutional action, such as the making of military
arrests. And from the two propositions a third
is deduced, which is that the gentlemen com-
posing the meeting are resolved on doing their
part to maintain our common government and
country, despite the folly or wickedness, as they
may conceive, of any administration. This po-
sition is eminently patriotic, and as such I thank
the meeting, and congratulate the nation for it.
My own purpose is the same ; so that the meet-
ing and myself have a common object, and can
have no difference, except in the choice of means
or measures for effecting that object.
And here I ought to close this paper, and
would close it if there were no apprehension
that more injurious consequences than any
merely personal to myself might follow the cen-
sures systematically cast upon me for doing
what, in my view of duty, I could not forbear.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 253
The resolutions promise to support me in every
constitutional and lawful measure to suppress
the rebellion* and I have not knowingly em-
ployed, nor shall knowingly employ, any other.
But the meeting, by their resolutions, assert and
argue that certain military arrests, and proceed-
ings following them, for which I am ultimately
responsible, are unconstitutional. I think they
are not. The resolutions quote from the Con-
stitution the definition of treason, and also the
limiting safeguards and guarantees therein pro-
vided for the citizen on trials for treason, and
on his being held to answer for capital or other-
wise infamous crimes, and in criminal prosecu-
tions his right to a speedy and public trial by an
impartial jury. They proceed to resolve ''that
these safeguards of the rights of the citizen
against the pretensions of arbitrary power were
intended more especially for his protection in
times of civil commotion." And, apparently to
demonstrate the proposition, the resolutions pro-
ceed: ''They were secured substantially to the
English people after years of protracted civil
war, and were adopted into our Constitution
at the close of the Revolution." Would not the
demonstration have been better if it could have
been truly said that these safeguards had been
adopted and applied during the civil wars and
during our Revolution, instead of after the one
and at the close of the other? I, too, am de-
votedly for them after civil war, and before
civil war, and at all times, "except when, in
cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
may require" their suspension. The resolutions
proceed to tell us that these safeguards "have
stood the test of seventy-six years of trial imder
2 54 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
our republican system, under circumstances which
show that while they constitute the foundation
of all free government, they are the elements
of the enduring stability of the republic." No
one denies that they have so stood the test up
to the beginning of the present rebellion, if we
except a certain occurrence at New Orleans
hereafter to be mentioned; nor does any one
question that they will stand the same test much
longer after the rebellion closes. But these pro-
visions of the Constitution have no application
to the case we have in hand, because the arrests
complained of were not made for treason — that
is, not for the treason defined in the Constitution,
and upon the conviction of which the punish-
ment is death — nor yet were they made to hold
persons to answer for any capital or otherwise
infamous crimes ; nor were the proceedings fol-
lowing, in any constitutional or legal sense,
^'criminal prosecutions." The arrests wxre made
on totally different grounds, and the proceedings
following accorded with the grounds of the
arrests. Let us consider the real case with which
we are dealing, and apply to it the parts of the
Constitution plainly made for such cases.
Prior to my installation here it had been in-
culcated that any State had a lawful right to
secede from the national Union, and that it
would be expedient to exercise the right when-
ever the devotees of the doctrine should fail to
elect a president to their own liking. I was
elected contrary to their liking ; and, accordingly,
so far as it was legally possible, they had taken
seven States out of the Union, had seized many
of the United States forts, and had fired upon
the United States flag, all before I was inau-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 2S5
giirated, and, of course, before I had done any
official act whatever. The rebelUon thus begun
soon ran into the present civil war; and, in cer-
tain respects, it began on very unequal terms
between the parties. The insurgents had been
preparing for it more than thirty years, while
the Government had taken no steps to resist
them. The former had carefully considered all
the means which could be turned to their ac-
count. It undoubtedly was a well-pondered re-
liance with them that in their own unrestricted
effort to destroy Union, Constitution, and law
all together, the Government would, in great
degree, be restrained by the same Constitution
and law from arresting their progress. Their
sympathizers pervaded all departments of the
Government and nearly all communities of the
people. From this material under cover of
^'liberty of speech," ''liberty of the press," and
^'habeas corpus/' they hoped to keep on foot
amongst us a most efficient corps of spies, in-
formers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of
their cause in a thousand ways. They knew
that in times such as they were inaugurating,
by the Constitution itself the "habeas corpus"
might be suspended ; but they also knew they
had friends wdio would make a question as to
who was to suspend it; meanwhile their spies
and others might remain at large to help on
their cause. Or if, as has happened, the Exec-
utive should suspend the writ without ruinous
w^aste of time, instances of arresting innocent
persons might occur, as are always likely to occur
in such cases ; and then a clamor could be raised
in regard to this, which might be at least of
some service to the insurgent cause. It needed
256 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
1
no very keen perception to discover this part"
of the enemy's programme, so soon as by opent
hostihties their machinery was fairly put int
motion. Yet, thoroughly imbued with a rever-'
ence for the guaranteed rights of individuals,;
I was slow to adopt the strong measures which
by degrees I have been forced to regard as being;
within the exceptions of the Constitution, and as<
indispensable to the public safety. Nothing is
better known to history than that the courts of
justice are utterly incompetent in such cases.
Civil courts are organized chiefly for trials of
individuals, or, at most, a few individuals acting
in concert — and this in quiet times, and on
charges of crimes well defined in the law. Even
in times of peace bands of horse-thieves and
robbers frequently grow too numerous and pow-
erful for the ordinary courts of justice. But
what comparison, in numbers, have such bands
ever borne to the insurgent sympathizers even
in many of the loyal States? Again, a jury too
frequently has at least one member more ready
to hang the panel than to hang the traitor. And
yet again, he who dissuades one man from vol-
unteering, or induces one soldier to desert, weak-
ens the Union cause as much as he who kills a
Union soldier in battle. Yet this dissuasion or
inducement may be so conducted as to be no
defined crime of which any civil court would take
cognizance.
Ours is a case of rebellion — so called by the
resolutions before me — in fact, a clear, flagrant,
and gigantic case of rebellion ; and the provision
of the Constitution that "the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 257
the public safety may require it," is the pro-
vision which specially applies to our present case.
This provision plainly attests the understanding
of those who made the Constitution that ordinary
courts of justice are inadequate to "cases of
rebellion" — attests their purpose that, in such
cases, men may be held in custody whom the
courts, acting on ordinary rules, would discharge.
Habeas corpus does not discharge men who are
proved to be guilty of defined crime ; and its sus-
pension is allowed by the Constitution on pur-
pose that men may be arrested and held who
cannot be proved to be guilty of defined crime,
''when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the pub-
lic safety may require it."
This is precisely our present case — a case of
rebellion wherein the public safety does require
the suspension. Indeed, arrests by process of
courts and arrests in cases of rebellion do not
proceed altogether upon the same basis. The
former is directed at the small percentage of
ordinary and continuous perpetration of crime,
while the latter is directed at sudden and ex-
tensive uprisings against the Government, which,
at most, will succeed or fail in no great length
of time. In the latter case arrests are made
not so much for what has been done, as for
what probably would be done. The latter is
more for the preventive and less for the vindic-
tive than the former. In such cases the purposes
of men are much more easily rmderstood than
in cases of ordinary crime. The man who stands
by and says nothing when the peril of his gov-
ernment is discussed, cannot be misunderstood.
If not hindered, he is sure to help the enemy ;
much more if he talks ambiguously — talks for
258 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
his country with "buts," and "ifs" and "ands.'*
Of how Httle vakie the constitutional provision
I have quoted will be rendered if arrests shall
never be made until defined crimes shall have
been committed, may be illustrated by a few
notable examples : General John C. Breckin-
ridge, General Robert E. Lee, General Joseph
E. Johnston, General John B. Magruder, Gen-
eral William B. Preston, General Simon B.
Buckner, and Commodore Franklin Buchanan,
now occupying the very highest places in the
rebel war service, were all within the power of
the Government since the rebellion began, and
were nearly as well known to be traitors then
as now. Unquestionably if we had seized and
held them, the insurgent cause would be much
weaker. But no one of them had then com-
mitted any crime defined in the law. Every one
of them, if arrested, would have been discharged
on habeas corpus were the writ allowed to op-
erate. In view of these and similar cases, I
think the time not unlikely to come when I shall
be blamed for having made too few arrests
rather than too many.
By the third resolution the meeting indicate
their opinion that military arrests may be con-
stitutional in localities where rebellion actually
exists, but that such arrests are tmconstitutional
in localities where rebellion or insurrection does
not actually exist. They insist that such arrests
shall not be made ''outside of the lines of neces-
sary military occupation and the scenes of in-
surrection." Inasmuch, however, as the Consti-
tution itself makes no such distinction, I am
unable to believe that there is any such consti-
tutional distinction. I concede that the class of
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 259
arrests complained of can be constitutional only
when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the pub-
lic safety may require them; and I insist that
in such cases they are constitutional wherever
the public safety does require them, as well in
places to which they may prevent the rebellion
extending, as in those where it may be already
prevailing; as well where they may restrain
mischievous interference with the raising and
supplying of armies to suppress the rebellion, as
where the rebellion may actually be ; as well
where they may restrain the enticing men out
of the army, as where they would prevent mu-
tiny in the army; equally constitutional at all
places where they will conduce to the public
safety as against the dangers of rebellion or in-
vasion. Take the particular case mentioned by
the meeting. It is asserted in substance, that Mr.
Vallandigham was, by a military commander,
seized and tried "for no other reason than words
addressed to a public meeting in criticism of the
course of the Administration, and in condemna-
tion of the military orders of the general." Now,
if there be no mistake about this, if this asser-
tion is the truth, and the whole truth, if there
was no other reason for the arrest, then I con-
cede that the arrest was wrong. But the arrest
as I undersand, was made for a very different
reason. Mr. Vallandigham avows his hostility
to the war on the part of the Union ; and his
arrest was made because he was laboring, with
some effect, to prevent the raising of troops, to
encourage desertions from the army, and to
leave the rebellion without an adequate military
force to suppress it. He was not arrested be-
cause he was damaging the political prospects
26o LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
of the Administration or the personal interests
of the commanding general, but because he was
damaging the army, upon the existence and
vigor of which the life of the nation depends.
He was warring iipon the military, and this gave
the military constitutional jurisdiction to lay
hands upon him. If Mr. Vallandigham was not
damaging the military power of the country,
then his arrest was made on mistake of fact,
which I would be glad to correct on reasonably
satisfactory evidence.
I understand the meeting whose resolutions I
am considering to be in favor of suppressing the
rebellion by military force — ^by armies. Long
experience has shown that armies cannot be
maintained unless desertion shall be punished by
the severe penalty of death. The case requires,
and the law and the Constitution sanction, this
punishment. Must I shoot a simple-minded sol-
dier boy who deserts, while I must not touch
a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to
desert? This is none the less injurious when
effected by getting a father, or brother, or friend
into a public meeting, and there working upon
his feelings till he is persuaded to write the sol-
dier boy that he is fighting in a bad cause, for
a wicked administration of a contemptible gov-
ernment, too weak to arrest and punish him if
he shall desert. I think that, in such a case, to
silence the agitator and save the boy is not only
constitutional, but withal a great mercy.
If I be wrong on this question of constitu-
tional power, my error lies in believing that cer-
tain proceedings are constitutional when, in
cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
requires them, which would not be constitutional
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 261
when, in absence of rebellion or invasion, the
public safety does not require them: in other
words, that the Constitution is not in its appli-
cation in all respects the same in cases of rebel-
lion or invasion involving the public safety, as
it is in times of profound peace and public se-
curity. The Constitution itself makes the dis-
tinction, and I can no more be persuaded that the
Government can constitutionally take no strong
measures in time of rebellion, because it can be
shown that the same could not be lawfully taken
in time of peace, than I can be persuaded that
a particular drug is not good medicine for a sick
man because it can be shown to not be good food
for a well one. Nor am I able to appreciate the
danger apprehended by the meeting, that the
American people will by means of military ar-
rests during the rebellion lose the right of pub-
lic discussion, the liberty of speech and the press,
the law of evidence, trial by jury, and habeas
corpus throughout the indefinite peaceful future
which I trust lies before them, any more than
I am able to believe that a man could contract
so strong an appetite for emetics during tem-
porary illness as to persist in feeding upon them
during the remainder of his healthful life.
In giving the resolutions that earnest consid-
eration which you request of me, I cannot over-
look the fact that the meeting speak as ''Demo-
crats." Nor can I, with full respect for their
known intelligence, and the fairly presumed de-
liberation with which they prepared their resolu-
tions, be permitted to suppose that this occurred
by accident, or in any way other than that they
preferred to designate themselves "Democrats"
rather than ''American citizens." In this time
262 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
of national peril I would have preferred to meet
you upon a level one step higher than any party
platform, because I am sure that from such more
elevated position we could do better battle for
the country we all love than we possibly can
from those lower ones where, from the force of
habit, the prejudices of the past, and selfish
hopes of the future, we are sure to expend much
of our ingenuity and strength in finding fault
with and aiming blows at each other. But since
you have denied me this, I will yet be thankful
for the country's sake that not all Democrats
have done so. He on whose discretionary judg-
ment Mr. Vallandigham was arrested and tried
is a Democrat having no old party affinity with
me, and the judge who rejected the constitu-
tional view expressed in these resolutions, by re-
fusing to discharge Mr. Vallandigham on habeas
corpus, is a Democrat of better days than these,
having received his judicial mantle at the hands
of President Jackson. And still more, of all
those Democrats who are nobly exposing their
lives and shedding their blood on the battle-field,
I have learned that many approve the course
taken with Mr. Vallandigham, while I have not
heard of a single one condemning it. I cannot
assert that there are none such. And the name
of President Jackson recalls an instance of per-
tinent history. After the battle of New Orleans,
and while the fact that the treaty of peace had
been concluded was well known in the city, but
before official knowledge of it had arrived. Gen-
eral Jackson still maintained martial or military
law. Now that it could be said the war was
over, the clamor against martial law, which had
existed from the first, grew more furious.
\
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 263
Among other things, a Mr. Louaillier pubHshed
a denunciatory newspaper article. General Jack-
son arrested him. A lawyer by the name of
Morel procured the United States Judge Hall to
order a writ of habeas corpus to release Mr.
Louaillier. General Jackson arrested both the
lawyer and the judge. A Mr. Hollander ven-
tured to say of some part of the matter that "it
was a dirty trick." General Jackson arrested
him. When the officer undertook to serve the
wTit of habeas corpus, General Jackson took it
from him, and sent him away with a copy.
Holding the judge in custody a few days, the
general sent him beyond the limits of his en-
campment, and set him at liberty with an order
to remain till the ratification of peace should be
regularly announced, or until the British should
have left the southern coast. A day or two more
elapsed, the ratification of the treaty of peace
was regularly announced, and the judge and
others were fully liberated. A few days more
and the judge called General Jackson into court
and fined him $1,000 for having arrested him
and the others named. The general paid the
fine, and then the matter rested for nearly thirty
years, when Congress refunded principal and in-
terest. The late Senator Douglas, then in the
House of Representatives, took a leading part
in the debates in which the constitutional ques-
tion was much discussed. I am not prepared to
say whom the journals would show to have
voted for the measure.
It may be remarked — first, that we had the
same Constitution then as now ; secondly, that
we then had a case of invasion, and now we
have a case of rebellion; and, thirdly, that the
264 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
permanent right of the people to ptibHc discus-
sion, the Hberty of speech and of the press, the
trial by jury, the law of evidence, and the habeas
corpus, suffered no detriment whatever by that
conduct of General Jackson, or its subsequent
approval by the American Congress.
And yet, let me say that in my own discretion,
I do not know whether I would have ordered
the arrest of Mr. Vallandigham. While I can-
not shift the responsibility from myself, I hold
that, as a general rule, the commander in the
field is the better judge of the necessity in any
particular case. Of course I must practise a
general directory and revisory power in the
matter.
One of the resolutions expresses the opinion
of the meeting that arbitrary arrests will have
the effect to divide and distract those who should
be united in suppressing the rebellion, and I am
specifically called on to discharge Mr. Vallandi-
gham. I regard this as, at least, a fair appeal
to me on the expediency of exercising a con-
stitutional power which I think exists. In re-
sponse to such appeal I have to say, it gave me
pain when I learned that Mr. Vallandigham
had been arrested (that is, I was pained that
there should have seemed to be a necessity for
arresting him), and that it will afford me great
pleasure to discharge him so soon as I can by
any means believe the public safety will not
suffer by it.
I further say that, as the war progresses, it
appears to me, opinion and action, which were
in great confusion at first, take shape and fall
into more regular channels, so that the necessity
for strong dealing with them gradually de-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 265
creases. I have every reason to desire that it
should cease altogether, and far from the least
is my regard for the opinions and wishes of
those who, like the meeting at Albany, declare
their purpose to sustain the Government in every
constitutional and lawful measure to suppress
the rebellion. Still, I must continue to do so
much as may seem to be required by the public
safety. A. Lincoln.
Israel D. Andrews.
{Memorandum. ]
Executive Mansion, June 17, 1863.
Mr. Israel D. Andrews appeals to me, saying
he is sufifering injury by something I have said
of him. I really know very little of Mr. An-
drews. As well as I can remember, I was called
on by one or two persons asking me to give him
or aid him in getting some public employment ;
and as a reason for declining I stated that I
had a very unfavorable opinion of him, chiefly
because I had been informed that, in connection
with some former service of his to the Govern-
ment, he had presented an enormous and un-
justifiable claim, which I understood he was still
pressing the Government to pay. I certainly did
not pretend to know anything of the matter per-
sonally ; and I say now, I do not personally know
anything which should detract from Mr, An-
drews's character. A. Lincoln.
266 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
David Tod.^
[Cipher TelegramJ]
Executive Mansion, June i8, 1863.
Governor D. Tod, Columbus, Ohio.
Yours received. I deeply regret that you
were not renominated, not that I have aught
against Mr. Brough. On the contrary hke your-
self, I say hurrah for him. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, June 30, 1864.
Hon. David Tod, Youngstown, Ohio.
I have nominated you to be Secretary of the
Treasury, in place of Governor Chase, who has
resigned. Please come without a moment's de-
lay. A. Lincoln.
E. E. Malhiot and Others.
On June 19, 1863, the President replied to a letter of
E. E. Malhiot, Bradish Johnson, and Thomas Cottman,
a committee appointed by Louisiana planters to secure
Federal recognition of a loyal State government, as
follows :
Since receiving the letter, reliable information
has reached me that a respectable portion of the
Louisiana people desire to amend their State
constitution, and contemplate holding a State
^ David Tod was Governor of Ohio from 1862 to 1864.
In the fall of 1863 the Peace Democrats nominated for
Governor Clement L. Vallandigham as a protest against
the Government's procedure in arresting him, and the Re-
publicans thought it wise to oppose him with a War Demo-
crat, so John Brough was chosen to make the run. Gover-
nor Tod declined the President's offer of Secretaryship of
the Treasury.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 267
convention for that object. This fact alone, as
it seems to me, is a sufficient reason why the
General Government should not give the com-
mittal you seek to the existing State constitu-
tion. I may add that while I do not perceive
how such committal could facilitate our military
operations in Louisiana, I really apprehend it
might be so used as to embarrass them.
