ï~~a




ï~~277   I




ï~~HISTORY

THE ADMINISTRATION
OF
PRESIDENT LINCOLN:
INCLUDING HIS
SPEECHES, LETTERS, ADDRESSES, PROCLAMATIONS,
AND MESSAGES.
WITH A PRELIMINARY SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
BY
HENRY J  RAYMOND.
NEW YORK:
J. C. DERBY & N. C. MILLER,
NO. 5 SPRUCE STREET.
864.
w 16




ï~~Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864,
BY DERBY & MILLER,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.
C. A. ALVORD, STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER.




ï~~PREFACE.
Tuxis volume does not profess to be, in any exact
and important sense, a History of the Administration of President LINCOLN. Such a work would
require access to sources of information which
cannot, from the nature of the case, be open to the
public for many years to come.
Its object is merely to collect and collate the
speeches, messages, proclamations, and other documents in which the President has embodied, from
time to time, his sentiments on the affairs of the
country, and set forth the motives which have
prompted the successive acts of his Administration.
In the narrative which accompanies these papers
the writer has sought only to record the circumstances essential to an appreciation of the papers
themselves, and not by any means to give a complete history of the events by which this momentous period in the career of our country has been
marked.
*




ï~~4                    PREFACE.
If the public shall find in this work any important aid in forming a judgment of the policy by
which President LINCOLN is seeking to carry the
Nation through the crisis of a civil war, its purpose will have been accomplished.
H. J. R.
NEW YORK, May 5, 1864.




ï~~CONTENTS.
PAGE
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN..................... 13
CHAPTER I.
From the Election, November 6, 1860, to the Inauguration, March
4, 1861............................................    53
CHAPTER II.
From Springfield to Washington.............................  78
CHAPTER III.
From the Inauguration to the Meeting of Congress............. 111
CHAPTER IV.
The Extra Session of Congress, and the Military Events of the
Summer of 1861...................................     138
CHAPTER V.
The Regular Session of Congress, December. 1861.-The Message.
- Debates, etc.......................................  165
CHAPTER VI.
The Military Administration of 1862.-The President and General
McClellan..........................................   220
CHAPTER VII.
The Congressional Session of 1862-'63.-Message of the President,
and General Action of the Session..................... 308
0




ï~~CONTENTS.

PAQG
CHAPTER VIII.
Arbitrary Arrests.-The Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus............................................  339
CHAPTER IX.
Military Events of 1863.-The Rebel Defeat at Gettysburg.-Fall
of Vicksburg and Port IHudson......................... 376
CHAPTER X.
Political Movements in Missouri.-The State Elections of 1863.... 392
CHAPTER XI.
The Congress of 1863-'64.-Message of the President.-Action of
the  Session........................................  416
CHAPTER XII.
Movements towards Reconstruction.-The Rebellion and Labor.The President on Benevolent Associations.-Advancing Action concerning the Negro Race....................... 449
APPENDIX.
General Scott and General McClellan......................... 487
A Draft urged by General McClellan......................... 490
The President's Suggestion for an Advance, in December, 1861.... 491
The Position of Kentucky.................................. 492
The President to General McClellan.......................... 494
INDEX................................................  495




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN was born on the 12th of February, 1809, in Hardin county, Kentucky. His early
life, like that of most of the great men whom our
country has produced, was spent in poverty and in
toil. At seven years of age he was sent to school to
a Mr. Hazel, carrying with him an old copy of Dilworth's Spelling Book, one of the three books that
formed the family library. His father keenly felt the
disadvantages arising from his own lack of education,
and determined, in spite of difficulties almost inconceivable, to give his son better facilities for study than
he had himself enjoyed. His mother was a Christian
woman, and desired earnestly that he should learn to
read the Bible.
Thomas Lincoln, his father, finding a life in a Slave
State a most unsatisfactory one for himself, and presenting only the prospect of a hopeless struggle in the
future for his children, determined upon removal, and
when Abraham was in the eighth year of his age, the
plan was carried into execution. The old home was
sold, their small stock of valuables placed upon a raft,
and the little family took its way to a new home in
the wilds of Indiana, where free labor would have no
competition with slave labor, and the poor white man
0




ï~~14

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

might hope that in time his children could take an
honorable position, won by industry and careful economy. The place of their destination was Spencer county,
Indiana. For the last few miles they were obliged to
cut their road as they went on. "With the resolution
of veteran pioneers they toiled, sometimes being able
to pick their way for a long distance without chopping,
and then coming to a standstill in consequence of dense
forests. Suffice it to say, that they were obliged to cut
a road so much of the way that several days were employed in going eighteen miles. It was a difficult,
wearisome, trying journey, and Mr. Lincoln often said,
that he never passed through a harder experience than
he did in going from Thompson's Ferry to Spencer
county, Indiana."
Thus, before he was eight years old, Abraham Lincoln began the serious business of life. Their cabin
was built of logs, and even the aid of such a mere
child was of account in the wilderness where they now
found themselves, after seven days of weary travel.
Their neighbors, none of whom lived nearer than two
or three miles, welcomed the strangers, and lent a hand
towards building the rude dwelling in which the future
President lay down, after fatiguing but healthful toil,
to dream the dreams of childhood, undisturbed. by
thoughts of the future.
In this log-house, consisting of a room below and a
room above, furnished by Thomas Lincoln and his
son's own hands, Abraham passed the next twelve
years of his life. So long as his mother lived, she
assisted him in learning to read, and before her death,
which occurred when he was ten years of age, she had




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

15

the satisfaction of seeing him read that Book which he
has never since neglected.
After a while he learned to write. This was an
accomplishment which some of the friendly neighbors
thought unnecessary, but his father quietly persisted,
and the boy was set down as a prodigy when he wrote
to an old friend of his mother's, a travelling preacher,
and begged him to come and preach a sermon over his
mother's grave. Three months after, Parson Elkins
came, and friends assembled, a year after her death, to
pay a last tribute of respect to one universally beloved
and respected. Her son's share in securing the presence of the clergyman was not unmentioned, and Abraham soon found himself called upon to write letters for
his neighbors.His father married a second time a Mrs. Sally Johnston, who proved an excellent mother to her step-son,
and who now survives to take her share of the credit
to which she is entitled for her faithful care. In the
course of a year or two a Mr. Crawford, one of the settlers, opened a school in his own cabin, and Abraham's
father embraced the opportunity to send him, in order
that he might add some knowledge of arithmetic to
his reading and writing. With buckskin clothes, a
raccoon skin cap, and an old arithmetic which had
been somewhere found for him, he commenced his
studies in the "higher branches."  His progress was
rapid, and his perseverance and faithfulness won the
interest and esteem of his teacher.
In that thinly settled country a book was a great
rarity, but whenever Mr. Lincoln heard of one he endeavored to procure it for Abraham's perusal. In this




ï~~16

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

way he became acquainted with Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress, Esop's Fables, a Life of Henry Clay, and
Weems's Life of Washington. The " hatchet" story of
Washington, which has done more to make boys truthful than a hundred solemn exhortations, made a strong
impression upon Abraham, and was one of those unseen, gentle influences, which helped to form his character for integrity and honesty. Its effect may be traced
in the following story, which bids fair to become as
never-failing an accompaniment to a Life of Lincoln as
the hatchet case to that of Washington.
Mr. Crawford had lent him a copy of Ramsay's
Life of Washington. During a severe storm Abraham improved his leisure by reading his book. One
night he laid it down carefully, as he thought, and the
next morning he found it soaked through! The wind
had changed, the storm had beaten in through a crack
in the logs, and the appearance of the book was ruined.
How could he face the owner under such circumstances? He had no money to offer as a return, but he
took the book, went directly to Mr. Crawford, showed
him the irreparable injury, and frankly and honestly
offered to work for him until he should be satisfied.
Mr. Crawford accepted the offer and gave Abraham the
book for his own, in return for three days' steady labor in "pulling fodder."  His manliness and straightforwardness won the esteem of the Crawfords, and
indeed of all the neighborhood.
At nineteen years of age he made a trip to NewOrleans, in company with a son of the owner of a flatboat, who intrusted a valuable cargo to their care. On
the way they were attacked by seven negroes, and their




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

17

lives and property were in great danger, but owing to
their good use of the muscular force they had acquired
as backwoodsmen, they succeeded in driving off the invaders, and pushing their boat out into the stream in
safety.  The result of the voyage was satisfactory
to the owner, and Abraham Lincoln gained, in addition
to his ten dollars a month, a reputation as a youth of
promising business talent.
In 1830 Thomas Lincoln decided to make another
change, and the log cabin which had been so long their
home was deserted for a new one near Decatur, Illinois.
This time the journey occupied fifteen days. Abraham
was now twenty-one, but he did not begin his independent life until he had aided his father in settling
his family, breaking the ground for corn, and making
a rail fence around the farm. These rails have passed
into song and story. "During the sitting of the Republican State Convention at Decatur, a banner, attached to two of these rails, and bearing an appropriate
inscription, was brought into the assemblage, and formally presented to that body, amid a scene of unparalleled enthusiasm. After that they were in demand in
every State of the Union in which free labor is honored,
where they were borne in processions of the people, and
hailed by hundreds of thousands of freemen, as a symbol of triumph, and as a glorious vindication of freedom and of the rights and dignity of free labor. These,
however, were far from being the first or only rails
made by Lincoln. He was a practised hand at the
business. Mr. Lincoln has now a cane made from one
of the rails split by his own hands in boyhood."
After the first winter in Illinois, which was one of un



ï~~18

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

common severity, and required more than his father's
care to keep the family in food, which was mostly obtained by hunting, Abraham Lincoln began life for
himself. Sometimes he hired himself out as a farmhand, sometimes his learning procured him a situation
as clerk in a store. When the Black Hawk war broke
out in 1832, he joined a volunteer company, and was
made captain. "He was an efficient, faithful officer,
watchful of his men, and prompt in the discharge of
duty, and his courage and patriotism shrank from no
dangers or hardships." Thus the Commander-in-Chief
of our armies has not been without a bit of military
experience-much more, in fact, than the most of our
Brigadier-Generals had had before the commencement
of the war.After his military life was over he looked about for
something to do. He ran for the Legislature, but was
beaten, though his own precinct gave him 277 votes
out of 284. This was the only time he was ever
beaten before the people. He bought a store and
stock of goods on credit, and was appointed Postmaster. The store proved unprofitable, and he sold
out. All this time he pursued his studies. He had
already learned grammar, and he had now opportunities
for more extensive reading. He wrote out a synopsis
of every book he read, and thus fixed it in his memory.
About this time he met John Calhoun, since President of the Lecompton (Kansas) Constitutional Convention. He proposed to Lincoln to take up surveying, and himself aided in his studies. He had plenty
of employment as a surveyor, and won a good reputation in this new line of business.
"




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.       '

19

In 1834 he was sent to the Legislature, and the political life commenced which his countrymen's votes
have since shown they fully appreciated. When the
session of the Legislature was over, he set himself to the
study of law in good earnest.       In. 1836 he obtained a
law license, and in April, 1837, he removed to Springfield and commenced the practice of the law in partnership with his friend and former colleague in the Legislature, Hon. John T. Stuart.
One incident of his law practice we cannot refrain
from narrating.    When Lincoln first went out into the
world to earn a living for himself, he worked for a Mr.
Armstrong, of Petersburg, Menard Co., who, with his
wife, took a great interest in him, lent him books to
read, and, after- the season for work was over, encouraged him to remain with them until he should
find  something    to "turn his hand       to."  They also
hoped much from his influence over their son, an overindulged and somewhat unruly boy.            We cannot do
better than to transcribe the remarks of the Cleveland
Leader upon this interesting and touching incident.
"Some few years since, the eldest son of Mr. Lincoln's old friend,
Armstrong, the chief supporter of his widowed mother-the good old
man having some time previously passed from earth,-was arrested on
the charge of murder. A young man had been killed during a riotous.
m le, in the night time at a camp-meeting, and one of his associates
stated that the death-wound was inflicted by young Armstrong. A preliminary examination was gone into, at which the accuser testified so
positively, that there seemed no doubt of the guilt of the prisoner, and
therefore he was held for trial  As is too often the case, the bloody
act caused an undue degree of excitement in the public mind. Every
improper incident in the life of the prisoner-each act which bore the
least semblance of rowdyism-each schoolboy quarrel,-was suddenly
remembered and magnified, until they pictured him as a fiend of the




ï~~20

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

most horrible hue. As these rumors spread abroad they were received
as gospel truth, and a feverish desire for vengeance seized upon the infatuated populace, whilst only prison bars prevented a horrible death
at the hands of a mob. The events were heralded in the county
papers, painted in highest colors, accompanied by rejoicing over the
certainty of punishment being meted out to the guilty party. The
Sprisoner, overwhelmed by the circumstances under which he found
himself placed, fell into a melancholy condition bordering on despair,
and the widowed mother, looking through her tears, saw no cause for
hope from earthly aid.
"At this juncture, the widow received a letter from Mr. Lincoln, volunteering his services in an effort to save the youth from the impending
stroke. Gladly was his aid accepted, although it seemed impossible for
even his sagacity to prevail in such a desperate case; but the heart
of the attorney was in his work, and he set about it with a will that
knew no such word as fail. Feeling that the poisoned condition of the
public mind was such as to preclude the possibility of impanelling an
impartial jury in the court having jurisdiction, he procured a change of
venue and a postponement of the trial. He then went studiously to
work unravelling the history of the case, and satisfied himself that his
client was the victim of malice, and that the statements of the accuser
were a tissue of falsehoods.
"When the trial was called on, the prisoner, pale and emaciated, with
hopelessness written on every feature, and accompanied by his halfhoping, half-despairing mother-whose only hope was in a mother's
belief of her son's innocence, in the justice of the God she worshipped,
and in the noble counsel, who, without hope of fee or reward upon
earth, had undertaken the cause-took his seat in the prisoners' box,
and with a 'stony firmness' listened to the reading of the indictment.
Lincoln sat quietly by, whilst the large auditory looked on him as
though wondering what he could say in defence of one whose guilt
they regarded as certain. The examination of the witnesses for the
State was begun, and a well-arranged mass of evidence, circumstantial
and positive, was introduced, which seemed to impale the prisoner beyond the possibility of extrication. The counsel for the defence propounded but few questions, and those of a character which excited no
uneasiness on the part of the prosecutor-merely, in most cases, requiring the main witnesses to be definite as to the time and place. When
the evidence of the prosecution was ended, Lincoln introduced a few
witnesses to remove some erroneous impressions in regard to the previ



ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

21

ous character of his client, who, though somewhat rowdyish, had
never been known to commit a vicious act; and to show that a greater
degree of ill-feeling existed between the accuser and the accused, than
the accused and the deceased.
"The prosecutor felt that the case was a clear one, and his opening
speech was brief and formal. Lincoln arose, while a deathly silence
pervaded the vast audience, and in a clear and moderate tone began
his argument. Slowly and carefully he reviewed the testimony, pointing out the hitherto unobserved discrepancies in the statements of the
principal witness. That which had seemed plain and plausible he
made to appear crooked as a serpent's path. The witness had stated
that the affair took place at a certain hour in the evening, and that,
by the aid of the brightly shining moon, he saw the prisoner inflict the
death-blow with a slung-shot. Mr. Lincoln showed that at the hour
referred to the moon had not yet appeared above the horizon, and
consequently the whole tale was a fabrication.
"An almost instantaneous change seemed to have been wrought in the
minds of his auditors, and the verdict of 'not guilty' was at the end
of every tongue. But the advocate was not content with this intellectual achievement. His whole being had for months been bound up
in this work of gratitude and mercy, and as the lava of the overcharged crater bursts from its imprisonment, so great thoughts and
burning words leaped forth from the soul of the eloquent Lincoln. He
drew a picture of the perjurer so horrid and ghastly, that the accuser
could sit under it no longer, but reeled and staggered from the courtroom, whilst the audience fancied they could see the brand upon his
brow. Then in words of thrilling pathos Lincoln appealed to the jurors
as fathers of some who might become fatherless, and as husbands of
wives who might be widowed, to yield to no previous impressions, no
ill-founded prejudice, but to do his client justice; and as he alluded to
the debt of gratitude which he owed the boy's sire, tears were seento
fall from many eyes unused to weep.
"It was near night when he concluded, by saying that if justice was
done-as he believed it would be-before the sun should set, it would
shine upon his client a free man. The jury retired, and the court adjourned for the day. Half an hour had not elapsed, when, as the officers of the court and the volunteer attorney sat at the tea-table of their
hotel, a messenger announced that the jury had returned to their seats.
All repaired immediately to the court-house, and whilst the prisoner
was being brought from the jail, the court-room was filled to overflow



ï~~22

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

ing with citizens from the town. When the prisoner and his mother
entered, silence reigned as completely as though the house were empty.
The foreman of the jury, in answer to the usual inquiry from the court,
delivered the verdict of 'Not Guilty!' The widow dropped into the
arms of her son, who lifted her up and told her to look upon him as
before, free and innocent. Then, with lthe wordo, 'Where is Mr. Lincoln?' he rushed across the room and grasped the hand&of his deliverer,
whilst his heart was too full for utterance. Lineoln turned his eyes
towards the West, where the sun still lingered in view, and then, turning to the youth, said, It is not yet sundown and you are free.' I
confess that my cheeks were not wholly unwet by tears, and I turned
from the affecting scene. As I cast a glance behind, I saw Abraham
Lincoln obeying the Divine injunction by comforting the widowed and
fatherless."
Mr. Lincoln was three times elected to the Legislature; and here commenced his political acquaintance
with Stephen A. Douglas. He then remained six years
in private life, devoting himself to the practice of the
law, displaying remarkable ability, and gaining an
enviable reputation. His interest in politics never subsided, and in 1844 he stumped the entire State of Illinois during the Presidential campaign. We have before
mentioned that one of his earliest books was the "Life
of Henry Clay," and his enthusiastic admiration for
that Statesman, aroused in his boyhood, continued in
full force during his life. In 1847 Mr. Lincoln took
his seat in Congress, and was the only Whig representative from Illinois, which had then seven members in
Congress.
The Congress of which Mr. Lincoln was a member,
had before it questions of great importance and interest
to the country. The Mexican War was then in progress, and Congress had to deal with grave questions
arising out of it, besides the many which were to be
a




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

23

passed upon as to the means by which it was to be carried
on. The irrepressible Slavery Question was there, also,
in many of its Protean forms, in questions on the right
of petition, in questions as to the District of Columbia,
in many questions as to the Territories.
Mr. Lincoln was charged by his enemies in later years,
when political enmity was hunting sharply for material
out of which to make political capital against him, with
lack of patriotism, in that he voted against the war.
The charge was sharply and clearly made by Judge
Douglas, at the first of their joint discussions in the
Senatorial contest of 1858. In his speech at Ottawa,
he- says of Mr. Lincoln, that "while in Congress he
distinguished himself by his opposition to the Mexican
war, taking the side of the common enemy against his
own country, and when he returned home he found
that the indignation of the people followed him everywhere."
No better answer can be given to this slander than
that which Mr. Lincoln himself made in his reply to
this speech. He says: " I was an old Whig, and whenever the Democratic party tried to get me to vote that
the war had been righteously begun by the President,
I would not do it. But whenever they asked for any
money or land-warrants or any thing to pay the soldiers
there, during all that time I gave the same vote that
Judge Douglas did. You can think as you please as
to whether that was consistent. Such is the truth, and
the Judge has a right to make all he can out of it. But
when he, by a general charge conveys the idea that I
withheld supplies from the soldiers who were fighting
in the Mexican war, or did any thing else to hinder the




ï~~24

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

soldiers, he is, to say the least, grossly and altogether
mistaken, as a consultation of the records will prove
to him."
We should need no better proof of the falsity of this
charge than this explicit denial. And it is a noticeable
fact, that during all the remaining joint debates between
Lincoln and Douglas, the latter never repeated the
slander until the last half hour of the last debate, to
which Mr. Lincoln had no opportunity of replying.
Douglas's supporters, however, made vigorous use of
the charge everywhere. The whole foundation of it,
doubtless, was the fact which Mr. Lincoln states, that,
whenever the Democrats tried to get him " to vote that
the war had been righteously begun," he would not do
it. He might have said more than this.       He might
have said, as was the fact, that he had been a thorn in
their sides on this very point; that he had not only refused to vote that the war was "righteously begun,"
but had made their efforts to falsify and conceal the
facts, and deceive the people into the belief that it was
"righteously begun," far more difficult. He showed,
in fact, on this point the same clearness and directness,
the same keen eye for the important point in a controversy, and the same tenacity in holding it fast and
thwarting his opponent's utmost efforts to obscure it
and cover it up, to draw attention to other points and
raise false issues, which were the marked characteristics
of his great controversy with Judge Douglas at a
subsequent period of their political history.
He saw that the strength of the position of the
administration before the people in reference to the
beginning of the war, was in the point, which they lost




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.         0

25

no opportunity of reiterating, viz., that Mexico had
shed the blood of our citizens on our own soil. This
position he believed to be false, and he accordingly
attacked it in a resolution requesting the President to
give the House information on that point; which President Polk would have found as difficult to dodge as
Douglas found it to dodge the questions which Mr.
Lincoln proposed to him.
On the right of petition Mr. Lincoln, of course, held
the right side, voting repeatedly against laying on the
table without consideration petitions in favor of the
abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia, and
against the slave-trade.
On the question of abolishing Slavery in the District,
he took rather a prominent part. A Mr. Gott had introduced a resolution directing the committee for the
District to introduce a bill abolishing the slave-trade in
the District. To this Mr. Lincoln moved an amendment instructing them to introduce a bill for the abolition, not of the slave-trade, but of Slavery within the
District. The bill which he proposed prevented any
slave from ever being brought into the District, except
in the case of officers of the Government of the United
States, who might bring the necessary servants for
themselves and their families while in the District on,
public business. It prevented any one then resident
within the District, or thereafter born within it, from
being held in Slavery without the District. It declared
that all children of slave mothers born in the District
after January 1, 1850, should be free, but should be
reasonably supported and educated by the owners of
their mothers, and that any owner of slaves in the Dis



ï~~26

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

trict might be paid their value from the Treasury, and
the slaves should thereupon be free; and it provided
also for the submission of the act to the people of the
District for their acceptance or rejection.
A bill was afterwards reported by the committee forbidding the introduction of slaves into the District for
sale or hire. This bill also Mr. Lincoln supported, but
in vain. The time for the success of such measures,
involving to an extent attacks upon Slavery, had not
yet come.
The question of the Territories came up in many
ways. The Wilmot Proviso had made its first appearance in the previous session, in the August before, but
it was repeatedly before this Congress also, when efforts
were made to apply it to the territory which we procured from Mexico, and to Oregon. On all occasions
when it was before the House it was supported by Mr.
Lincoln, and he stated during his contest with Judge
Douglas that he had voted for it, "in one way and
another, about forty times." He thus showed himself
in 1847 the same friend of Freedom for the Territories
which he was afterwards during the heats of the Kansas struggle.
Another instance in which the Slavery Question was
before the House was in the famous Pacheco -case.
This was a bill to reimburse the heirs of Antonio
Pacheco for the value of a slave who was hired by a
United States officer in Florida, but ran away and
joined the Seminoles, and being taken in arms with
them, was sent out of Florida with them when they
were transported to the West. The bill was reported
to the House by the Committee on Military Affairs.