As to an election to be held next November,
there is abundant time without any order or
proclamation from me just now. The people of
Louisiana shall not lack an opportunit}^ for a
fair election for both Federal and State officers
by want of anything within my power to give
them. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Ohio Democratic State Convention.
Washington, D. C., June 29, i;
Messrs. M. Birchard [and Others].
Gentlemen : The resolutions of the Ohio Dem-
ocratic State convention, which you present me,
together with your introductory and closing re-
marks, being in position and argument mainly
the same as the resolutions of the Democratic
meeting at Albany, New York, I refer you to
my response to the latter as meeting most of
the points in the former.
This response you evidently used in prepar-
ing your remarks, and I desire no more than
that it be used with accuracy. In a single read-
ing of your remarks, I only discovered one in-
accuracy in matter which I suppose you took
from that paper. It is where you say: ''The
undersigned are unable to agree with you in the
opinion you have expressed that the Constitution
268 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
is different in time of insurrection or invasion
from what it is in time of peace and public se-
curity."
A recurrence to the paper will show you that
I have not expressed the opinion you suppose.
I expressed the opinion that the Constitution is
different in its application in cases of rebellion
or invasion, involving the public safety, from
what it is in times of profound peace and public
security ; and this opinion I adhere to, simply be-
cause, by the Constitution itself, things may be
done in the one case which may not be done
in the .other.
I dislike to waste a word on a merely per-
sonal point, but I must respectfully assure you
that you will find yourselves at fault should you
ever seek for evidence to prove your assumption
that I "opposed, in discussions before the people,
the policy of the Mexican War."
You say : "Expunge from' the Constitution this
limitation upon the power of Congress to suspend
the writ of habeas corpus and yet the other
guarantees of personal liberty would remain
unchanged." Doubtless, if this clause of the
Constitution, improperly called, as I think, a
limitation upon the power of Congress, were ex-
punged, the other guarantees would remain the
same ; but the question is not how those guar-
antees would stand with that clause out of the
Constitution, but how they stand with that clause
remaining in it, in case of rebellion or invasion
involving the public safety. If the liberty could
be indulged of expunging that clause, letter and
spirit, I really think the constitutional argument
would be with you.
My general view on this cjuestion was stated
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 269
in the Albany response, and hence I do not state
it now. I only add that, as seems to me, the
benefit of the writ of habeas corpus is the great
means through which the guarantees of personal
liberty are conserved and made available in the
last resort ; and corroborative of this view is the
fact that Mr. Vallandigham, in the very case
in question, under the advice of able lawyers,
saw not where else to go but to the habeas corpus.
But by the Constitution the benefit of the writ
of habeas corpus itself may be suspended when,
in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
may require it.
You ask, in substance, whether I really claim
that I may override all the guaranteed rights
of individuals, on the plea of conserving the
public safety — when I may choose to say the
public safety requires it. This question, divested
of the phraseology calculated to represent me as
struggling for an arbitrary personal prerogative,
is either simply a question who shall decide, or
an affirmation that nobody shall decide, what
the public safety does require in cases of rebel-
lion or invasion.
The Constitution contemplates the question as
likely to occur for decision, but it does not ex-
pressly declare who is to decide it. By neces-
sary implication, when rebellion or invasion
comes, the decision is to be made from time to
time ; and I think the man whom, for the time,
the people have, under the Constitution, made
the commander-in-chief of their army and navy,
is the man who holds the power and bears the
responsibility of making it. If he uses the power
justly, the same people will probably justify him ;
if he abuses it, he is in their hands to be dealt
270 LUllUK^i Ai\V IhLLLrKAMS
with by all the modes they have reserved to
themselves in the Constitution.
The earnestness with which you insist that
persons can only, in times of rebellion, be law-
fully dealt with in accordance with the rules for
criminal trials and punishments in times of peace,
induces me to add a word to what I said on that
point in the Albany response.
You claim that men may, if they choose, em-
barrass those whose duty it is to combat a giant
rebellion, and then be dealt with in turn, only as
if there were no rebellion. The Constitution it-
self rejects this view. The military arrests and
detentions which have been made, including those
of Mr. Vallandigham, which are not different
in principle from the others, have been for pre-
vention, and not for punishment — as injunctions
to stay injury, as proceedings to keep the peace;
and hence, like proceedings in such cases and
for like reasons, they have not been accompanied
with indictments, or trials by juries, nor in a
single case by any punishment whatever, beyond
what is purely incidental to the prevention. The
original sentence of imprisonment in Mr. Val-
landigham's case was to prevent injury to the
military service only, and the modification of
it was made as a less disagreeable mode to him
of securing the same prevention.
I am unable to perceive an insult to Ohio in
the case of Mr. Vallandigham. Quite surely
nothing of the sort was or is intended. I was
wholly unaware that Mr. Vallandigham was, at
the time of his arrest, a candidate for the Demo-
cratic nomination for governor until so informed
by your reading to me the resolutions of the
convention. I am grateful to the State of Ohio
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 271
for many things, especially for the brave sol-
diers and officers she has given in the present
national trial to the armies of the Union.
You claim, as I understand, that according
to my own position in the Albany response, Mr.
Vallandigham should be released ; and this be-
cause, as you claim, he has not damaged the
military service by discouraging enlistments, en-
couraging desertions, or otherwise ; and that if
he had, he should have been turned over to the
civil authorities under the recent acts of Con-
gress. I certainly do not know that Mr. Val-
landigham has specifically and by direct language
advised against enlistments and in favor of deser-
tion and resistance to drafting.
We all know that combinations, armed in some
instances, to resist the arrest of deserters began
several months ago ; that more recently the like
has appeared in resistance to the enrolment pre-
paratory to a draft; and that quite a number of
assassinations have occurred from the same ani-
mus. These had to be met by military force, and
this again has led to bloodshed and death. And
now, under a sense of responsibility more weighty
and enduring than any which is merely official,
I solemnly declare my belief that this hindrance
of the military, including maiming and murder,
is due to the course in which Mr. Vallandi-
gham has been engaged in a greater degree than
to any other cause ; and it is due to him per-
sonally in a greater degree than to any other one
man.
These things have been notorious, known to
all, and of course known to Mr. Vallandigham.
Perhaps I would not be wrong to say they or-
iginated with his special friends and adherents.
With perfect knowledge of them, he has fre-
quently if not constantly made speeches in Con-
gress and before popular assemblies ; and if it
can be shown that, with these things staring
him in the face, he has ever uttered a word of
rebuke or counsel against them, it will be a fact
greatly in his favor with me, and one of which
as yet I am totally ignorant. When it is known
that the whole burden of his speeches has been
to stir up men against the prosecution of the
war, and that in the midst of resistance to it he
has not been known in any instance to counsel
against such resistance, it is next to impossible
to repel the inference that he has counseled di-
rectly in favor of it.
With all this before their eyes, the conven-
tion you represent have nominated Mr. Vallan-
digham for governor of Ohio, and both they
and you have declared the purpose to sustain
the National Union by all constitutional means.
But of course they and you in common reserve
to yourselves to decide what are constitutional
means ; and, unlike the Albany meeting, you omit
to state or intimate that in your opinion an army
is a constitutional means of saving the Union
against a rebellion, or even to intimate that you
are conscious of an existing rebellion being in
progress with the avowed object of destroying
that very Union. At the same time your nomi-
nee for governor, in whose behalf you appeal, is
known to you and to the world to declare against
the use of an army to suppress the rebellion.
Your own attitude, therefore, encourages deser-
tion, resistance to the draft, and the like, be-
cause it teaches those who incline to desert and
to escape the draft to believe it is your purpose
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 273
to protect them, and to hope that you will become
strong enough to do so.
After a short personal intercourse with you,
gentlemen of the committee, I cannot say I think
you desire this effect to follow your attitude ;
but I assure you that both friends and enemies
of the Union look upon it in this light. It is a
substantial hope, and by consequence a real
strength to the enemy. If it is a false hope and
one which you would willingly dispel, I will make
the way exceedingly easy.
I send you duplicates of this letter in order
that you, or a majority of you, may, if you
choose, indorse your names upon one of them
and return it thus indorsed to me with the under-
standing that those signing are thereby com-
mitted to the following propositions and to noth-
ing else :
1. That there is now a rebellion in the United
States, the object and tendency of which is to
destroy the National Union ; and that, in your
opinion, an army and navy are constitutional
means for suppressing that rebellion ;
2. That no one of you will do anything which,
in his own judgment, will tend to hinder the in-
crease, or favor the decrease, or lessen the effi-
ciency of the army or navy while engaged in
the effort to suppress that rebellion ; and
3. That each of you will, in his sphere, do
all he can to have the officers, soldiers, and sea-
men of the army and navy, while engaged in the
eft'ort to suppress the rebellion, paid, fed, clad,
and otherwise well provided for and supported.
And with the further understanding that upon
receiving the letter and names thus indorsed, I
will cause them to be published, which publica-
274 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
tion shall be, within itself, a revocation of the
order in relation to Mr. Vallandigham.^
It will not escape observation that I consent
to the release of Mr. Vallandigham upon terms
not embracing any pledge from him or from
others as to what he will or will not do. I do
this because he is not present to speak for him-
self, or to authorize others to speak for him ;
and because I should expect that on his return-
ing he would not put himself practically in an-
tagonism with the position of his friends. But
I do it chiefly because I thereby prevail on other
influential gentlemen of Ohio to so define their
position as to be of immense value to the army
— thus more than compensating for the conse-
quences of any mistake in allowing INIr. Vallan-
digham to return ; so that, on the whole, the pub-
lic safety will not have suffered by it. Still, in
regard to Mr. Vallandigham and all others, I
must hereafter, as heretofore, do so much as the
public safety may seem to require.
I have the honor to be respectfully yours, etc.,
A. Lincoln.
William Kellogg.
See letter of June 25, 1863, to Salmon P. Chase.
Executive Mansion, June 29, 1863.
Hon. William Kellogg.
My dear Sir : I have received and read your
pencil note. I think you do not know how em-
barrassing your request is.- Few things are so
^ The committee did not accept this proposition, as, in-
deed, the President did not expect that they would. Gov-
ernor Brough was elected over Vallandigham by an over-
whelming majority.
- In reference to trading with the South through the
army lines.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 275
troublesome to the Government as the fierceness
with which the profits in trading are sought. The
temptation is so great that nearly everybody
wishes to be in it; and, when in, the question of
profit controls all, regardless of whether the
cotton-seller is loyal or rebel, or whether he is
paid in corn-meal or gunpowder. The officers of
the army, in numerous instances, are believed
to connive and share the profits, and thus the
army itself is diverted from fighting the rebels
to speculating in cotton, and steamboats and
wagons in the pay of the Government are set to
gathering and carrying cotton, and the soldiers
to loading cotton-trains and guarding them.
The matter deeply affects the Treasury and
War Departments, and has been discussed again
and again in the Cabinet. What can and what
cannot be done has for the time been settled,
and it seems to me I cannot safely break over it.
I know it is thought that one case is not much,
but how can I favor one and deny another ? One
case cannot be kept a secret. The authority
given would be utterly ineffectual until it is
shown, and when shown, everybody knows of it.
The Administration would do for you as much
as for any other man ; and I personally would do
some more than for most others ; but really I
cannot involve myself and the Government as
this would do. Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
276 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Robert H. Milroy.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, June 29, 1863.
Major-General Milroy.
My dear Sir: Your letters to Mr. Blair and
to myself are handed to me by him. I have never
doubted your courage and devotion to the cause.
But you have just lost a division, and, prima
facie, the fault is upon you; and while that re-
mains unchanged, for me to put you in command
again is to justly subject me to the charge of
having put you there on purpose to have you
lose another. If I knew facts sufficient to satisfy
me that you were not in fault or error, the case
would be different ; but the facts I do know, while
they are not at all conclusive (and I hope they
may never prove so), tend the other way.
First, I have scarcely seen anything from you
at any time that did not contain imputations
against your superiors, and a chafing against
acting the part they had assigned you. You
have constantly urged the idea that you were
persecuted because you did not come from West
Point, and you repeat it in these letters. This,
my dear general, is, I fear, the rock on which
you have split.
In the Winchester case you were under Gen-
eral Schenck, and he under General Halleck. I
know by General Halleck's order-book that he,
on the nth of June, advised General Schenck to
call you in from Winchester to Harper's Ferry ;
and I have been told, but do not know, that Gen-
eral Schenck gave you the order accordingly on
the same day; and I have been told, but do not
know, that on receiving it, instead of obeying it,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 277
you sent by mail a written protest against obey-
ing it, which did not reach him until you were
actually beleaguered at Winchester.
I say I do not know this. You hate West
Point generally and General Halleck particu-
larly ; but I do know that it is not his fault that
you were at Winchester on the 13th, 14th, and
morning of the 15th — the days of your dis-
aster. If General Schenck gave the order on the
nth, as General Halleck advised, it was an easy
matter for you to have been off at least on the
1 2th. The case is inevitably between General
Schenck and you.
Neither General Halleck nor any one else, as
far as I know, required you to stay and fight 60,-
000 with 6,000, as you insinuate.
I know General Halleck, through General
Schenck, required you to get away, and that in
abundant time for you to have done it.
General Schenck is not a West-Pointer, and
has no prejudice against you on that score.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter of December 19, 1863, to Ulysses S. Grant.
On October 27, 1863, the President gave an opinion
on General Milroy's disaster, for which he had been
tried. In this Lincoln said that Milroy's immediate su-
perior, General Schenck, believed the service of the
force at Winchester was worth the hazard, and so did
not positively order its withdrawal until it was too late.
He concluded :
Serious blame is not necessarily due to any
serious disaster, and I cannot say that in this
case any of the officers are deserving of serious
blame. No court-martial is deemed necessary
or proper in the case.
278 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Joel Parker.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, June 30, i
Governor Parker, Trenton, N. J.
Your despatch of yesterday received. I really
think the attitude of the enemy's army in Penn-
sylvania presents us the best opportunity we
have had since the war began. I think you will
not see the foe in New Jersey. I beg you to
be assured that no one out of my position can
know so well as if he were in it, the difficulties
and involvements of replacing General McClellan
in command, and this aside from any imputa-
tions upon him. Please accept my sincere thanks
for what you have done and are doing to get
troops forward. A. Lincoln.
Alexander" Kelly McClure.^
[Telegram.l
War Department, June 30, 1863.
A. K. McClure, Philadelphia.
Do we gain anything by opening one leak to
stop another? Do we gain anything by quieting
one clamor merely to open another, and probably
a larger one? A. Lincoln.
S. P. Lee.
When the Confederate Government realized that
Vicksburg was doomed, Vice-President Stephens went
on a steamer to Fort Monroe bearing proposals of
peace from Jefferson Davis, " Commander-in-chief of
the land and naval forces of the Confederate States,"
^ Sent in reply to a letter urging the reinstatement of
McClellan after Hooker's resignation.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 279
to Abraham Lincoln, "Commander-in-chief of the land
and naval forces of the United States." On July 4,
after the victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the
President instructed Admiral Lee at Fort Monroe to
refuse the request of Mr. Stephens to proceed to Wash-
ington with the letter, saying:
[Telegram.']
The ctistomary agents and channels are ade-
quate for all needful communication and confer-
ence between the United States forces and the
insurgents. A. Lincoln.
George G. Meade.
On June 23, 1863, General Meade w^as placed in com-
mand of the Army of the Potomac.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C., July 7, 1863.
Major-General Meade, Army of the Potomac.
I have received from the President the follow-
ing note, which I respectftilly communicate :
Major-General Halleck.
We have certain information that Vicksburg surren-
dered to General Grant on the Fourth of July, Now,
if General Meade can complete his work so gloriously
prosecuted thus far, by the literal or substantial de-
struction of Lee's army, the rebellion will be over.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C., July 8, 1863.
Major-General Meade, Frederick, Maryland.
There is reliable information that the enemy
crossing at Williamsport. The opportunity
2 8o LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
attack his divided forces should not be lost. The
President is urgent and anxious that your army
should move against him by forced marches.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
[Private.]
Executive Mansion, July 2y, 1863.
Major-General Meade.
I have not thrown General Hooker away ; and
therefore I would like to know whether it would
be agreeable to you, all things considered, for
him to take a corps under you, if he himself is
willing to do so. Write me in perfect freedom,
with the assurance that I will not subject you to
any embarrassment by making your letter or its
contents known to any one. I wish to know your
wishes before I decide whether to break the sub-
ject to him. Do not lean a hair's breath against
your own feelings, or your judgment of the pub-
lic service, on the idea of gratifying me.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Alansion, August 11, 1863.
My dear General Meade.
Yesterday week I made known to General
Hooker our brief correspondence in regard to
him. He seemed gratified with the kind spirit
manifested by both of us ; but said he was busy
preparing a report and would consider.
Yesterday he called again, and said he would
accept the offer if it was still open ; would go
at once if you desire, but would prefer waiting
till the ist of September, unless there was to be
a battle, or you desire him to come sooner. I
told him I would write you. Please answer.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 281
War Department, October 8, 1863.
Major-General Meade, Army of Potomac.
I am appealed to in behalf of August Blitters-
dorf, at Alitchell's Station, Va., to be shot to-
morrow as a deserter. I am unwilling for any
boy under eighteen to be shot, and his father
affirms that he is yet under sixteen. Please an-
swer. His regiment or company not given me.
A. Lincoln.
In March, 1864, charges were made against General
Meade by the Nczv York Herald which caused him to
ask for a court of inquiry. To this request the Presi-
dent replied on March 29, 1864 :
It is quite natural that you should feel some
sensibility on the subject ; yet I am not impressed,
nor do I think the country is impressed, with
the belief that your honor demands, or the public
interest demands, such an inquiry. The country
knows that at all events you have done good
service ; and I believe it agrees with me that it
is much better for you to be engaged in trying
to do more, than to be diverted, as you neces-
sarily would be, by a court of inquiry.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Lorenzo Thomas.
[Telegram.']
War Department, July 8, 1863. 12.30 p. m.
General Lorenzo Thomas, Harrisburg, Pennsyl-
vania.
Your despatch of this morning to the Secretary
of War is before me. The forces you speak of
will be of no imaginable service if they cannot
go forward with a little more expedition. Lee is
282 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
now passing the Potomac faster than the forces
you mention are passing CarHsle. Forces now
beyond Carhsle to be joined by regiments still
at Harrisburg, and the united force again to join
Pierce somewhere, and the whole to move down
the Cumberland Valley, will, in my unprofes-
sional opinion, be quite as likely to capture the
*'man in the moon" as any part of Lee's army.
A. Lincoln.
War Department, February 28, 1864.
General L. Thomas, Louisville, Kentucky.
I see your despatch of yesterday to the Secre-
tary of War.
I wish you would go to the Mississippi River
at once, and take hold of and be master in the
contraband and leasing business. You under-
stand it better than any other man does. Mr.
Miller's system doubtless is well intended, but
from what I hear I fear that, if persisted in, it
would fall dead within its own entangling details.
Go there and be the judge. A Mr. Lewis will
probably follow you with something from me
on this subject, but do not wait for him. Nor is
this to induce you to violate or neglect any mili-
tary order from the general-in-chief or Secre-
tary of War. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March i, 1864.
General L. Thomas.
This introduces Mr. Lewis, mentioned in my
despatch sent you at Louisville some days ago.
I have but little personal acquaintance with him ;
but he has the confidence of several members
of Congress here who seem to know him well.
He hopes to be useful, without charge to the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 283
Government, in facilitating the introduction of
the free-labor system on the Mississippi planta-
tions. He is acquainted with, and has access to,
many of the planters who wish to adopt the sys-
tem. He will show you two letters of mine on
this subject, one somewhat general, and the other
relating to named persons. They are not dif-
ferent in principle. He will also show you some
suggestions coming from some of the planters
themselves. I desire that all I promise in these
letters, so far as practicable, may be in good faith
carried out, and that suggestions from the plant-
ers may be heard and adopted, so far as they
may not contravene the principles stated, nor
justice, nor fairness, to laborers. I do not herein
intend to overrule your own mature judgment
on any point. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, June 13, 1864.
Major-General Thomas, Louisville, Kentucky.
Complaint is made to me that in the vicinity
of Henderson, our militia are seizing negroes and
carrying them off without their own consent, and
according to no rules whatever, except those of
absolute violence. I wish you would look into
this and inform me, and see that the making
soldiers of negroes is done according to the rules
you are acting upon, so that unnecessary provo-
cation and irritation be avoided. A. Lincoln.
Thomas Carney.
Governor Carney and General James G. Blunt had a
controversy over military authority in Kansas, in which
the President supported the Governor. On July 21,
1863, he wrote him a letter which ended as follows :
284 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
It is my purpose to take care that he [Bliint'\
shall not any more take persons charged with
civil crimes out of the custody of the courts, and
turn them over to mobs to be hanged.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
{Indorsement of Letter Dated May 13, 1864.]
The v^ithin letter is, to my mind, so obviously
intended as a page for a political record, as to
be difficult to answer in a straightforward, busi-
nesslike way. The merits of the Kansas people
need not to be argued to me. They are just as
good as any other loyal and patriotic people, and
as such, to the best of my ability I have always
treated them, and intend to treat them. It is
not my recollection that I said to you Senator
Lane would probably oppose raising troops in
Kansas because it would confer patronage upon
you. What I did say was, that he would prob-
ably oppose it because he and you were in a
mood of each opposing whatever the other
should propose. I did argue generally, too, that
in my opinion there is not a more foolish or
demoralizing way of conducting a political
rivalry than these fierce and bitter struggles for
patronage.
As to your demand that I will accept or re-
ject your 'proposition to furnish troops, made to
me yesterday, I have to say I took the proposi-
tion under advisement, in good faith, as I believe
you know ; that you can withdraw it if you wish ;
but while it remains before me, I shall neither
accept nor reject it until, with reference to the
public interest, I shall feel that I am ready.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
May 14, 1864.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 285
Oliver O. Howard.
Executive Mansion, July 21, 1863.
My dear General Howard:
Your letter of the i8th is received. I was
deeply mortified by the escape of Lee across the
Potomac, because the substantial destruction of
his army would have ended the war, and because
I believed such destruction was perfectly easy —
believed that General Meade and his noble army
had expended all the skill, and toil, and blood,
up to the ripe harvest, and then let the crop go
to waste.
Perhaps my mortification was heightened be-
cause I had always believed — making my belief
a hobby, possibly — that the main rebel army go-
ing north of the Potomac could never return, if
well attended to; and because I was so greatly
flattered in this belief by the operations at Get-
tysburg. A few days having passed, I am now
profoundly grateful for what was done, without
criticism for what was not done.
General Meade has my confidence, as a brave
and skilful officer and a true man.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Montgomery Blair.^
* Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, Lincoln's Postmaster-
General, was a son of Francis P. Blair, Sr. He was re-
moved by President Buchanan in 1855 from his position of
U. S. solicitor in the Court of Claims because of his oppo-
sition to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. In 1857
he acted as counsel for the plaintiff in the Dred Scott case.
He stood almost alone in the Cabinet in opposing the sur-
render of Fort Sumter.
2S6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, July 24, 1863.
Hon. Postmaster-General.
Sir : Yesterday little indorsements of mine
went to you in two cases of postmasterships
sought for widows whose husbands have fallen
in the battles of this war. These cases occurring
on the same day brought me to reflect more at-
tentively than I had before done, as to what is
fairly due from us here in the dispensing of
patronage toward the men who, by fighting our
battles, bear the chief burden of saving our
country. My conclusion is that, other claims
and qualifications being equal, they have the
better right ; and this is especially applicable to
the disabled soldier and the deceased soldier's
family. Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 2, 1863.
Hon. Montgomery Blair.
My dear Sir: Some days ago I understood
you to say that your brother, General Frank
Blair, desires to be guided by my wishes as to
whether he will occupy his seat in Congress or
remain in the field. My wish, then, is com-
pounded of what I believe will be best for the
country and best for him, and it is that he will
come here, put his military commission in my
hands, take his seat, go into caucus with our
friends, abide the nominations, help elect the
nominees, and thus aid to organize a House of
Representatives which will really support the
Government in the war. li the result shall be
the election of himself as Speaker, let him serve
in that position ; if not, let him retake his com-
mission and return to the army. For the coun-
trv this will heal a dangerous schism; for him
I
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 287
it will relieve from a dans^^erous position. By
a misunderstanding, as I think, he is in danger
of being permanently separated from those with
whom only he can ever have a real sympathy
— the sincere opponents of slavery. It will be
a mistake if he shall allow the provocations
offered him by insincere time-servers to drive
him out of the house of his own building. He
is young yet. He has abundant talent — quite
enough to occupy all his time without devoting
any to temper. He is rising in military skill
and usefulness. His recent appointment to the
command of a corps by one so competent to
judge as General Sherman proves this. In that
line he can serve both the country and himself
more profitably than he could as a member of
Congress on the floor. The foregoing is what I
would say if Frank Blair were my brother in-
stead of yours. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
General Frank Blair followed this advice to the let-
ter. Failing to be elected Speaker, he reentered the
army, and won fame for himself under Sherman.
After the war he joined the Democratic party, becom-
ing its candidate for Vice-President in 1868. This let-
ter of Lincoln's was published some time after its date,
and gave great offense to the enemies of the Blairs.
Montgomery Blair was very irascible and indiscreet,
and these enemies soon found sufficient reasons to urge
Lincoln to remove him. This Lincoln did in the follow-
ing kindly manner :
Executive Mansion, September 23, 1864.
Hon. Montgomery Blair.
My dear Sir: You have generously said to
me more than once that whenever your resigna-
tion could be a relief to me it was at my dis-
posal. The time has come. You very well know
288 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
that this proceeds from no dissatisfaction of
mine with you personally or officially. Your
uniform kindness has been unsurpassed by that
of any friend; and while it is true that the war
does not so greatly add to the difficulties of your
department as to those of some others, it is yet
much to say, as I most truly can, that in the
three years and a half during which you have
administered the general post-office, I remember
no single complaint against you in connection
therewith. Yours, A. Lincoln.
Francis P. Blair, Sr.
Executive Mansion, Julv 30, 1863.
Hon. F. P. Blair.
My dear Sir: Yours of to-day, with inclosure,
is received. Yesterday I commenced trying to
get up an expedition for Texas.
I shall do the best I can. Meantime I would
like to know who is the great man Alexander,
that talks so oracularly about "if the President
keeps his word" and Banks not having ''capacity
to run an omnibus on Broadway"? How has
this Alexander's immense light been obscured
hitherto? Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Mr. Blair conceived the idea that, through his per-
sonal acquaintance with many Confederate leaders, he
might be able to effect a peace. Without telling Presi-
dent Lincoln of his intention, he asked him for a pass.
[Pass.]
Allow the bearer, F. P. Blair, Sr., to pass our
lines, go South, and return. A. Lincoln.
December 28, 1864.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 289
Mr. Blair had several interviews with Jefferson Davis
and members of his Cabinet, which led to an abortive
peace conference on February 3, 1865.
Washington, January 18, 1865.
F. P. Blair, Esq.
Sir: You having shown me Mr. [Jefferson]
Davis's letter to you of the 12th instant, you
may say to him that I have constantly been, am
now, and shall continue, ready to receive any
agent whom he or any other influential person
now resisting the national authority may infor-
mally send to me with the view of securing
peace to the people of our one common country.
Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.']
January 28, 1865.
To-day Mr. Blair tells me that on the 21st
instant he delivered to Mr. Davis the original
of which the within is a copy, and left it with
him; that at the time of delivering it Mr. Davis
read it over twice in Mr. Blair's presence, at the
close of which he (Mr. Blair) remarked that
the part about ''our one common country" re-
lated to the part of Mr. Davis's letter about ''the
two countries," to which Mr. Davis replied that
he so understood it. A. Lincoln.
MOULTON.
Executive Mansion, July 31, 1863.
My dear Sir: There has been a good deal of
complaint against you by your superior officers
of the Provost-Marshal-General's Department,
and your removal has been strongly urged on
290 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the ground of ''persistent disobedience of orders
and neglect of duty." Firmly convinced, as I
am, of the patriotism of your motives, I am un-
willing to do anything in your case v^hich may
seem unnecessarily harsh or at variance with the
feelings of personal respect and esteem with
which I have always regarded you. I consider
your services in your district valuable, and
should be sorry to lose them. It is unnecessary
for me to state, however, that when differences
of opinion arise between officers of the Govern-
ment, the ranking officer must be obeyed. You,
of course, recognize as clearly as I do the impor-
tance of this rule. I hope you will conclude to
go on in your present position under the regula-
tions of the department. I wish you would
write to me. I am very truly your friend and
obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Stephen A. Hurlbut.
Executive Mansion, July 31, 1863.
My dear General Hurlbut.
The emancipation proclamation applies to
Arkansas.^ I think it is valid in law, and will
be so held by the courts. I think I shall not re-
tract or repudiate it. Those who shall have tasted
actual freedom I believe can never be slaves or
quasi-slaves again. For the rest, I believe some
plan substantially being gradual emancipation
would be better for both white and black. The
Missouri plan, recently adopted, I do not object
to on account of the time for ending the institu-
tion ; ^ but I am sorry the beginning should have
^ General Hurlbut was in command in this State.
^ Missouri had decided that all slaves in the State should
become free in 1870.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 291
been postponed for seven years, leaving all that
time to agitate for the repeal of the whole thing.
It should begin at once, giving at least the new-
born a vested interest in freedom which could
not be taken away. If Senator Sebastian could
come with something of this sort from Arkan-
sas, I, at least, should take great interest in his
case ; and I believe a single individual will have
scarcely done the world so great a service. See
him, if you can, and read this to him ; but charge
him to not make it public for the present. Write
me again. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, May 2, 1864.
Major-General Hurlbut.
My dear Sir: General Farnsworth has just
been reading to me from your letter to him of
the 26th ultimo. I snatch a moment to say that
my friendship and confidence for you remain un-
abated, but that Generals Grant and Thomas
cannot be held to their just responsibilities if
they are not allowed to control in the class of
cases to Vv^hich yours belongs.
From one standpoint a court of inquiry is
most just, but if your case were my own I would
not allow Generals Grant and Sherman [fo] be
diverted by it just now.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, November 14, 1864.
Major-General Hurlbut.
Few things since I have been here have im-
pressed me more painfully than what, for four
or five months past, has appeared a bitter mili-
292 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
tary opposition to the new State government of
Louisiana. I still indulged some hope that I was
mistaken in the fact ; but copies of a correspond-
ence on the subject between General Canby and
yourself, and shown me to-day, dispel that hope.
A very fair proportion of the people of Louisi-
ana have inaugurated a new State government,
making an excellent new constitution — better for
the poor black man than we have in Illinois.
This was done under military protection, di-
rected by me, in the belief, still sincerely enter-
tained, that with such a nucleus around which to
build we could get the State into position again
sooner than otherwise. In this belief a general
promise of protection and support, applicable
alike to Louisiana and other States, was given
in the last annual message. During the forma-
tion of the new government and constitution
they were supported by nearly every loyal per-
son, and opposed by every secessionist. And this
support and this opposition, from the respective
standpoints of the parties, was perfectly consis-
tent and logical. Every Unionist ought to wish
the new government to succeed ; and every dis-
tmionist must desire it to fail. Its failure would
gladden the heart of Slidell in Europe, and of
every enemy of the old flag in the world. Every
advocate of slavery naturally desires to see
blasted and crushed the liberty promised the
black man by the new constitution. But why
General Canby and General Hurlbut should join
on the same side is to me incomprehensible.
Of course, in the condition of things at New
Orleans, the military must not be thwarted by
the civil authority ; but when the Constitutional
Convention, for what it deems a breach of privi-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 293
lege, arrests an editor in no way connected with
the mihtary, the mihtary necessity for insiUting
the convention and forcibly discharging the edi-
tor, is difficult to perceive. Neither is the mili-
tary necessity for protecting the people against
paying large salaries fixed by a legislature of
their own choosing very apparent. Equally dif-
ficult to perceive is the military necessity for
forcibly interposing to prevent a bank from loan-
ing its own money to the State. These things,
if they have occurred, are, at the best, no better
than gratuitous hostility. I wish I could hope
that they may be shown to not have occurred.
To make assurance against misunderstanding, I
repeat that in the existing condition of things in
Louisiana, the military must not be thwarted by
the civil authority; and I add that on points of
difference the commanding general must be
judge and master. But I also add that in the
exercise of this judgment and control, a pur-
pose, obvious and scarcely unavowed, to tran-
scend all military necessity, in order to crush
out the civil government, will not be overlooked.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
J. G. Foster.
Executive Mansion, August 8, 1863.
General Foster.
This will be handed you by Governor Pierpont
of Virginia.
He goes, among other things, seeking to adjust
a difficulty at Norfolk and Portsmouth. It seems
there is a large number of families in Ports-
mouth who are destitute and whose natural sup-
porters are in the rebel army or have been killed
294 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
in It. These destitute families must live some-
how, and it seems the city authorities on one
side, and our mlhtary on the other, are in ruinous
conflict about the mode of providing.
Governor Pierpont Is a good man, and if you
w\\\ place him in conference and amicable rela-
tions with the military authority in the vicinity, I
do not doubt that much good will come of it.
Please do it. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
J. M. Fleming and R. Morrow.
Executive Mansion, August 9, 1863.
Messrs. Jno. M. Fleming and R. Morrow.
Gentlemen : The petition of which you were
the bearers has just been handed me. Your
cards and notes had come to me on two or three
successive days before; and I knew then, as
well as I do now after reading the petition, what
your mission was. I knew it was the same true
and painful story which Governor Johnson, Mr.
Maynard, Dr. Clements, and others have been
telling me for more than two years. I also
knew that meeting you could do no good, be-
cause I have all the while done, and shall con-
tinue to do, the best for you I could and can. I
do as much for East Tennessee as I would or
could if my own home and family were in Knox-
ville. The diflicultles of getting a Union army
into that region, and of keeping it there, are so
apparent — so obvious — that none can fail to see
them, unless It may be those who are driven mad
and blind by their sufferings. Start by whatever
route they may, their lines of supply are broken
before they get half way. A small force suffi-
cient to beat the enemy now there would be
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 295
of no value, because the enemy would reinforce
to meet them, until we should have to give back
or accumulate so large a force as to be very dif-
ficult to supply, and as to ruin us entirely if a
great disaster should befall it. I know you are
too much distressed to be argued with, and there-
fore I do not attempt it at length. You know I
am not indifferent to your troubles, else I should
not, more than a year and a half ago, have made
the effort I did to have a railroad built on pur-
pose to relieve you. The Secretary of War, Gen-
eral Halleck, General Burnside, and General
Rosecrans are all engaged now in an effort to
relieve your section. But, remember, you will
probably thwart them if you make this public.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
James H. Hackett.
Executive Mansion, August 17, 1863.
James H. Hackett, Esq.
My dear Sir: Months ago I should have ac-
knowledged the receipt of your book and accom-
panying kind note ; and I now have to beg your
pardon for not having done so.
For one of my age I have seen very little of
the drama. The first presentation of Falstaff I
ever saw was yours here, last winter or spring.
Perhaps the best compliment I can pay is to say,
as I truly can, I am very anxious to see it again.
Some of Shakespeare's plays I have never read;
while others I have gone over perhaps as fre-
quently as any unprofessional reader. Among the
latter are "Lear," "Richard IIL," "Henry VHL,"
"Hamlet," and especially "Macbeth." I think
nothing equals "Macbeth." It is wonderful.
296 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Unlike you gentlemen of the profession I think
the soliloquy in ''Hamlet" commencing "Oh, my
offense is rank," surpasses that commencing "To
be or not to be." But pardon this small attempt
at criticism. I should like to hear you pronounce
the opening speech of Richard III. Will you not
soon visit Washington again? If you do, please
call and let me make your personal acquaintance.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 2, 1863.
James H. Hackett. . . .
My note to you I certainly did not expect to
see in print ; yet I have not been much shocked by
the newspaper comments upon it. Those com-
ments constitute a fair specimen of what has
occurred to me through life. I have endured a
great deal of ridicule without much malice ; and
have received a great deal of kindness, not quite
free from ridicule. I am used to it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
J. G. Blunt.
Executive Mansion, August 18, 1863.
Major-General Blunt. . . .
I regret to find you denouncing so many per-
sons as liars, scoundrels, fools, thieves, and perse-
cutors of yourself. Your military position looks
critical, but did anybody force you into it ? Have
you been ordered to confront and fight 10,000
men with 3,000 men? The Government cannot
make men; and it is very easy, when a man has
been given the highest commission, for him to
turn on those who gave it and vilify them for not
giving him a command according to his rank.
r
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 297
My appointment of yon first as a brigadier,
and then as a major-general, was evidence of
my appreciation of your services ; and I have
since marked but one thing in connection with
you with which to be dissatisfied. The sending
a mihtary order twenty-five miles outside of your
lines, and all military lines, to take men charged
with no offense against the military, out of the
hands of the courts, to be turned over to a mob
to be hanged, can find no precedent or principle
to justify it. Judge Lynch sometimes takes juris-
diction of cases which prove too strong for the
courts ; but this is the first case within my knowl-
edge wherein the court being able to maintain
jurisdiction against Judge Lynch, the military
has come to the assistance of the latter. I take
the facts of this case as you state them yourself,
and not from any report of Governor Carney,^
or other person. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
John P. Usher.