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

This committee was composed of nine. Five of these
were slaveholders, and these made the majority report.
The others, not being slaveholders, reported against the
bill. The ground taken by the majority was that
slaves were regarded as property by the Constitution,
and when taken for public servic& should be paid for
as property. The principle involved in the bill, therefore, was the same one which the slaveholders have
sought in so many ways to maintain. As they sought
afterwards to have it established by a decision of the
Supreme Court, so now they sought to have it recognized by Congress, and Mr. Lincoln opposed it in Congress as heartily as he afterwards opposed it when it
took the more covert, but no less dangerous shape of a
judicial dictum..
On other great questions which came before Congress
Mr. Lincoln, being a Whig, took the ground which was
held by the great body of his party. He believed in
the right of Congress to make appropriations for the
improvement of rivers and harbors. He was in favor
of giving the public lands, not to speculators, but to
actual occupants and cultivators, at as low rates as possible; and he was in favor of a protective tariff, and of
abolishing the franking privilege.
In 1848 General Taylor was nominated for the Presidency; Mr. Lincoln was a member of the convention,
at Philadelphia, by which he was nominated, and canvassed his own State in his favor. He was also in New
England during the campaign, attended the State Convention of Massachusetts, and made a speech at New
Bedford, which is still remembered. Illinois, however,
cast her vote for General Cass. In 1849 Mr. Lincoln




ï~~28

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

was the Whig candidate in Illinois for United States
Senator, but Without success-the Democrats having
the control of the State, which they retained until the
conflict arising out of the Nebraska Bill, in 1854.
During the intervening period Mr. Lincoln took no
prominent part in politics, but remained at home in
the practice of his profession. We may be sure, however, that he watched closely the course of public
events. He had fought Slavery often enough to know
what it was, and what the animus of its supporters
was. It is not, therefore, likely that he was taken very
much by surprise when the Nebraska Bill was introduced, and the proposition was made by Stephen A.
Douglas to repeal that very Missouri Compromise
which he.had declared to be "a sacred thing, which
no ruthless hand would ever be reckless enough to
disturb."
The Nebraska Bill was passed May 22, 1854, and its
passage gave new and increased force to the popular
feeling in favor of freedom which the proposition to
repeal the Missouri Compromise had excited, and
everywhere the friends of freedom gathered themselves
together and rallied round her banner, to meet the conflict which was plainly now closely impending, forced
upon the people by the grasping ambition of the slaveholders. The political campaign of that year in Illinois was one of the severest ever known. It was intensified by the fact that a United States Senator was to
be chosen by the Legislature then to be elected, to fill
the place of Shields, who had voted with Douglas in
favor of the Nebraska Bill.
Mr. Lincoln took a prominent part in this campaign.




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

29

He met Judge Douglas before the people on two occasions, the only ones when the Judge would consent to
such a meeting. The first time was at the State Fair
at Springfield, on October 4th. This was afterwards
considered to have been the greatest event of the whole
canvass. Mr. Lincoln opened the discussion, and in
his clear and eloquent yet homely way exposed the
tergiversations of which his opponent had been guilty,
and the fallacy of his pretexts for his present course.
Mr. Douglas had always claimed to have voted for
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise because he sustained the "great principle" of Popular Sovereignty,
and desired that the inhabitants of Kansas and Nebraska should govern themselves, as they were well
able to do. The fallacy of drawing from these premises the conclusion that they therefore should have the
right to establish Slavery there was most clearly and
conclusively exposed by Mr. Lincoln, so that no one
could thereafter be misled by it, unless he was a willing
dupe of pro-slavery sophistry.
"My distinguished friend," said he, " says it is an
insult to the emigrants of Kansas and Nebraska to suppose that they are not able to govern themselves. We
must not slur over an argument of this kind because it
happens to tickle the ear. It must be met and answered. I admit that the emigrant to Kansas and Nebraska is competent to govern himself, but I deny
his right to govern any other person without that person's consent."
The two opponents met again at Peoria. We believe
it is universally admitted that on both of these occasions Mr. Lincoln had decidedly the advantage. The




ï~~30

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

result of the election was the defeat of the Democrats
and the election of anti-Nebraska men to the Legislature to secure the election of a United States Senator
who would be true to freedom, if they could be brought
to unite upon a candidate. Mr. Lincoln was naturally
the candidate of those who were of Whig antecedents.
Judge Trumbull was as naturally the candidate of
some who had really come out from the Democratic
party-though they still called themselves Free Democrats.
There was danger, of course, in such a posture of
affairs, and Mr. Lincoln, in that spirit of patriotism
which he has always shown, by his own personal exertions secured the votes of his friends for Judge Trumbull, who was accordingly chosen Senator. The charge
was afterwards made by the enemies of both that there
had been in this matter a breach of faith on the part of
Judge Trumbull, and that Mr. Lincoln had the right to
feel and did feel aggrieved at the result. Mr. Lincoln
himself, however, expressly denied in his speech at
Charleston, Sept. 18, 1858, that there had been any
such breach of faith.
The pressure of the Slavery contest at last fully
organized the Republican party, which held its first
Convention for the nomination of President and VicePresident at Philadelphia on June 17, 1856. John C.
Fremont was nominated for President and William L.
Dayton for Vice President. Mr. Lincoln's name was
prominent before the Convention for the latter office,
and on the informal ballot he stood next to Mr. Dayton,
receiving 110 votes. Mr. Lincoln's name headed the
Republican Electoral ticket in Illinois, and he took an




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

31

active part in the canvass, but the Democrats carried
the State, though only by a plurality vote.
We now come to the great Senatorial contest of 1858,
which established Mr. Lincoln's reputation before the
people of the whole country, not only as a very able
debater and an eloquent orator, bift also as a wise politician, wise enough to hold firm to sound -principles,
and to yield nothing of them, even against the judgment of earnest friends.
On the 4th of March, 1857, Mr. Buchanan had taken
his seat in the Presidential chair.  The struggle between Freedom and Slavery for the possession of Kansas was at its height. A few days after his inauguration, the Supreme Court rendered the Dred Scott
decision, which was thought by the friends of Slavery
to insure their victory by its holding the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional, because the Constitution
itself carried Slavery over all the Territories of the
United States. In spite of this decision, the friends of
Freedom in Kansas maintained their ground.      The
slaveholders, however, pushed forward their schemes,
and in November, 1857, their Constitutional Convention, held at Lecompton, adopted the infamous Lecompton Constitution. The trick by which they submitted
to the popular vote only a schedule on the Slavery
question, instead of the whole Constitution, compelling
every voter, however he voted upon this schedule, to
vote for their Constitution, which fixed Slavery upon
the State just as surely whether the schedule was
adopted or not, will be well remembered, as well as the
feeling which so villainous a scheme excited throughout the North. Judge Douglas had sustained the Dred




ï~~32

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Scott decision, but he could not sustain this attempt to
force upon the people of Kansas a Constitution against
their will. He declared that he did not care himself
whether the people voted the Slavery clause up or
down, but he thought they ought to have the chance
to vote for or against the Constitution itself.
The Administration had made the measure their own,
and this opposition of Douglas at once excited against him
the active hostility of the slaveholders and their friends,
with whom he had hitherto acted in concert. The
bill was finally passed through Congress on April 30th,
1858, under what is known as the English bill, whereby
the Constitution was to be submitted to the votes of
the people of Kansas, with the offer of heavy bribes to
them in the way of donations of land, etc., if they
would accept it; and the people, in spite of the bribes,
voted it down, by an immense majority.
Judge Douglas's term was on the eve of expiring,
and he came home to Illinois after the adjournment of
Congress to attend in person to the political campaign,
upon the result of which was to depend his re-election
to the Senate.
His course on the Lecompton bill had made an open
breach between him and the Administration, and he
had rendered such good service to the Republicans in
their battle with that monstrous infamy, that there were
not wanting many among them who were inclined to
think it would be wise not to oppose his re-election.
But the Republicans of Illinois thought otherwise.
They knew the man. They knew that on the cardinal
principle of the Republican party, opposition to the
spread of Slavery into the Territories, he was not with




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.        3

33

them; for he had declared in the most positive way
that he " did not care whether Slavery was voted down
or up." They believed that in his action on the Lecompton bill, he was actuated fully as much by the certainty that any other action would be followed by his
immediate and utter overthrow at home, as from any
other considerations. And they therefore determined,
in opposition to the views of some influential Republicans at home as well as in other States, to fight the battle through against him, with all the energy that they
could bring to the work. And to this end, on the 17th
of June, 1858, at their State Convention at Springfield,
they nominated Mr. Lincoln as their candidate for the
Senate of the United States.
The speech of Mr. Lincoln to the Convention which
had nominated him, was the beginning of the campaign.
Its opening sentences contained those celebrated words,
which have been often quoted both by friends and enemies: "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I
believe this Government cannot endure permanently
half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to
be dissolved-I do not expect the house to fall, but I
do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become
all one thing or all the other." Little idea could he have
had then how near the time was when the country
should be united upon this point. Still less could he
have dreamed through what convulsions it was to pass
before it reached that wished-for position-into what
an abyss of madness and crime the advocates of Slavery
would plunge in their efforts to "push it forward till it
should become alike lawful in all the States, old as well
as new-North as well as South." But there seemed
0




ï~~34

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

to him to be manifest indications of their design thus
to push it forward, and he devoted his speech to showing forth the machinery which they had now almost
completed, for the attainment of their purpose; it only
needing that the Supreme Court should say that the.
Constitution carried Slavery over the States, as they
had already in the Dred Scott decision declared that
it was carried over the Territories. And he closed his
speech with a sharp attack upon Douglas, as being a
party to this plan to legalize Slavery. over the Continent.  It was plain from the first that the struggle
would take the shape of a personal contest between the
two men. Each recognized the other as the embodiment of principles to which he was in deadly hostility.
Judge Douglas was the champion of all sympathizers
with Slavery at the North, of those who openly advocated it, and still more of those who took the more
plausible and dangerous part of not caring whether it
"was voted down or up." Mr. Lincoln's soul was on
fire with love for freedom and for humanity, and with
reverence for the Fathers of the Country, and for the
principles of freedom for all under the light of which
they marched. He felt that the contest was no mere
local one, that it was not of any great consequence what
man succeeded in the fight, but that it was all-important that the banner of Freedom should be borne with
no faltering step, but " full high advanced." And thus
through the whole campaign he sought with all his
power to press home to the hearts of the people the
principles, the example and the teachings of the men
of the Revolution.
The two combatants first met at Chicago, in July.




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

35

There was no arrangement then about their speaking
against each other, but Judge Douglas having addressed
a meeting on the 9th July, it was inevitable that Mr.
Lincoln should answer him on the 10th. One week later
both spoke in Springfield on the same day, but before
different audiences; and one week later Mr. Lincoln
addressed a letter to Douglas, challenging him to a series
of debates during the campaign.
The challenge was accepted, though not without an
attempt to make a little capital out of it, which was
quite characteristic.  It was also quite characteristic
that the terms which Douglas proposed were such as to
give him the decided advantage of having four opening
and closing speeches to Mr. Lincoln's three; and that
Mr. Lincoln, while noticing the inequality, did not hesitate to accept them.
The seven joint debates were held as follows:-at
Ottawa on August 21st; at Freeport on August 27th;
at Jonesboro on September 15th; at Charleston on September 18th; at Galesburg on October 7th; at Quincy
on October 13th; at Alton on October 15th. These
seven tournaments raised the greatest excitement
throughout the State. They were held in all quarters
of the State, from Freeport in the north to Jonesboro
in the extreme south. Everywhere the different parties turned out to do honor to their champions. Processions and cavalcades, bands of music and cannonfiring, made every day a day of excitement. But fargreater was the excitement of such oratorical contests
between two such skilled debaters, before mixed audiences of friends and foes, to rejoice over every keen
thrust at the adversary; to be cast down by each fail



ï~~36

LIFE OF ABRAIIAM LINCOLN.

ure to parry the thrust so aimed. We cannot pretend
to give more than the barest sketch of these great efforts
of Mr. Lincoln's. They are and always will be, to those
who are interested in the history of the Slavery contest,
most valuable and important documents.
In the first speech at Ottawa, besides defending himself from some points which Douglas had made against
him, and among others, explaining and enlarging upon
that passage from his Springfield speech, of "A house
divided against itself;" he took up the charge which he
had also made in that speech of the conspiracy to extend Slavery over the northern States, and pressed it
home, citing as proof of its existence a speech which
Douglas himself had made on the Lecompton bill, in
which he had substantially made the same charge upon
Buchanan and others. He then showed again that all
that was necessary for the accomplishment of the scheme
was a decision of the Supreme Court that no State
could exclude Slavery, as the Court had already decided
that no Territory could exclude it, and the acquiescence
of the people in such a decision, and he told the people
that Douglas was doing all in his power to bring about
such acquiescence in advance, by declaring that the
true position was not to care whether Slavery "was
voted down or up," and by announcing himself. in
favor of the Dred Scott decision, not because it was
right, but because a decision of the Court is to him
a "Thus saith the Lord," and thus committing himself
to the next decision just as firmly as to this. He closed
his speech with the following eloquent words: "Henry
Clay, my beau ideal of a Statesman-the man for whom
I fought all my humble life-once said of a class of




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

37

men who would repress all tendencies to liberty and
ultimate emancipation, that they must, if they would
do this, go back to the era of our Independence and
muzzle the cannon which thunders its annual joyous
return; they must blow out the moral lights around
us; they must penetrate the hunan soul and eradicate
there the love of liberty; and then, and not till then,
could they perpetuate Slavery in this country. To my
thinking, Judge Douglas is, by his example and vast
influence, doing that very thing in this community,
when he says that the negro has nothing in the Declaration of Independence. Henry Clay plainly understood
the contrary. Judge Douglas is going back to the era
of our Revolution, and to the extent of his ability
muzzling the cannon which thunders its annual joyous
return. When he invites any people, willing to have
Slavery, to establish it, he is blowing out the moral
lights around us. When he says he ' cares not whether
Slavery is voted down or up'-that it is a sacred right
of self-government, he is, in my judgment, penetrating
the human soul and eradicating the light of reason and
the love of liberty in this American people. And
when, by all these means and appliances, he shall succeed in bringing public sentiment to an exact accordance with his own views-when these vast assemblages
shall echo back all these sentiments, when they shall
come to repeat his views and to avow his principles,
and to say all that he says on these mighty questionsthen it needs only the formality of the second Dred
Scott decision, which he indorses in advance, to make
Slavery alike lawful in all the States-old as well as
new, North as well as South."




ï~~88

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

In the second debate at Freeport, Mr. Lincoln gave
categorical answers to seven questions which Douglas
had proposed to him, and in his turn put four questions
to Douglas, to which he got but evasive replies. He
also pressed home upon his opponent a charge of
quoting resolutions as being adopted at a Republican
State Convention, which were never so adopted, and again
called Douglas's attention to the conspiracy to nationalize Slavery, and he showed that his pretended desire to
leave the people of a Territory free to establish Slavery
or exclude it, was really only a desire to allow them to
establish it, as was shown by his voting against Mr.
Chase's amendment to the Nebraska Bill, which gave
them leave to exclude it. In the third debate at Jonesboro, Mr. Lincoln showed that Douglas and his friends
were trying to change the position of the country on
the Slavery question from what it was when the Constitution was adopted, and that the disturbance of the
country had arisen from this pernicious effort. He
then cited from Democratic speeches and platforms of
former days to show that they occupied then the very
opposite ground on the question from that which was
taken now, and showed up the evasive character of
Douglas's answers to the questions which he had proposed, especially the subterfuge of "unfriendly legislation" which he had set forth as the means by which
the people of a Territory could exclude Slavery from
its limits in spite of the Dred Scott decision.
When Mr. Lincoln was preparing these questions for
Douglas, he was urged by some of his friends not to
corner him on that point, because he would surely
stand by his doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty in defi



ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

39

ance of the Dred Scott decision, "and that," said they,
"will make him Senator."  "That may be," said Mr.
Lincoln, with a twinkle in his eye, "but if he takes
that shoot he never can be President."
Mr. Lincoln's sagacity did not fail him here. This
position which Douglas took of "unfriendly legislation," was a stumbling-block which he was never
able to get over; and if the contest between them had
brought out no other good result, the compelling
Douglas to take this ground was an immense success.
The fourth speech, at Charleston, was devoted by
Mr. Lincoln to enlarging upon the evidence of a charge
previously made by Judge Trumbull upon Douglas of
being himself responsible for a clause in the Kansas
bill which would have deprived the people of Kansas
of the right to vote upon their own Constitutiona charge which Douglas could never try to answer
without losing his temper.
In the fifth debate, Mr. Lincoln answered the charge
that the Republican party was sectional; and after again
exploding the fraudulent resolutions and giving strong
proof that Douglas himself was a party to the fraud,
and again showing that Douglas had failed to answer
his question about the acceptance of the new Dred
Scott decision, which, he said, was "just as sure to be
made as to-morrow is to come, if the Democratic party
shall be sustained" in the elections, he discussed the
acquisition of further territory and the importance of
deciding upon any such acquisition, by the effect which
it would have upon the Slavery question among ourselves.
In the next debate, at Quincy, besides making some

0




ï~~40

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

personal points as to the mode in which Douglas had
conducted the previous discussions, he stated clearly
and briefly what were the principles of the Republican
party, what they proposed to do, and what they did not
propose to do. He said that they looked upon Slavery
as " a moral, a social, and a political wrong," and they
"proposed a course of conduct which should treat it as
a wrong;" did not propose to "disturb it in the States,"
but did propose to " restrict it to its present limits;"
did not propose to decide that Dred Scott was free, but
did not believe that the decision in that case was a political rule binding the voters, the Congress, or the President, and proposed "so resisting it as to have it reversed if possible, and a new judicial rule established
on the subject."
Mr. Lincoln's last speech, at Alton, was a very full
and conclusive argument of the whole Slavery Question. He showed that the present Democratic doctrines
were not those held at the time of the Revolution in
reference to Slavery; showed how the agitation of the
country had come from the attempt to set Slavery upon
a different footing, and showed the dangers to the
country of this attempt. He brought the whole controversy down to the vital question whether Slavery is
wrong or not, and demonstrated that the present Democratic sentiment was that it was not wrong, and that
Douglas and those who sympathized with him did not
desire or expect ever to see the country freed from this
gigantic evil.
It must not be supposed that these seven debates
were all of Mr. Lincoln's appearances before the people
during the campaign.    He made some fifty other
0




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.        4

41

speeches all over the State, and everywhere his strong
arguments, his forcible language, and his homely way
of presenting the great issues, so as to bring them home
to the hearts of the people, had a powerful effect. The
whole State fairly boiled with the excitement of the
contest. Nor this alone, for all over the country the
eyes of the people were turned to Illinois as the great
battle-ground, and the earnest wishes of almost all who
loved freedom followed Mr. Lincoln throughout all the
heated struggle. He had, however, other opposition
besides that of his political opponents. The action of
Judge Douglas on the Lecompton Constitution, and the
bitter hostility of the southern wing of the Democratic
party towards him, had led very many Republicans,
and some of high consideration and influence in other
States, to favor his return to the Senate. They deemed
this due to the zeal and efficiency with which he had
resisted the attempt to force slavery into Kansas against
the will of the people, and as important in encouraging
other Democratic leaders to imitate the example of
Douglas in throwing off the yoke of the slaveholding
aristocracy. This feeling proved to be of a good deal
of weight against Mr. Lincoln in the canvas.
Then, again, the State had been so unfairly districted,
that the odds were very heavily against the Republicans, and thus it came about that although on the
popular vote Douglas was beaten by more than five
thousand votes, he was enabled to carry off the substantial prize of victory by his majority in the Legislature. We say the "substantial prize of victory," and
so it was thought to be at the time. But later events
showed that the battle which was then fought was after
all but the precursor of tle Presidential contest, and




ï~~42

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

that it insured to Mr. Lincoln the victory in that more
important struggle.
Between the close of this Senatorial contest and the
opening of the Presidential campaign, Mr. Lincoln
made several visits to other States. In the following
r
year he took an active part in the political campaign in
Ohio, still following up his old opponent, who had but
recently contributed to Harper's Magazine his famous
article on Slavery and the Constitution. He also
visited Kansas, and was reccived with unbounded enthusiasm by the people of that State, whose battle he had
fought so well; and in February, 1860, he visited New
York, and there made a speech on National Politics
before the Young Men's Republican Club at Cooper
Institute, the effect of which was to make him better
known and still more highly esteemed in New York,
where his contest with Douglas had already made him
many friends. Indeed, we think we hardly state it too
strongly when we say, that their joint effect was to
make Mr. Lincoln decidedly the second choice of the
great body of the Republicans of New York, as the
candidate of the Republican party for the campaign
of 1860.
It was, doubtless, during this visit of Mr. Lincoln to
New York that the following incident occurred, which
is thus narrated by a teacher at the Five Points House
of Industry: "Our Sunday School in the Five Points
was assembled, one Sabbath morning, when I noticed
a tall, remarkable looking man enter the room and
take a seat among us. He listened with fixed attention
to our exercises, and his countenance expressed such
genuine interest that I approached him and suggested




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

43

that he might be willing to say something to the children. He accepted the invitation with evident pleasure;
and coming forward began a simple address, which at
once fascinated every little hearer and hushed the room
into silence. His language was strikingly beautiful,
and his tones musical with intensest feeling. The little
faces around him would droop into sad conviction as
he uttered sentences of warning, and would brighten
into sunshine as he spoke cheerful words of promise.
Once or twice he attempted to close his remarks, but
the imperative shout of 'Go on!' ' Oh, do go on!'
would compel him to resume. As I looked upon the
gaunt and sinewy frame of the stranger, and marked
his powerful head and determined features, now touched
into softness by the impressions of the moment, I felt
an irrepressible curiosity to learn something more about
him, and when he was quietly leaving the room I
begged to know his name. He courteously replied,
'It is Abraham Lincoln, from Illinois.' "
The Republican National Convention of 1860, met
on the 16th of May, at Chicago, in an immense building
which the people of Chicago had put up for the purpose, called the Wigwam. There were 465 Delegates.
The city was filled with earnest men, who had come
there to press the claims of their favorite candidates,
and the halls and corridors of all the hotels swarmed,
and buzzed with an eager crowd, in and out of which
darted or pushed or wormed their way the various
leaders of party politics. Mr. Chase, Mr. Bates, and
Mr. Cameron were spoken of and pressed somewhat as
candidates, but from the first it was evident that the
contest lay between Mr. Seward and Mr. Lincoln.