Executive Mansion, August 24, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of the Interior.
Sir : By the within you see the claim of Illinois
for the two per cent, on sales of public lands is
again presented.
My view of the case is not changed. I believe
the law is with the State; and yet I think it is
ungracious to be pressing the claim at this time
of national trouble.
Nevertheless, I have to ask that you will de-
termine what is your duty according to the law,
and then do it. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^ See letter to Governor Carney.
298 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
James C. Conkling.
^Private.']
War Department,
August 26, 1863.
My dear Conkling : I cannot leave here now. Here-
with is a letter instead. You are one of the best pub-
lic readers. I have but one suggestion — read it very
slowly. And now God bless you, and all good Union
men.
Yours as ever, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 26, 1863.
Hon. James C. Conkling.
My dear Sir : Your letter inviting me to attend
a mass-meeting of unconditional Union men, to
be held at the capital of Illinois on the 3d day
of September, has been received. It would be
very agreeable to me to thus meet my old friends
at my own home, but I cannot just now be
absent from here so long as a visit there would
require.
The meeting is to be of all those who main-
tain unconditional devotion to the Union ; and
I am sure my old political friends will thank
me for tendering, as I do, the nation's gratitude
to those other noble men whom no partisan mal-
ice or partisan hope can make false to the
nation's life.
There are those who are dissatisfied with me.
To such I would say : You desire peace, and
you blame me that we do not have it. But how
can we attain it? There are but three conceiv-
able ways : First, to suppress the rebellion by
force of arms. This I am trying to do. Are
you for it? If you are, so far we are agreed.
If you are not for it, a second way is to give
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 299
up the Union. I am against this. Are you
for it? If you are, you should say so plainly.
If you are not for force, nor yet for dissolution,
there only remains some imaginable compromise.
I do not believe any compromise embracing the
maintenance of the Union is now possible. All
I learn leads to a directly opposite belief. The
strength of the rebellion is its military, its army.
That army dominates all the country and all the
people within its range. Any offer of terms
made by any man or men within that range, in
opposition to that army, is simply nothing for
the present, because such man or men have no
power whatever to enforce their side of a com-
promise, if one were made with them.
To illustrate : Suppose refugees from the
South and peace men of the North get together
in convention and frame and proclaim a com-
promise embracing a restoration of the Union.
In what way can that compromise be used to
keep Lee's army out of Pennsylvania? Meade's
army can keep Lee's army out of Pennsylvania,
and, I think, can ultimately drive it out of ex-
istence. But no paper compromise to which the
controllers of Lee's army are not agreed can at
all aft'ect that army. In an effort at such com-
promise we should waste time which the enemy
would improve to our disadvantage ; and that
would be all. A compromise, to be effective, must
be made either with those who control the rebel
army, or with the people first liberated from the
domination of that army by the success of our
own army. Now, allow me to assure you that
no word or intimation from that rebel army, or
from any of the men controlling it, in relation
to any peace compromise, has ever come to my
300 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
knowledge or belief. All charges and insinua-
tions to the contrary are deceptive and ground-
less. And I promise you that if any such propo-
sition shall hereafter come, it shall not be
rejected and kept a secret from you. I freely
acknowledge myself the servant of the people,
according to the bond of service — the United
States Constitution — and that, as such, I am re-
sponsible to them.
But to be plain. You are dissatisfied with me
about the negro. Quite likely there is a differ-
ence of opinion between you and myself upon
that subject. I certainly wish that all men could
be free, while I suppose you do not. Yet, I
have neither adopted nor proposed any measure
which is not consistent with even your view,
provided you are for the Union. I suggested
compensated emancipation, to which you re-
plied you wished not to be taxed to buy negroes.
But I had not asked you to be taxed to buy ne-
groes, except in such way as to save you from
greater taxation to save the Union exclusively
by other means.
You dislike the Emancipation Proclamation,
and perhaps would have it retracted. You say
it is unconstitutional. I think differently. I
think the Constitution invests its commander-in-
chief with the law of war in time of war. The
most that can be said — if so much — is that slaves
are property. Is there — has there ever been —
any question that by the law of war, property,
both of enemies and friends, may be taken when
needed? And is it not needed whenever taking
it helps us, or hurts the enemy? Armies, the
world over, destroy enemies' property when they
cannot use it; and even destroy their own to
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 301
keep It from the enemy. Civilized belligerents
do all in their power to help themselves or hurt
the enemy, except a few things regarded as bar-
barous or cruel. Among the exceptions are the
massacre of vanquished foes and non-combatants,
male and female.
But the proclamation, as law, either is valid
or is not valid. If it is not valid, it needs no
retraction. If it is valid, it cannot be retracted
any more than the dead can be brought to life.
Some of you profess to think its retraction
would operate favorably for the Union. Why
better after the retraction than before the issue?
There was more than a year and a half of trial
to suppress the rebellion before the proclamation
issued ; the last one hundred days of which
passed under an explicit notice that it was com-
ing, unless averted by those in revolt returning
to their allegiance. The war has certainly pro-
gressed as favorably for us since the issue of
the proclamation as before. I know, as fully
as one can know the opinions of others, that
some of the commanders of our armies in the
field, who have given us our most important suc-
cesses, believe the emancipation policy and the
use of the colored troops constitute the heaviest
blow yet dealt to the rebellion, and that at least
one of these important successes could not have
been achieved when it was but for the aid of
black soldiers. Among the commanders holding
these views are some who have never had any
affinity with what is called Abolitionism, or with
Republican party politics, but who hold them
purely as military opinions. I submit these opin-
ions as being entitled to some weight against
the objections often urged that emancipation
302 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
and arming the blacks are unwise as military
measures, and were not adopted as such in good
faith.
You say you will not fight to free negroes.
Some of them seem willing to fight for you ;
but no matter. Fight you, then, exclusively to
save the Union. I issued the proclamation on
purpose to aid you in saving the Union. When-
ever you shall have conquered all resistance to
the Union, if I shall urge you to continue fight-
ing, it will be an apt time then for you to declare
you \\W\ not fight to free negroes.
I thought that in your struggle for the Union,
to whatever extent the negroes should cease help-
ing the enemy, to that extent it weakened the
enemy in its resistance to you. Do you think
differently? I thought that whatever negroes
can be got to do as soldiers, leaves just so much
less for white soldiers to do in saving the Union.
Does it appear otherwise to you? But negroes,
like other people, act upon motives. Why should
they do anything for us if we will do nothing
for them? If they stake their lives for us they
must be prompted by the strongest motive, even
the promise of freedom. And the promise, being
made, must be kept.
The signs look better. The Father of Waters
again goes unvexed to the sea. Thanks to the
great Northwest for it. Nor yet wholly to them.
Three hundred miles up they met New England,
Empire, Keystone, and Jersey, hewing their
way right and left. The sunny South, too, in
more colors than one, also lent a hand. On the
spot, their part of the history was jotted down
in black and white. The job was a great national
one, and let none be banned who bore an hon-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 303
orable part in it. And while those who have
cleared the great river may well be proud, eve.i
that is not all. It is hard to say that anything
has been more bravely and well done than at
Antietam, Murfreesborough, Gettysburg, and on
many fields of lesser note. Nor must Uncle
Sam's web-feet be forgotten. At all the watery
margins they have been present. Not only on
the deep sea, the broad bay, and the rapid river,
but also up the narrow, muddy bayou, and where-
ever the ground was a little damp, they have
been and made their tracks. Thanks to all :
for the great Republic — for the principle it lives
by and keeps alive — for man's vast future —
thanks to all.
Peace does not appear so distant as it did. I
hope it will come soon, and come to stay, and
so come as to be worth the keeping in all future
time. It will then have been proved that among
free men there can be no successful appeal from
the ballot to the bullet, and that they who take
such appeal are sure to lose their case and pay
the cost. And then there will be some black
men who can remember that with silent tongue,
and clenched teeth, and steady eye, and well-
poised bayonet, they have helped mankind on
to this great consummation, while I fear there
will be some white ones unable to forget that
with malignant heart and deceitful speech they
strove to hinder it.
Still, let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy
final triumph. Let us be quite sober. Let us
diligently apply the means, never doubting that
a just God, in his own good time, will give us
the rightful result.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
304 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, September 3, 1863.
Hon. James C. Conkling, Springfield, 111.
I am mortified this morning to find a letter to
you botched up in the Eastern papers, tele-
graphed from Chicago. How did this happen ?
A. Lincoln.
S. W. Crawford.
Washington, D. C, August 28, 1863.
General Crawford, Rappahannock Station, Va.
I regret that I cannot be present to witness
the presentation of a sword by the gallant Penn-
sylvania Reserve Corps to one so worthy to re-
ceive it as General Meade. A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Joshua F. Speed.
Washington, D. C, September 16, 1863.
Mrs. J. F. Speed, Louisville, Ky.
Mr. Holman will not be jostled from his place
with my knowledge and consent.
A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Hannah Armstrong.^
{Telegram.^
Executive Mansion, September 19, 1863.
Mrs. Hannah Armstrong, Petersburg, 111.
I have just ordered the discharge of your boy
WiUiam, as you say, now at Louisville, Ky.
A. Lincoln.
^ Mrs. Armstrong and her husband Jack were old friends
of Lincoln at New Salem, 111. She had patched Lincoln's
trousers, and with her husband had comforted him in his
grief over the death of his first love. Their son William
had been condemned as a deserter.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 305
Charles D. Drake and Others.
On October 5, 1863, the President answered com-
plaints of Charles D. Drake and others, of St. Louis,
made against General Schofield's military administra-
tion in Missouri, as follows :
Executive Mansion, October 5, 1863.
Hon. Charles D. Drake and Others, Committee.
Among the reasons given [for removal of
General Schofield] enough of suffering and
v^rong to Union men is certainly, and I suppose
truly, stated. Yet the whole case, as presented,
fails to convince me that General Schofield or
the enrolled militia is responsible for that suffer-
ing and wrong. The whole can be explained
on a more charitable and, as I think, a more
rational hypothesis. We are in civil war. In
such cases there always is a main question; but
in this case that question is a perplexing com-
pound — Union and slavery. It thus becomes a
question not of two sides merely, but of at least
four sides, even among those who are for the
Union, saying nothing of those who are against
it. Thus, those who are for the Union with, but
not without, slavery — those for it without, but
not with — those for it with or without, but pre-
fer it with — and those for it with or without,
but prefer it without.
Among these again is a stibdivision of those
who are for gradual, but not for immediate, and
those who are for immediate, but not for grad-
ual, extinction of slavery. It is easy to conceive
that all these shades of opinion, and even more,
may be sincerely entertained by honest and
truthful men. Yet, all being for the Union, by
3o6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
reason of these differences each will prefer a
different way of sustaining the Union. At once
sincerity is questioned, and motives are assailed.
Actual war coming, blood grows hot, and blood
is spilled. Thought is forced from old channels
into confusion. Deception breeds and thrives.
Confidence dies and universal suspicion reigns.
Each man feels an impulse to kill his neighbor,
lest he be first killed by him. Revenge and re-
taliation follow. And all this, as before said,
may be among honest men only ; but this is not
all. Every foul bird comes abroad and every
dirty reptile rises up. These add crime to con-
fusion. Strong measures deemed indispensable,
but harsh at best, such men make worse by mal-
administration. Murders for old grudges, and
murders for pelf, proceed under any cloak that
will best cover for the occasion. These causes
amply account for what has occurred in Mis-
souri, without ascribing it to the weakness or
wickedness of any general. The newspaper files,
those chroniclers of current events, will show
that the evils now complained of were quite as
prevalent under Fremont, Hunter, Halleck, and
Curtis, as under Schofield. If the former had
greater force opposed to them, they also had
greater force with which to meet it. When the
organized rebel army left the State, the main
Federal force had to go also, leaving the depart-
ment commander at home relatively no stronger
than before. Without disparaging any, I affirm
with confidence that no commander of that de-
partment has, in proportion to his means, done
better than General Schofield. . . .
To restrain contraband intelligence and trade, a
system of searches, seizures, permits, and passes
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 3° 7
had been introduced, I think, by General Fre-
mont When General Halleck came he found
and continued this system, and added an order
applicable to some parts of the State to levy and
collect contributions from noted rebels, to com-
pensate losses and relieve destitution caused by
the rebellion. The action of General Fremont
and General Halleck, as stated constituted a
sort of system, which General Curtis found m
full operation when he took command of the de-
partment. That there was a necessity for some-
thing of the sort was clear, but that it could only
be justified by stern necessity, and that it was
liable to great abuse in administration, was
equally clear. Agents to execute it, contrary to
the 2:reat prayer, were led into temptation. Some
mio-ht while others would not, resist that temp-
tatton' It was not possible to hold any to a very
strict accountability, and those yielding to the
temptation would sell permits and passes to those
who would pay most and most readily for them ;
and would seize property and collect levies m
the aptest wav to fill their own pockets. Money
being the object, the man having money, whether
loyal or disloyal, would be the victim. This
practice doubtless existed to some extent, and
it was a real additional evil that it could be and
was plausibly charged to exist in greater extent
than it did. ,
When General Curtis took command of the
department, Mr. Dick, against whom I never
knew anything to allege, had general charge of
this system. A controversy m regard to it rap-
idly grew into almost unmanageable proportions.
One side ignored the necessity and magnified the
evils of the system, while the other ignored the
3o8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
evils and magnified the necessity, and each bit-
terly assailed the motives of the other. I could
not fail to see that the controversy enlarged in
the same proportion as the professed Union
men here distinctly took sides in two opposing
political parties. I exhausted my wits, and very
nearly my patience also, in efforts to convince
both that the evils they charged on each other
were inherent in the case, and could not be
cured by giving either party a victory over the
other, . . .
Imbecility is urged as one cause for removing
General Schofield, and the late massacre at Law-
rence, Kansas, is pressed as evidence of that im-
becility. To my mind that fact scarcely tends to
prove the proposition. That massacre is only
an example of what Grierson, John [//.] Mor-
gan, and many others might have repeatedly
done on their respective raids had they chosen
to incur the personal hazard and possessed the
fiendish hearts to do it.
The charge is made that General Schofield,
on purpose to protect the Lawrence murderers,
would not allow them to be pursued into Mis-
souri. While no punishment could be too sud-
den or too severe for those murderers, I am well
satisfied that the preventing of the threatened
remedial raid into Missouri was the only safe
way to avoid an indiscriminate massacre there,
including probably more innocent than guilty.
Instead of condemning I therefore approve what
I understand General Schofield did in that re-
spect.
The charges that General Schofield has pur-
posely withheld protection from loyal people and
purposely facilitated the objects of the disloyal
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 309
are altogether beyond my power of belief. I do
not arraign the veracity of gentlemen as to the
facts complained of, but I do more than ques-
tion the judgment which would infer that those
facts occurred in accordance with the purposes
of General Schofield.
With my present views, I must decline to re-
move General Schofield. In this I decide noth-
ing against General Butler.^ I sincerely wish it
were convenient to assign him a suitable com-
mand. In order to meet some existing evils I
have addressed a letter of instructions to Gen-
eral Schofield, a copy of which I inclose to you.
As to the enrolled militia, I shall endeavor to
ascertain better than I now know what is its ex-
act value. Let me say now, however, that your
proposal to substitute national forces for the en-
rolled militia implies that in your judgment the
latter is doing something which needs to be
done ; and if so, the proposition to throw that
force away and to supply its place by bringing
other forces from the field where they are ur-
gently needed seems to me very extraordinary.
Whence shall they come? Shall they be with-
drawn from Banks, or Grant, or Steele, or Rose-
crans ? Few things have been so grateful to my
anxious feelings as when, in June last, the local
force in Missouri aided General Schofield to so
promptly send a large general force to the relief
of General Grant, then investing Vicksburg, and
menaced from without by General Johnston.
Was this all wrong? Should the enrolled militia
then have been broken up and General Herron
kept from Grant to police Missouri? So far
^ Benjamin F. Butler, with whom Mr. Drake et al. pro-
posed to replace Schofield.
3IO LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
from finding cause to object, I confess to a sym-
pathy for whatever reHeves our general force in
Missouri and allows it to serve elsewhere. I
therefore, as at present advised, cannot attempt
the destruction of the enrolled militia of Mis-
souri. I may add that the force being under the
national military control, it is also within the
proclamation in regard to the habeas corpus.
I concur in the propriety of your request in
regard to elections, and have, as you see, directed
General Schofield accordingly. I do not feel
justified to enter upon the broad field you pre-
sent in regard to the political differences between
Radicals and Conservatives. From time to time
I have done and said what appeared to me
proper to do and say. The public knows it all.
It obliges nobody to follow me, and I trust it
obliges me to follow nobody. The Radicals and
Conservatives each agree with me in some things
and disagree in others. I could wish both to
agree with me in all things, for then they would
agree with each other and would be too strong
for any foe from any quarter. They, however,
choose to do otherwise ; and I do not question
their right. I too shall do what seems to be my
duty. I hold whoever commands in Missouri or
elsewhere responsible to me and not to either
Radicals or Conservatives. It is my duty to
hear all, but at last I must, within my sphere,
judge what to do and what to forbear.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 311
John Williams and N. G. Taylor.
[Telegram.']
War Department, October 17, 1863.
John Williams and N. G. Taylor, Knoxville,
Tennessee.
You do not estimate the holding of East Ten-
nessee more highly than I do. There is no abso-
lute purpose of withdrawing our forces from it,
and only a contingent one to withdraw them
temporarily for the purpose of not losing the
position permanently. I am in great hope of not
finding it necessary to withdraw them at all, par-
ticularly if you raise new troops rapidly for us
there. A. Lincoln.
William B. Thomas.
Executive Mansion, October 17, 1863.
Hon. William B. Thomas, Philadelphia, Pa.
I am grateful for your offer of 100,000 men,
but as at present advised I do not consider that
Washington is in danger, or that there is any
emergency requiring 60 or 90 days men.
A. Lincoln.
Sanitary Fair at Chicago.
Executive Mansion, October 26, 1863.
Ladies having in Charge the Northwestern Fair
for the Sanitary Commission, Chicago, Illi-
nois.
According to the request made in your behalf,
the original draft of the Emancipation Procla-
mation is herewith inclosed. The formal words
at the top and the conclusion, except the signa-
ture, you perceive, are not in my handwriting.
312 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
They were written at the State Department, by
whom I know not. The printed part was cut
from a copy of the preliminary proclamation,
and pasted on, merely to save writing. I had
some desire to retain the paper; but if it shall
contribute to the relief or comfort of the sol-
diers, that will be better.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
George H. Boker.
Executive Mansion, October 26, 1863.
George H. Boker, Esq., Secretary.
My dear Sir: It is with heartfelt gratification
that I acknowledge the receipt of your com-
munication of the 6th, and the accompanying
medal, by which I am made an honorary mem-
ber of the Union League of Philadelphia.
I shall always bear with me the consciousness
of having endeavored to do my duty in the try-
ing times through which we are passing, and
the generous approval of a portion of my fel-
low-citizens so intelligent and so patriotic as
those composing your association assures me
that I have not wholly failed.
I could' not ask, and no one could merit, a
better reward.
Be kind enough, sir, to convey to the gentle-
men whom you represent, the assurance of the
grateful appreciation with which I accept the
honor you have conferred upon me.
I am very truly your obedient servant,
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 313
Elihu B. Washburne.
[Private and Confidential]
Executive Mansion, October 26, 1863.
Hon. E. B. Washburne.
My dear Sir: Yours of the 12th has been in
my hands several days. Inclosed I send the leave
of absence for your brother, in as good form as
I think I can safely put it. Without knowing
whether he would accept it, I have tendered the
collectorship at Portland, ]\Iaine, to your other
brother, the Governor.
Thanks to both you and our friend Campbell
for your kind words and intentions. A second
term would be a great honor and a great labor,
which, together, perhaps I would not decline if
tendered. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 18, 1863.
Hon. E. B. Washburne.
My dear Sir: The joint resolution of thanks to
General Grant and those under his command has
been before me, and is approved. H agreeable
to you, I shall be glad for you to superintend the
getting up of the medal, and the making of the
copy to be engrossed on parchment, which I am
to transmit to the General.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Thomas Swann.
[Priz'ate.]
Executive Mansion, October 2y, 1863.
Hon. Thomas Swann.
Dear Sir: Your letter, a copy of which is on
the other half of this sheet, is received. I trust
314 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
there Is no just ground for the suspicion you
mention ; and I am somewhat mortified that there
could be any doubt of my views upon the point
of your inquiry. I wish all loyal qualified voters
in Maryland and elsewhere to have the undis-
turbed privilege of voting at elections ; and
neither my authority nor my name can be prop-
erly used to the contrary.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Publish both letters, if either. A. L.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, July lo, 1864. 9.20 a. m.
Thomas Swann and Others, Baltimore, Mary-
land.
Yours of last night received. I have not a
single soldier but whom is being disposed by the
military for the best protection of all. By latest
accounts the enemy is moving on Washington.^
They cannot fly to either place. Let us be vigi-
lant, but keep cool. I hope neither Baltimore
nor W^ashington will be sacked. A. Lincoln.
't>*
A. W. Bradford.
Executive Mansion, November 2, 1863.
His Excellency A. W. Bradford, Governor of
Maryland.
Sir: Yours of the 31st ult. was received yes-
terday about noon, and since then I have been
giving most earnest attention to the subject-mat-
ter of it. At my call General Schenck has at-
tended, and he assures me it is almost certain that
^ General Jubal A. Early had beaten Lew Wallace at
the Monocacy River, Md., on July 9, and was on his way
to the capital.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 315
violence will be used at some of the voting places
on election day unless prevented by his provost-
guards. He says that at some of those places
Union voters will not attend at all, or run a
ticket, unless they have some assurance of pro-
tection. This makes the Missouri case, of my
action in regard to which you express your ap-
proval.
The remaining point of your letter is a protest
against any person offering to vote being put to
any test not found in the laws of Maryland.
This brings us to a difference between Missouri
and Maryland. With the same reason in both
States, Missouri has, by law, provided a test for
the voter with reference to the present rebellion,
while Maryland has not. For example, General
Trimble, captured fighting us at Gettysburg, is,
without recanting his treason, a legal voter by
the laws of Maryland. Even General Schenck's
order admits him to vote, if he recants upon
oath. I think that is cheap enough. My order
in Missouri, which you approve, and General
Schenck's order here, reach precisely the same
end. Each assures the right of voting to all loyal
men, and whether a man is loyal, each allows
that man to fix by his own oath. Your sugges-
tion that nearly all the candidates are loyal, I do
not think quite meets the case. In this struggle
for the nation's life, I cannot so confidently rely
on those whose elections may have depended
upon disloyal votes. Such men, when elected,
may prove true; but such votes are given them
in the expectation that they will prove false.
Nor do I think that to keep the peace at the
polls, and to prevent the persistently disloyal
from voting, constitutes just cause of offense to
3i6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Maryland. I think she has her own example for
it. If I mistake not, it is precisely what General
Dix did when your Excellency was elected gov-
ernor.
I revoke the first of the three propositions in
General Schenck's General Order No. 53 ; not
that it is wrong in principle, but because the mili-
tary, being of necessity exclusive judges as to
who shall be arrested, the provision is too liable
to abuse. For the revoked part I substitute the
following :
That all provost-marshals and other military officers
do prevent all disturbance and violence at or about the
polls, whether offered by such persons as above de-
scribed, or by any other person or persons whomsoever.
The other two propositions of the order I allow
to stand. General Schenck is fully determined,
and has my strict orders besides, that all loyal
men may vote, and vote for whom they please.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
John Jacob Astor, Jr., and Others.
[Private, except to General Dix.l
Executive Mansion, November 9, 1863.
Messrs. J. J. Astor, Jr., R. B. Roosevelt, and
Nathaniel Sands.
Gentlemen: Upon the subject of your letter,
I have to say that it is beyond my province to
interfere with New York city politics; that I
am very grateful to General Dix for the zealous
and able military and quasi-civil support he has
given the Government during the war, and that
if the people of New York should tender him the
mayoralty, and he accept it, nothing on that sub-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 317
ject could be more satisfactory to me. In this I
must not be understood as saying aught against
any one, or as attempting the least degree of dic-
tation in the matter.
To state it in another way, if General Dix's
present relation to the General Government lays
any restraint upon him in this matter, I wish
to remove that restraint.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
B. F. Flanders.
See letters to Salmon P. Chase of May 13, 1863, to
Nathaniel P. Banks of August 5, 1863, and November
5, 1863.
Executive Mansion, November 9, 1863.
Hon. B. F. Flanders.
My dear Sir: In a conversation with General
Butler, he made a suggestion which impressed
me a good deal at the time. It was that, as a
preliminary step, a vote be taken, yea or nay,
whether there shall be a State convention ^ to
repeal the ordinance of secession and remodel
the State constitution. I send it merely as a sug-
gestion for your consideration, not having con-
sidered it maturely myself.
The point which impressed me was, not so
much the questions to be voted on, as the effect
of crystallizing, so to speak, in taking such pop-
ular vote on any proper question.
In fact, I have always thought the act of se-
cession is legally nothing, and needs no repeal-
ing. Turn the thought over in your mind, and
see if in your own judgment you can make any-
thing of it. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
^ In Louisiana.
3i8 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
E. H. AND E. Jameson.
War Department, November 13, 1863.
E. H. and E. Jameson, Jefferson City, Mo.
Yours saying Brown and Henderson are
elected senators is received. I understand this
is one and one. If so it is knocking heads to-
gether to some purpose. A. Lincoln.
Zachariah Chandler.
Executive Mansion, November 20, 1863.
Hon. Zachariah Chandler.
My dear Sir: Your letter of the 15th, marked
^'private," was received to-day. I have seen Gov-
ernor Morgan and Thurlow Weed, separately,
but not together, within the last ten days; but
neither of them mentioned the forthcoming mes-
sage, or said anything, so far as I can remember,
which brought the thought of the message to my
mind. I am very glad the elections this autumn
have gone favorably, and that I have not, by
native depravity or under evil influences, done
anything bad enough to prevent the good re-
sult. I hope to "stand firm" enough to not go
backward, and yet not go forward fast enough
to wreck the country's cause.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
E. P. Evans.
Executive Mansion, November 23, 1863.
E. P. Evans, West Union, Adams County, Ohio.
Yours to Governor Chase in behalf of John
A. Welch is before me. Can there be a worse
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 319
case than to desert and with letters persuading
others to desert? I cannot interpose without a
better showing than you make. When did he
desert? When did he write the letters?
A. Lincoln.
Cooper Institute Committee.
Executive Mansion, December 2, 1863.
George Opdyke and Others.
Gentlemen : Yours of the 28th ultimo, inviting
me to be present at a meeting to be held at the
Cooper Institute on the 3d instant, to promote
the raising of volunteers, is received. Nothing
would be more grateful to my feelings, or bet-
ter accord with my judgment, than to contribute,
if I could, by my presence or otherwise, to that
eminently patriotic object. Nevertheless, the now
early meeting of Congress, together with a tem-
porary illness, render my attendance impossible.
You propose also to celebrate our Western
victories. Freed from the apprehension of
wounding the just sensibilities of brave soldiers
fighting elsewhere, it would be exceedingly agree-
able to me to join in a suitable acknowledgment
to those of the great West, with whom I was
born and have passed my life. And it is exceed-
ingly gratifying that a portion, lately of the
Army of the Potomac, but now serving with
the great Army of the West, has borne so con-
spicuous a part in the late brilliant triumphs in
Georgia.
Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere
who bravely bears his- country's cause. Honor
also to the citizen who cares for his brother in
the field, and serves, as he best can, the same
cause — honor to him, only less than to him who
320 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
braves, for the common good, the storms of
heaven and the storms of battle.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
John Rogers.
[Message to Congress.']
To the Senate and House of Representatives.
In conformity to the law of July i6, 1862, I
most cordially recommend that Captain John
Rogers, United States Navy, receive a vote of
thanks from Congress for the eminent skill and
gallantry exhibited by him in the engagement
with the rebel armed iron-clad steamer Fingal,
alias Atlanta, whilst in command of the United
States iron-clad steamer JVeehazvken, which led
to her capture on the 17th of June, 1863, and
also for the zeal, bravery, and general good con-
duct shown by this officer on many occasions.
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, December 8, 1863.
Thomas Cottman.
Executive Alansion, December 15, 1863.
Dr. Thomas Cottman.
My dear Sir : You were so kind as to say
this morning that you desire to return to Lou-
isiana, and to be guided by my wishes, to some
extent, in the part you may take in bringing
that State to resume her rightful relation to the
General Government.
My wishes are in a general way expressed, as
well as I can express them, in the proclamation
issued on the 8th of the present month, and in
that part of the annual message which relates
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 321
to that proclamation. It there appears that I
deem the sustaining of the Emancipation Proc-
lamation, where it applies, as indispensable; and
I add here that I would esteem it fortunate if
the people of Louisiana should themselves place
the remainder of the State upon the same foot-
ing, and then, if in their discretion it should
appear best, make some temporary provision for
the whole of the freed people, substantially as
suggested in the last proclamation.
I have not put forth the plan in that procla-
mation as a Procrustean bed, to which exact
conformity is to be indispensable; and, in Lou-
isiana particularly, I wish that labor already
done, which varies from that plan in no impor-
tant particular, may not be thrown away.
The strongest wish I have, not already pub-
licly expressed, is that in Louisiana and else-
where all sincere Union men would stoutly es-
chew cliquism, and, each yielding something in
minor matters, all work together. Nothing is
likely to be so baleful in the great work before
us as stepping aside from the main object to
consider who will get the offices if a small mat-
ter shall go thus, and who else will get them
if it shall go otherwise. It is time now for real
patriots to rise above all this. As to the par-
ticulars of what I may think best to be done
in any State, I have publicly stated certain points
which I have thought indispensable to the rees-
tablishment and maintenance of the national au-
thority ; and I go no further than this because I
wish to avoid both the substance and the ap-
pearance of dictation.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
322 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
O. D. FiLLEY.
Executive Mansion, December 22, 1863.
O. D. Filley, St. Louis, Missouri.
I have just looked over a petition signed by
some three dozen citizens of St. Louis, and three
accompanying letters. . . . the whole relating to
the Rev. Dr. McPheeters. The petition prays,
in the name of justice and mercy, that I will
restore Dr. McPheeters to all his ecclesiastical
rights. This gives no intimation as to what ec-
clesiastical rights are withheld.
Your letter states that Provost-Marshal Dick,
about a year ago, ordered the arrest of Dr.
McPheeters, pastor of the Vine Street Church,
prohibited him from officiating, and placed the
management of the affairs of the church out of
the control of its chosen trustees ; and near the
close you state that a certain course ''would in-
sure his release." Mr. Ranney's letter says :
''Dr. Samuel S. McPheeters is enjoying all the
rights of a civilian, but cannot preach the Gos-
pel !! !" Mr. Coalter, in his letter asks: "Is it
not a strange illustration of the condition of
things, that the question of who shall be allowed
to preach in a church in St. Louis shall be de-
cided by the President of the United States?"
Now, all this sounds very strangely; and,
withal, a little as if you gentlemen making the
application do not understand the case alike ; one
affirming that the doctor is enjoying all the
rights of a civilian, and another pointing out to
me what will secure his release ! On the sec-
ond day of January last, I wrote to General
Curtis in relation to Mr. Dick's order upon Dr.
McPheeters ; and, as I suppose the doctor is
■ LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 323
enjoying all the rights of a civilian, I only quote
that part of my letter which relates to the church.
It is as follows: ''But I must add that the
United States Government must not, as by this
order, undertake to run the churches. When
an individual, in a church or out of it, becomes
dangerous to the public interest, he must be
checked ; but the churches, as such, must take
care of themselves. It will not do for the
United States to appoint trustees, supervisors,
or other agents for the churches."
This letter going to General Curtis, then in
command there, I supposed, of course, it was
obeyed, especially as I heard no further com-
plaint from Dr. McPheeters or his friends for
nearly an entire year. I have never interfered,
nor thought of interfering, as to who shall or
shall not preach in any church ; nor have I
knowingly or believingly tolerated any one else
to so interfere by my authority. If any one is so
interfering by color of my authority, I would like
to have it specifically made known to me.
If, after all, what is now sought is to have
me put Dr. McPheeters back over the heads of
a majority of his own congregation, that, too,
will be declined. I will not have control of any
church on any side.
Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln.
Samuel S. McPheeters.
[Indorsement on Petition.']
The assumptions of this paper, so far as I
know, or believe, are entirely false. I have
never deprived Doctor McPheeters of any eccle-
siastical right, or authorized or excused its being
324 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
done by any one deriving authority from me.
On the contrary, in regard to this very case, I
directed a long time ago that Doctor McPheeters
w^as to be arrested, or remain at large, upon the
same rule as any one else; and that in no event
w^as any one to interfere, by my authority, as to
v^ho should or should not preach in any church.
This was done, I think, in a letter, in the nature
of an order, to Mr. Dick. The assumption that
I am keeping Dr. McPheeters from preaching in
his church is monstrous. If any one is doing
this, by pretense of my authority, I will thank
any one who can to make out and present me a
specific case against him. If, after all, the doc-
tor is kept out by the majority of his own par-
ishioners, and my official power is sought to
force him in over their heads, I decline that also.
A. Lincoln.
December 22, 1863.
Thomas E. Bramlette.
[Telegram.^
Executive Mansion, January 6, 1864. 2 p. m.
Governor Bramlette, Frankfort, Kentucky.
Yours of yesterday received. Nothing is
known here about General Foster's order, of
which you complain, beyond the fair presump-
tion that it comes from General Grant, and that
it has an object which, if you understood, you
would be loath to frustrate. True, these troops
are, in strict law, only to be removed by my or-
der ; but General Grant's judgment would be the
highest incentive to me to make such order. Nor
can I understand how doing so is bad faith and
dishonor, nor yet how it so exposes Kentucky
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 325
to ruin. Military men here do not perceive how
it exposes Kentucky, and I am sure Grant would
not permit it if it so appeared to him.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Executive Mansion, January 17, 1864.
Governor Branilette, Frankfort, Kentucky.
Your letter of the eighth is just received. To
your question, ''May I not add q. e.'dJ" I an-
swer "No," because you omit the "premise" in
the law, that the President may in his discretion
send these troops out of Kentucky ; and I take
it that if he shall do so, on the judgment of Gen-
eral Grant as to its propriety, it will be neither
cruelty, bad faith, nor dishonor. When I tele-
graphed you I knew, though I did not say so to
you, that General Grant was about that time
with General Foster at Knoxville, and could not
be ignorant of, or averse to, the order which
alarmed you. I see he has since passed through
Kentucky, and I hope you have had a conference
with him. A. Lincoln.
Washington, D. C., November 10, 1864.
Governor Bramlette, Frankfort, Kentucky.
Yours of yesterday received. I can scarcely
believe that General John B. Houston has been
arrested "for no other offense than opposition to
my reelection" ; for, if that had been deemed
sufficient cause of arrest, I should have heard of
more than one arrest in Kentucky on election
day. If, however. General Houston has been
arrested for no other cause than opposition to
my reelection, General Burbridge will discharge
326 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
him at once, I sending him a copy of this as an
order to that effect. A. Lincoln.
On November 22, 1864, the President sent a telegram
to Governor Bramlette informing him that "the Secre-
tary of War and myself are trying to devise means of
pacification and harmony for Kentucky, which we hope
to effect soon, now that the passion-exciting subject of
the election is past."
On February 5, 1865, the President telegraphed in
answer to a query of Governor Bramlette concerning
the Thirteenth Amendment: "Precedents justify the
legislature to act on ex-oflicio notice of Congress having
passed the proposed amendment ; nevertheless, I will
send you the authenticated copy."
Andrews.
[Indorsement.]
The case of Andrews is really a very bad one,
as appears by the record already before me. Yet
. . . I . . . ordered his punishment commuted
to imprisonment for during the war at hard la-
bor. ... I did this, not on any merit in the
case, but because I am trying to evade the
butchering business lately. A. Lincoln.
QUINCY A. GiLLMORE.
See letter to Gideon Welles of December 20, 1863.
Executive Mansion, January 13, 1864.
Major-General Gillmore.
I understand an effort is being made by some
worthy gentlemen to reconstruct a loyal State
government in Florida. Florida is in your de-
partment, and it is not unlikely that you may be
there in person. I have given Mr. Hay a com-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 327
mission of major, and sent him to yon, with
some blank-books and other blanks, to aid in the
reconstruction. He will explain as to the man-
ner of using the blanks, and also my general
views on the subject. It is desirable for all to
cooperate, but if irreconcilable differences of
opinion shall arise, you are master. I wish the
thing done in the most speedy way possible, so
that when done, it lie within the range of the
late proclamation on the subject. The detail la-
bor, of course, will have to be done by others ;
but I shall be greatly obliged if you will give
it such general supervision as you can find con-
sistent with your more strictly military duties.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
The North American Review.
Executive Mansion, January 16, 1864.
Messrs. Crosby and Nichols.
Gentlemen: The number for this month and
year of the North American Review was duly
received, and for which please accept my thanks.
Of course, I am not the most impartial judge;
yet, with due allowance for this, I venture to
hope that the article entitled "The President's
Policy" will be of value to the country. I fear
I am not quite worthy of all which is therein
kindly said of me personally.
The sentence of twelve lines, commencing at
the top of page 252, I could wish to be not ex-
actly as it is. In what is there expressed, the
writer has not correctly understood me. I have
never had a theorv that secession could absolve
States or people from their obligations. Pre-
cisely the contrary is asserted in the inaugural
32 S LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
address ; and it was because of my belief in the
continuation of these obligations that I was puz-
zled, for a time, as to denying the legal rights
of those citizens who remained individually in-
nocent of treason or rebellion. But I mean no
more now than to merely call attention to this
point. Yours respectfully, A. Lincoln.