ï~~44

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Judge Wilmot, of Pennsylvania, was chosen tempo.
rary Chairman of the Convention, and in the afternoon
of the first day a permanent organization was effected
by the choice of George Ashmun, of Massachusetts, as
President, with 27 Vice-Presidents and 25 Secretaries.
On Thursday, the 17th, the Committee on Resolutions
reported the platform, which was enthusiastically
adopted. A motion was made to proceed to the nomination at once, and if that had been done the result of
the Convention might have proved very different, as at
that time it was thought that Mr. Seward's chances
were the best. But an adjournment was taken till the
morning, and during the night the combinations were
made which resulted in the nomination of Mr. Lincoln.
The excitement of the Convention and of the audience
on the morning of Friday was intense. The Illinoisans
had turned out in great numbers, zealous for Lincoln,
and though the other States, near and far, had sent
many men who were equally zealous for Mr. Seward,
it was quite clear that Mr. Lincoln's supporters were in
the majority in the audience. The first ballot gave
Mr. Seward 1731 votes to 102 for Mr. Lincoln, the rest
being scattered. On the second ballot the first indication of the result was felt, when the Chairman of the
Vermont Delegation, which had been divided on the.previous ballot, announced when the name of Vermont was
called, that " Vermont casts her ten votes for the young
giant of the West, Abraham Lincoln."  On the second
ballot, Mr. Seward had 184 to 181 for Mr. Lincoln, and
on the third ballot Mr. Lincoln received 230 votes, being
within 11 of a majority. The vote was not announced,
but so many everywhere had kept the count that it was




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.        4

45

known throughout the Convention at once. Mr. Carter, of Ohio, rose and announced a change in the vote of
the Ohio Delegation of four votes in favor of Mr. Lincoln, and the Convention at once boiled over into a
state of the wildest excitement. The cheers of the
audience within were answered by those of a yet larger
crowd without, to whom the result was announced.
Cannon roared, and bands played, and banners waved,
and the excited Republicans of Chicago cheered themselves hoarse, while on the wings of electricity sped in
every direction the news of Mr. Lincoln's nomination,
to be greeted everywhere with similar demonstrations.
It was long before the Convention could calm itself
enough to proceed to business. When it did, other
States changed their votes in favor of the successful
nominee until it was announced, as the result of the
third ballot, that Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, had received 354 votes and was nominated by the Republican
party for the office of President of the United States.
The nomination was then, on the motion of Mr. Evarts,
of New York, made unanimous, and the Convention
adjourned till the afternoon, when they completed their
work by nominating Hannibal Hamlin for Vice-President.
Mr. Lincoln was at Springfield at the time. He had.
been in the telegraph office during the casting of the
first and second ballots, but then left, and went over to
the office of the State Journal, where he was sitting
conversing with friends while the third ballot was
being taken. In a few moments came across the wires
the announcement of the result. The Superintendent
'of the Telegraph Company, who was present, wrote on




ï~~46

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

a scrap of paper, "Mr. Lincoln: You are nominated
on the third ballot," and a boy ran with the message to
Mr. Lincoln. He looked at it in silence amid the
shouts of those around him, then rising and putting it
in his pocket he said quietly, "There's a little woman
down at our house would like to hear this-I'll go
down and tell her."
Next day there arrived at Springfield the committee
appointed by the Convention to inform Mr. Lincoln
officially of his nomination; Mr. Ashmun, President
of the Convention, addressing Mr. Lincoln, said:
"I have, sir, the honor, in behalf of the gentlemen
who are present-a Committee appointed by the Republican Convention recently assembled at Chicagoto discharge.a most pleasant duty. We have come, sir,
under a vote of instructions to that Committee, to notify you that you have been selected by the Convention
of the Republicans at Chicago for President of the
United States. They instruct us, sir, to notify you of
that selection, and that Committee deem it not only
respectful to yourself, but appropriate to the important
matter which they have in hand, that they should come
in person, and present to you the authentic evidence of
the action of that Convention; and, sir, without any
phrase which shall either be considered personally
plauditory to yourself, or which shall have any reference to the principles involved in the questions which
are connected with your nomination, I desire to present
to you the letter which has been prepared, and which
informs you of your nomination, and with it the platform resolutions and sentiments which the Convention
adopted. Sir, at your convenience we shall be glad to
0




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.        4

47

receive from you such a response as it may be your
pleasure to give us."
Mr. Lincoln listened to this address with a degree of
grave dignity that almost wore the appearance of sadness, and after a brief pause, in which he seemed to be
pondering the momentous responsibilities of his position, he thus replied:
" Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the CommitteeI tender to you, and through you to the Republican
National Convention, and all the people represented in
it, my profoundest thanks for the high honor done me,
which you now formally announce. Deeply, and even
painfully sensible of the great responsibility which is
inseparable from  this high honor-a responsibility
which I could almost wish had fallen upon some one
of the far more eminent men and experienced statesmen whose distinguished names were before the Convention, I shall, by your leave, consider more fully the
resolutions of the Convention, denominated the platform, and without any unnecessary or unreasonable delay, respond to you, Mr. Chairman, in writing, not
doubting that the platform will be found satisfactory,
and the nomination gratefully accepted.
"And now I will not longer defer the pleasure of
taking you, and each of you, by the hand"
Tall Judge Kelly, of Pennsylvania, who was one of
the Committee, and who is himself a great many feet
high, had meanwhile been eyeing Mr. Lincoln's lofty
form with a mixture of admiration and very likely
jealousy; this had not escaped Mr. Lincoln, and as he
shook hands with the judge he inquired, "What is
your height?"




ï~~48

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

"Six feet three; what is yours, Mr. Lincoln?"
"Six feet four."
"Then," said the judge, "Pennsylvania bows to Illinois. My dear man, for years my heart has been aching for a President that I could look 7 to, and I've
found him at last in the land where we thought there
were none but little giants."
Mr. Lincoln's formal reply to the official announcement of his nomination, was as follows:
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, May 28, 18 60.
SIR-I accept the nomination tendered me by the
Convention over which you presided, of which I am
formally apprised in a letter of yourself and others acting as a Committee of the Convention for that purpose.
The declaration of principles and sentiments which accompanies your letter meets my approval, and it shall
be my care not to violate it, or disregard it in any part.
Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, and with
due regard to the views and feelings of all who were
represented in the Convention, to the rights of all the
states and territories and people of the nation, to the
inviolability of the Constitution, and the perpetual
union, harmony, and prosperity of all, I am most happy
to co-operate for the practical success of the principles
declared by the Convention.
Your obliged friend and fellow-citizen,
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
HoN. GEORGE AsHMUN,
President of the Republican Convention.
Mr. Lincoln's nomination proved universally acceptable to the Republican party. They recognized in him
a man of firm principles, of ardent love for freedom,




ï~~LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

49

of strict integrity and truth, and they went into the
political contest with a zeal and enthusiasm which was
the guarantee of victory; while the doubt and uncertainty, the divided counsels, and wavering purposes of
their opponents were the sure precursors of defeat.
His nomination was the signal to the leaders of the
slaveholders' party for pressing upon the Democratic
Convention their most ultra views, that by the division
of the Democratic forces the victory of Mr. Lincoln
might be assured, and the pretext afforded them for
carrying into execution the plot against the liberties of
the country which they had been for so many years
maturing. That they would dare to carry their threat
of rebellion into execution, was not believed at the
North. If it had been, while it would probably have
scared away some votes from Mr. Lincoln, it would
have brought to him more votes yet from those who,
though following the Democratic banner, had not
learned to disregard the good old doctrine that the majority must rule, and would have rushed to its rescue,
if they had believed that it was really threatened. The
vote which he received was that of a solid phalanx of
earnest men, who had resolved that Freedom should be
henceforth national, and Slavery should be and remain
as it was meant to be when the Constitution was.
adopted. They formed a body of nearly 2,000,000
voters, who carried for Mr. Lincoln the electoral votes
of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, California.
That the consequences of that election have been

3

0




ï~~50

LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

very different from what was anticipated by the great
body of the people is unquestionably true. Few men
of any party then understood the secret influences that
were conspiring against the peace and integrity of the
Union, and fewer still were willing to believe any considerable portion of the people capable of so gigantic a
crime as the attempted overthrow of the great Republic
of the world, either to revenge a party defeat or to perpetuate the slavery of the negro race. No man can
justly be held responsible even for the consequences of
his own action, any farther than, in the exercise of a
just and fair judgment, he can foresee them. In electing Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, the American people intended to erect a permanent bulwark against the
territorial extension of slavery, and the perpetuation of
its political power. If they had foreseen the madness
of its defenders, they might have shrunk from the
dreadful ordeal through which that madness has compelled the nation to pass, but in this, as in all the affairs of human life, ignorance of the future often proves
the basis and guarantee of its wise development: and
we believe that even now, with their experience, through
three of the stormiest and most terrible years this nation has ever seen, of the sagacity, integrity, and unswerving patriotism with which President Lincoln has
performed the duties of his high office, and with their
clearer perception of the ultimate issue of that great
contest between freedom and slavery, which the progress of events had rendered inevitable, the people look
back with entire satisfaction upon the vote which, in
1860, made Mr. Lincoln President of the United States.




ï~~THE ADMINISTRATION
OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.




ï~~a




ï~~PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
CHAPTER I.
FROM THE ELECTION, NOV. 6, 1860, TO THE INAUGURATION,
MARCH 4, 1861.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN was elected to be President of the
United States on the sixth day of November 1860. The
preliminary canvass had not been marked by any very extraordinary features. Party lines were a good deal broken up,
and four presidential candidates were in the field; but this
departure from the ordinary course of party contests had
occurred more than once in the previous political history of
the country.  Mr. LINCOLN was put in nomination by the
Republican party, and represented in his life and opinions
the precise aim and object for which that party had been
formed. He was a native of a slaveholding State; and while
he had been opposed to slavery, he had regarded it as a local
institution, the creature of local laws, with which the national
government of the United States had nothing whatever to do.
But in common with all observant public men, he had watched,
with distrust and apprehension, the advance of slavery as an element of political power towards ascendency in the government
of the nation, and had cordially co-operated with those who
thought it absolutely necessary for the future well-being of the
country that this tendency should be checked.  Ile had,
therefore, opposed very strenuously the extension of slavery




ï~~54        PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
into the territories, and had asserted the right and the duty of
Congress to exclude it by positive legislation therefrom.
The Chicago Convention, which nominated Mr. LINCOLN,
adopted a platform of which this was the cardinal feature;
but it also took good care to repel the imputation of its political opponents, and to remove theapprehensions of the South,
that the party proposed to interfere with slavery in the States
whose laws gave it support and protection. It expressly disavowed all authority and all wish for such interference, and
declared its purpose to protect the Southern States in the free
enjoyment of all their constitutional rights. The Democratic
Convention, originally assembled at Charleston, was disposed
to make Mr. DOUGLAS its candidate in opposition to Mr. LINCOLN; but this purpose was thwarted by leading politicians
of the slaveholding States, who procured the nomination of
Mr. BRECKINRIDGE, with full knowledge of the fact that this
would divide the Democratic party, and in all probability
secure the election of Mr. LINCOLN. Mr. BRECKINRIDGE represented the pro-slavery element of the Democratic party,
and asserted the duty of the national government, by a positive exercise of its legislative and executive power, to protect
slavery in the territories, against any legislation either of
Congress or of the people of the territories themselves, which
should seek to impair in any degree the right, alleged to be
recognized in the Constitution, of property in slaves. Mr.
DOUGLAS supported the theory that the people of the territories, acting through their territorial legislature, had the
same right to decide this question for themselves as they had
to decide any other; and he represented this principle in opposition to Mr. LINCOLN on the one hand, and Mr. BRECKINRIDGE on the other, in the Presidential canvass.  JOHN BELL,
of Tennessee, was also made a candidate by the action mainly
of men who were dissatisfied with all the existing political
parties, and who were alarmed at the probable results of a




ï~~THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

Presidential election which promised to be substantially sectional in its character. They put forth, therefore, no opinions
upon the leading points in controversy; and went into the
canvass with " the Constitution, the Union, and the enforcement of the laws" as their platform, one upon which they could
easily have rallied all the people of all sections of the country, but for the fact which they seemed to overlook, that
the widest possible differences of opinion prevailed among
the people as to its meaning.
All sections of the country took part in the election. The
Southern States were quite as active and quite as zealous as
the Northern in carrying on the canvass. Public meetings
were held, the newspaper press South as well as North discussed
the issues involved with energy and vigor, and every thing on
the surface indicated the usual termination of the contest, the
triumph of one party and the peaceful acquiescence of all
others. The result, however, showed that this was a mistake.
The active and controlling politicians of the Southern States
had gone into the canvass with the distinct and well-formed
purpose of acquiescing in the result only in the event of its
giving them the victory. The election took place on the 6th
of November. Mr. LINCOLN received the electoral votes of all
the free States except New Jersey, which was divided, giving
him four votes and Mr. DOUGLAS three. Mr. BRECKINRIDGE received the electoral votes of all the Slave States except Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, which voted for BELL,
and Missouri, which voted for DOUGLAS, as did three electors
from New Jersey also. Of the popular vote LINCOLN received 1,857,610; DOUGLAS 1,365,976; BRiECKINRIDGE 847,953, and BELL 590,631. In the Electoral College LINCOLN
received 180 votes, DOUGLAS 12, BRECKINRIDGE 72, and
Bell 39.
As soon as the result of the election was known, various
movements in the Southern States indicated their purpose of




ï~~56       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
resistance; and it soon became evident that this purpose had
been long cherished, and that members of the government
under the Presidency of Mr. BUCHANAN had officially given
it their sanction and aid. On the 29th of October GENERAL
SCOTT sent to the President and JoHN B. FLOYD, his Secretary of War, a letter expressing apprehensions lest the Southern people should seize some of the Federal forts in the Southern States, and advising that they should be immediately garrisoned by way of precaution. The Secretary of War, according to statements subsequently made by one of his eulogists
in Virginia, "thwarted, objected, resisted, and forbade" the
adoption of those measures, which, according to the same
authority, if carried into execution, would have defeated
the conspiracy, and rendered impossible the formation of a
Southern Confederacy. An official report from the ordnance
department, dated January 16, 1861, also shows that during
the year 1860, and previous to the Presidential election,
115,000 muskets had been removed from Northern armories
and sent to Southern arsenals by a single order of the Secretary of War, issued on the 30th of December, 1859. On the
20th of November the Attorney-General, Hon. JOHN S. BLACK,
in reply to inquiries of the President, gave him the official
opinion that Congress had no right to carry on war against
any State, either to prevent a threatened violation of the Constitution or to enforce an acknowledgment that the Government of the United States is supreme: and it soon became
evident that the President adopted this theory as the basis
and guide of his Executive action.
South Carolina took the lead in the secession movement.
Her legislature assembled on the 4th of November, 1860, and,
after casting the electoral vote of the State for JOHN C. BrECKINRIDGE to be President of the United States, passed an act
the next day calling a State Convention to meet at Columbia
on the 17th of December. On the 10th, F. W. Pickens was




ï~~SECESSION OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

57

elected Governor, and, in his inaugural, declared the deterination of the State to secede, on the ground that, "in the
recent election for President and Vice-President, the North
had carried the election upon principle.s that make it no longer
safe for us to rely upon the powers of the Federal Government
or the guarantees of the Federal Compact. This," he added,
"is the great overt act of the people of the Northern States,
who propose to inaugurate a chief magistrate not to preside
over the common interests or destinies of all the States alike,
but upon issues of malignant hostility and uncompromising
war to be waged upon the rights, the interests, and the peace
of half of the States of this Union." The Convention met on
the 17th of December, and adjourned the next day to Charleston, on account of the prevalence of small pox at Columbia.
On the 20th an ordinance was passed unanimously repealing
the ordinance adopted May 23, 1788, whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified, and "dissolving the
union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States
under the name of the United States of America;" and on the
24th the Governor issued his proclamation, declaring the
State of South Carolina to be a " separate, sovereign, firee,
and independent State."
This was the first act of secession passed by any State.
The debates in the State Convention show clearly enough
that it was not taken under the impulse of resentment for any
sharp and remediless wrong, nor in apprehension that any such
wrong would be inflicted; but in pursuance of a settled and
long-cherished ptirpose. In that debate Mr. Parker said that
the movement was " no spasmodic effort-it had been gradually culminating for a long series of years." Mr. Inglis endorsed this remark, and added, " Most of us have had this
matter under consideration for the last twenty years." Mr.
L. M. Keitt said, " I have been engaged in this movement ever
since I entered political life." And Mr. Rhett, who had been
8*




ï~~58       PRESIDENT LINCOLN S ADMINISTRATION.
for many years in the public service, declared that " the secession of South Carolina was not the event of a day. It is not,"
said he, "any thing produced by Mr. Lincoln's election, or by
the non-execution of the Fugitive Slave Law. It is a matter
which has been gathering head for thirty years. The election
of Lincoln and Hamlin was the last straw on the back of the
camel. But it was not the only one. The back was nearly
broken before."  So far as South Carolina was concerned
there can be no doubt that her action was decided by men
who had been plotting disunion for thirty years, not on account of any wrongs her people had sustained at the hands of
the Federal Government, but from motives of personal and
sectional ambition, and for the purpose of establishing a government which should be permanently and completely in the
interest of slavery.
But the disclosures which have since been made, imperfect
comparatively as they are, prove clearly that the whole secession movement was in the hands of a few conspirators, who
had their head-quarters at the national Capital, and were themselves closely connected with the Government of the United
States. A secret meeting of these men was held at Washington on the night of the 5th of January, 1861, at which the
Senators from Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas,
Mississippi, and Florida were present.  They decided, by
resolutions, that each of the Southern States should secede
from the Union as soon as possible; that a Convention of
seceding States should be held at Montgomery, Alabama, not
later than the 15th of February; and that the Senators and
Members of Congress from the Southern States ought to
remain in their seats as long as possible, in order to defeat
measures that might be proposed at Washington hostile to
the secession movement. Davis of Mississippi, Slidell of Louisiana, and Mallory of Florida, were appointed a committee to carry these decisions into effect; and, in pursuance of them, Missis



ï~~FORMATION OF THE REBEL CONFEDERACY.

59

sippi passed an ordinance of secession January 9th; Alabama
and Florida, January 11; Louisiana, January 26, and Texas,
February 5th. All these acts, as well as all which followed,
were simply the execution of the behests of this secret conclave
of conspirators who had resolved upon secession. In all the
Conventions of the seceding States, delegates were appointed to
meet at Montgomery. In not one of them was the question of
secession submitted to a vote of the people; although in some
of them the Legislatures had expressly forbidden them to
pass any ordinance of secession without making its validity
depend on its ratification by the popular vote. The Convention met at Montgomery on the 4th of February, and adopted
a provisional constitution, to continue in operation for one
year. Under this constitution Jefferson Davis was elected
President of the new Confederacy, and Alex. H. Stephens, of
Georgia, Vice-President. Both were inaugurated on the 18th.
In an address delivered on his arrival at Montgomery, Mr.
Davis declared that "the time for compromise has now passed,
and the South is determined to maintain her position, and make
all who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern
steel, if coercion is persisted in." HIe felt sure of the result;
it might be they would "have to encounter inconveniences at
the beginning," but he had no doubts of the final issue. The
first part of his anticipation has been fully realized; it remains
to be seen whether the end will be as peaceful and satisfactory
as he predicted.
The policy of the new Confederacy towards the United
States was soon officially made known. The government
decided to maintain tlhe status quo until the expiration of Mr.
BUCHANAN'S term, feeling assured that, with his declared belief that it would be unconstitutional to coerce a State, they
need apprehend from his administration no active hostility to
their designs. They had some hope that; by the 4th of March,
their new Confederacy would be so far advanced that the new




ï~~60        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Administration might waive its purpose of coercion; and they
deemed it wise not to do any thing which should rashly forfeit
the favor and support of" that very large portion of the North
whose moral sense was on their side." Nevertheless, they
entered upon prompt and active preparations for war. Contracts were made in various parts of the South for the manufacture of powder, shell, cannon balls, and other munitions
of war. Recruiting was set on foot in several of the States.
A plan was adopted for the organization of a regular army
of the Confederacy, and on the 6th of March Congress passed
an act authorizing a military force of 100,000 men.
Thus was opened a new chapter in the history of America.
Thus were taken the first steps towards overthrowing the
Government and Constitution of the United States, and establishing a new nation, with a new Constitution, resting upon
new principles, and aiming at new results. The Constitution
of the United States was ordained "in order to form a more
perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity,
provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity." We have the clear and explicit testimony of A. H.
Stephens, the Vice-President of the rebel Confederacy, echoing and reaffirming that of the whole civilized world, to the
fact, that these high and noble objects-the noblest and the
grandest at which human institutions can aim-have been
more nearly attained in the practical working of the Government of the United States than anywhere else on the face of
the earth. "I look upon this country, with our institutions,"
said Mir. Stephens before the Legislature of Georgia, on the
14th of November, 1860, after the result of the Presidential
election was known, 'has the Eden of the world, the paradise
of the universe. It may be that out of it we may become
greater and more prosperous, but I an? candid and sincere in
telling you that I fear if we rashly evince passion, and without




ï~~THE OBJECTS OF SECESSION.

61

sufficient cause shall take that step, that instead of becoming
greater, or more peaceful, prosperous, and happy-instead of
becoming gods we will become demons, and at no distant day
commence cutting each other's throats." Mr. Stephens on
that occasion went on, in a strain of high patriotism and cornmmon sense, to speak of the proposed secession of the State of
Georgia, in language which will forever stand as a judicial
condemnation of the action of the rebel States. "The first
question that presents itself," said Mr. Stephens, "is, shall the
people of the South secede from the Union in consequence of
the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency of the United
States? My countrymen, I tell you candidly, frankly, and
earnestly that I do not think that they ought. In my judgment the election of no man, constitutionally chosen to that
high office, is sufficient cause for any State to separate from
the Union. It bught to stand by and aid still in maintaining
the Constitution of the country. To make a point of resistance to the Government, to withdraw from it because a man
has been constitutionally elected, puts us in the wrong. *  *
We went into the election with this people. The result
was different from   what we wished; but the election
has been constitutionally held. Were we to make a point
of resistance to the Government, and go out of the Union
on this account, the record would be made up hereafter
against us."
After the new Confederacy had been organized, and Mr.
Stephens had been elected its Vice-President, he made an
elaborate speech to the citizens of Savannah, in which he
endeavored to vindicate this attempt to establish a new government in place of the government of the United States, and
to set forth the new principles upon which it was to rest, and
which were to justify the movement in the eyes of the world
and of impartial posterity. That exposition is too important
to be omitted here. It is the most authoritative and explicit




ï~~62     PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

statement of the character and objects of the new government
which has ever been made.     Mr. Stephens said:
"The new constitution has put at rest forever all agitating questions
relating to our peculiar institutions-African slavery as it exists among
us-the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was
the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson, in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the 'rock upon which the old
Union would split.' He was right. What was conjecture with him, is
now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great
truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The
prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen
at the time of the formation of the old Constitution were, that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it
was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an
evil they knew not well how to deal with; but the general opinion of
the men of that day was, that, somehow or other, in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea,
though not incorporated in the Constitution, was the prevailing idea at
the time. The Constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee
to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be
justly used against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because
of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of
races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the idea of
a government built upon it was wrong-when the ' storm came and the
wind blew, it fell.'
"Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas;
its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests upon the great truth that
the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to
the superior race, is his natural and moral condition. This, our bew
Government, is the first in the history of the world, based upon this
great physical, philosophical, and moral truth. This truth has been
slow in the process of its development, like all other truths in the various departments of science. It is even so amongst us. Many who
hear me, perhaps, can recollect well that this truth was not generally
admitted even within their day. The errors of the past generation still
clung to many as late as twenty years ago. Those at the North who
still cling to these errors with a zeal above knowledge, we justly denominate fanatics. All fanaticism springs from an aberration of the mind;




ï~~SECESSION MOVEMENTS IN WASHINGTON.