J. J. Reynolds.
Executive Mansion, January 20, 1864.
Major-General Reynolds. . . .
The true rule for the military is to seize such
property as is needed for military uses and rea-
sons, and let the rest alone. Cotton and other
staple articles of commerce are seizable for mili-
tary reasons. Dwelling-houses and furniture
are seldom so. If Mrs. Morton is playing traitor
to the extent of practical injury, seize her, but
leave her house to the courts. Please revise and
adjust this case upon these principles.
Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
Alpheus Lewis.
Executive Mansion, January 23, 1864.
Alpheus Lewis, Esq.
My dear Sir: You have inquired how the
government would regard and treat cases where-
in the owners of plantations, in Arkansas, for
instance, might fully recognize the freedom
of those formerly slaves, and by fair contracts of
hire with them, recommence the cultivation of
their plantations. I answer, I should regard
such cases with great favor, and should as a
principle treat them precisely as I would treat
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 329
the same number of free white people in the
same relation and condition. Whether white or
black, reasonable effort should be made to give
government protection. In neither case should
the giving of aid and comfort to the rebellion, or
other practices injurious to the Government, be
allowed on such plantations ; and in either, the
Government would claim the right to take, if
necessary, those of proper ages and conditions
into the military service. Such plan must not
be used to break up existing leases or arrange-
ments of abandoned plantations which the Gov-
ernment may have made to give employment and
sustenance to the idle and destitute people. With
the foregoing qualifications, and explanations,
and in view of its tendency to advance freedom,
and restore peace and prosperity, such hiring
and employment of the freed people, would be
regarded by me with rather especial favor.
To be more specific, I add that all the military,
and others acting by authority of the United
States, are to favor and facilitate the introduc-
tion and carrying forward, in good faith, the
free-labor system as above indicated, by allow-
ing the necessary supplies therefor to be pro-
cured and taken to the proper points, and by
doing and forbearing whatever will advance it,
providing that existing military and trade regu-
lations be not transcended thereby. I shall be
glad to learn that planters adopting this system
shall have employed one so zealous and active as
yourself to act as an agent in relation thereto.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
330 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Frederick Steele.
Washington, January 27, 1864.
Major-General Steele.
I have addressed a letter to you, and put it
in the hands of Mr. Gantt and other Arkansas
gentlemen, containing a program for an election
in that State. ... Be sure to retain the free-
State constitutional provision in some unques-
tionable form, and you and he can fix the rest.
The points I have made in the program have
been well considered. Take hold with an honest
heart and a strong hand. Do not let any ques-
tionable man control or influence you.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 30, 1864.
Major-General Steele.
Since writing mine of the 27th, seeing still
further accounts of the action of the convention
in Arkansas, induces me to write you yet again.
They seem to be doing so well, that possibly
the best you can do would be to help them on
their own plan ; but of this you must confer with
them and be the judge. Of all things, avoid, if
possible, a dividing into cliques among the
friends of the common object. Be firm and reso-
lute against such as you can perceive would
make confusion and division.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, June 29, 1864.
Major-General Steele.
I understand that Congress declines to admit
to seats the persons sent as senators and repre-
sentatives from Arkansas. These persons appre-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 331
hend that, in consequence, you may not support
the new State government there as you other-
wise would. My wiah is that you give that gov-
ernment and the people there the same support
and protection that you would if the members
had been admitted, because in no event, nor in
any view of the case, can this do any harm, while
it will be the best you can do toward suppress-
ing the rebellion. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
James Wads worth.
[Extract from Letter to General Wadszvorth
Given by F. B. Carpenter.']
(Late January or early February, 1864.)
You desire to know, in the event of our com-
plete success in the field, the same being followed
by a loyal and cheerful submission on the part of
the South, if universal amnesty should not be
accompanied with universal suffrage.
Now, since you know my private inclinations
as to what terms should be granted to the South
in the contingency mentioned, I will here add,
that if our success should thus be realized, fol-
lowed by such desired results, I cannot see, if
tmiversal amnesty is granted, how, under the
circumstances, I can avoid exacting in return
universal suffrage or at least suffrage on the
basis of intelligence and military service.
How to better the condition of the colored
race has long been a study which has attracted
my serious and careful attention ; hence I think
I am clear and decided as to what course I shall
pursue in the premises, regarding it as a re-
ligious duty, as the' nation's guardian of these
people who have so heroically vindicated their
332 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
manhood on the battle-field, where, in assisting
to save the life of the Republic, they have dem-
onstrated in blood their right to the ballot,
which is but the humane protection of the flag
they have so fearlessly defended.
In an article in Scribncr's Magazine for January,
1893, by the Marquis de Chambrun, the above letter
contains this paragraph :
The restoration of the Rebel States to the
Union must rest upon the principle of civil and
political equality of both races; and it must be
sealed by general amnesty.
Horace Maynard.
\Telegram.'\
Executive Mansion, February 13, 1864.
Hon. Horace Maynard, Nashville, Tennessee.
Your letter of [thc^ second received. 0£
course Governor Johnson will proceed with re-
organization as the exigencies of the case appear
to him to require. I do not apprehend he will
think it necessary to deviate from my views to
any ruinous extent. On one hasty reading I see
no such deviation in his program, which you
send. A. Lincoln.
J. M. Thayer.
[Telegram.']
War Department, February 15, 1864.
General Thayer, Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Yours received. Whatever of conflict there is
between the convention and me is accidental, not
designed, I having acted in ignorance that the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 2>3Z
convention would act. I yield to the convention,
and have so notified General Steele, who is mas-
ter, and is to cut any knots which cannot be un-
tied. Correspond with him. A. Lincoln.
Daniel E. Sickles.
Executive Mansion, February 15, 1864.
Major-General Sickles.
I wish you to make a tour for me (principally
for observation and information) by way of
Cairo and New Orleans, and returning by the
gulf and ocean. . . .
Please ascertain at each place what is being
done, if anything, for reconstruction ; how the
amnesty proclamation works — if at all ; what
practical hitches, if any, there are about it;
whether deserters come in from the enemy, what
number has come in at each point since the am-
nesty, and whether the ratio of their arrival is
any greater since than before the amnesty; what
deserters report generally, and particularly
whether, and to what extent, the amnesty is
known within the rebel lines. Also learn what
you can as to the colored people ; how they get
along as soldiers, as laborers in our service, on
leased plantations, and as hired laborers with
their old masters, if there be such cases. Also
learn what you can as to the colored people with-
in the rebel lines. Also get any other informa-
tion you may consider interesting, and from time
to time, send me what you may deemi important
to be known here at once, and be ready to make
a general report on your return.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
334 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
W. M. FiSHBACK.
War Department, February 17, i§64.
William M. Fishback, Little Rock, Arkansas.
When I fixed a plan for an election in Arkan-
sas I did it in ignorance that your convention
was doing the same work. Since I learned the
latter fact I have been constantly trying to yield
my plan to them. I have sent two letters to
General Steele, and three or four despatches to
you and others, saying that he, General Steele,
must be master, but that it will probably be best
for him to merely help the convention on its own
plan. Some single mind must be master, else
there will be no agreement in anything, and
General Steele, commanding the military and
being on the ground, is the best man to be that
master. Even now citizens are telegraphing me
to postpone the election to a later date than
either that fixed by the convention or by me.
This discord must be silenced. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, March 12, 1864.
William Fishback, Fort Smith, Arkansas.
I know not that any change of departmental
lines is likely to be made in Arkansas ; but if
done, it will be for purely military reasons, to
which the good people there can have no just
cause of objection. Get out the largest vote you
can, and the largest part of it on the right side
that is possible. A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 335
William Jayne.
Executive Mansion, February 26, 1864.
Hon. W. Jayne.
Dear Sir: I dislike to make changes in office
so long as they can be avoided. It multiplies my
embarrassments immensely. I dislike two ap-
pointments when one will do. Send me the
name of some man not the present marshal, and
I will nominate him to be Provost Marshal for
Dakota. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.'
E. H. East.
Washington, February 27, 1864.
Hon. E. H. East, Secretary of State, Nashville,
Tennessee. . . .
No person who has taken the oath of amnesty
of eighth December, 1863, and obtained a par-
don thereby, and who intends to observe the
same in good faith, should have any objection
to taking that prescribed by Governor Johnson
as a test of loyalty. I have seen and examined
Governor Johnson's proclamation, and am en-
tirely satisfied with his plan, which is to restore
the State government and place it under the
control of citizens truly loyal to the Government
of the United States. A. Lincoln.
Please send above to Governor Johnson.
A. L.
J. A. J. Creswell.
Executive Mansion, IMarch 7, 1864.
Hon. John A. J. Creswell.
My dear Sir: I am very anxious for eman-
cipation to be effected in Maryland in some
substantial form. I think it probable that my
336 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
expressions of a preference for gradual over im-
mediate emancipation, are misunderstood. I had
thought the gradual would produce less confu-
sion and destitution, and therefore would be
more satisfactory; but if those who are better
acquainted with the subject, and are more deeply
interested in it, prefer the immediate, most cer-
tainly I have no objection to their judgment pre-
vailing. My wish is that all who are for eman-
cipation in any form, shall cooperate, all treating
all respectfully, and all adopting and acting upon
the major opinion when fairly ascertained.
What I have dreaded is the danger that by
jealousies, rivalries, and consequent ill-blood —
driving one another out of meetings and con-
ventions — perchance from the polls — the friends
of emancipation themselves may divide, and lose
the measure altogether. I wish this letter to
not be made public ; but no man representing me
as I herein represent myself will be in any dan-
ger of contradiction by me.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March 17, 1864.
Hon. John A. J. Creswell.
My dear Sir : It needs not to be a secret that
I wish success to emancipation in Maryland. It
would aid much to end the rebellion. Hence it
is a matter of national consequence, in which
every national man may rightfully feel a deep
interest. I sincerely hope the friends of the
measure will allow no minor considerations to
divide and distract them.^
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
^ ^ Slavery was abolished by the Constitutional Conven-
tion on June 24, 1864.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 337
Meredith P. Gentry.
Executive Mansion, March 13, 1864.
Hon. M. P. Gentry.
My dear Sir: Yours by the hand of General
Grant is received. Of course I have not for-
gotten you. General Grant is hereby authorized,
in his discretion, to send you South ; and it is
rather my wish that he may find it not incon-
sistent with his view of the public interest to
oblige you. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Michael Hahn.
See letters to Nathaniel P. Banks of August 5, 1863,
and of November 5, 1863.
[Prizvte.']
Executive Mansion, March 13, 1864.
Hon. Michael Hahn.
My dear Sir: I congratulate you on having
fixed your name in history as the first free-State
governor of Louisiana. Now you are about to
have a convention, which, among other things,
will probably define the elective franchise. I
barely suggest for your private consideration,
whether some of the colored people may not be
let in — as, for instance, the very intelligent, and
especially those who have fought gallantly in our
ranks. They would probably help, in some try-
ing time to come, to keep the jewel of liberty
within the family of freedom. But this is only
a suggestion, not to the public, but to you alone.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
338 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
B. B. French.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, March 25, 1864.
Hon. B. B. French.
My dear Sir: I understand a bill is before
Congress by your instigation, for taking your
office from the control of the Department of the
Interior, and considerably enlarging the powers
and patronage of your office. The proposed
change may be right for aught I know, and it
certainly is right for Congress to do as it thinks
proper in the case. What I wish to say is, that
if the change is made, I do not think I can allow
you to retain the office; because that would be
encouraging officers to be constantly intriguing,
to the detriment of the public interest, in order
to profit themselves.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
A. G. Hodges.
Executive Mansion, April 4, 1864.
A. G. Hodges, Esq., Frankfort, Kentucky.
My dear Sir: You ask me to put in writing
the substance of what I verbally said the other
day in your presence, to Governor Bramlette and
Senator Dixon. It was about as follows :
''I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not
wrong, nothing it wrong. I cannot remember
when I did not so think and feel, and yet I have
never understood that the presidency conferred
upon me an unrestricted right to act officially
upon this judgment and feeling. It was in the
oath I took that I would to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 339
the United States. I could not take the office
without taking the oath. Nor was it my view
that I might take an oath to get power, and break
the oath in using the power. I understand, too,
that in ordinary civil administration this oath
even forbade me to practically indulge my pri-
marv abstract judgment on the moral question
of slavery. I had publicly declared this many
times, and in many ways. And I aver that, to
this day, I have done no official act in mere
deference to my abstract judgment and feeling
on slavery. I did understand, however, that my
oath to preserve the Constitution to the best of
my ability imposed upon me the duty of pre-
serving, by every indispensable means, that Gov-
ernment — that nation, of which that Constitution
was the organic law. /Was it possible to lose the
nation and yet preserve the Constitution? By
general law, life and limb must be protected, yet
often a limb must be amputated to save a life ;
but a life is never wisely given to save a limb.
I felt that measures otherwise unconstitutional
might become lawful by becoming indispensable
to the preservation of the Constitution through
the preservation of the nation. Right or wrong,
I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I
could not feel that, to the best of my ability,^ I
had even tried to preserve the Constitution, if,
to save slavery or any minor matter, I should
permit the wreck of Government, country, and
Constitution all together. When, early in the
war. General Fremont attempted military eman-
cipation, I forbade it, because I did not then
think it an indispensable necessity. W^ien, a little
later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War,
suggested the arming of the blacks, I objected
340 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
because I did not yet think it an indispensable
necessity. When, still later, General Hunter at-
tempted military emancipation, I again forbade
it, because I did not yet think the indispensable
necessity had come. When in March and May
and July, 1862, I made earnest and successive
appeals to the border States to favor compen-
sated emancipation, I believed the indispensable
necessity for military emancipation and arming-
the blacks would come unless averted by that
measure. They declined the proposition, and I
was, in my best judgment, driven to the alter-
native of either surrendering the Union, and
with it the Constitution, or of laying strong hand
upon the colored element. I chose the latter. In
choosing it, I hoped for greater gain than loss ;
but of this, I was not entirely confident. More
than a year of trial now shows no loss by it in
our foreign relations, none in our home popular
sentiment, none in our white military force — no
loss by it anyhow or anywhere. On the con-
trary it shows a gain of quite a hundred and
thirty thousand soldiers, seamen, and laborers.
These are palpable facts, about which, as facts,
there can be no caviling. We have the men ;
and we could not have had them without the
measure.
*'And now let any Union man who complains
of the measure test himself by writing down in
one line that he is for subduing the rebellion by
force of arms ; and in the next, that he is for
taking these hundred and thirty thousand men
from the Union side, and placing them where
they would be but for the measure he condemns.
If he cannot face his case so stated, it is only
because he cannot face the truth."
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 341
I add a word which was not in the verbal con-
versation. In telling this tale I attempt no com-
pliment to my own sagacity. I claim not to have
controlled events, but confess plainly that events
have controlled me. Now, at the end of three
years' struggle, the nation's condition is not what
either party, or any man, devised or expected.
God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending
seems plain. If God now wills the removal of a
great wrong, and wills also that we of the
North, as well as you of the South, shall pay
fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impar-
tial history will find therein new cause to attest
and revere the justice and goodness of God.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Horace Mann.
Executive Mansion, April 5, 1864.
Mrs. Horace Mann.
Madam: The petition of persons under eight-
teen, praying that I would free all slave children,
and the heading of which petition it appears you
wrote, was handed me a few days since by Sen-
ator Sumner. Please tell these little people I am
very glad their young hearts are so full of just
and generous sympathy, and that, while I have
not the power to grant all they ask, I trust they
will remember that God has, and that, as it
seems. He wills to do it.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
William Dennison.
On April 7, 1864, in answer to a request to give a
cotton-trader a letter of recommendation to military
and naval authorities, etc., the President telegraphed
342 LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
Governor Dennison. of Ohio, through John G. Nicolay,
his private secretary, that "the President thinks he can-
not safely write that class of letters."
Executive Mansion, June 2^, 1864.
Hon. William Dennison and Others, a Commit-
tee of the National Union Convention.
Gentlemen : Your letter of the 14th instant
formally notifying me that I have been nomi-
nated by the convention you represent for the
Presidency of the United States for four years
from the fourth of March next has been re-
ceived. The nomination is gratefully accepted,
as the resolutions of the convention, called the
platform, are heartily approved. While the reso-
lution in regard to the supplanting of republi-
can government upon the western continent is
fullv concurred in, there might be misunder-
standing were I not to say that the position of
the Government in relation to the action of
France in Mexico, as assumed through the State
Department and approved and indorsed by the
convention among the measures and acts of the
executive, will be faithfully maintained so long
as the state of facts shall leave that position per-
tinent and applicable. I am especially gratified
that the soldier and the seaman were not forgot-
ten by the convention, as they forever must and
will be remembered by the grateful country for
whose salvation they devote their lives.
Thanking you for the kind and complimentary
terms in which you have communicated the nom-
ination and other proceedings of the convention,
I subscribe myself.
Your obedient servant, Abraham Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 343
[Telegram.']
Washing-ton, D. C, September 24, 1864.
Governor William Dennison, Columbus, Ohio.
Mr. Blair has resigned and I appoint you
Postmaster-General. Come on immediately.
A. Lincoln.
Isaac Murphy.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, April 27, 1864.
Governor Murphy, Little Rock, Arkansas.
I am much gratified to learn that you got out
so large a vote, so nearly all the right way, at
the late election ; and not less so that your State
government, including the legislature, is organ-
ized and in good working order. Whatever I
can I will do to protect you ; meanwhile you
must do your utmost to protect yourselves. Pre-
sent my greetings to all. A. Lincoln.
William T. Sherman.^
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C, May 4, 1864.
Major-General Sherman, Chattanooga, Tennes-
see.
I have an imploring appeal in behalf of the
citizens, who say your Order No. 8 will compel
them to go north of Nashville. This is in no
^ General Sherman was one of the few generals who
at the outbreak of the war realized its magnitude. He was
called "Crazy Billy" because of his forebodings. He was
a favorite of Grant, who made him his successor in the
West when he became Lieutenant-General, and was greatly-
trusted by Lincoln.
344 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
sense an order, nor is it even a request that you
will do anything which in the least shall be a
drawback upon your military operations, but
anything you can do consistently with those
operations for those suffering people I shall be
glad of. A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July i8, 1864.
Major-General Sherman, Chattahoochee River,
Georgia.
I have seen your despatches, objecting to
agents of Northern States opening recruiting
stations ^ near your camps.
An act of Congress authorizes this, giving the
appointment of agents to the States, and not to
the executive government. It is not for the War
Department or myself to restrain or modify the
law in its execution further than actual necessity
may require.