63

from a defect in reasoning. It is a species of insanity. One of the
most striking characteristics of insanity, in many instances, is forming
correct conclusions from fancied or erroneous premises; so with the
anti-slavery fanatics; their conclusions are right if their premises are.
They assume that the negro is equal, and hence conclude that he is entitled to equal privileges and rights with the white man. If their premises were correct, their conclusions would be logical and just; but their
premises being wrong, their whole argument fails. I recollect once of
having heard a gentleman from one of the Northern States, of great
power and ability, announce in the House of Representatives, with imposing effect, that we of the South would be compelled, ultimately, to
yield upon this subject of slavery; that it was as impossible to war
successfully against a principle in politics, as it was in physics or mechanics.  That the principle would ultimately prevail. That we, in
maintaining slavery as it exists with us, were warring against a principle-a principle founded in nature, the principle of the equality of man.
The reply I made to him was, that upon his own grounds we should
succeed, and that he and his associates in their crusade against our institutions would ultimately fail. The truth announced, that it was as
impossible to war successfully against a principle in politics as well as
in physics and mechanics, I admitted, but told him that it was he and
those acting with him who were warring against a principle. They
were attempting to make things equal which the Creator had made unequal.
"In the conflict thus far, success has been on our side, complete
throughout the length and breadth of the Confederate States. It is upon this, as I have stated, our social fabric is firmly planted; and I cannot permit myself to doubt the ultimate success of a full recognition of
this principle throughout the civilized and enlightened world."
We have thus traced the course of events in the Southern
States during the three months that succeeded the election of
President Lincoln. Let us now see what took place in Washington during the same time.       Congress met on the 3d of
December and the Message of President Buchauan was at once
sent in. That document ascribed the discontent of the Soutlhern
States to the alleged fact that the violent agitation in the North
against slavery had created disaffection among the slaves, and
created apprehensions of servile insurrection. The President




ï~~64       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
vindicated the hostile action of the, South, assuming that it was
prompted by these apprehensions; but went on to show that
there was no right on the part of any State to secede from the
Union, while at the same time he contended that the General
Government had no right to make war on any State for the
purpose of preventing it from seceding, and closed this portion
of his Message by recommending an amendment of the Constitution which should explicitly recognize the right of property
in slaves, and provide for the protection of that right in all the
territories of the United States. The belief that the people of
South Carolina would make an attempt to seize one or more
of the forts in the harbor of Charleston, created considerable
uneasiness at Washington; and on the 9th of December the
Representatives from that State wrote to the President expressing their "strong convictions" that no such attempt would
be made previous to the action of the State Convention, "provided that no re-enforcements should be sent into those forts,
and their relative military status shall remain as at present."
On the 10th of December Howell Cobb resigned his office as
Secretary of the Treasury, and on the 14th Gen. Cass resigned
as Secretary of State. The latter resigned because the President refused to re-enforce the forts in the harbor of Charleston.
On the 20th the State of South Carolina passed the ordinance
of secession, and on the 26th Major Anderson transferred his
garrison from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter. On the 29th
John B. Floyd resigned his office as Secretary of War, alleging
that the action of Major Anderson was in violation of pledges
given by the Government that the military status of the forts
at Charleston should remain unchanged, and that the President had declined to allow him to issue an order, for which he
had applied on the 27th, to withdraw the garrison from the
harbor of Charleston. On the 29th of December, Messrs.
Barnwell, Adams, and Orr arrived at Washington, as Commissioners from the State of South Carolina, and at once opened a




ï~~DEBATES IN CONGRESS.

65

correspondence with President Buchanan, asking for the delivery of the forts and other government property at Charleston
to the authorities of South Carolina. The President replied
on the 30th, reviewing the whole question-stating that in removing from Fort Moultrie Major Anderson acted solely on
his own responsibility, and that his first impulse on hearing of
it was to order him to return, but that the occupation of the
fort by South Carolina and the seizure of the arsenal at Charleston had rendered this impossible. The Commissioners replied
on the 1st of January, 1861, insisting that the President had
pledged himself to maintain the status of affairs in Charleston
harbor previous to the removal of Major Anderson from Fort
Moultrie, and calling on him to redeem this pledge. This
communication the President returned.
On the 8th of January the President sent a Message to Congress, calling their attention to the condition of public affairs,
declaring that while he had no right to make aggressive war
upon any State, it was his right and his duty to "use military
force defensively against those who resist the Federal officers
in the execution of their legal functions, and against those who
assail the property of the Federal Government;"-but throwing the whole responsibility of meeting the extraordinary emergencies of the occasion upon Congress. On the same day Jacob
Thompson, of Mississippi, resigned his office as Secretary of the
Interior, because the Star of the West had been sent on the 5th,
by order of the Government, with supplies for Fort Sumter, in
violation, as he alleged, of the decision of the Cabinet. Ori
the 10th, P. F. Thomas, of Maryland, who had replaced
Howell Cobb as Secretary of the Treasury, resigned, and was
succeeded by Gen. John A. Dix, of New York.
The debates and the action of Congress throughout the session related mainly to the questions at issue between the two
sections. The discussion opened on the.3d of December as
soon as the President's Message had been read. The Southern
0




ï~~66        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Senators generally treated the election of the previous Novenmber as having been a virtual decision against the equality and
rights of the slaveholding States. The Republican members
disavowed this construction, and proclaimed their willingness to
adopt any just and proper measures which would quiet the
apprehensions of the South, while thiey insisted that the authority of the Constitution should be maintained, and the constitutional election of a President should be respected. At the
opening of the session Mr. Powell, of Kentucky, in the Senate
moved the reference of that portion of the President's Message
which related to the sectional difficulties of the country, to a
select committee of thirteen.   This resolutionbeing adopted,
Mr. Crittenden immediately afterwards introduced a series of
joint resolutions, embodying what came to be known afterwards as the Crittenden Compromise-proposing to submit to
the action of.the people of the several States the following
amendments to the Constitution:
1. Prohibiting slavery in all the territory of the United States north
of 36Q 30', and protecting it as property in all territory south of that
line; and admitting into the Union, with or without slavery as its Constitution might provide, any State that might be formed out of such territory, whenever its population should be sufficient to entitle it to a
member of Congress.
2. Prohibiting Congress from abolishing slavery in places under its
exclusive jurisdiction within Slave States.
3. Prohibiting Congress from abolishing slavery within the District
of Columbia, so long as slavery should exist in Virginia or Maryland;
or without the consent of the inhabitants or without just compensation
to the owners.
4. Prohibiting Congress from hindering the transportation of slaves
from one State to another, or to a territory in which slavery is allowed.
5. Providing that where a fugitive slave is lost to his owner by
violent resistance to the execution of the process of the law for his recovery, the United States shall pay to said owner his full value, and
may recover the same from the county in wlhich such rescue occurred.
6. These provisions were declared to be unchangeable by any future




ï~~THE CRITIENDEN RESOLUTIONS.

67

amendment of the Constitution, as were also the existing articles relating
to the representation of slaves and the surrender of fugitives.
Besides these proposed amendments of the Constitution Mr.
Crittenden's resolutions embodied certain declarations in affirmance of the constitutionality and binding force of the
fugitive slave law-recommending the repeal by the States of
all bills, the effect of which was to hinder the execution of
that law, proposing to amend it by equalizing its fees, and
urging the effectual execution of the law for the suppression of
the African slave trade.
These resolutions were referred to the Committee of Thirteen, ordered on Mr. Powell's motion, and composed of the
following Senators:
Messrs. Powell, Hunter, Crittenden, Seward, Toombs, Douglas, Collamer, Davis, Wade, Bigler, Rice, Doolittle, and Grimes.
On the 31st of December, this Committee reported that
they "had not been able to agree upon any general plan of
adjustment." The whole subject was nevertheless discussed
over and over again during the residue of the session; but no
final action was taken until the very day of its close. On
the 21st of January, Messrs. Yulee and Mallory, of Florida,
resigned their seats in the Senate because their State had
passed an ordinance of secession, and on the 28th Mr. Iverson,
of Georgia, followed their example. Messrs. Clay and Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, and Mr. Davis, of Mississippi, followed
next, and on the 4th of February Messrs. Slidell and Benjamin, of Louisiana, also took their leave.
In the House of Representatives the debates took the same
general direction as in the Senate. On the first day of the
session a resolution was adopted, by a vote of 145 to 38, to
refer so much of the President's Message as related to the
perilous condition of the country, to a committee of one from
each State. This committee was appointed as follows:




ï~~68     PRESIDENT LINCOLN 'S ADMINISTRATION.

Corwin of Ohio.
Millson of Virginia.
Adams of Massachusetts.
Winslow of North Carolina.
Humphrey of New York.
Boyce of South Carolina.
Campbell of Pennsylvania.
Love of Georgia.
Ferry of Connecticut.
Davis of Maryland.
Robinson of Rhode Island.
Whitely of Delaware.
Tappan of New Hampshiro.
Stratton of New Jersey.
Bristow of Kentucky.
Morrill of Vermont.
Nelson of Tennessee.

Dunn of Indiana.
Taylor of Louisiana.
Davis of Mississippi.
Kellogg of Illinois.
Houston of Alabama.
Morse of Maine.
Phelps of Missouri.
Rust of Arkansas.
Howard of Michigan.
Hawkins of Florida.
Hamilton of Texas.
Washburn of Wisconsin.
Curtis of Iowa.
Birch of California.
Windom of Minnesota.
Stark of Oregon.

A great variety of resolutions were offered and referred to
this committee. In a few days the committee reported the following series of resolutions, and recommended their adoption:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That all attempts on the parts of the
Legislatures of any of the States to obstruct or hinder the recovery and
surrender of fugitives from service or labor, are in derogation of the
Constitution of the United States, inconsistent with the comity and
good neighborhood that should prevail among the several States, and
dangerous to the peace of the Union.
Resolved, That the several States be respectfully requested to cause
their statutes to be revised, with a view to ascertain if any of them are
in conflict with or tend to embarrass or hinder the execution of the
laws of the United States, made in pursuance of the second section of
the fourth article of the Constitution of the United States for the delivering up of persons held to labor by the laws of any State and escaping
therefrom; and the Senate and House of Representatives earnestly
request that all enactments having such tendency be forthwith repealed, as required by a just sense of constitutional obligations, and by
a due regard for the peace of the Republic; and the President of the
United States is requested to communicate these resolutions to the

9




ï~~CONCILIATORY ACTION OF CONGRESS.

69

Governors of the several States, with a request that they will lay the
same before the Legislatures thereof respectively.
Resolved, That we recognize slavery as now existing in fifteen of the
United States by the usages and laws of those States; and we recognize no authority, legally or otherwise, outside of a State where it so
exists, to interfere with slaves or slavery in such States, in disregard of
the rights of their owners or the peace of society.
Resolved, That we recognize the justice and propriety of a faithful
execution of the Constitution, and laws made in pursuance thereof, on
the subject of fugitive slaves, or fugitives from service or labor, and
discountenance all mobs or hinderances to the execution of such laws,
and that citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and
immunities of citizens in the several States.
Resolved, That we recognize no such conflicting elements in its composition, or sufficient cause from any source, for a dissolution of this
Government; that we were not sent here to destroy, but to sustain
and harmonize the institutions of the country, and to see that equal
justice is done to all parts of the same; and finally, to perpetuate its
existence on terms of equality and justice to all the States.
Resolved, That a faithful observance, on the part of all the States, of
all their constitutional obligations to each other and to the Federal Government, is essential to the peace of the country.
Resolved, That it is the duty of the Federal Government to enforce
the Federal laws, protect the Federal property, and preserve the Union
of these States.
Resolved, That each State be requested to revise its statutes, and, if
necessary, so to amend the same as to secure, without legislation by
Congress, to citizens of other States travelling therein, the same protection as citizens of such State enjoy; and also to protect the citizens of
other States travelling or sojourning therein against popular violence or
illegal summary punishment, without trial in due form of law, for irpputed crimes.
Resolved, That each State be also respectfully requested to enact such
laws as will prevent and punish any attempt whatever in such State to
recognize or set on foot the lawless invasion of any other State or Territory.
Resolved, That the President be requested to transmit copies of
the foregoing resolutions to the Governors of the several States,
with a request that they be communicated to their respective Legislatures.




ï~~70        PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
These resolutions were intended and admirably calculated
to calm the apprehensions of the people of the slaveholding
States as to any disposition on the part of the Federal Government to interfere with Slavery, or withhold from them
any of their constitutional rightsj and in a House controlled
by a large Republican majority, they were adopted by a vote
of ayes 136, noes 53. Not content with this effort to satisfy
all just complaints on the part of the Southern States, the
same committee reported the following resolution, recommending such an amendment of the Constitution as should
put it forever out of the power of the Government or people
of the United States to interfere with Slavery in any of the
States:
Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of both Houses concurring), That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of
the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, which, when ratified by three-fourths of said Legislatures, shall
be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of the said Constitution,
namely:
Art. 12. No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will
authorize, or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within
any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of per.
sons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.
This resolution was adopted by a vote of 133 to 65-more
than two-thirds in its favor. This closed the action of the
House of Representatives at this session on this important
subject, though it had previously adopted, by a unanimous
vote, the following declaratory resolution:
Resolved, That neither the Federal Government nor the people, or the
governments of the non-slaveholding States, have the right to legislate
upon or interfere with Slavery in any of the slaveholding States in the
Union.
The action of the Senate was som6what modified by the
intervening action of a Peace Conference, which assembled at




ï~~THE PEACE CONFERENCE.

71

Washington on the 4th of February, in pursuance of a recommendation of the State of Virginia, embodied in resolutions
adopted by the General Assembly of that State on the 19th
of January. It consisted of delegates, 133 in number, from
21 States-none of those which had seceded being represented. John Tyler, of Virginia, wits appointed president,
and a committee, consisting of one from each State, was appointed, with authority to " report what they may deem right,
necessary, and proper to restore harmony and preserve the
Union." On the 15th of February the committee reported a
series of resolutions, in seven sections, which were discussed
and amended, one by one, until the afternoon of the 26th,
when the vote was taken upon them as amended, in succession, with the following results:
SECTION 1. In all the present territory of the United States, north of
the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes of north latitude, involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, is prohibited. In
all the present territory south of that line, the status of persons held to
involuntary service or labor, as it now exists, shall not be changed; nor
shall any law be passed by Congress or the Territorial Legislature to
hinder or prevent the taking of such persons from any of the States of
this Union to said territory, nor to impair the rights arising from said relation; but the same shall be subject to judicial cognizance in the Federal
Courts, according to the course of the common law. When any territory
north or south of said line, within such boundary as Congress may prescribe, shall contain a population equal to that required for a member of
Congress, it shall, if its form of government be republican, be admitted
into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, with or without involuntary servitude as the constitution of such State may provide.
The vote on the adoption of the section was as follows:
AYEs.-Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee-8.
NoES.-Conneeticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri,
New York, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia-11.
So its adoption was not agreed to.
A. reconsideration of this vote was called for by the delegates from
Illinois and agreed to, 14 to 5. On the next day the question was again
taken on the adoption of the section, with the following result:




ï~~72        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
AYEs.-Delaware Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee-9.
NoEs.-Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia-8.
Thus the section was adopted.
It was stated by the members from New York, when the State was
called, that one of their number, D. DField, was absent, and the delegation was divided. Thus New York, Indiana, and Kansas were
divided.
The adoption of the second section was then moved; it was as follows:
SECTION 2. NO territory shall be acquired by the United States, except
by discovery, and for naval and commercial stations, depots, and transit
routes, without the concurrence of a majority of all the Senators from
States which allow involuntary servitude, and a majority of all the Senators from States which prohibit that relation; nor shall territory be acquired by treaty, unless the votes of a majority of the Senators from each
class of States hereinbefore mentioned be cast as a part of the two-thirds
majority necessary to the ratification of such treaty.
The vote on this section was as follows:
AYEs.-Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia-11.
NoEs.-Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Vermont-8.
New York and Kansas were divided.
The adoption of section three of the report, with the amendments,
was next moved. The amended section was as follows:
SECTION 3. Neither the Constitution nor any amendment thereof shall
be construed to give Congress power to regulate, abolish, or control,
within any State, the relation established or recognized by the laws
thereof touching persons held to labor or involuntary service therein, nor
to interfere with or abolish involuntary service in the District of Columbia without the consent of Maryland and without the consent of the
owners, or making the owners who do not consent just compensation;
nor the power to interfere with or prohibit-representatives and others
from bringing with them to the District of Columbia, retaining and
taking away, persons so held to labor or service; nor the power to interfere with or abolish involuntary service in places under the exclusive
jurisdiction of the United States within those States and Territories
where the same is established or recognized; nor the power to prohibit
the removal or transportation of persons held to labor or involuntary
service in any State or territory of the United States to any other State or




ï~~THE PEACE CONFERENCE.

73

territory thereof where it is established or recognized by law or usage -
and the right during transportation, by sea or river, of touching at ports,
shores, and landings, and of landing in case of distress, shall exist; but
not the right of transit in or through any State or territory, or of sale or
traffic, against the law thereof. Nor shall Congress have power to
authorize any higher rate of taxation on persons held to labor or service
than on land.
The vote on the adoption of the section was as follows:
AYEs.-Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey;
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vir.
ginia-12.
NoEs.-Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont-7.
So the section was adopted. Kansas and New York were divided.
The adoption of the fourth section of the report, as amended, was
then moved; it was as follows:
SECTION 4. The third paragraph of the second section of the fourth
article of the Constitution shall not be construed to prevent any of the
States, by appropriate legislation, and through the action of their judicial
and ministerial officers, from enforcing the delivery of fugitives from
labor to the person to whom such service or labor is due.
The vote on the adoption of this section was as follows:
AYEs.-Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland,
Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia-15.
NoES.-Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire-4.
Thus the section was adopted, Kansas and New York were divided.
The adoption of the fifth section of the report as amended was then
moved; it was as follows:
SECTION 5. The foreign slave-trade is hereby forever prohibited, and it
shall be the duty of Congress to pass laws to prevent the importation of
slaves, coolies, or persons held to service or labor into the United States
and the Territories from places beyond the limits thereof.
The vote on the adoption of this section resulted as follows:
AYES.-Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland,
Missouri, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Kansas-16.
NoES.-Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia-5.
The section was thus adopted.
A motion was next made to adopt the sixth section as amended; it
was as follows:
SECTION 6. The first, third, and fifth sections, together with this section of these amendments, and the third paragraph of the second section
4




ï~~74         PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
of tlhe first article of the Constitution, and the third paragraph of the
second section of the fourth article thereof, shall not be amended or abolished without the consent of all the States.
The vote on this section was as follows:
AYEs.-Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Kansas-11.
NoEs.-Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia-9.
New York was divided. So this section was adopted.
The motion was then made to adopt the seventh and last section as
amended; it was as follows:
SECTION 7. Congress shall provide by law that the United States shall
pay to the owner the full value of his fugitive from labor, in all cases
where the marshal or other officer whose duty it was to arrest such fugitive, was prevented from doing so by violence or intimidation, from mobs
or other riotous assemblages, or when, after arrest, such fugitive was rescued by like violence or intimidation, and the owner thereby deprived of
the same; and the acceptance of such payment shall preclude the owner
from further claim to such fugitive. Congress shall provide by law for
securing to the citizens of each State the privileges and immunities of
citizens in the several States.
The vote on this section was as follows:
AYES.-Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey,
New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Kansas-12.
NoEs.--Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, Vermont,
Virginia-7.
Thus the last section was adopted. New York was divided.
The adoption of the following resolution was then moved by Mr.
Franklin, of Pennsylvania:
Resolved, As the sense of this Convention, that the highest political
duty of every citizen of the United States is his allegiance to the Federal
Government created by the Constitution of the United States, and that
no State of this Union has any constitutional right to secede therefrom,
or to absolve the citizens of such State from their allegiance to the Government of the United States.
It was moved to lay the resolution on the table. The vote was as
follows:
AYES.-Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia-9.
NoES.-Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kansas-12.




ï~~ACTION OF CONGRESS.

75

Some amendments were then offered and laid on the table, when its
indefinite postponement was moved and carried by the following vote:
AvEs.-Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia--10.
NoEs.-Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
Pennsylvania-7.
New York was divided.
The following preamble was then offered by Mr. Guthrie, and
agreed to:
To the Congress of the United States:
The Convention assembled upon the invitation of the State of Virginia
to adjust the unhappy differences which now disturb the peace of the
Union and threaten its continuance, make known to the Congress of the
United States, that their body convened in the city of Washington on
the 4th instant, and continued in session until the 27th.
There were in the body, when action was taken upon that which is
here submitted, one hundred and thirty-three commissioners, representing the following States: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Maryland, -Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas.
They have approved what is herewith submitted, and respectfully request that your honorable body will submit it to conventions in the
States as an article of amendment to the Constitution of the United
States.
In the Senate, on the 2d day of March, a communication
was received from the President of the Peace Congress, communicating the resolutions thus adopted in that body. They
were at once referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Crittenden, Bigler, Thomson, Seward, and Trumbull. The next
day they were reported to the Senate for its adoption, Messrs.
Seward and Trumbull, the minority of the Committee, dissenting from the majority, and proposing the adoption of a resolution
calling on the Legislatures of the States to express their will in
regard to calling a Convention for amending the Constitution.
The question then came up on adopting the resolutions of
the Peace Conference.    Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, moved to
substitute the first of Mr. Crittenden's resolutions for the first
of those reported by the Committee. Mr. Crittenden opposed




ï~~7r6      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
it, and urged the adoption of the propositions of the Peace
Conference in preference to his own. Mr. Mason, of Virginia,
opposed the resolutions of the Peace Conference, on the ground
that it would not satisfy the South. Mr. Baker, of Oregon,
advocated it. Mr. Green, of Missouri, opposed it as surrendering every Southern principle,'in which he was seconded
by Mr. Lane, of Oregon.
At this stage of the proceedings Mr. Douglas gave a new
turn to the form of the proceedings of the Senate, by moving
to take up the resolution adopted by the House to amend the
Constitution so as to prohibit forever any interference with
slavery in the States. This motion was carried. Mr. Pugh
moved to amend by substituting for this resolution the resolutions of Mr. Crittenden. This was rejected-ayes 14, noes
25. Mr. Brigham, of Michigan, next moved to substitute a
resolution against any amendment of the Constitution, and in
favor of enforcing the laws. This was rejected-ayes 13, noes
25. Mr. Grimes, of Iowa, then moved to substitute the resolution of Messrs. Seward and Trumbull, as the minority of the
Select Committee, calling on the State Legislatures to express
their will in regard to calling a Convention to amend the
Constitution. This was rejected-ayes 14, noes 25. The
propositions of the Peace Conference were then moved by
Mr. Johnson, of Arkansas, and rejected-ayes 3, noes 34.
Mr. Crittenden's resolutions were then taken up, and lost by
the following vote:
AYES.-Messrs. Bayard, Bright, Bigler, Crittenden, Douglas, Gwin, Hunter, Johnson of Tenn., Kennedy, Lane,
Latham, Mason, Nicholson, Polk, Pugh, Rice, Sebastian,
Thomson, and Wigfall-19.
NoEs.-Messrs. Anthony, Bingham, Chandler, Clark, Dixon,
Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foote, Foster, Grimes, Harlan,
King, Morrill, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson,
and Wilson-20.




ï~~THE SECESSION MOVEMENT UNCHECKED.

77

The resolutions were thus lost in consequence of the withdrawal of Senators from the disaffected States. The question
was then taken on the House resolution to amend the
Constitution so as to prohibit forever any amendment of the
Constitution interfering with slavery in any State, and the
resolution was adopted by a two-thirds vote-ayes 24, nays
12.
This closed the action of Congress upon this important
subject. It was strongly Republican in both branches, yet it
had done every thing consistent with its sense of justice and
fidelity to the Constitution to disarm the apprehensions of the
Southern States, and to remove all provocation for their resistance to the incoming administration. It had given the
strongest possible pledge that it had no intention of interfering with slavery in any State, by amending the Constitution
so as to make such interference forever impossible. It created
governments for three new Territories, Nevada, Dakotah, and
Colorado, and passed no law excluding slavery from any one
of them. It had severely censured the legislation of some
of the Northern States intended to hinder the recovery of
fugitives from labor; and in response to its expressed wishes,
Rhode Island repealed its laws of that character, and Vermont,
Maine, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin, had the subject under
consideration, and were ready to take similar action. Yet all
this had no effect whatever in changing or checking the secession movement in the Southern States.