To be candid, I was for the passage of the
law, not apprehending at the time that it would
produce such inconvenience to the armies in the
field, as you now cause me to fear. Many of
the States were very anxious for it, and I hoped
that, with their State bounties, and active exer-
tions, they would get out substantial additions
to our colored forces, which, unlike white re-
cruits, help us where they come from, as well as
where they go to. I still hope advantage from
the law ; and, being a law, it must be treated
as such by all of us.
We here will do what we consistently can to
save you from difficulties arising out of it.
May I ask therefore that you will give your
hearty cooperation? A. Lincoln.
^ For negroes.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 345
Washington, D. C, July 26, 1864.
Major-General Sherman, near Atlanta.
I have just seen yours complaining of the ap-
pointment of Hovey and Osterhaus. The point
you make is unquestionably a good one, and yet,
please hear a word from us. My recollection is
that both General Grant and yourself recom-
mended both Hovey and Osterhaus for promo-
tion, and these, with other strong recommenda-
tions, drew committals from us which we could
neither honorably nor safely disregard. We
blamed Hovey for coming away in the manner
in which he did, but we knew he had apparent
reason to feel disappointed and mortified, and
we felt that it was not best to crush one who
certainly had been a good soldier. As to Oster-
haus, we did not know of his leaving, at the
time we made the appointment, and do not now
know the terms on which he left. Not to have
appointed him, as the case appeared to us at the
time, would have been almost, if not quite, a
violation of our word. The word was given on
what we thought was high merit, and somewhat
on his nationality. I beg you to believe we do
not act in a spirit of disregarding merit; we
expect to await your program for further
changes and promotions in your army. My pro-
foundest thanks to you and your whole army
for the present campaign so far.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C., September 17, 1864. 10 a. m.
Major-General Sherman, Atlanta, Georgia.
I feel great interest in the subjects of your de-
346 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
spatch mentioning corn and sorghum, and the
contemplated visit to you. A. Lincoln,
President of the United States.
Executive Mansion, September 19, 1864.
Major-General Sherman.
The State election of Indiana occurs on the
nth of October, and the loss of it, to the friends
of the Government, would go far toward losing
the whole Union cause. The bad effect upon the
November election, and especially the giving the
State government to those who will oppose the
war in every possible way, are too much to risk,
if it can possibly be avoided. The draft pro-
ceeds, notwithstanding its strong tendency to lose
us the State. Indiana is the only important
State, voting in October, whose soldiers cannot
vote in the field. Anything you can safely do
to let her soldiers, or any part of them, go home
and vote at the State election will be greatly in
point. They need not remain for the presiden-
tial election, but may return to you at once.
This is in no sense an order, but is merely in-
tended to impress you with the importance, to
the army itself, of your doing all you safely can,
yourself being the judge of what you can safely
do. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C., September 2y, 1864.
Major-General Sherman, Atlanta, Georgia.
You say Jefferson Davis is on a visit to Hood.
I judge that Brown and Stephens are the objects
of his visit. A. Lincoln.
1 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 347
Executive Mansion, December 26, 1864.
My dear General Sherman: Many, many
thanks for your Christmas gift, the capture of
Savannah.
When you were about leaving Atlanta for
the Atlantic coast, I was anxious, if not fearful ;
but feeling that you were the better judge,
and remembering that "nothing risked, nothing
gained," I did not interfere. Now, the under-
taking being a success, the honor is all yours ;
for I believe none of us went further than to
acquiesce.
And taking the work of General Thomas into
the count, as it should be taken, it is indeed a
great success. Not only does it afford the ob-
vious and immediate military advantages ; but
in showing to the world that your army could be
divided, putting the stronger part to an impor-
tant new service, and yet leaving enough to van-
quish the old opposing force of the whole —
Hood's army — it brings those who sat in dark-
ness to see a great light. But what next?
I suppose it will be safe if I leave General
Grant and yourself to decide.
Please make my grateful acknowledgments to
your whole army — officers and men.
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Sarah B. Meconkey.
Executive Mansion, May 9, 1864.
Mrs. Sarah B. Meconkey, West Chester, Pa.
Madam: Our mutual friend, Judge Lewis,
tells me you do me the honor to inquire for my
personal welfare. I have been very anxious for
some days in regard to our armies in the field.
348 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
but am considerably cheered, just now, by favor-
able news from them. I am sure that you will
join me in the hope for their further success;
while yourself, and other good mothers, wives,
sisters, and daughters, do all you and they can
to relieve and comfort the gallant soldiers who
compose them. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Samuel C. Pomeroy.^
Executive Mansion, May 12, 1864.
Hon. Senator Pomeroy.
Sir: I did not doubt yesterday that you de-
sired to see me about the appointment of asses-
sor in Kansas. I wish you and Lane would
make a sincere effort to get out of the mood you
are in. It does neither of you any good. It
gives you the means of tormenting my life out
of me, and nothing else.
Yours, etc., A. Lincoln.
Alfred Mackay.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, May 20, 1864.
Alfred Mackay,
Secretary of Fair, St. Louis, Missouri.
Your despatch received. Thanks for your
greeting, and congratulations for the successful
opening of your fair. Our soldiers are doing
well, and must and will be done well by.
A. Lincoln.
^ Mr. Pomeroy and James H. Lane were senators from
Kansas. Pomeroy was an opponent of Lincoln's renomi-
nation.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 349
I. N. Arnold.^
Executive Mansion, May 25, 1864.
Hon. I. N. Arnold.
My dear Sir: In regard to the order of Gen-
eral Burnside suspending the Chicago Times,
now nearly a year ago, I can only say I was
embarrassed with the question between what
was due to the military service on the one hand,
and the liberty of the press on the other, and I
believe it was the despatch of Senator Trumbull
and yourself, added to the proceedings of the
meeting which it brought me, that turned the
scale in favor of my revoking the order.
I am far from certain to-day that the revoca-
tion was not right ; and I am very sure the small
part you took in it is no just ground to dispar-
age your judgment, much less to impugn your
motives. I take it that your devotion to the
Union and the Administration cannot be ques-
tioned by any sincere man.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
For Lincoln's opinion of Arnold, see his letter to
Robert Boal of December 25, 1856.
Baptist Home Mission Society.
Executive Mansion, May 30, 1864.
Rev. Dr. Ide, Hon. J. R. Doolittle,'and Hon. A.
Hubbell, Committee.
In response to the preamble and resolutions of
the American Baptist Home Mission Society,
which you did me the honor to present, I can
^ Arnold was a lawyer on the circuit with Lincoln, and
a member of Congress during the war. He wrote an
excellent biography of Lincoln.
350 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
only thank you for thus adding to the effective
and ahiiost unanimous support which the Chris-
tian communities are so zealously giving to the
country and to liberty. Indeed, it is difficult to
conceive how it could be otherwise with any one
professing Christianity, or even having ordinary
perceptions of right and wrong. To read in the
Bible, as the word of God himself, that "In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," and to
preach therefrom that, ''In the sweat of other
men's faces shalt thou eat bread," to my mind
can scarcely be reconciled with honest sincerity.
When brought to my final reckoning, may I
have to answer for robbing no man of his goods ;
yet more tolerable even this, than for robbing
one of himself and all that was his. When, a
year or two ago, those professedly holy men of
the South met in the semblance of prayer and
devotion, and, in the name of him who said,
''As ye would all men should do unto you, do
ye even so unto them," appealed to the Christian
world to aid them in doing to a whole race of
men as they would have no man do unto them-
selves, to my thinking they contemned and in-
sulted God and his church far more than did
Satan when he tempted the Saviour with the
kingdoms of the earth. The devil's attempt was
no more false, and far less hypocritical. But let
me forbear, remembering it is also written,
"Judge not lest ye be judged." A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 351
J. H. Bryant.
Executive Mansion, May 30, 1864.
Hon. John H. Bryant.
My dear Sir: Yours of the 14th instant in-
closing a card of invitation to a preliminary
meeting contemplating the erection of a monu-
ment to the memory of Hon. Owen Love joy
was duly received. As you anticipate, it will be
out of my power to attend. Many of you have
known Mr. Love joy longer than I have, and are
better able than I to do his memory complete
justice. My personal acquaintance with him
commenced only about ten years ago, since when
it has been quite intimate, and every step in it
has been one of increasing respect and esteem,
ending, with his life, in no less than affection
on my part. It can truly be said of him that
while he was personally ambitious he bravely
endured the obscurity which the unpopularity
of his principles imposed, and never accepted
official honors until those honors were ready to
admit his principles with him. Throughout very
heavy and perplexing responsibilities here to the
day of his death, it would scarcely wrong any
other to say he was my most generous friend.
Let him have the marble monument along
with the well-assured and more enduring one in
the hearts of those who love liberty unselfishly
for all men. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
New York Mass-Meeting.
Executive Mansion, June 3, 1864.
Hon. F. A. Conkling and Others.
Gentlemen: Your letter inviting me to be
352 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
present at a mass-meeting ^ of loyal citizens to
be held at New York on the fourth instant, for
the purpose of expressing gratitude to Lieuten-
ant-General Grant for his signal services, was
received yesterday. It is impossible for me to
attend.
I approve, nevertheless, whatever may tend to
strengthen and sustain General Grant and the
noble armies now under his direction. My
previous high estimate of General Grant has
been maintained and heightened by what has
occurred in the remarkable campaign he is now
conducting, while the magnitude and difficulty
of the task before him do not prove less than
I expected. He and his brave soldiers are now
in the midst of their great trial, and I trust that
at your meeting you will so shape your good
words that they may turn to men and guns,
moving to his and their support.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
John Hay.
On June 5, 1864, J. G. Nicolay, the President's private
secretary, wrote from Baltimore, where he was attend-
ing the National Union [Republican] convention, to
Major John Hay, assistant private secretary to the
President, a letter relating to a conversation he had
had with B. C. Cook, the head of the Illinois delegates.
Cook was "suspicious that Swett ^ may be untrue to
Lincoln." One of the straws which led him to this be-
lief was that Swett had telegraphed urging the Illi-
nois delegation to go for Joseph Holt for Vice-Presi-
^ This meeting was intended by certain Radicals opposed
to Lincoln's renomination to launch a boom for General
Grant's nomination for the presidency. By this letter Lin-
coln diverted it into a meeting for the support of the
Union.
^ Leonard Swett, really the only one in the President's
confidence.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 353
dent. "I told Cook," says Nicolay, "that I thought
Lincoln would not wish even to indicate a preference
for Vice-President, as the rival candidates were all
friendly to him. . . . Cook wants to know confidentially
whether Swett is all right ; whether in urging Holt
for Vice-President he reflects the President's wishes;
whether the President has any preference, either per-
sonally or on the score of policy, or whether he wishes
not even to interfere by a confidential indication."
Upon this letter the President wrote the following
indorsement :
Swett is unquestionably all right. Mr. Holt
is a good man, but I had not heard or thought
of him for Vice-President. Wish not to inter-
fere about Vice-President. Cannot interfere
about platform. Convention must judge for it-
self.
William D. Kelley.
{Memorandum of an Interviezu zvith the Post-
master of Philadelphia.]
What I said to Postmaster of Philadelphia on
this day — June 20, 1864:
Complaint is made to me that you are using
your official power to defeat Judge Kelley's re-
nomination to Congress.
I am well satisfied with Judge Kelley as a
member of Congress, and I do not know that the
man who might supplant him would be as satis-
factory ; but the correct principle, I think, is that
all our friends should have absolute freedom of
choice among our friends. My wish, therefore,
is that you will do just as you think fit with your
own suffrage in the case, and not constrain any
of your subordinates to do other than as he
thinks fit with his.
3 54 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
This is precisely the rule I inculcated and ad-
hered to on my part when a certain other nom-
ination now recently made was being canvassed
for.
See letter of August 5, 1864, to Morton McMichael.
Clement C. Clay and Others.
On July 13, 1864, Mr. Greeley, editor of the New
York Tribune, wrote Lincoln : "I have now information,
on which I can rely, that two persons, duly commis-
sioned and empowered to negotiate for peace, are . . .
not far from Niagara Falls in Canada, and are desirous
of conferring with yourself." The following pass was
given in reply :
[Safe-Conduct.'\
Executive Mansion, July 16, 1864.
The President of the United States directs
that the four persons whose names follow, to
wit: Hon. Clement C. Clay, Hon. Jacob Thomp-
son, Prof. James B. Holcombe, George N. San-
ders, shall have safe conduct to the city of Wash-
ington in company with the Hon. Horace Greeley,
and shall be exempt from arrest or annoyance
of any kind from any officer of the United States
during their journey to the said city of Washing-
ton.
By order of the President.
John Hay, Major and A. A. G.
Abram Wakeman.
[Private.'\
Executive Mansion, July 25, 1864.
Abram Wakeman, Esq.
My dear Sir: I feel that the subject which
you pressed upon my attention in our recent
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 355
conversation is an important one. The men of
the South recently (and perhaps still) at Niagara
Falls tell us distinctly that they are in the con-
fidential employment of the rebellion ; and they
tell us as distinctly that they are not empowered
to offer terms of peace. Does any one doubt that
what they are empowered to do is to assist in
selecting and arranging a candidate and a plat-
form for the Chicago convention? Who could
have given them this confidential employment
but he ^ who, only a week since, declared to Ja-
quess and Gilmore, that he had no terms of peace
but the independence of the South — the dissolu-
tion of the Union? Thus, the present presiden-
tial contest will almost certainly be no other than
a contest between a union - and a disunion ^ can-
didate, disunion certainly following the success
of the latter. The issue is a mighty one, for all
people, and all times ; and whoever aids the right
will be appreciated and remembered.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
J. C. Welling.
Executive Mansion, July 25, 1864.
J. C. Welling, Esq.
Sir: According to the request contained in
your note, I have placed Mr. Gibson's letter of
resignation in the hands of the President. He
has read the letter, and says he accepts the resig-
nation, as he will be glad to do with any other,
which may be tendered, as this is, for the pur-
pose of taking an attitude of hostility against
him.
^ Jefferson Davis. * Abraham Lincoln.
2 George B. McClellan.
356 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
He says he was not aware that he was so
much indebted to Mr. Gibson for having accepted
the office at first, not remembering that he ever
pressed him to do so, or that he gave it otherwise
than as was usual, upon request made on behalf
of Mr. Gibson.
He thanks Mr. Gibson for his acknowledg-
ment that he has been treated with personal kind-
ness and consideration, and he says he knows
of but two small drawbacks upon Mr. Gibson's
right to still receive such treatment, one of which
is that he never could learn of his giving much
attention to the duties of his office, and the other
is this studied attempt of Mr. Gibson's to stab
him. I am, very truly.
Your obedient servant, John Hay.
Morton McMichael.
[Private.]
Executive Mansion, August 5, 1864.
Hon. Morton McMichael. . . .
I am now told that, of the two or three hun-
dred employees in the Post-office, not one of
them is openly for Judge Kelley. This, if true,
is not accidental. Left to their free choice, there
can be no doubt that a large number of them,
probably as much or more than half, would be
for Kelley. And if they are for him, and are
not restrained, they can put it beyond question
by publicly saying so. Please tell the postmaster
he must find a way to relieve me from the sus-
picion that he is not keeping his promise to me
in good faith. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 357
S. G. BURBRIDGE.
Washington, D. C, August 8, 1864.
Major-General Burbridge, Lexington, Kentucky.
Last December Mrs. Emily T. Helm, half-
sister of Mrs. Lincoln, and widow of the rebel
general, Ben Hardin Helm, stopped here on her
way from Georgia to Kentucky, and I gave her
a paper as I remember, to protect her against
the mere fact of her being General Helm's
widow. I hear a rumor to-day that you recently
sought to arrest her, but were prevented by her
presenting the paper from me. I do not intend
to protect her from the consequences of dis-
loyal words or acts, spoken or done by her since
her return to Kentucky, and if the paper given
her by me can be construed to give her protec-
tion for such words or acts, it is hereby revoked
pro tanto. Deal with her for current conduct
just as you would with any other.
A. Lincoln.
\^ndorsement of Application for Employment.]
August 15, 1864.
I am always for the man who wishes to work ;
and I shall be glad for this man to get suitable
employment at Cavalry Depot, or elsewhere.
A. Lincoln.
W. Hunt.
Executive Mansion, August 16, 1864.
Hon. Ward Hunt. ...
My dear Sir : I am for the regular nominee in
all cases, and no one could be more satisfac-
tory to me as the nominee in that district than
3 58 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Mr. [Roscoe'] Conkling. I do not mean to say
there [are} not others as good as he in the dis-
trict ; but I think I know him to be at least good
enough. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
D. S. D. Baldwin.
On August 19, 1864, through his secretary, John G.
Nicolay, the President returned an application for mil-
itary promotion from one D. S. D. Baldwin, saying
that he "never interfered with the details of army or-
ganization," and recommending Baldwin to apply to
General M. R. Patrick.
Abraham Lincoln.
[Memorandum.']
Executive Mansion, August 23, 1864.
This morning, as for some days past, it seems
exceedingly probable that this Administration
will not be reelected. Then it will be my duty to
so cooperate with the President elect as to save
the Union between the election and the inaugu-
ration; as he will have secured his election on
such ground that he cannot possibly save it aftef-
ward. A. Lincoln.
I. M. SCHERMERHORN.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, September 12, 1864.
Isaac M. Schermerhorn, Buffalo, New York.
My dear Sir: Your letter, mentioned in your
two telegrams, has not yet reached me, so that
I am without knowledge of its particulars. I
beg you to pat don me for having concluded that
it is not best for me now to write a general letter
to a political meeting.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 359
First, I believe it is not customary for one
holding the office, and being a candidate for re-
election, to do so; and, secondly, a public letter
must be written with some care, and at some
expense of time, so that having begun with your
meeting, I could not well refuse others, and yet
could not get through with all having equal
claims.
Please tender to those you represent, my sin-
cere thanks for the invitation, and my appeal
to their indulgence for having declined their re-
quest. Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
See letter of December 10, 1862, to S. R. Curtis.
Philip H. Sheridan.^
[Telegram.^
Executive Mansion, September 20, 1864.
Major-General Sheridan, Winchester, Virginia.
Have just heard of your great victory. God
bless you all, officers and men. Strongly inclined
to come up and see you. A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, October 22, 1864.
Major-General Sheridan.
With great pleasure I tender to you and your
brave army the thanks of the nation, and my
own personal admiration and gratitude, for the
month's operations in the Shenandoah Valley ;
and especially for the splendid work of October
19, 1864. Your obedient servant,
Abraham Lincoln.
* General Sheridan, the greatest cavalry general of the
war, won the battle of Winchester on September 19, 1864.
On October 19 he turned defeat into victory at Cedar
Creek by his famous ride.
36o LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
H. W. Hoffman.
Executive Mansion, October lo, 1864.
Hon. Henry W. Hoffman.