ï~~78      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER II.
FROM SPRINGFIELD TO WASHINGTON.
FROM the date of his election, Mr. LINCOLN maintained
silence on the affairs of the country. The government was to
remain for three months longer in the hands of Mr. Buchanan,
and the new President did not deem it becoming or proper for
him to interfere, in any way, with the regular discharge of its
duties and responsibilities. On the 11th of February, 1861,
he left his home in Springfield, Illinois, accompanied to the
railroad d6pot by a large concourse of his friends and neighbors, whom he bade farewell in the following words:
MY FRIENDS: No one not in my position can appreciate the sadness I
feel at this parting. To this people I owe all that I am. Here I have
lived more than a quarter of a century; here my children were born,
and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you
again. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that
which has devolved upon any other man since the days of WASHINGTON.
He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence,
upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without
the same Divine aid which sustained him, and on the same Almighty
Being I place my reliance for support, and I hope you, my friends, will
all pray that I may receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which, success is certain. Again I bid you all
an affectionate farewell.
As the train passed through the country the President vas
greeted with hearty cheers and good wishes by the thousands
who assembled at the railway stations along the route. Party
spirit seemed to have been forgotte'n, and the cheers were
always given for " Lincoln a'd the Constitution."  At Tolono




ï~~SPEECH AT INDIANAPOLIS.

he appeared upon the platform, and in response to the applause
which hailed his appearance, he said:
I am leaving you on an errand of national importance, attended, as
you are aware, with considerable difficulties. Let us believe, as some
poet has expressed it, "Behind the cloud the sun is still shining." I bid
you an affectionate farewell.
At Indianapolis the party was welcomed by a salute of
thirty-four guns, and the President-elect was received by the
Governor of the State in person, and escorted to a carriage
in waiting, which proceeded-followed by a procession of the
members of both Houses of the Legislature, the municipal
authorities, the military, and firemen-to the Bates House.
Appearing on the balcony of this hotel, Mr. LINCOLN was
greeted by the hearty applause of the large crowd which had
assembled in the street, to which he addressed the following
remarks:
Gov. Morton and Fellow- Citizens of the State of Indiana:
Most heartily do I thankyou for this magnificent reception, and while
I cannot take to myself any share of the compliment thus paid, more
than that which pertains to a mere instrument, an accidental instrument,
perhaps I should say, of a great cause, I yet must look upon it as a
most magnificent reception, and as such, most heartily do thank you
for it. You have been pleased to address yourself to me chiefly in
behalf of this glorious Union in which we live, in all of which you have
my hearty sympathy, and, as far as may be within my power, will have,
one and inseparably, my hearty consideration; while I do not expect,
upon this occasion, or until I get to Washington, to attempt any lengthy
speech, I will only say to the salvation of the Union there needs but
one single thing, the hearts of a people like yours. [Applause.]
The people, when they rise in mass in behalf of the Union and the
liberties of their country, truly may it be said, "The gates of hell cannot
prevail against them." [Renewed applause.] In all trying positions
in which I shall be placed, and, doubtless, I shall be placed in many
such, my reliance will be placed upon you and the people of the United
States; and I wish you to remember, now and fqrever, that it is your
business, and not mine; that if the union of these States, and the lib



ï~~80        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
erties of this people shall be lost, it is but little to any one man of fiftytwo years of age, but a great deal to the thirty millions of people who
inhabit these United States, and to their posterity in all coming time.
It is your business to rise up and preserve the Union and liberty for
yourselves, and not for me.
I desire they should be constitutionally performed. I, as already
intimated, am but an accidental instrunent, temporary, and to serve but
for a limited time, and I appeal to you again to constantly bear in mind
that with you, and not with politicians, not with Presidents, not with
office-seekers, but with you, is the question, Shall the Union and shall
the liberties of this country be preserved to the latest generations?
[Cheers.]
In the evening the members of the Legislature waited upon
him in a body at his hotel, where one of their number, on
behalf of the whole, and in presence of a very large assemblage
of the citizens of the place, made a brief address of welcome
and congratulation, which Mr. LINCOLN acknowledged in the
following terms:
FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF INDIANA: I am here to thank you
much for this magnificent welcome, and still more for the generous support given by your State to that political cause which I think is the true
and just cause of the whole country and the whole world.
Solomon says there is "a time to keep silence," and when men wrangle by the mouth with no certainty that they mean the same thing, while
using the same word, it perhaps were as well if they would keep silence,
The words "coercion" and "invasion" are much used in these days,
and often with some temper and hot blood. Let us make sure, if we can,
that we do not misunderstand the meaning of those who use them. Let
us get exact definitions of these words, not from dictionaries, but from
the men themselves, who certainly depreciate the things they would
represent by the use of words. What, then, is "Coercion?" What is
"Invasion?"  Would the marching of an army into South Carolina,
without the consent of her people, and with hostile intent towards them;
be "invasion?" I certainly think it would; and it would be "coercion"
also if the South Carolinians were forced to submit. But if the United
States should merely hold and retake its own forts and other property,
and collect the duties on foreign importations, or even withhold the
mails from places where they were habitually violated, would any or all




ï~~ARRIVAL AND SPEECH AT CINCIN iATI.

81

these things be "invasion" or "coercion?" Do our professed lovers
of the Union, but who spitefully resolve that they will resist coercion
and invasion, understand that such things as these on the part of the
United States, would be coercion or invasion of a State? If so, their
idea of means to preserve the object of their affection would seem exceedingly thin and airy. If sick, the little pills of the homceopathists
would be much too large for it to swallow. In their view, the Union, as
a family relation, would seem to be no regular marriage, but a sort of
"free love" arrangement, to be maintained only on "passional attraction."
By the way, in what consists the special sacredness of a State? I
speak not of the position assigned to a State in the Union, by the Constitution; for that, by the bond, we all recognize. That position, however, a State cannot carry out of the Union with it. I speak of that assumed primary right of a State to rule all which is less than itself and
ruin all which is larger than itself. If a State and a county in a given
case, should be equal in extent of territory, and equal in number of inhabitants, in what, as a matter of principle, is the State better than the county? Would an exchange of names be an exchange of rights upon principle? On what rightful principle may a State, being not more than onefiftieth part of the nation, in soil and population, break up the nation and
then coerce a proportionally larger subdivision of itself, in the most arbitrary way? What mysterious right to play tyrant is conferred on a
district of country, with its people, by merely calling it a State?
Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting any thing; I am merely asking
questions for you to consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell.
On the morning of the 12th, Mr. LINCOLN took his departure
and arrived at Cincinnati at about noon, having been greeted
along the route by the hearty applause of the thousands assembled at the successive stations. His reception at Cincinnati was overwhelming. The streets were so densely crowded
that it was with the utmost difficulty the procession could
secure a passage.  Mr. LINCOLN was escorted to the Burnett
House, which had been handsomely decorated in honor of his
visit. He was welcomed by the Mayor of the city in a few
remarks, in response to which he said:
MR. MAYOR AND FELLOW-CITIZENS: I have spoken but once before this
in Cincinnati. That was a year previous to the late Presidential election.
4*




ï~~82        PRESIDENT' LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
On that occasion, in a playful manner, but with sincere words, I addressed much of what I said to the Kentuckians. I gave my opinion
that we, as Republicans, would ultimately beat them, as Democrats, but
that they could postpone that result longer by nominating Senator Douglas for the Presidency than they could in any other way. They did
not, in any true sense of the word, nominate Mr. Douglas, and the result
has come certainly as soon as ever I expected. I also told them how I
expected they would be treated after they should have been beaten; and
I now wish to call their attention to what I then said upon that subject.
I then said, "When we do as we say, beat you, you perhaps want to
know what we will do with you. I will tell you, as far as I am authorized to speak for the opposition, what we mean to do with you. We
mealk to treat you, as near as we possibly can, as Washington, Jefferson, and Madison treated you. We mean to leave you alone, and in no
way to interfere with your institutions; to abide by all and every compromise of the Constitution; and, in a word, coming back to the original
proposition, to treat you so far as degenerate men, if we have degenerated, may, according to the example of those noble fathers, WASIINGTON, JEFFERSON, and MADISON. We mean to remember that you are
as good as we; that there is no difference between us, other than the
difference of circumstances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind
always that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other people,
or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly.
Fellow-citizens of Kentucky I friends I brethren, may I call you in my
new position? I see no occasion, and feel no inclination to retract a word
of this. If it shall not be made good, be assured the fault shall not be
mine.
In the evening the German Republican associations called
upon Mr. LIncoLN and presented him         an address of congratulation, to which he responded, warmly endorsing the wisdom of the Iomestead bill, and speaking of the advantages
offered by the soil and institutions of the United States to
foreigners who might wish to make it their home. He left
Cincinnati on the morning of the 13th, accompanied by a Committee of the Ohio Legislature, which had come from the Capital to meet him. The party reached Columbus at 2 o'clock,
and the President was escorted to the hall of the Assembly,
e




ï~~SPEECH AT COLUMBUS.

83

where he was formally welcomed by Lieutenant-Governor Kirk
on behalf of the Legislature which had assembled in joint session, to which he made the following reply:
MR. PRESIDENT AND MR. SPEAKER, AND GENTLEMEN OF THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY: It is true, as has been said by the President of the Senate,
that very great responsibility rests upon ma in the position to which the
votes of the American people have called me. I am deeply sensible of
that weighty responsibility. I cannot but know what you all know, that
without a name, perhaps without a reason why I should have a name,
there has fallen upon me a task such as did not rest even upon the Father
of his country, and so feeling I cannot but turn and look for the support
without which it will be impossible for me to perform that great task. I
turn, then, and look to the great American people, and to that God who
has never forsaken them.
Allusion has been made to the interest felt in relation to the policy of
the new Administration. In this I have received from some a degree of
credit for having kept silence, and from others some depreciation. I still
think that I was right. In the varying and repeatedly shifting scenes of
the present, and without a precedent which could enable me to judge by
the past, it has seemed fitting that before speaking upon the difficulties of
the country, I should have gained a view of the whole field so as to be sure
after all-at liberty to modify and change the course of policy as future
events may make a change necessary. I have not maintained silence
from any want of real anxiety. It is a good thing that there is no more
than anxiety, for there is nothing going wrong. It is a consoling circumstance that when we look out, there is nothing that really hurts
anybody. We entertain different views upon political questions, but nobody is suffering any thing. This is a most consoling circumstance, and
from it we may conclude that all we want is time, patience, and a reliance on that God who has never forsaken this people. Fellow-citizens,
what I have said I have said altogether extemporaneously, and will now
come to a close.
Both Houses then adjourned. In the evening Mr. LINCOLN
held a lev6e, which was very largely attended. On the morning
of the 14th, Mr. LINCOLN left Columbus. At Steubenville lihe
had a formal though brief reception, being addressed by Judge
Floyd, to whose remarks hlie made the following reply:




ï~~84        PRRSIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
I fear that the great confidence placed in my ability is unfounded.
Indeed, I am sure it is. Encompassed by vast difficulties as I am,
nothing shall be wanting on my part, if sustained by the American
people and God. I believe the devotion to the Constitution is equally
great on both sides of the river. It is only the different understanding
of that instrument that causes difficulty. The only dispute on both
sides is "What are their rights?" If the majority should not rule,
who should be the judge? Where is such a judge to be found? We
should all be bound by the majority of the American people-if not,
then the minority must control. Would that be right? Would it be
just or generous?  Assuredly not.   I reiterate that the majority
should rule. If I adopt a wrong policy, the opportunity for condemnation will occur in four years' time. Then I can be turned out, and a
better man with better views put in my place.
The train reached Pittsburg in the evening, and Mr. LINCOLN was received with the utmost enthusiasm at the Monongahela House by a large crowd which had assembled to greet
him. He acknowledged their reception briefly:
He said he would not give them a speech, as he thought it more rare,
if not more wise, for a public man to abstain from much speaking. He
expressed his gratitude and surprise at seeing so great a crowd and such
boundless enthusiasm manifested in the night-time and under such untoward circumstances, to greet so unworthy an individual as himself.
This was undoubtedly attributable to the position which more by accident than by worth he had attained. He remarked further, that if all
those whole-souled people whom he saw this evening before him were
for the preservation of the Union, he did not see how it could be in
much danger. He had intended to say a few words to the people of
Pittsburg-the greatest manufacturing city of the United Statesupon such matters as they were interested in; but as he had adopted
the plan of holding his tongue for the most part during the last canvass,
(and since his election, he thought he had perhaps better now still
continue to hold his tongue. [Cries of "Go on," "go on."] Well, I am reminded that there is an Alleghany City as well as an Alleghany County,
the former the banner town, and the latter the banner county, perhaps,
of the world. I am glad to see both of them, and the good people
of both. That I may not disappoint these, I will say a few words to
you to-morrow as to the peculiar interests of Alleghany County."




ï~~SPEECH AT PITTSBURG.

85

On the morning of the 15th, the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Pittsburg waited in a body upon the
President-elect.   The Mayor made him      an address of formal
welcome in presence of a very large number of citizens who
had assembled to witness the ceremony.       After the applause
which greeted his appearance had subsided, Mr. LINCOLN made
the following remarks:
I most cordially thank his Honor Mayor Wilson and the citizens of
Pittsburg generally, for their flattering reception.  I am the more
grateful because I know that it is not given to me alone, but to the
cause I represent, which clearly proves to me their good will, and that
sincere feeling is at the bottom of it.  And here I may remark, that in
every short address I have made to the people, in every crowd through
which I have passed, of late, some allusion has been made to the presentdistracted condition of the country.  It is natural to expect that I
should say something on this subject; but to touch upon it at all would
involve an elaborate discussion of a great many questions and circumstances, requiring more time than I can at present command, and
would, perhaps, unnecessarily commit me upon matters which have not
yet fully developed themselves. The condition of the country is an
extraordinary one, and fills the mind of every patriot with anxiety. It
is my intention to give this subject all the consideration I possibly can
before specially deciding in regard to it, so that when I do speak it
may be as nearly right as possible. When I do speak, I hope I may
say nothing in opposition to the spirit of the Constitution, contrary to
the integrity of the Union, or which will prove inimical to the liberties of the people or to the peace of the whole country. And, furthermore, when the time arrives for me to speak on this great subject, I
hope I may say nothing to disappoint the people generally throughout
the country, especially if the expectation has been based upon any thing
which I may have heretofore said.    Notwithstanding the troubles
across the river-(the speaker pointing southwardly across the Monon
gahela, and smiling)--there is no crisis but an artificial one.  What is
there now to warrant the condition of affairs presented by our friends
over the river? Take even their own view of the questions involved,
and there is nothing to justify the course they are pursuing. I repeat,
then, there is no crisis, excepting such a one as may be gotten up at
any time by turbulent men, aided by designing politicians. My advice




ï~~86         PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
to them, under such circumstances, is to keep cool.  If the great
American people only keep their temper on both sides of the line, the
troubles will come to an end, and the question which now distracts
the country will be settled, just as surely as all other difficulties of a
like character which have originated in this Government have been
adjusted. Let the people on both sides keep their self-possession, and
just as other clouds have cleared away 4n due time, so will this great
nation continue to prosper as heretofore. But, fellow-citizens, I have
spoken longer on this subject than I intended at the outset.
It is often said that the Tariff is the specialty of Pennsylvania. Assuming that direct taxation is not to be adopted, the Tariff question must
be as durable as the Government itself. It is a question of national
housekeeping. It is to the Government what replenishing the mealtub is to the family.  Every varying circumstance will require frequent
modifications as to the amount needed, and the sources of supply. So
far there is little difference of opinion among the people. It is only
whether, and how far, the duties on imports shall be adjusted to favor
home productions. In the home market that controversy begins. One
party insists that too much protection oppresses one class for the advantage of another, while the other party argues that with all its incidents, in the long run, all classes are benefited.  In the Chicago Platform there is a plank upon this subject, which should be a general law
to the incoming Administration. We should do neither more nor less
than we gave the people reason to believe we would when they gave
us their votes. That plank is as I now read:
Mr. LINcOLN's private secretary then read section twelfth of the
Chicago Platform, as follows:
That while providing revenue for the support of the General Government, by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imports as will encourage the development of the industrial interest of the whole country; and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secures to working-men liberal wages-to agriculture remunerating prices-to mechanics and manufacturers adequate
reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise; and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence.
Mr. LINcoLN resumed: As with all general propositions, doubtless
there will be shades of difference in construing this. I have by no
means a thoroughly matured judgment upon this subject, especially as
to details; some general ideas are about all.  I have long thought to
produce any necessary article at home which 'can be made of as good
quality and with as little labor at home as abroad, would be better policy,




ï~~ARRIVAL AND SPEECH AT CLEVELAND.

at least by the difference of the carrying from abroad. In such a case
the carrying is demonstrably a dead loss of labor. For instance, labor
being the true standard of value, is it not plain that if equal labor gets
a bar of railroad iron out of a mine in England, and another out of a
mine in Pennsylvania, each can be laid down in a track at home
cheaper than they could exchange countries, at least by the cost of
carriage? If there be a present cause why'one can be both made and
carried cheaper in money price than the other can be made without
carrying, that cause is an unnatural and injurious one, and ought naturally if not rapidly to be removed.  The condition of the treasury at
this time would seem to render an early revision of the Tariff indispensable. The Morrill Tariff bill, now pending before Congress, may or
may not become a law. I am not posted as to its particular provisions,
but if they are generally satisfactory and the bill shall now pass, there
will be an end of the matter for the present. If, however, it shall not
pass, I suppose the whole subject will be one of the most pressing and
important for the next Congress. By the Constitution, the Executive
may recommend measures which he may think proper, and he may
veto those he thinks improper, and it is supposed that he may add to
these certain indirect influences to affect the action of Congress. My
political education strongly inclines me against a very free use of any
of these means by the Executive to control the legislation of the country. As a rule, I think it better that Congress should originate as well
as perfect its measures without external bias.  I, therefore, would
rather recommend to every gentleman who knows he is to be a member
of the next Congress, to take an enlarged view, and inform himself
thoroughly, so as to contribute his part to such an adjustment of the
tariff as shall produce a sufficient revenue, and in its other bearings, so
far as possible, be just and equal to all sections of the country and all
classes of the people.
Mr. LINCOLN left Pittsburg immediately after the delivery
of this speech, being accompanied to the d6pbt by a long
procession of the people of the city. The train reached
Cleveland at half-past four in the afternoon, and the Presidentelect was received by a long procession, which marched, amidst
the roar of artillery, through the principal streets to the
Weddell House, where Mr. LINCOLN, in reply to an address of
welcome from the Mayor, made the following remarks:




ï~~8S         PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
MR. CHAIRMAN AND FELLOW-CITIZENS OF CLEVELAND: We have
been marching about two miles through snow, rain, and deep mud.
The large numbers that have turned out under these circumstances
testify that you are in earnest about something or other. But do I
think so meanly of you as to suppose that that earnestness is about me
personally? I would be doing you injustice to suppose it was. You
have assembled to testify your respect'to the Union and the Constitution and the laws. And here let me state that it is with you, the
people, to advance the great cause of the Union and the Constitution,
and not with any one man. It rests with you alone. This fact is
strongly impressed on my mind at present. In a community like this,
whose appearance testifies to their intelligence, I am convinced that the
cause of liberty and the Union can never be in danger. Frequent allusion is made to the excitement at present existing in our national politics, and it is as well that I should also allude to it here. I think that
there is no occasion for any excitement. The crisis, as it is called, is
altogether an artificial crisis. In all parts of the nation there are
differences of opinion on politics. There are differences of opinion even
here. You did.not all vote for the person who now addresses you.
What is happening now will not hurt those who are further away from
here. Have they not all their rights now as they ever have had? Do
not they have their fugitive slaves returned now as ever? Have they
not the same Constitution that they have lived under for seventy odd
years? Have they not a position as citizens of this common country,
and have we any power to change that position? [Cries of "No."]
What, then, is the matter with them? Why all this excitement? Why
all these complaints? As I said before, this crisis is all artificial I It
has no foundation in fact. It was not "argued up," as the saying is,
and cannot therefore be argued down. Let it alone, and it will go
down of itself. [Laughter.] Mr. LINCOLN said that they must be content with but a few words from him. He was very much fatigued,
and had spoken so much that he was already hoarse. He thahked
them for the cordial and magnificent reception they had given him.
Not less did he thank them for the votes they gave him last fall; and
quite as much he thanked them for the efficient aid they had given the
cause which he represented-a cause which he would say was a good
one.
Ile had one more word to say. He was given to understand that
this reception was tendered not only by his own party supporters, but
by men of all parties. This is as it should be. If Judge Douglas had




ï~~ARRIVAL AT BUFFALO.

89

been elected, and had been here, on his way to Washington, as I am
to-night, the Republicans should have joined his supporters in welcoming him, just as his friends have joined with mine to-night. If all do
not join now to save the good old ship of the Union on this voyage,
nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage. He concluded by thanking all present for the devotion they had shown to the
cause of the Union.
On the morning of the 16th the Presidential party left
Cleveland for Buffalo. At Erie, where they dined, loud calls
were made upon Mr. LINCOLN for a speech, in response to which
he made a few remarks, excusing himself for not expressing
his opinions on the exciting questions of the day. Ie trusted
that when the time for speaking should come, he should find
it necessary to say nothing not in accordance with the Constitiltion, as well as with the interests of the people of the whole
country. At Northeast Station he took occasion to state that
during the campaign he had received a letter from a young
girl of the place, in which he was kindly admonished to do
certain things, and among others to let his whiskers grow;
and, as he    had   acted upon   that piece of advice, he
would now be glad to welcome his fair correspondent, if she
was among the crowd. In response to the call a lassie made
her way through the crowd, was helped on the platform, and
was kissed by the President.
Arriving at Buffalo, Mr. LINCOLN had the utmost difficulty
to make his way through the dense crowd which had assembled in anticipation of his arrival. On reaching the American
Hotel, he was welcomed in a brief speech by Acting-Mayor
Bemis, to which he responded as follows:
MR. MAYOR AND FELLOW-CITIZENS OF BUFFALO AND THE STATE OF
NEw YORK; I am here to thank you briefly for this grand reception
given to me, not personally, but as the representative of our great and
beloved country. [Cheers.] Your worthy Mayor has been pleased to
mention, in his address to me, the fortunate and agreeable journey which
I have had from home, only it is a rather circuitous route to the Federal
"




ï~~90         PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
capital. I am very happy that he was enabled in truth to congratulate
myself and company on that fact. It is true we have had nothing thus
far to mar the pleasure of the trip. We have not been met alone by
those who assisted in giving the election to me; I say not alone by
them, but by the whole population of the country through which we
have passed. This is as it should be. Had the election fallen to any
other of the distinguished candidates instead of myself, under the
peculiar circumstances, to say the least, it would have been proper for
all citizens to have greeted him as you now greet me. It is an evidence
of the devotion of the whole people to the Constitution, the Union, and
the perpetuity of the liberties of this country. [Cheers.] I am unwilling on any occasion that I should be so meanly thought of as to have
it supposed for a moment that these demonstrations are tendered to me
personally. They are tendered to the country, to the institutions of the
country, and to the perpetuity of the liberties of the country, for which
these institutions were made and created.
Your worthy Mayor has thought fit to express the hope that I may
be able to relieve the country from the present, or, I should say, the
threatened diffidulties. I am sure I bring a heart true to the work.
[Tremendous applause.] For the ability to perform it, I must trust in
that Supreme Being who has never forsaken this favored land, through
the instrumentality of this great and inteligent people. Without that
assistance I shall surely fail; with it I cannot fail. When we speak of
threatened difficulties to the country, it is natural that it should be expected that something should be said by myself with regard to particular measures. Upon more mature reflection, however-and others
will agree with me-that, when it is considered that these difficulties
are without precedent, and never have been acted upon by any individual situated as I am, it is most proper I should wait and see the
developments, and get all the light possible, so that when I do speak
authoritatively, I may be as near right as possible. [Cheers.] Wlien I
shall speak authoritatively, I hope to say nothing inconsistent with the
Constitution, the Union, the rights of all the States, of each State, and
of each section of the country, and not to disappoint the reasonable
expectations of those who have confided to me their votes. In this
connection allow me to say that you, as a portion of the great American people, need only to maintain your composure, stand up to your
sober convictions of right, to your obligations to the Constitution, and
act in accordance with those sober convictions, and the clouds which
now arise in the horizon will be dispelled, and we shall have a bright




ï~~MR. LINCOLN AT ROCHESTER AND SYRACUSE.              91
and glorious future; and when this generation has passed away, tens of
thousands will inhabit this country where only thousands inhabit it
now. I do not propose to address you at length; I have no voice for
it. Allow me again to thank you for this magnificent reception, and
bid you farewell.
Mr. LINCOLN remained at Buffalo over Sunday, the 17th,
and on the morning of the 18th left for Albany. On reaching
Rochester he was introduced by the Mayor to a crowd of
several thousands, to whom he said:
I confess myself, after having seen many large audiences since leaving home, overwhelmed with this vast number of faces at this hour of
the morning. I am not vain enough to believe that you are here from
any wish to see me as an individual, but because I am for the time
being the representative of the American people. I could not, if I
would, address you at any length. I have not the strength, even if I
had the time, for a speech at each of these many interviews that are
afforded me on my way to Washington. I appear merely to see you,
and to let you see me, and to bid you farewell. I hope it will be uhderstood that it is from no disinclination to oblige anybody that I do not
address you at greater length."
At Syracuse, where preparations had been made to give
him a formal reception, he made the following remarks in
reply to an address of welcome from the Mayor:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I see you have erected a very fine and
handsome platform here for me, and I presume you expected me to
speak from it. If I should go upon it, you would imagine that I was
about to deliver you a much longer speech than I am. I wish you to
understand that I mean no discourtesy to you by thus declining. I"
intend discourtesy to no one. But I wish you to understand that,
though I am unwilling to go upon this platform, you are not at liberty
to draw any inferences concerning any other platform with which my
name has been or is connected. [Laughter and applause.] I wish you
long life and prosperity individually, and pray that with the perpetuity
of those institutions under which we have all so long lived and prospered, our happiness may be secured, our future made brilliant, and the
glorious destiny of our country established forever. I bid you a kind
farewell.




ï~~92        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
At Utica, where an immense and most enthusiastic assemblage of people from the surrounding country had gathered to
see him, Mr. LINCOLN contented himself by saying:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I have no speech to make to you, and no
time to speak in. I appear before yob that I may see you, and that
you may see me; and I am willing to admit, that so far as the ladies
are concerned, I have the best of the bargain, though I wish it to be
understood that I do not make the same acknowledgment concerning
the men. [Laughter and applause.]
The train reached Albany at half-past two in the afternoon,
where Mr. LINCOLN was formally received by the Mayor in a
complimentary address, to which he thus replied:
MR. MAYOR: I can hardly appropriate to myself the flattering terms
in which you communicate the tender of this reception, as personal to
myself. I most gratefully accept the hospitalities tendered to me, and
will not detain you or the audience with any extended remarks at this
time. I presume that in the two or three courses through which I
shall have to go, I shall have to repeat somewhat, and I will therefore
only repeat to you my thanks for this kind reception.
A procession was then formed, which escorted Mr. LINCOLN
to the steps of the Capitol, where he was welcomed by the
Governor, in presence of an immense mass of the people,
whom he addressed as follows:
MS. GOVERNOR: I was pleased to receive an invitation to visit the
capital of the great Empire State of the nation, on my way to the Fedoral Capital, and I now thank you, Mr. Governor, and the people of
this capital, and the people of the State of New York, for this most
hearty and magnificent welcome. If I am not at fault, the great Empire
State at this time contains a greater population than did the United
States of America at the time she achieved her national independence.
I am proud to be invited to pass through your capital and meet them,
as I now have the honor to do.
I am notified by your Governor that this reception is given without
distinction of party. I accept it the more gladly because it is so.
Almost all men in this country, and in any country where freedom of




ï~~MR. LINCOLN AT ALBANY.

93

thought is tolerated, attach themselves to political parties. It is but
ordinary charity to attribute this to the fact that in so attaching himself to the party which his judgment prefers, the citizen believes he
thereby promotes the best interests of the whole country; and when
an election is passed, it is altogether befitting a free people that, until
the next election, they should be as one people. The reception you
have extended to me to-day is not given td me personally. It should
not be so, but as the representative for the time being of the majority
of the nation. If the election had resulted in the selection of either of
the other candidates, the same cordiality should have been extended to
him as is extended to me this day, in testimony of the devotion of the
whole people to the Constitution and the whole Union, and of their
desire to perpetuate our institutions, and to hand them down in their
perfection to succeeding generations.
I have neither the voice nor the strength to address you at any
greater length. I beg you will accept my most grateful thanks for this
devotion-not to me, but to this great and glorious free country.
Mr. LINCOLN was then escoited to the Hall of Assembly, and
was formally received on behalf of the members of the Legislature, to whom he made the following address:
MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE
oF NEW YORK: It is with feelings of great diffidence, and, I may say,
with feelings of awe, perhaps greater than I have recently experienced,
that I meet you here in this place. The history of this great State, the
renown of those great men who have stood here, and spoke here, and
been heard here, all crowd around my fancy, and incline me to shrink
from any attempt to address you. Yet I have some confidence given
me by the generous manner in which you have invited me, and by the
still more generous manner in which you have received me, to speak
further. You have invited and received me without distinction of
party. I cannot for a moment suppose that this has been done in any
considerable degree with reference to my personal services, but that it
is done in so far as I am regarded at this time as the representative of
the majesty of this great nation. I doubt not this is the truth, and the
whole truth, of the case, and this is as it should be. It is much more
gratifying to me that this reception has been given to me as the representative of a free people, than it could possibly be if tendered as an
evidence of devotion to me, or to any one man personally. And now I
think it were more fitting that I should close these hasty remarks. It




ï~~94        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
is true that, while I hold myself, without mock modesty, the humblest
of all individuals that have ever been elevated to the Presidency, I have
a more difficult task to perform than any one of them. You have generously tendered me the united support of the great Empire State. For
this, in behalf of the nation-in behalf of the present and future of the
nation-in behalf of civil and religious liberty for all time to come, most
gratefully do I thank you. I do not pfopose to enter into an explanation of any particular line of policy, as to our present difficulties, to be
adopted by the incoming Administration. I deem it just to you, to
myself, and to all, that I should see every thing, that I should hear
every thing, that I should have every light that can be brought within
my reach, in order that when I do so speak, I shall have enjoyed every
opportunity to take correct and true grounds; and for this reason I
don't propose to speak, at this time, of the policy of the Government.
But when the time comes I shall speak, as well as I am able, for the
good of the present and future of this country-for the good both of
the North and the South of this country-for the good of the one and
the other, and of all sections of the country. [Rounds of applause.]
In the mean tihe, if we have patience, if we restrain ourselves, if we
allow ourselves not to run off in a passion, I still have confidence that
the Almighty, the Maker of the Universe, will, through the instrumentality of this great and intelligent people, bring us through this as he
has through all the other difficulties of our country. Relying on this, I
again thank you for this generous reception." [Applause and cheers.]
On the morning of the 19th Mr. LINCOLN went to Troy,
and, in reply to the welcome of the Mayor, said:
"MR. MAYOR AND CITIZENS OF TROY: I thank you very kindly for this
great reception. Since I left my home it has not been my fortune to
meet an assemblage more numerous and more orderly than this. I am
the more gratified at this mark of your regard since you assure me it is
tendered, not to the individual, but to the high office you have called
me to fill. I have neither strength nor time to make any extended
remarks, and I can only repeat to you my sincere thanks for the kind
reception you have thought proper to extend to me."
On the route to New York, by the Hudson River Railroad,
very large crowds of people had assembl6d at the various stations, to welcome him. At Hudson he spoke as follows:




ï~~SPEECH AT POUGHKEEPSIE.

95

FELLOW-CITIZENS: I see that you have provided a platform, but I
shall have to decline standing on it. [Laughter and applause.] The
superintendent tells me I have not time during our brief stay to leave
the train. I had to decline standing on some very handsome platforms
prepared for me yesterday. But I say to you, as I said to them, you
must not on this account draw the inference that I have any intention
to desert any platform I have a legitimate right to stand on. I do not
appear before you for the purpose of making a speech. I come only to
see you, and to give you the opportunity to see me, and I say to you, as I
have before said to crowds where there are so many handsome ladies
as there are here, I think I have decidedly the best of the bargain. I
have only, therefore, to thank you most cordially for this kind reception,
and bid you all farewell.
At Poughkeepsie, where great preparations had been made
for his reception, he responded thus to an address from the
Mayor:
FELLOW-CITIZENS:'It is altogether impossible I should make myself
heard by any considerable portion of this vast assemblage; but, although
I appear before you mainly for the purpose of seeing you, and to let
you see, rather than hear me, I cannot refrain from saying that I am
highly gratified,-as much here, indeed, under the circumstances, as I
have been anywhere on my route,-to witness this noble demonstration
-made, not in honor of an individual, but of the man who at this time
humbly, but earnestly, represents the majesty of the nation. This
reception, like all others that have been tendered to me, doubtless
emanates from all the political parties, and not from one alone. As
such I accept it the more gratefully, since it indicates an earnest desire
on the part ef the whole people, without regard to political differences,
to save-not the country, because the country will save itself-but to.
save the institutions of the country--those institutions under which, in
the last three-quarters of a century, we have grown to be a great, an
intelligent, and a happy people-the greatest, the most intelligent, and
the happiest people in the world. These noble manifestations indicate,
with unerring certainty, that the whole people are willing to make common cause for this object; that if, as it ever must be, some have been
successful in the recent election, and some have been beaten,-if some
ore satisfied, and some are dissatisfied, the defeated party are not in
favor of sinking the ship, but are desirous of running it through the tern



ï~~96        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
pest in safety, and willing, if they think the people have committed an
error in their verdict now, to wait in the hope of reversing it, and setting
it right next time. I do not say that in the recent election the people
did the wisest thing that could have been done; indeed, I do not think
they did; but I do say, that in accepting the great trust committed to
me, which I do with a determination to endeavor to prove worthy of it,
I must rely upon you, upon the people "of the whole country, for sup.port; and with their sustaining aid, even I, humble as I am, cannot fail
to carry the ship of State safely through the storm.
I have now only to thank you warmly for your kind attendance,
and bid you all an affectionate farewell.
At Peekskill, in reply to a brief address from Judge Nelson,
he said:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I have but a moment to stand before you,
to listen to and return your kind greeting. I thank you for this reception and for the pleasant manner in which it is tendered to me, by our
mutual friend. 'I will say in a single sentence, min regard to the difficulties that lie before me and our beloved country, that if I can only be
as generously and unanimously sustained, as the demonstrations I have
witnessed indicate I shall be, I shall not fail; but without your sustaining hands I am sure that neither I, nor any other man, can hope to
surmounit these difficulties. I trust that in the course I shall pursue I
shall be sustained, not only by the party that elected me, but by the
patriotic people of the whole country.
The President-elect reached New York at 3 o'clock, and
was received by an immense demonstration of popular enthusiasm. Places of business were generally closel, and the
streets were filled with people, eager to catch a glimpse of
his person. On reaching the Astor House, he was compelled
by the importunity of the assembled crowd to appear on the
balcony, from which he said:
FELLOW-CITIZENS: I have stepped before you merely in compliance
with what appears to be your wish, and not with the purpose of making
a speech. I do not propose making a speech'this afternoon. I could
not be heard by any but a small fraction of you at best; but, what is




ï~~MR. LINCOLN IN NEW YORK.

91

still worse than that, I have nothing just now to say that is worthy of your
hearing. [Applause.] I beg you to believe that I do not now refuse
to address you from any disposition to disoblige you, but to the. contrary. But, at the same time, I beg of you to excuse me for the present.
In the evening, Mr. LINCOLN received a large deputation
from the various Republican associations which had taken an
active part in the election canvass, and in reply to a brief
welcome from Mr. E. D. Smith, on their behalf, he thus addressed them:
Mr. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN: I am rather an old man to avail myself
of such an excuse as I am now about to do. Yet the truth is so distinct,
and presses itself so distinctly upon me, that I cannot well avoid it-and
that is, that I did not understand when I was brought into this room
that I was brought here to make a speech. It was not intimated to me
that I was brought into the room where DANIEL WEBSTER and HENRY
CLAY had made speeches, and where, in my position, I might be expected to do something like those men, or do something worthy of my
self or my audience. I, therefore, will beg you to make very great
allowance for the circumstances in which I have been by surprise
brought before you. Now, I have been in the habit of thinking and
speaking sometimes upon political questions that have for some years
past agitated the country; and, if I were disposed to do so, and we could
take up some one of the issues, as the lawyers call them, and I were
called upon to make an argument about it to the best of my ability, I
could do so without much preparation. But, that is not what you
desire to be done here to-night.
I have been occupying a position since the Presidential election of
silence, of avoiding public speaking, of avoiding public writing. I have
been doing so, because I thought, upon full consideration, that was the
proper course for me to take. [Great applause.] I am brought before
you now, and required to make a speech, when you all approve more
than any thing else of the fact that I have been keeping silence. [Great
laughter, cries of "Good," and applause.] And now it seems to me that
the response you give to that remark ought to justify me in closing just
here. [Great laughter.] I have not kept silence since the Presidential
election from any party wantonness, or from any indifference to the
anxiety that pervades the minds of men about the aspect of the political




ï~~98         PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
affairs of this country. I have kept silence for the reason that I supposed it was peculiarly proper that I should do so until the time came
when, according to the custom of the country, I could speak officially.
A Voice-The custom of the country?
I heard some gentleman say "According to the custom of the
country." I alluded to the custom of the President-elect, at the time of
taking the oath of office. That is what I meant by "the custom of the
country." I do suppose that, while the political drama being enacted
in this country, at this time, is rapidly shifting its scenes-forbidding an
anticipation, with any degree of certainty, to-day, what we shall see tomorrow-it was peculiarly fitting that I should see it all, up to the last
minute, before I should take ground that I might be disposed (by the
shifting of the scenes afterwards) also to shift. [Applause.] I have
said, several times, upon this journey, and I now repeat it to you, that
when the time does come, I shall then take the ground that I think is
right-[applause]-the ground that I think is right-[applause, and
cries of "Good, good"]-right for the North, for the South, for the East,
for the West, for the whole country. [Cries of "Good," "Hurrah for
LINcoLN," and applause.] And in doing so, I hope to feel no necessity
pressing upon me to say any thing in conflict with the Constitution; in
conflict with the continued union of these States-[applause]-in conflict with the perpetuation of the liberties of this people-[applause]or any thing in conflict with any thing whatever that I have ever given
you reason to expect from me. [Applause.]   And now, my friends,
have I said enough?  [Loud cries of "No, no," and three cheers for
LINCOLN.] Now, my friends, there appears to be a difference of opinion
between you and me, and I really feel called upon to decide the question
myself. [Applause, during which Mr. LINCOLN descended from the
table.]
On the morning of the 20th Mr. LINCOLN proceeded to. the
City Hall, where it had been arranged that he should have
an official reception. He was there addressed by Mayor
Wood in the following terms:
MR. LINcoLN: As Mayor of New York, it becomes my duty to extend to you an official welcome in behalf of the Corporation. In doing
so permit me to say, that this city has never offered hospitality to a
man clothed with more exalted powers, or resting under graver responsibilities, than those which circumstances have devolved upon you.




ï~~REPLY TO THE MAYOR OF NEW YORK.

99

Coming into office with a dismembered Government to reconstruct, and
a disconnected and hostile people to reconcile, it will require a high
patriotism, and an elevated comprehension of the whole country and its
varied interests, opinions, and prejudices, to so conduct public affairs as
to bring it back again to its former harmonious, consolidated, and prosperous condition. If I refer to this topic, sir, it is because New York
is deeply interested. The present political divisions have sorely afflicted
her people. All her material interests are paralyzed. Her commercial
greatness is endangered. She is the child of the American Union.
She has grown up under its maternal care, and been fostered by its
paternal bounty, and we fear that if the Union dies, the present supremacy of New York may perish with it. To you, therefore, chosen
under the forms of the Constitution as the head of the Confederacy, we
look for a restoration of fraternal relations between the States-only to
be accomplished by peaceful and conciliatory means, aided by the
wisdom of Almighty God.
To this address Mr. LINCOLN made the following reply:
MR. MAYOR: It is with feelings of deep gratitude that I make my
acknowledgments for the reception that has been given me in the great
commercial city of New York. I cannot but remember that it is done
by the people, who do not, by a large majority, agree with me in political sentiment. It is the more grateful to me, because in this I see that
for the great principles of our Government the people are pretty nearly
or quite unanimous. In regard to the difficulties that confront us at
this time, and of which you have seen fit to speak so becomingly and
so justly, I can only say that I agree with the sentiments expressed.
In my devotion to the Union I hope I am behind no man in the nation.
As to my wisdom in conducting affairs so as to tend to the preservation
of the Union, I fear too great confidence may have been placed in me.
I am sure I bring a heart devoted to the work. There is nothing that
could ever bring me to consent-willingly to consent-to the destruction of this Union (in which not only the great city of New York, but
the whole country, has acquired its greatness), unless it would be that
thing for which the Union itself was made. I understand that the ship
is made for the carrying and preservation of the cargo; and so long as
the ship is safe with the cargo, it shall not be abandoned. This Union
shall never be abandoned, unless the possibility of its existence shall
cease to exist, without the necessity of throwing passengers and cargo
overboard. So long, then, as it is possible that the prosperity and libera




ï~~100        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
ties of this people can be preserved within this Union, it shall be my
purpose at all times to preserve it. And now, Mr. Mayor, renewing
my thanks for this cordial reception, allow me to come to a close.
[Applause.]
On the morning of Thursday,, the 21st, Mr. LINCOLN left
New York for Philadelphia, and on reaching Jersey City was
met and welcomed, on behalf of the State, by the Hon. W. L.
Dayton, to whose remarks he made this reply:
MR. DAYTON AND GENTLEMEN OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY: I
shall only thank you briefly for this very kind reception given me, not
personally, but as the temporary representative of the majesty of the
nation. [Applause.] To the kindness of your hearts, and of the hearts
of your brethren in your State, I should be very proud to respond, but
I shall not have strength to address you or other assemblages at length,
even if I had the time to do so. I appear before you, therefore, for
little else than to greet you, and to briefly say farewell. You have
done me the very high honor to present your reception courtesies to me
through your great man-a man with whom it is an honor to be associated anywhere, and in owning whom no State can be poor. [Applause.] He has said enough, and by the saying of it suggested enough,
to require a response of an hour well considered. [Applause.] I could
not in an hour make a worthy response to it. I therefore, ladies and
gentlemen of New Jersey, content myself with saying, most heartily do
I indorse all the sentiments he has expressed. [Applause.] Allow me,
most gratefully, to bid you farewell. [Applause.]
At Newark he was welcomed by the Mayor, to whom he
said:
MR. MAYOR: I thank you for this reception at the city of Newark.
With regard to the great work of which you speak, I will say that I
bring to it a heart filled with love for my country, and an honest desire
to do what is right. I am sure, however, that I have not the ability to
do any thing unaided of God, and that without his support, and that of
this free, happy, prosperous, and intelligent people, no man can succeed
in doing that the importance of which wq all comprehend. Again
thanking you for the reception you have given me, I will now bid you
farewell, and. proceed upon my journey.




ï~~MR. LINCOLN IN NEW JERSEY.

101

At Trenton he was received by a committee of the Legislature, and escorted to both branches, which were in session.
The President of the Senate welcomed him in a brief address,
to which he made the following reply:
M]SR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF
NEW JERSEY: I am very grateful to you for the honorable reception
of which I have been the object. I cannot but remember the place that
New Jersey holds in our early history. In the early revolutionary
struggle few of the States among the old thirteen had more of the battlefields of the country within their limits than old New Jersey. May I
be pardoned if, upon this occasion, I mention that away back in my
childhood, the earliest days of my being able to read, I got hold of a
small book, such a one as few of the younger members have ever seen,
"WEEM'S Life of Washington." I remember all the accounts there
given of the battle-fields and struggles for the liberties of the country,
and none fixed themselves upon my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, 'New Jersey. The crossing of the river; the contest with the Hessians; the great hardships endured at that time, all
fixed themselves on my memory, more than any single revolutionary
event; and you all know, for you have all been boys, how these early
impressions last longer than any others. I recollect thinking then, boy
even though I was, that there must have been something more than
common that these men struggled for. I am exceedingly anxious that
that thing which they struggled for; that something even more than
National Independence; that something that held out a great promise
to all the people of the world to all time to come-I am exceedingly
anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people
shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for which that
struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall be an
humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty and of this, his most
chosen people, as the chosen instrument-also in the hands of the
Almighty-for perpetuating the object of that great struggle. You
give me this reception, as I understand, without distinction of party. I
learn that this body is composed of a majority of gentlemen who, in
the exercise of their best judgment in the choice of a Chief Magistrate,
did not think I was the man. I understand, nevertheless, that they
come forward here to greet me as the constitutional President of the
United States-as citizens of the United States to meet the man who,
"




ï~~102       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
for the time being, is the representative man of the nation-united by a
purpose to perpetuate the Union and liberties of the people. As such,
I accept this reception more gratefully than I could do did I believe it
was tendered to me as an individual.
Mr. LINCOLN then passed to the Assembly Chamber, where,
in reply to the Speaker, he said:
MR. SPEAKER AND GENTLEMEN: I have just enjoyed the honor of a
reception by the other branch of this Legislature, and I return to you
and them my thanks for the reception which the people of New Jersey
have given through their chosen representatives to me as the representative, for the time being, of the majesty of the people of the
United States. I appropriate to myself very little of the demonstrations
of respect with which I have been greeted. I think little should be
given to any man, but that it should be a manifestation of adherence to
the Union and the Constitution. I understand myself to be received
here by the representatives of the people of New Jersey, a majority of
whom differ in Opinion from those with whom I have acted. This manifestation is, therefore, to be regarded by me as expressing their devotion
to the Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the people. You,
Mr. Speaker, have well said that this is a time when the bravest and
wisest look with doubt and awe upon the aspect presented by our national affairs. Under these circumstances, you will readily see why I
should not speak in detail of the course I shall deem it best to pursue.
It is proper that I should avail myself of all the information and all the
time at my command, in order that when the time arrives in which I
must speak officially, I shall be able to take the ground which I deem
the best and safest, and from which I may have no occasion to swerve.
I shall endeavor to take the ground I deem most just to the North, the
East, the West, the South, and the whole country. I take it, I hope, in
good temper, certainly with no malice towards any section. I shall do
all that may be in my power to promote a peaceful settlement of all our
difficulties. The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than
I am. [Cheers.] None who would do more to preserve it, but it may
be necessary to put the foot down firmly. [Here the audience broke
out into cheers so loud and long, that for some moments it was impossible to hear Mr. LINCOLN'S voice.] And if I do my duty and do right
you will sustain me, will you not? [Loud chders, and cries of "Yes,
yes, we will."] Received, as I am, by the members of a Legislature,




ï~~ARRIVAL AT PHILADELPHIA.