My dear Sir: A convention of Maryland has
framed a new constitution for the State ; a pubHc
meeting is called for this evening at Baltimore
to aid in securing its ratification by the people,
and you ask a word from me for the occasion. I
presume the only feature of the instrument about
which there is serious controversy is that which
provides for the extinction of slavery. It needs
not to be a secret, and I presume it is no secret,
that I wish success to this provision. I desire it
on every consideration. I wish all men to be
free. I wish the material prosperity of the al-
ready free, which I feel sure the extinction of
slavery would bring. I wish to see in process of
disappearing that only thing which ever could
bring this nation to civil war. I attempt no argu-
ment. Argument upon the question is already
exhausted by the abler, better informed, and more
immediately interested sons of Maryland herself.
I only add that I shall be gratified exceedingly
if the good people of the State shall, by their
votes, ratify the new constitution.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Wm. B. Campbell and Others.
Executive Mansion, October 22, 1864.
Messrs. Wm. B. Campbell [and others].
Gentlemen : . . .
The movement set on foot by the \_Union]
convention and Governor Johnson does not, as
seems to be assumed by you, emanate from the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 361
national Executive. In no proper sense can it
be considered other than as an independent
movement of at least a portion of the loyal peo-
ple of Tennessee.
I do not perceive in the plan any menace of
violence or coercion toward any one. Governor
Johnson, like any other loyal citizen of Ten-
nessee, has the right to favor any political plan
he chooses, and, as military governor, it is his
duty to keep the peace among and for the loyal
people of the State. I cannot discern that by
this plan he purposes any more.
But you object to the plan. Leaving it alone
will be your perfect security against it. Do as
you please on your own account, peacefully and
loyally, and Governor Johnson will not molest
you, but will protect you against violence so far
as in his power.
I presume that the conducting of a presidential
election in Tennessee in strict accordance with
the old code of the State is not now a possibility.
It is scarcely necessary to add that if any
election shall be held, and any votes shall be
cast in the State of Tennessee for President and
Vice-President of the United States, it will be-
long, not to the military agents, nor yet to the
Executive Department, but exclusively to another
department of the Government, to determine
whether they are entitled to be counted in con-
formity with the Constitution and laws of the
United States.
Except it be to give protection against vio-
lence, I decline to interfere in any way with
any presidential election. Abraham Lincoln.
362 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Sailors' Fair at Boston.
[Telegram.^
Washington, D. C, November 8, 1864.
To the Managing Committee of the Sailors' Fair,
Boston, Massachusetts.
Allow me to wish you a great success. With
the old fame of the navy made brighter in the
present war you cannot fail. I name none lest
I wrong others by omission. To all, from rear-
admiral to honest Jack, I tender the nation's
admiration and gratitude. A. Lincoln.
Mrs. Bixby.
Executive Mansion, November 21, 1864.
Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dear Madam : I have been shown in the files
of the War Department a statement of the Ad-
jutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the
mother of five sons who have died gloriously on
the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruit-
less must be any words of mine which should
attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss
so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from
tendering to you the consolation that may be
found in the thanks of the Republic they died
to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may
assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and
leave you only the cherished memory of the
loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must
be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon
the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 363
John Phillips.^
Executive Mansion, November 21, 1864.
Deacon John Phillips.
My dear Sir: I have heard of the incident at
the polls in your town, in which you acted so
honorable a part, and I take the liberty of writ-
ing to you to express my personal gratitude for
the compliment paid me by the suffrage of a
citizen so venerable. .
The example of such devotion to civic duties
in one whose days have already been extended
an average lifetime beyond the Psalmist's limit,
cannot but be valuable and fruitful. It is not
for myself only, but for the country which you
have in your sphere served so long and so well,
that I thank you. Your friend and servant,
Abraham Lincoln.
James Speed.^ •
[Telegram.^
Executive Mansion, December I, 1864.
Hon. James Speed, Louisville, Kentucky.
I appoint you to be Attorney-General.^ Please
come on at once. A. Lincoln.
1 Deacon John Phillips, of Sturbridge, Mass., aged one
hundred and four years, having voted at every Presidential
election from the adoption of the Constitution, tottered to
the noils to vote for Lincoln. r • j t •
' James Speed was the brother of the closest friend Lin-
coln ever had, Joshua F. Speed, through whom Lincoln
met James, and Acquired a high opinion of his legal ability.
364 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
William B. Gushing.
[Message to Congress.^
To the Senate and House of Representatives.
In conformity to the law of [the] i6th of July,
1862, I most cordially recommend that Lieu-
tenant William B. Gushing, United States Navy,
receive a vote of thanks from Gongress for his
important, gallant, and perilous achievement in
destroying the rebel iron-clad steamer Albemarle,
on the night of the 27th of October, 1864, at
Plymouth, North Garolina. The destruction of
so formidable a vessel, which had resisted the
continued attacks of a number of our vessels on
former occasions, is an important event touch-
ing our future naval and military operations,
and would reflect honor on any officer, and re-
dounds to the credit of this young officer and
the few brave comrades who assisted in this suc-
cessful and daring undertaking.
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, December 5, 1864.
John A. Winslow.
[Message to Congress.']
To the Senate and House of Representatives.
In conformity to the law of July 16, 1862, I
most cordially recommend that Gaptain John A.
Winslow, United States Navy, receive a vote of
thanks from Gongress for the skill and gallantry
exhibited by him in the brilliant action whilst in
command of the United States steamer Kear-
sarge, which led to the total destruction of the
piratical craft Alabama, on the 19th of June,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 3^5
1864, a vessel superior In tonnage, superior in
number of guns, and superior in number of
crew. . . . Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, December 5, 1864.
Edward R. S. Canby.
Executive Mansion, December 12, 1864.
jMajor-General Canby.
I think it is probable that you are laboring
under some misapprehension as to the purpose,
or rather the motive, of the Government on two
points — cotton, and the new Louisiana State gov-
ernment.
It is conceded that the military operations are
the first in importance ; and as to what is indis-
pensable to these operations, the department
commander must be judge and master.
But the other matters mentioned I suppose to
be of public importance also; and w^liat I have
attempted in regard to them is not merely a con-
cession to private interest and pecuniary greed.
As to cotton. By the external blockade, the
price is made certainly six times as great as it
w^as. And yet the enemy gets through at least
one-sixth part as much in a given period, say a
year, as if there were no blockade, and receives
as much for it as he would for a full crop in time
of peace. The effect in substance is, that we
give him six ordinary crops without the trouble
of producing any but the first; and at the same
time leave his fields and his laborers free to
produce provisions. You know how this keeps
up his armies at home and procures supplies
from abroad. For other reasons we cannot give
up the blockade, and hence it becomes immensely
Z66 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
important to ns to get the cotton away from
him. Better give him guns for it than let him,
as now, get both guns and ammunition for it.
But even this only presents part of the public
interest to get out cotton. Our finances are
greatly involved in the matter. The way cot-
ton goes now carries so much gold out of the
country as to leave us paper currency only, and
that so far depreciated as that for every hard
dollar's worth of supplies we obtain, we contract
to pay two and a half hard dollars hereafter.
This is much to be regretted ; and, while I believe
we can live through it, at all events it demands
an earnest effort on the part of all to correct
it. And if pecuniary greed can be made to aid
us in such effort, let us be thankful that so much
good can be got out of pecuniary greed.
As to the new State government of Louisiana.
Most certainly there is no worthy object in get-
ting up a piece of machinery merely to pay sal-
aries and give political consideration to certain
men. But it is a worthy object to again get
Louisiana into proper practical relations with
the nation, and we can never finish this if we
never begin it. Much good work is already done,
and surely nothing can be gained by throwing it
away.
I do not wish either cotton or the new State
government to take precedence of the military
while the necessity for the military remains ; but
there is a strong public reason for treating each
with so much favor as may not be substantially
detrimental to the military.
Allow me a word of explanation in regard
to the telegram which you kindly forwarded to
Admiral Farragut for me.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 367
That telegram was prompted by a piece of
secret information inducing me to suspect that
the use of a forged paper might be attempted
on the admiral, in order to base a claim that we
had raised our own blockade.
I am happy in the hope that you are almost
well of your late and severe wound.^
Yours very truly, A. Lincoln.
George H. Thomas.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C,
December 16, 1864. 11.30 a.m.
Major-General Thomas, Nashville, Tennessee.
Please accept for yourself, officers, and men,
the nation's thanks for your good work of yes-
terday.2 You made a magnificent beginning; a
grand consummation is within your easy reach.
Do not let it slip. A. Lincoln.
Joseph H. Choate.
Executive Mansion, December 19, 1864.
Joseph H. Choate, Esq.
My dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowl-
edge the reception of your kind invitation to
be present at the annual festival of the New
England Society to commemorate the landing
of the Pilgrims, on Thursday, the 22d of this
month.
^ While on a tour of inspection on White River, Ark.,
General Canby was severely wounded by guerrillas Later,
on April 12, 1865. with the assistance of Admiral Farra-
gut he captured Mobile. After the war he became noted
as an Indian fighter. He was treacherously killed, April ii,
1873, by Modoc Indians.
- Defeat of General John B. Hood.
268 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
My duties will not allow me to avail myself
of your kindness.
I cannot but congratulate you and the coun-
try, however, upon the spectacle of devoted
unanimity presented by the people at home, the
citizens that form our marching columns, and
the citizens that fill our squadrons on the sea,
all animated by the same determination to com-
plete the work our fathers began and trans-
mitted.
The work of the Plymouth emigrants was the
glory of their age. While we reverence their
memory, let us not forget how vastly greater
is our opportunity. I am, very truly.
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
John Maclean.
On December 20, 1864, the College of New Jersey
at Princeton conferred on President Lincoln the de-
gree of Doctor of Laws. On December 27, 1864, he
acknowledged the compliment to President Maclean :
The assurance conveyed by this high compli^
ment, that the course of the Government which
I represent has received the approval of a body
of gentlemen of such character and intelligence,
in this time of public trial is most grateful to me.
Thoughtful men must feel that the fate of
civilization upon this continent is involved in the
issue of our contest. Among the most gratify-
ing proofs of this conviction is the hearty de-
votion everywhere exhibited by our schools and
colleges to the national cause.
I am most thankful if my labors have seemed
to conduce to the preservation of those institu-
tions under which alone we can expect good
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 3^9
government— and in Its train, sound learning
and the progress of the Uberal arts.
I am, sir, very truly, your obedient servant,
A. Lincoln.
Lyman Trumbull.^
Executive Mansion, January 9, 1865.
Hon. Lyman Trumbull. ...
If I shall neither take sides nor argue, will it
be out of place for me to make what I think is
the true statement of your question as to the pro-
posed Louisiana senators?
"Can Louisiana be brought into proper practi-
cal relations with the Union sooner by admitting
or by rejecting the proposed senators?"
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
G. M. Dodge.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, January 15, 1865.
Major-General Dodge, St. Louis, Missouri.
It is represented to me that there is so much
irregular violence in northern Missouri as to be
driving away the people and almost depopu-
lating it. Please gather information, and con-
sider whether an appeal to the people there to
go to their homes and let one another alone-
recognizing as a full right of protection for each
that he lets others alone, and banning only him
who refuses to let others alone— may not enab e
you to withdraw the troops, their presence itself
1 Mr Trumbull, an Illinois Republican, had been elected
to the ■ Senate at a time when Lincoln expected to receive
the Republican nomination.
3 70 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[being] a cause of irritation and constant appre-
hension, and thus restore peace and quiet, and
returning prosperity. Please consider this and
telegraph or write me. A. Lincoln.
William Lloyd Garrison.
Washington, January 24, 1865.
My dear Mr. Garrison: I have your kind let-
ter of the 2ist of January, and can only beg that
you will pardon the seeming neglect occasioned
by my constant engagements. When I received
the spirited and admirable painting, "Waiting
for the Hour," I directed my secretary not to
acknowledge its arrival at once, preferring to
make my personal acknowledgments of the
thoughtful kindness of the donors; and waiting
for some leisure hour, I have committed the dis-
courtesy of not replying at all. I hope you will
believe that my thanks, though late, are most
cordial, and request that you will convey them
to those associated with you in this flattering
and generous gift. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Thomas T. Eckert.
[Instructions.']
Executive Mansion, January 30, 1865.
Major T. T. Eckert.
Sir: You will proceed with the documents
placed in your hands, and on reaching General
Ord will deliver him the letter addressed to him
by the Secretary of War. Then, by General
Ord's assistance, procure an interview with
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 371
Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell,^ or
any of them, deHver to him or them the paper on
which your own letter is written. Note on the
copy which you retain the time of deHvery and
to whom dehvered. Receive their answer in
writing, waiting a reasonable time for it, and
which, if it contain their decision to come
through without further condition, will be your
warrant to ask General Ord to pass them
through as directed in the letter of the Secretary
of War to him. If by their answer they decline
to come, or propose other terms, do not have
them pass through. And this being your whole
duty, return and report to me.
Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
Lieutenant-Colonel Glenn.
Executive Mansion, February 7, 1865.
Lieutenant-Colonel Glenn, Commanding Post at
Henderson, Kentucky.
Complaint is made to me that you are forcing
negroes into the military service, and even tor-
turing them — riding them on rails and the like —
to extort their consent. I hope this may be a
mistake. The like must not be done by you, or
any one under you. You must not force negroes
any more than white men. Answer me on this,
A. Lincoln.
Alexander H. Stephens.
Executive Mansion, February 10, 1865.
Hon. A. H. Stephens.
According to our agreement, your nephew.
Lieutenant Stephens, goes to you bearing this
^ The Confederate Peace Commissioners.
372 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
note. Please, in return, to select and send to me
that officer of the same rank imprisoned at Rich-
mond, whose physical condition most urgently
requires his release.
Respectfully, A. Lincoln.
Thomas C. Fletcher.
Executive Mansion, February 20, 1865.
His Excellency Governor Fletcher.
It seems that there is now no organized mili-
tary force of the enemy in Missouri, and yet
that destruction of property and life is rampant
everywhere. Is not the cure for this within easy
reach of the people themselves? It cannot but
be that every man not naturally a robber or cut-
throat would gladly put an end to this state of
things. A large majority in every locality must
feel alike upon this subject ; and if so, they only
need to reach an understanding, one with an-
other. Each leaving all others alone solves the
problem; and surely each would do this but for
his apprehension that others will not leave him
alone. Cannot this mischievous distrust be re-
moved? Let neighborhood meetings be every-
where called and held, of all entertaining a sin-
cere purpose for mutual security in the future,
whatever they may heretofore have thought, said
or done about the war, or about anything else.
Let all such meet, and, waiving all else, pledge
each to cease harassing others, and to make com-
mon cause against whoever persists in making,
aiding, or encouraging further disturbance. The
practical means they will best know how to
adopt and apply. At such meetings old friend-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS 373
ships will cross the memory, and honor and
Christian charity will come in to help.
Please consider whether it may not be well to
suggest this to the now afflicted people of Mis-
souri. Yours truly, A. Lincoln.
James Gordon Bennett.
Executive Mansion, February 20, 1865.
James G. Bennett, Esq.
Dear Sir: I propose, at some convenient and\
not distant day, to nominate you to the United i
States Senate as Minister to France. *
Your obedient servant, A. Lincoln.
Benjamin G. Smith and Franklin W.
Smith.
[Order Annulling Sentence.']
I am unwilling for the sentence to stand, and
be executed, to any extent in this case. In the
absence of a more adequate motive than the evi-
dence discloses, I am wholly unable to believe in
the existence of criminal or fraudulent intent
on the part of men of such well established good
character. If the evidence went as far to estab-
lish a guilty profit of one or two hundred thou-
sand dollars, as it does of one or two hundred
dollars, the case would, on the question of guilt,
bear a far different aspect. That on this con-
tract, involving some twelve himdred thousand
dollars, the contractors would plan, and attempt
to execute a fraud, which, at the most, could
profit them only one or two hundred, or even one
thousand dollars, is to my mind beyond the
3 74 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
power of rational belief. That they did not, in
such a case, make far greater gains, proves that
they did not, with guilty or fraudulent intent,
make [any} at all. The judgment and sentence
are disapproved and declared null, and the de-
fendants fully discharged. A. Lincoln.
March 18/1865.
Godfrey Weitzel.
[Telegram.']
Headquarters Armies of the United States,
City Point, April 6, 1865.
Major-General Weitzel, Richmond, Virginia.
It has been intimated to me that the gentle-
men who have acted as the legislature of Vir-
ginia in siipport of the rebellion may now desire
to assemble at Richmond and take measures to
withdraw the Virginia troops and other support
from resistance to the General Government. If
they attempt it, give them permission and pro-
tection, until, if at all, they attempt some action
hostile to the United States, in which case you
will notify them, give them reasonable time to
leave, and at the end of which time arrest any
who remain. Allow Judge Campbell to see this,
but do not make it public. A. Lincoln.
See letter to U. S. Grant of April 6, 1865.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, April 12, 1865.
Major-General Weitzel, Richmond, Virginia.
I have seen your despatch to Colonel Hardie
about the matter of prayers. I do not remember
hearing prayers spoken of while I was in Rich-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS , 375
mond ; but I have no doubt you have acted in
v^hat appeared to you to be the spirit and temper
manifested by me while there.^ Is there any
sign of the rebel legislature coming together on
the understanding of my letter to you? If there
is any such sign, inform me what it is; if there
is no such sign, you may withdraw the offer.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, April 12, 1865.
Major-General Weitzel, Richmond, Virginia.
I have just seen Judge Campbell's letter to
you of the 7th. He assumes, as appears to me,
that I have called the insurgent legislature of
Virginia together, as the rightful legislature of
the State, to settle all differences with the United
States. I have done no such thing. I spoke of
them, not as a legislature, but as "the gentlemen
who have acted as the legislature of Virginia in
support of the rebellion." I did this on purpose
to exclude the assumption that I was recogniz-
ing them as a rightful body. I dealt with them
as men having power de facto to do a specific
thing, to wit : "To withdraw the Virginia troops
and other support from resistance to the General
Government," for which, in the paper handed
Judge Campbell, I promised a specific equivalent,
to wit : a remission to the people of the State,
except in certain cases, of the confiscation of
their property. I meant this, and no more. In-
asmuch, however, as Judge Campbell miscon-
strues this, and is still pressing for an armistice,
^ Secretary Stanton had rebuked General Weitzel for
neglect to require the pastors of Richmond churches to
pray for President Lincoln, as they had done for Presi-
dent Davis before the city's capture.
Z']6 LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
contrary to the explicit statement of the paper I j
gave him, and particularly as General Grant has^^
since captured the Virginia troops, so that giv-"'
ing a consideration for their withdrawal is no
longer applicable, let my letter to you and the
paper to Judge Campbell both be withdrawn, or
countermanded, and he be notified of it. Do not
now allow them to assemble, but if any have
come, allow them safe return to their homes.
A. Lincoln.
George Ashmun.
Washington, D. C., April 14, 1865.
Allow Mr. Ashmun and his friends to come
in at 9 a. m. to-morrow. A. Lincoln.
These were the last words written by Abraham Lin-
coln. He wrote this direction on a card just before
leaving the White House for Ford's Theatre, where he
was assassinated.
LbD"l3 ,..../)