103

the majority of whom do not agree with me in political sentiments, I
trust that I may have their assistance in piloting the ship of State
through this voyage, surrounded by perils as it is, for if it should suffer
wreck now, there will be no pilot ever needed for another voyage.
Gentlemen, I have already spoken longer than I intended, and must beg
leave to stop here.
The procession then moved to the Trenton House, where
the President-elect made the following speech to the crowd
outside:
I have been invited by your representatives to the Legislature, to
visit this, the Capital of your honored State, and in acknowledging their
kind invitation, compelled to respond to the welcome of the presiding
officers of each body, and I suppose they intended I should speak to
you through them, as they are the representatives of all of you; and if
I was to speak again here, I should only have to repeat, in a great
measure, much that I have said, which would be disgusting to my
friends around me who have met here. I have no speech to make, but
merely appear to see you and let you look at me, and as to the latter I
think I have greatly the best of the bargain. [Laughter.] My friends,
allow me to bid you farewell.
The party arrived at Philadelphia at 4 o'clock, and the
President-elect, proceeding immediately to the Continental
Hotel, was welcomed in a brief speech from Mayor Henry, to
which he replied as follows:
MR. MAYOR AND FELLOW-CITIZENS OF PHILADELPHIA: I appear before you to make no lengthy speech, but to thank you for this reception,
The reception you have given me to-night is not to me, the man, the individual, but to the man who temporarily represents, or should represepit
the majesty of the nation. [Cheers.] It is true, as your worthy Mayor
has said, that there is anxiety amongst the citizens of the United States
at this time. I deem it a happy circumstance that this dissatisfied position of our fellow-citizens does not point us to any thing in which they
are being injured, or about to be injured, for which reason I have felt all
the while justified in concluding that the crisis, the panic, the anxiety
of the country at this time, is artificial. If there be those who differ
with we upon this subject, they have not pointed out the substantial
difficulty that exists. I do not mean to say that an artificial panic may




ï~~104       PRESIDENT LINTCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
not do considerable harm: that it has done such I do notwdeny. The
hope that has been expressed by your Mayor, that I may be able to restore peace, harmony, and prosperity to the country, is most worthy of
him; and happy, indeed, will I be if I shall be able to verify and fulfil
that hope. [Tremendous cheering.] I promise you, in all sincerity,
that I bring to the work a sincere heart. Whether I will bring a head
equal to that heart will be for future tinges to determine. It were useless for me to speak of details of plans now; I shall speak officially next
Monday week, if ever. If I should not speak then it were useless for
me to do so now. If I do speak then it is useless for me to do so now.
When I do speak I shall take such ground as I deem best calculated to
restore peace, harmony, and prosperity to the country, and tend to the
perpetuity of the nation and the liberty of these States and these people.
Your worthy Mayor has expressed the wish, in which I join with him,
that it were convenient for me to remain in your city long enough to
consult your merchants and manufacturers; or as it were, to listen to
those breathings rising within the consecrated walls wherein the Constitution of the United States, and I will add the Declaration of Independence, were originally framed and adopted. [Enthusiastic applause.] I
assure you and your Mayor that I had hoped on this occasion, and upon
all occasions during my life, that I shall do nothing inconsistent with the
teachings of these holy and most sacred walls. I never asked any thing
that does not breathe from those walls. All my political warfare has
been in favor of the teachings that came forth from these sacred walls.
May my right hand forget its cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof
of my mouth, if ever I prove false to those teachings. Fellow-citizens,
I have addressed you longer than I expected to do, and now allow me to
bid you good night.
On the 21st Mr. LINCOLN visited the old Independence Hall,
from which was originally issued the Declaration of Independence. He was received in a cordial speech by Mr. Theodore
Cuyler, to which he made the following response:
MR. CuIYLER: I am filled with deep emotion at finding myself standing here in this place, where were collected together the wisdom, the
patriotism, the devotion to principle from which sprang the institutions
under which we live. You have kindly suggested to me that in my
hands is the task of restoring peace to the present distracted condition
of the country. I can say in return, sir, that all the political sentiments
0




ï~~SPEXCH IN PHILADELPHIA.

105

I entertain have been drawn, so far as I have been able to draw them,
from the sentiments which originated in and were given to the world
from this hall. I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring
from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence. I
have often pondered over the dangers which were incurred by the men
who assembled here, and framed and adopted that Declaration of Independence. I have pondered over the toils' that were endured by the
officers and soldiers of the army who achieved that Independence. I
have often inquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that
kept this Confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter
of the separation of the Colonies from the mother land, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone
to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future
time. [Great applause.] It was that which gave promise that in due
time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This is
the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. Now, my
friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will
consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help to
save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle it will be truly awful.
But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I
was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it. [Applause.] Now, in my view of the present aspect of
affairs, there need be no bloodshed or war. There is no necessity for it.
I am not in favor of such a course, and I may say in advance that there
will be no bloodshed, unless it be forced upon the Government, and then
it will be compelled to act in self-defence. [Applause.]
My friends, this is wholly an unexpected speech, and I did not expect
to be called upon to say a word when I came here. I supposed it was
merely to do something towards raising the flag-I may, therefore, have
said something indiscreet. [Cries of "No, no."] I have said nothing
but what I am willingto live by, and if it be the pleasure of AlmightyGod, die by.
One object of the visit to the Hall was, to have Mr. LINCOLN
assist in raising the national flag over the Hall. Arrangements
had been made for the performance of this ceremony, and Mr.
Lincoln was escorted to the platform prepared for the purpose,
and was invited, in a brief address, to raise the flag. He responded in a patriotic speech, announcing his cheerful compli5*                       a




ï~~106       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
auce with the request. He alluded to the original flag of thirteen stars, saying that the number had increased as time rolled
on and we became a happy, powerful people, each star adding
to its prosperity. The future is in the hands of the people. It
was on such an occasion we could reason together, reaffirm our
devotion to the country and the principles of the Declaration
of Independence. Let us make up our minds, said he, that whenever we do put a new star upon our banner, it shall be a fixed
one, never to be dimmed by the horrors of war, but brightened
by the contentment and prosperity of peace. Let us go on to extend the area of our usefulness, and add star upon star until their
light shall shine over five hundred millions of free and happy
people. He then performed his part in the ceremony, amidst
a thundering discharge of artillery.
In the afternoon he left for the West. On reaching Lancaster he was received with a salute, and replied to an address of
welcome in the following words:
LADIES AN D GENTLEMEN OF OLD LANCASTER: I appear not to make
a speech. I have not time to make a speech at length, and not strength
to make them on every occasion, and worse than all I have none to make.
There is plenty of matter to speak about in these times, but it is well
known that the more a man speaks the less he is understood-the more
he says one thing, the more his adversaries contend he meant something
else. I shall soon have occasion to speak officially, and then I will endeavor to put my thoughts just as plain as I can express myself-true
to the Constitution and Union of all the States, and to the perpetual liberty of all the people. Until I so speak, there is no need to enter upon
details. In conclusion, I greet you most heartily, and bid you an affectionate farewell.
On reaching Harrisburg, on the 22d, Mr. LINCOLN was
escorted to the Legislature, and was welcomed by the presiding officers of the two houses, to whom he replied as follows:
I appear before you only for a very few, brief remarks, in response to
what has been said to me. I thank you most sincerely for this reception and the generous words in which support has been promised me




ï~~MR. LINCOLN AT HARISBURG.

107

upon this occasion. I thank your great Commonwealth for the overwhelming support it recently gave, not me personally, but the cause
which I think a just one, in the late election. [Loud applause.]
Allusion has been made to the fact-the interesting fact, perhaps, we
should say-that I for the first time appear at the Capital of the great
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania upon the birthday of the Father of his
Country, in connection with that beloved anniversary connected with
the history of this country. I have already gone through one exceedingly interesting scene this morning in the ceremonies at Philadelphia.
Under the high conduct of gentlemen there, I was for the first time
allowed the privilege of standing in old Independence Hall [Enthusiastic cheering], to have a few words addressed to me there, and opening up to me an opportunity of expressing, with much regret, that I had
not more time to express something of my own feelings, excited by the
occasion, somewhat to harmonize and give shape to the feelings that
had been really the feelings of my whole life, Besides this, our friends
there had provided a magnificent flag of the country. They had
arranged it so that I was given the honor of raising ft to the head of its
staff. [Applause.] 'And when it went up I was pleased that it went
to its place by the strength of my own feeble arm, when, according to
the arrangement, the cord was pulled, and it floated gloriously to the
wind, without an accident, in the light, glowing sunshine of the morning.
I could not help hoping that there was, in the entire success of that
beautiful ceremony, at least something of an omen of what is to come.
[Loud applause.] How could I help feeling then as I often have felt?
In the whole of that proceeding I was a very humble instrument. I had
not provided the flag; I had not made the arrangements for elevating
it to its place; I had applied but a very small portion of my feeble
strength in raising it. In the whole transaction I was in the hands of
the people who had arranged it, and if I can have the same generous
co-operation of the people of the nation, I think the flag of our country'
may yet be kept flaunting gloriously. [Loud, enthusiastic, and continued cheers.] I recur for a moment but to repeat some words uttered
at the hotel, in regard to what has been said about the military support
which the General Government may expect from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania in a proper emergency. To guard against any possible
mistake do I recur to this. It is not with any pleasure that I contemplate the possibility that a necessity may arise in this country for the
use of the military arm. [Applause.] While I am exceedingly gratified to see the manifestation upon your streets of your military force




ï~~108       PRESIDENT LINCOLN 'S ADMINISTRATION.
here, and exceedingly gratified at your promises here to use that force
upon a proper emergency-while I make these acknowledgments, I desire
to repeat, in order to preclude any possible misconstruction, that I do
most sincerely hope that we shall have no use for them. [Applause.]
That it will never become their duty to shed blood, and most especially
never to shed fraternal blood. I promise that, so far as I may have wisdom to direct, if so painful a result shall in anywise be brought about, it
shall be through no fault of mine. [Cheers.] Allusion has also been
made by one of your honored speakers to some remarks recently made
by myself at Pittsburg, in regard to what is supposed to be the especial interest of this great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I now wish
only to say, in regard to that matter, that the few remarks which I
uttered on that occasion were rather carefully worded. I took pains
that they should be so. I have seen no occasion since to add to them,
or subtract from them. I leave them precisely as they stand [applause],
adding only now that I am pleased to have an expression from you,
gentlemen of Pennsylvania, significant that they are satisfactory to you.
And now, gentlemen of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, allow me to return you again my most sincere thanks.
After the delivery of this address, Mr. LINCOLN devoted
some hours to the reception of visitors, and at six o'clock
retired to his room. The next morning the whole country
was surprised to learn that he had arrived in Washingtontwelve hours sooner than he had originally intended. His
sudden departure proved to have been a measure of precantion for which events subsequently disclosed afforded a full
justification. For some time previous to his departure from
home, the rumor had been current that he would never reach
the Capital alive. An attempt was made on the Toledo and
Western Railroad, on the 11th of February, to throw from the
track the train on which he was journeying, and just as lihe
was leaving Cincinnati a hand grenade was found to have
been secreted on board the cars. These and other circumstances led to an organized and thorough investigation, under
the direction of a police detective, carried on with great skill
and perseverance at Baltimore, and which resulted in dis



ï~~ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION AT WASHINGTON.               109
closing the fact that a small gang of assassins, under the
leadership of an Italian who assumed the name of Orsini, had
arranged to take his life during his passage through Baltimore.
Gen. Scott and Mr. Seward had both been apprised of the
same fact through another source, and they had sent Mr. F.
W. Seward as a special messenger to Philadelphia, to meet the
President-elect there, previous to his departure for Harrisburg,
and give him notice of these circumstances. Mr. LINCOLN did
not deviate from the programme he had marked out for himself,
in consequence of these communications; except that, under the
advice of friends, he deemed it prudent to anticipate by one
train the time he was expected to arrive in Washington.    He
reached there on the morning of Saturday, the 23(1.
On Wednesday, the 27th, the Mayor and Common Council
of the city waited upon Mr. LINCOLN, and tendered him a welcome.   He replied to them as follows:
MR. MAYOR: I thank you, and through you the municipal authorities
of this city who accompany you, for this welcome. And as it is the first
time in my life since the present phase of politics has presented itself in
this country, that I have said any thing publi ly within a region of country
where the institution of slavery exists, I will take this occasion to say,
that I think very much of the ill-feeling that has existed and still exists
between the people in the sections from which I came and the people
here, is dependent upon a misunderstanding of one another. I therefore
avail myself of this opportunity to assure you, Mr. Mayor, and all the
gentlemen present, that I have not now, and never have had, any other
than as kindly feelings towards you as the people of my own section.. I
have not now, and never have had, any disposition to treat you in any
respect otherwise than as my own neighbors. I have not now any purpose to withhold from you any of the benefits of the Constitution, under
any circumstances, that I would not feel myself constrained to withhold
from my own neighbors; and I hope, in a word, that when we shall become better acquainted, and I say it with great confidence, we shall like
each other the more. I thank you for the kindness of this reception.
On the next evening a serenade was given to Mr. LINCOLN




ï~~110        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
by the members of the Republican Association, and he then
addressed the crowd which the occasion had brought together,
as follows:
MY FRIENDS: I suppose that I may take this as a compliment paid to
me, and as such please accept my thanks for it. I have reached this city
of Washington under circumstances considerably differing from those under which any other man has ever reached it. I am here for the purpose of taking an official position amongst the people, almost all of whom
were politically opposed to me, and are yet opposed to me, as I suppose.
I propose no lengthy address to you. I only propose to say, as I did
on yesterday, when your worthy Mayor and Board of Aldermen called
upon me, that I thought much of the ill feeling that has existed between
you and the people of your surroundings and that people from among
whom I came, has depended, and now depends, upon a misunderstanding.
I hope that, if things shall go along as prosperously as I believe we all
desire they may, I may have it in my power to remove something of this
misunderstanding; that I maybe enabled to convince you, and the people
of your section of the country, that we regard you as in all things our
equals, and in all things entitled to the same respect and the same treatment that we claim for ourselves; that we are in nowise disposed, if it
were in our power, to oppress you, to deprive you of any of your rights
under the Constitution of the United States, or even narrowly to split
hairs with you in regard to these rights, but are determined to give you,
as far as lies in our hands, all your rights under the Constitution-not
grudgingly, but fully and fairly. [Applause.] I hope that, by thus dealing with you, we will become better acquainted, and be better friends.
And now, my friends, with these few remarks, and again returning
my thanks for this compliment, and expressing my desire to hear a little
more of your good music, I bid you good night.
This closed Mr. LINcoLN'S public speeches down to the date
of his inauguration.




ï~~THE INAUGURATION.                  1 11.
CHAPTER III.
FROM THE INAUGURATION TO THE MPET1NG OF CONGRESS,
JULY 4, 1861.
ON the 4th of March, 1861, Mr. LINCOLN took the oath
and assumed the duties of the Presidential office. He was
quite right in saying, on the eve of his departure from his
home in Springfield, that those duties were greater than had
devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington.
A conspiracy which had been on foot for thirty years had
reached its crisis. Yet in spite of all that had been done by
the leading spirits in this movement, the people of the slaveholding States were by no means a unit in its support. Seven
of those States, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, had passed secession ordinances and united in the establishment of a hostile Confederacy; but in nearly all of them a considerable portion of the
people were opposed to the movement, while in all the remaining slaveholding States a very active canvass was carried
on between the friends and the opponents of secession. In
Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee especially, the
Government of the United States was vindicated and its
authority sustained by men of pre-eminent ability and of commanding reputation, and there seemed abundant reason for
hoping that, br the adoption of prudent measures, the slave.
holding section might be divided and the Border Slave States
retained in the Union.  The authorities of the rebel Confederacy saw the importance of pushing the issue to an instant decision. Under their directions nearly all the forts, arsenals,
dock-yards, custom-houses, etc., belonging to the United States,
within the limits of the seceded States, had been seized and




ï~~*
112       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
were held by representatives of the rebel government. The
only forts in the South which remained in possession of the
Union, were Forts Pickens, Taylor, and Jefferson on the
Florida coast, and Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, and preparations were far advanced for the reduction and capture of
these. Officers of the army and navy from the South had
resigned their commissions and entered the rebel service.
Civil officers representing the United States within the limits
of the Southern States could no longer discharge their functions, and all the powers of that Government were practically
paralyzed.
It was under these circumstances that Mr. LINCOLN entered
upon the duties of his office, and addressed himself to the
task, first, of withholding the Border States from joining the
Confederacy, as an indispensable preliminary to the great work
of quelling the rebellion and restoring the authority of the
Constitution.
The ceremony of inauguration took place as usual in front
of the Capitol and in presence of an immense multitude of
spectators. A   large military force was in attendance under
the immediate command of General Scott, but nothing occurred to interrupt the harmony of the occasion. Before
taking the oath of office Mr. LINCOLN delivered the following
INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
Fellow- Citizens of the United States:
In compliance with a custom as old as the Government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly, and to take in your presence the
oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States to be taken by
the President "before he enters on the execution of his office."
I do not consider it i 9cessary at present for me to discuss those
matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or excitement.
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern
States that by the accession of a Republican A'dministration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered.




ï~~THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

113

There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension.
Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the
published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote
from one of those speeches when I declare that "I have no purpose,
directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the
States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and
I have no inclination to do so." Those who nominated and elected me
did so with full knowledge that I had made this and many similar declarations, and had never recanted them. And more than this, they
placed in the platform for my acceptance, and as a law to themselves
and to me, the clear and emphatic resolution which I now read:
Resolved, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the States,
and especially the right of each State, to order and control its own doinestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to the balance of power on which the perfection and endurance
of our political fabric depend, and we denounce the lawless invasion by
armed force of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter under what
pretext, as among the gravest of crimes.
I now reiterate these sentiments; and, in doing so, I only press upon
the public attention the most conclusive evidence of which the case is
susceptible, that the property, peace, and security of no section are to
be in anywise endangered by the now incoming Administration. I
add, too, that all the protection which, consistently with the Constitution and the laws, can be given, will be cheerfully given to all the
States, when lawfully demanded, for whatever cause-as cheerfully to
one section as to another.
There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from
service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the
Constitution as any other of its provisions:
No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation
therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered
up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
It is scarcely questioned that this provision was intended by those
who made it for the reclaiming of what we call fugitive slaves; and
the intention of the lawgiver is the law. All members of Congress
swear their support to the whole Constitution-to this provision as
much as any other. To the proposition, then, that slaves, whose cased




ï~~114       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
come within the terms of this clause, "shall be delivered up," their oaths
are unanimous. Now, if they would make the effort in good temper,
could they not, with nearly equal unanimity, frame and pass a law by
means of which to keep good that unanimous oath?
There is some difference of opinion whether this clause should be enforced by National or by State authority; but surely that difference is
not a very material one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it can be
of but little consequence to him, or to others, by which authority it is
done. And should any one, in any case, be content that his oath shall
go unkept, on a mere unsubstantial controversy.as to how it shall be
kept?
Again, in any law upon this subject, ought not all the safeguards of
liberty known in civilized and humane jurisprudence to be introduced,
so that a free man be not, in any case, surrendered as a slave? And
might it not be well, at the same time, to provide by law for the enforcement of that clause in the Constitution which guarantees that "the
citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities
of citizens in the several States?"
I take the official oath to-day with no mental reservations, and with
no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical
rules. And while I do not choose now to specify particular acts of
Congress as proper to be enforced, I do suggest that it will be much
safer for all, both in official and private stations, to conform to and abide
by all those acts which stand unrepealed, than to violate any of them,
trusting to find impunity in having them held to be unconstitutional.
It is seventy-two years since the first inauguration of a President
under our National Constitution. During that period, fifteen different
and greatly distinguished citizens have, in succession, administered the
Executive branch of the Government. They have conducted it through
many perils, and generally with great success. Yet, with all this scope
for precedent, I now enter upon the same task for the brief constitutional term of four years, under great and peculiar difficulty. A disruption of the Federal Union, heretofore only menaced, is aow formidably attempted.
I hold that, in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution,
the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all National Governments. It is safe
to assert that no Government proper ever had a provision in its organic
law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever



ï~~THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

115

it being impossible to destroy it, except by some action not provided
for in the instrument itself.
Again, if the United States be not a Government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract,
be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it?   One
party to a contract may violate it-break it, so to speak; but does it
not require all to lawfully rescind it?
Descending from these general principles, we find the proposition
that, in legal contemplation, the Union is perpetual, confirmed by the
history of the Union itself. The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in
1774. It was matured and continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was further matured, and the faith of all the then
Thirteen States expressly plighted and engaged that it should be perpetual, by the Articles of Confederation in 1778. And, finally, in 1787,
one of the declared objects for ordaining and establishing the Constitution was "to form a more perfect union."
But if destruction of the Union, by one, or by a part only, of the
States, be lawfully possible, the Union is less perfect than before, the
Constitution having lost the vital element of perpetuity.
It follows, from these views, that no State, upon its own mere motion,
can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that
effect are legally void; and that acts of violence within any State or
States, against the authority of the United States, are insurrectionary
or revolutionary, according to circumstances.
I, therefore, consider that, in view of the Constitution and the laws,
the Union is unbroken, and to the extent of my ability I shall take care,
as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of
the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this I deem
to be only a simple duty on my part; and I shall perform it, so far as
practicable, unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall
withhold the requisite means, or, in some authoritative manner, direct
the contrary. I trust this will not be regarded as a menace, but only
as the declared purpose of the Union that it will constitutionally defend
and maintain itself.
In doing this there need be no bloodshed or violence; and there shall
be none, unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power
confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property
and places belonging to the Government, and to colle6t the duties and
imposts; but beyond what may be but necessary for these objects, there




ï~~116     PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere. Where hostility to the United States, in any interior locality,
shall be so great and universal as to prevent competent resident citizens
from holding the Federal offices, there will be no attempt to force obnoxious stranodrs among the people for that object. While the strict
legal right may exist in the Government to enforce the exercise of these
offices, the attempt to do so would be so irritating, and so nearly impracticable withal, I deem it better to forego, for the time, the uses
of such offices.
The mails, unless repelled, will continue to be furnished in all parts
of the Union. So far as possible, the people everywhere shall have
that sense of perfect security which is most favorable to calm thought
and reflection. The course here indicated will be followed, unless
current events and experience shall show a modification or change to be
proper, and in every case and exigency my best discretion will be
exercised, according to circumstances actually existing, and with a view
and a hope of a peaceful solution of the national troubles, and the restoration of fraternal sympathies and affections.
That there are persons in one section or another who seek to destroy
the Union at all events, and are glad of any pretext to do it, I will
neither affirm nor deny; but if there be such, I need address no word
to them. To those, however, who really love the Union, may I not
speak?
Before entering upon so grave a matter as the destruction of our
national fabric, with all its benefits, its memories, and its hopes, would
it not be wise to ascertain precisely why we do it?  Will you hazard
so desperate a step while there is any possibility that any portion of the
ills you fly from have no real existence?  Will you, while the certain
ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones you fly from-will you
risk the commission of so fearful a mistake?
All profess to be content in the Union, if all constitutional rights can
be maintained. Is it true, then, that any right, plainly written in the
Constitution, has been denied? I think not. Happily the human mind
is so constituted that no party can reach to the audacity of doing this.
Think, if you can, of a single instance in which a plainly written provision of the Constitution has ever been denied. If, by the mere force
of numbers, a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written
constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution
--certainly would if such right were a vital'one. But such is not our
case. All the vital rights of minorities and of individuals are so plainly




ï~~THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

117

assured to them by affirmations and negations, guarantees and prohibitions in the Constitution, that controversies never arise concerning
them. But no organic law can ever be framed with a provision specifically applicable to every question which may occur in practical administration. No foresight can anticipate, nor any document of reasonable
length contain, express provisions for all possible questions. Shall
fugitives from labor be surrendered by National or by State authority?
The Constitution does not expressly say. May Congress prohibit
slavery in the Territories?  The Constitution does not expressly say.
Must Congress protect slavery in the Territories? The Constitution
does not expressly say.
From questions of this class spring all our constitutional controversies,
and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities. If the minority
will not acquiesce the majority must, or the Government must cease.
There is no other alternative; for continuing the Government is acquiescence on one side or the other. If a minority in such case will
secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which, in turn,
will divide and ruin them; for a minority of their own will secede from
them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minority.
For instance, why may not any portion of a new Confederacy, a year or
two hence, arbitrarily secede again, precisely as portions of the present
Union now claim to.secede from it?  All who cherish disunion sentiments are now being educated to the exact temper of doing this.
Is there such perfect identity of interests among the States to compose a new Union, as to produce harmony only, and prevent renewed
secession?
Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence of anarchy. A
majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and
always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and
sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects
it, does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to depotism. Unanimity is impossible; the rule of a minority, as a permanent arrangement, is wholly
inadmissible; so that, rejecting the majority principle, anarchy or despotism in some form is all that is left.
I do not forget the position assumed by some, that constitutional
questions are to be decided by the Supreme Court; nor do I deny that
such decisions must be binding, in any case, upon the parties to a suit
as to the object of that suit, while they are also entitled to very high
respect and consideration in all parallel cases by all other departments
of the Government. And while it is obviously possible that such de0




ï~~118       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
cisions may be erroneous in any given case, still the evil effect following
it being limited to that particular case, with the chance that it may be
overruled, and never become a precedent for other cases, can better be
borne than could the evils of a different practice. At the same time the
candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon
vital questions affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed by
decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary
litigation between parties in personal actions the people will have ceased
to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their
government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.
Nor is there is this view any assault upon the Court of the Judges.
It is a duty from which they may not shrink to decide cases properly
brought befor-e them, and it is no fault of theirs if others seek to turn
their decisions to political purposes. One section of our country believes
slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is
wrong, and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The fugitive slave clause of the Constitution, and the law for the
suppression of the foreign slave-trade, are each as well enforced, perhaps,
as any law can ever be in a community where the moral sense of the
people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people
abide by the dry legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in
each. This, I think, cannot be perfectly cured; aqd it would be worse
in both cases after the separation of the sections than before. The
foreign slave-trade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately
revived without restriction in one section; while fugitive slaves, now
only partially surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the
other.
Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our
respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced, and go out of the
presence and beyond the reach of each other; but the different parts of
our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face; and
intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. It
is impossible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or
more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make
treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends?  Suppose
you go to war, you cannot fight always; and when, after much loss on
both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old
questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you.




ï~~THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

119

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit
it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they
can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it. I cannot be ignorant of the
fact that many worthy and patriotic citizens are desirous of having the
national Constitution amended. While I make no recommendation of
amendments, I fully recognize the rightful authority of the people over
the whole subject, to be exercised in either of the modes prescribed in
the instrument itself; and I should, under existing circumstances, favor
rather than oppose a fair opportunity being afforded the people to act
upon it. I will venture to add, that to me the convention mode seems
preferable, in that it allows amendments to originate with the people
themselves, instead of only permitting them to take or reject propositions originated by others not especially chosen for the purpose, and
which might not be precisely such as they would wish to either accept
or refuse. I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitutionwhich amendment, however, I have not seen-has passed Congress, to
the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the
domestic institutions of the States, including that of persons held to
service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from
my purpose not to speak of particular amendments so far as to say that,
holding such a provision now to be implied constitutional law, I have no
objections to its being made express and irrevocable.
The Chief Magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and
they have conferred none upon him to fix terms for the separation of the
States. The people themselves can do this also if they choose; but the
Executive, as such, has nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer
the present Government as it came to his hands, and to transmit it,
unimpaired by him, to his successor.
Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice
of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In
our present differences, is either party without faith of being in the
right? If the Almighty Ruler of Nations, with his eternal truth and
justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that
truth and that justice will surely prevail, by the judgment of this great
tribunal of the American people.
By the frame of the Government under which we live, the same
people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief; and have, with equal wisdom, provided for the return of that
little to their own hands at very short intervals. While the people




ï~~120       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
retain their virtue and vigilance, no Administration, by any extreme of
wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the Government in the
short space of four years.
My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this whole
subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an
object to hurry any of you in hot haste to a step which you would never
take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time; but
no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Constitution unimpaired, and, on the sensitive point, the laws of your own framing under it; while the new Administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change either.
If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side
in the dispute, there still is no single good reason for precipitate action.
Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who
has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust,
in the best way, all our present difficulty.
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is
the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you.
You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.
You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government;
while I shall have the most solemn one to "preserve, protect, and
defend" it.
I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not
be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our
bonds of affection.
The mystic cord of memory, stretching from every battle-field and
patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad
land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as
surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
The declarations of the Inaugural, as a general thing, gave
satisfaction to the loyal people of the whole country. It was
seen, everywhere, that while President LINCOLN        felt constrained, by the most solemn obligations of duty, to maintain
the authority of the Government of the United States over all
the territory within its jurisdiction, whenever that authority
should be disputed by the actual exercise of armed force, he
would nevertheless do nothing whatever to provoke such a
demonstration, and would take no step which could look like




ï~~ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT.

121

violence or offensive warfare upon the seceded States. In the
Border States its reception was in the main satisfactory. But,
as a matter of course, in those States, as elsewhere throughout
the South, the secession leaders gave it the most hostile construction. No effort was spared to inflame the public mind
by representing the Inaugural as embodying the purpose of
the President to make war upon the Southern States for their
attempt to secure a redress of wrongs.
The President's first act was to construct his Cabinet,
which was done by the appointment of William H. Seward,
of New York, Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio,
Secretary of the Treasury; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania,
Secretary of War; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary
of the Navy; Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, Secretary of the
Interior; Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, Postmaster-General; and  Edward   Bates, of Missouri, Attorney-General.
These nominations were all confirmed by the Senate, and
these gentlemen entered upon the discharge of the duties of
their several offices.
On the 12th of March, Messrs. John Forsyth, of Alabama,
and Crawford, of Georgia, requested an unofficial interview
with the Secretary of State, which the latter declined. On
the 13th they sent to him a communication informing him
that they were in Washington as Commissioners from a government composed of seven States which had withdrawn from
the American Union, and that they desired to enter upon
negotiations for the adjustment of all questions growing out
of this separation. Mr. Seward, by direction of the President,
declined to receive them, because it "could not be admitted
that the States referred to had, in law or fact, withdrawn from
the Federal Union, or that they could do so in any other
manner than with the consent and concert of the people of
the United States, to be given through a NatioiVal Convention
to )be assembled in conformity with the provisions of the Con



ï~~122      PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
stitution of the United States." This communication, though
written on the 15th of March, was withheld, with the consent
of the Commissioners, until the 8th of April, when it was
delivered. The fact of its receipt, and its character, were
instantly telegraphed to Charleston, and it was made the
occasion for precipitating the revolution by an act which, it
was believed, would unite all the Southern States in support
of the Confederacy. On the day of its receipt, the 8th of
April, Gen. Beauregard, at Charleston, telegraphed to L. P.
Walker, the rebel Secretary of War, at Montgomery, that '"an
authorized messenger from President Lincoln hadl just informed
Gov. Pickens and himself that provisions would be sent to Fort
Sumter peaceably, or, otherwise, by force." Gen. B. was instructed to demand the surrender of the fort, which he did on
the 11th, and was at once informed by Major Anderson, who
was in command, that his "sense of honor and his obligations
to his Government prevented his compliance." On the night
of the same day Gen. Beauregard wrote to Major Anderson,
by orders of his government, that if he "would state the time
at which he would evacuate Fort Sumter" (as it was known
that it must soon be evacuated for lack of provisions) "and
will agree that, in the mean time, you will not use your guns
against us unless ours shall be employed against Fort Sumter,
we will abstain from opening fire upon you." At half-past
two in the morning of the 12th, Major Anderson replied that
he would evacuate the fort by noon on the 15th, abiding,
mean time, by the terms proposed, unless he should "reSeive,
prior to that, controlling instructions from his Government,
or additional supplies." In reply to this note he was notified, at half-past three, that the rebels would open their batteries upon the fort in one hour from that time. This they
did, and, after a bombardment of thirty-three hours, Major
Anderson agreed to evacuate the fort,, which he carried into
effect on Sunday morning, the 14th.




ï~~THE BOMBARDMENT OF SUMTER.

123

The effect of this open act of war was, in some respects,
precisely what had been anticipated by the rebel authorities:
in other respects, it was very different.  Upon the Southern
States it had the effect of arousing public sentiment to the
highest pitch of enthusiasm, and of strengthening the rebel
cause. At the North, it broke down, for'the moment, all party
distinctions and united the people in a cordial and hearty support of the Government.
The President regarded it as an armed attack upon the Government of the United States, in support of the combination
which had been organized into a Confederacy to resist and
destroy its authority, and he saw, at once, that it could be met
and defeated only by the force placed in his hands for the
maintenance of that authority. He, accordingly, on the 15th
of April, issued the following
PROCLAMATION.
By the President of the United States.
WHEREAS, the laws of the United States have been for some time past
and now are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, in the States
of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and
Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals
by law: now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United
States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the
laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia
of the several States of the Union to the aggregate number of 75,000,
in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly
executed.
The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the
State authorities through the War Department. I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and existence of our national Union, and the perpetuity of popular
government, and to redress wrongs already long enough'endured. I deem
it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called




ï~~124        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
forth, will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and property which
have been seized from the Union; and in every event the utmost care
will be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any
devastation, any destruction of, or interference with, property, or any
disturbance of peaceful citizens of any part of the country; and I hereby
command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid, to disperse
and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within twenty days from
this date.
Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested
by the Constitution, convene both houses of Congress. The Senators
and Representatives are, therefore, summoned to assemble at their respective Chambers at twelve o'clock, noon, on Thursday, the fourth day
of July next, then and there to consider and determine such measures
as, in their wisdom, the public safety and interest may seem to demand.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the. City of Washington, this fifteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-fifth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By mte President.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
The issue of this Proclamation created the most intense enthusiasm throughout the country. Scarcely a voice was raised
in any of the Northern States against this measure, which was
seen to be one of absolute necessity and of self-defence on the
part of the Government. Every Northern State responded
promptly to the President's demand, and from private persons,
as well as by the Legislatures, men, arms, and money were offered, in unstinted profusion and with the most zealous alacrity, in
support of the Government. Massachusetts was first in the field:
and on the first day after the issue of the Proclamation, her Sixth
Regiment, completely equipped, started from Boston for the
National Capital. Two more regiments were also made ready,
and took their departure within forty-eight hours. The Sixth
Regiment, on its way to Washington, on the 19th, was attacked




ï~~PASSAGE OF TROOPS THROUGH BALTIMORE.              125
by a mob in Baltimore, carrying a secession flag, and several
of its members were killed or severely wounded. This inflamed
to a still higher point the excitement which already pervaded
the country. The whole Northern section of the Union felt
outraged that troops should be assailed and murdered on their
way to protect the capital of the nation.  In Maryland, where
the Secession party was strong, there was also great excitement, and the Governor of the State and the Mayor of Baltimore united in urging, for prudential reasons, that no more
troops should be brought through that city. To their representation the President made the following reply:
WASHINGTON, April 29, 1861.
fovernor Hieks and Mayor Brown:
GENTLEMEN: Your letter by Messrs. Bond, Dobbin, and Brune is reseived. I tender you both my sincere thanks for your efforts to keep
the peace in the trying situation in which you are placed.
For the future, troops must be brought here, but I make no point of
bringing them through Baltimore. Without any military knowledge myself, of course I must leave details to General Scott. He hastily said this
morning in the presence of these gentlemen, "March them around Baltimore and not through it." I sincerely hope the General, on fuller reflection, will consider this practical and proper, and that you will not object
to it. By this a collision of the people of Baltimore with the troops will
be avoided, unless they go out of their way to seek it. I hope you will
exert your influence to prevent this.
Now and ever I shall do all in my power for peace consistently with
the maintenance of the Government.
Your obedient servant,                       A. LINCOLN.
And in further response to the same request from Governor
Hicks, followed by a suggestion that the controversy between
the North and South might be referred to Lord Lyons, the
British minister, for arbitration, President Lincoln, through
the Secretary of State, made the following reply:




ï~~126        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, April 22, 1861..i s Excellency Thos. H. Ticks, Governor of Maryland:
SIR: I have had the honor to receive your communication of this
morning, in which you inform me that you have felt it to be your duty
to advise the President of the United States to order elsewhere the
troops then off Annapolis, and also that no more may be sent through
Maryland; and that you have further Suggcsted that Lord Lyons be requested to act as mediator between the contending parties in our country,
to prevent the effusion of blood.
The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt of that communication, and to assure you that he has weighed the counsels it contains
with the respect which he habitually cherishes for the Chief Magistrates
of the several States, and especially for yourself. He regrets, as deeply
as any magistrate or citizen of this country can, that demonstrations
against the safety of the United States, with very extensive preparations
for the effusion of blood, have made it his duty to call out the forces to
whi 2h you allude.
The force now sought to be brought through Maryland, is intended
for nothing but the defence of the capital. The President has necessarily confided the choice of the national highway which that force shall
take in coming to this city to the Lieutenant-General commanding the
Army of the United States, who, like his only predecessor, is not less
distinguished for his humanity, than for his loyalty, patriotism, and distinguished public service.
The President instructs me to add, that the national highway thus
selected by the Lieutenant-General, has been chosen by him, upon consultation with prominent magistrates and citizens of Maryland, as the
one which, while a route is absolutely necessary, is farthest removed
from the populous cities of the State, and with the expectation that it
would therefore be the least objectionable one.
The President cannot but remember that there has been a time in the
history of our country when a general of the American Union, with
forces designed for the defence of its capital, was not unwelcome anywhere in the State of Maryland, and certainly not at Annapolis, then, as
now, the capital of that patriotic State, and then, also, one of the capitals
of the Union.
If eighty years could have obliterated all the other noble sentiments
of that age in Maryland, the President would be hopeful, nevertheless,
that there is one that would forever remain there and everywhere. That
sentiment is, that no domestic contention whatever that may arise among
the parties of this Republic, ought in any case to be referred to any foreign arbitrament, least of all to the arbitrament of a European monarchy.
I have the honor to be, with distinguished consideration, your Excellency's most obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.




ï~~INTERVIEW     WITH THE MAYOR OF BALTIMORE.            127
At the President's request, the mayor of Baltimore, and a
number of the leading influential citizens of Maryland, waited
upon him at Washington, and had an open conference upon
the condition of affairs in that State. The Mayor subsequently made the following report of the interview:
The President, upon his part, recognized the good faith of the city and
State authorities, and insisted upon his own. He admitted the excited
state of feeling in Baltimore, and his desire and duty to avoid the fatal
consequences of a collision with the people. He urged, on the other
hand, the absolute, irresistible necessity of having a transit through the
State for such troops as might be necessary for the protection of the
Federal Capital. The protection of Washington, he asseverated with great
earnestness, was the sole object of concentrating troops there; and he
protested that none of the troops brought through Maryland were intendea for,any purposes hostile to the State, or aggressive as against the
Southern States. Being now unable to bring them up the Potomac in
security, the Government must either bring them through Maryland or
abandon the capital.
He called on General Scott for his opinion, which the General gave at
length, to the effect that troops might be brought through Maryland,
without going through Baltimore, by either carrying them from Perrysville to Annapolis, and thence by rail to Washington, or by bringing them
to the Relay House on the Northern Central Railroad, and marching them
to the Relay House on the Washington Railroad, and thence by rail to
the Capital. If the people would permit them to go by either of those
routes uninterruptedly, the necessity of their passing through Baltimore
would be avoided. If the people would not permit them a transit thus
remote from the city, they must select their own best route, and, if need
be, fight their way through Baltimore-a result which the General earnestly
deprecated.
The President expressed his hearty concurrence in the desire to avoid
a collision, and said that no more troops should be ordered through Baltimore, if they were permitted to go interruptedly by either of the other
routes suggested. In this disposition the Secretary of War expressed
his participation.
Mayor Brown assured the President that the city authorities would use
all lawful means to prevent their citizens from leaving Baltimore to
attack the troops in passing at a distance; but hlie urged, at the same
time, the impossibility of their being able to promise any thing more
than their best efforts in that direction. The excitement was great, he
told the President; the people of all classes were fully aroused, and it
was impossible for any one to answer for the consequences of the pres"




ï~~128       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
ence of Northern troops anywhere within our borders. He reminded
the President, also, that the jurisdiction of the city authorities was confined to their own population, and that he could give no promises for the
people elsewhere, because he would be unable to keep them if given.
The President frankly acknowledged this difficulty, and said that the
Government would only ask the city authorities to use their best efforts
with respect to those under their jurisdiction.
The interview terminated with the distinct assurance, on the part of
the President, that no more troops would be sent through Baltimore
unless obstructed in their transit in other directions, and with the understanding that the city authorities should do their best to restrain their
own people.
In accordance with this understanding, troops were forwarded
-to Washington by way of Annapolis, until peace and order
were restored in Baltimore, when the regular use of the highway through that city was resumed, and has been continued
without interruption to the present time.
On the 19th of April the President issued the following
proclamation, blockading the ports of the seceded States:
A  PROCLAMATION, BY       THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.
Whereas, an insurrection against the Government of the United States
has broken out in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and the laws of the United States
for the collection of the revenue cannot be efficiently executed therein
conformable to that provision of the Constitution which required duties
to be uniform throughout the United States:
And whereas a combination of persons, engaged in such insurrection,
have threatened to grant pretended letters of marque, to authorize the
bearers thereof to commit assaults on the lives, vessels, and property of
the good citizens of the country, lawfully engaged in commerce on the
high seas, and in waters of the United States:
And whereas an Executive Proclamation has been already issued, requiring the persons engaged in these disorderly proceedings to desist
therefrom, calling out a militia force for the purpose of repressing the
same, and convening Congress in extraordinary session to deliberate and
determine thereon:
Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Presi4ent of the United States,
with a view to the same purposes before mentioned, and to the protection
of the public peace, and the lives and property of quiet and orderly




ï~~THE BLOCKADE OF REBEL PORTS.

129

citizens pursuing their lawful occupations, until Congress shall have
assembled and deliberated on the said unlawful proceedings, or until the
same shall have ceased, have further deemed it advisable to set on foot a
blockade of the ports within the States aforesaid, in pursuance of the
laws of the United States and of the laws of nations in such cases provided. For this purpose, a competent force will be posted so as to prevent entrance and exit of vessels from the ports aforesaid. If, therefore,
with a view to violate such blockade, a vessel shall approach, or shall
attempt to leave any of the said ports, she will be duly warned by the
commander of one of the blockading vessels, who will endorse on her
register the fact and date of such warning; and if the same vessel shall
again attempt to enter or leave the blockaded port, she will be captured
and sent to the nearest convenient port, for such proceedings against her
and her cargo as prize as may be deemed advisable.
And I hereby proclaim and declare, that if any person, under the pretended authority of such States, or under any other pretence, shall molest
a vessel of the United States, or the persons or cargo on board of her,
such persons will be held amenable to the laws of the United States for
the prevention and punishment of piracy.
By the President,                         ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
SWASHINGTON, April 19, 1861.
These were the initial steps by which the Government
sought to repel the attempt of the rebel Confederacy to overthrow its authority by force of arms. Its action was at that
time wholly defensive. The declarations of rebel officials, as
well as the language of the Southern press, indicated very
clearly their intention to push the war begun at Sumter into
the North. Jefferson Davis had himself declared, more than
a month previous, that whenever the war should open, the
North and not the South should be the field of battle.     At a
popular demonstration held at Montgomery, Ala., on hearing
that fire had been opened upon Sumter, L. P. Walker, the rebel
Secretary of War, had said, that while "no man could tell
where the war would end, he would prophesy that the flag
which now flaunts the breeze here, would float over the dome
of the old capitol at Washington before the' first of May,"
and that it " might float eventually over Faneuil Hall itself."
6*




ï~~130      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
The rebel Government had gone forward with great vigor to
prepare the means for making good these predictions. Volunteers was summoned to the field. Besides garrisoning the
fortresses in their possession along the Southern coast, a force
of nearly 20,000 men was pushed rapidly forward to Virginia.
A loan of eight millions of dollars was raised, and Davis
issued a proclamation offering letters of marque to all persons
who might desire to aid the rebel Government and enrich
themselves by depredations upon the rich and extended commerce of the United States. The South thus plunged openly
and boldly into a war of aggression; and the President, in
strict conformity with the declaration of his Inaugural, put
the Government upon the defensive, and limited the military
operations of the moment to the protection of the capital.
The effect of these preliminary movements upon the Border
Slave States was very decided. The assault upon Sumter
greatly excited the public mind throughout those States. In
Virginia it was made to enure to the benefit of the rebels.
The State Convention, which had been in session since the
13th of February, was composed of 152 delegates, a large
majority of whom were Union men. The Inaugural of President Lincoln had created a good deal of excitement among
the members, and a very animated contest had followed as to
its proper meaning.  The secessionists insisted that it announced a policy of coercion towards the South, and had
seized the occasion to urge the immediate passage of an ordi
nance of secession. This gave rise to a stormy debate, in
which the friends of the Union maintained their ascendency.
The news of the attack upon Sumter created a whirlwind of
excitement, which checked somewhat the Union movement;
and, on the 13th of April, Messrs. Preston, Stuart, and Randolph, who had been sent to Washington to ascertain the
President's intentions towards the South; sent in their report,
which was received just after Governor Pickens of South




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE VIRGINIA COMMISSIONERS. 131
Carolina had announced the attack upon Sumter, and had
demanded to know what Virginia intended to do in the war
they had just commenced, and in which they were determined
to triumph or perish. The Commissioners reported that the
President had made the following reply to their inquiries:
To Hon. Messrs. Preston, Stuart, and Randolph:
GENTLEMEN: As a committee of the Virginia Convention, now in
session, you present me a preamble and resolution in these words:
Whereas, In the opinion of this Convention, the uncertainty which
prevails in the public mind as to the policy which the Federal Executive
intends to pursue towards the seceded States, is extrerfiely injurious to
the industrial and commercial interests of the country, tends to keep up an
excitement which is unfavorable to the adjustment of the pending difficulties, and threatens a disturbance of the public peace; therefore,
Resoled, That a committee of three delegates be appointed to wait on
the President of the United States, present to him this preamble, and
respectfully ask him to communicate to this Convention the policy which
the Federal Executive intends to pursue in regard to the Confederate
States.
In answer I have t9 say, that having, at the boginning of my official
term, expressed my intended policy as plainly as I was able, it is with
deep regret and mortification I now learn there is great and injurious
uncertainty in the public mind as to what that policy is, and what course
I intend to pursue. Not having as yet seen occasion to change, it is now
my purpose to pursue the course marked out in the Inaugural Address.
I commend a careful consideration of the whole document as the best
expression I can give to my purposes. As I then and therein said, I
now repeat, "The power confided in me will be used to hold, occupy,
and possess property and places belonging to the Government, and to
collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what is necessary for these
objects there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the
people anywhere."  By the words "property and places belonging to
the Government," I chiefly allude to the military posts and property
which were in possession of the Government when it came into my hands.
But if, as now appears to be true, in pursuit of a purpose to drive the
United States authority from these places, an unprovoked assault has
been made upon Fort Sumter, I shall hold myself at liberty to repossess
it, if I can, like places which had been seized before the Government was
devolved upon me; and in any event I shall, to the best of my ability,
repel force by force. In case it proves true that Fort Sumter has been
assaulted, as is reported, I shall, perhaps, cause the United States mails
to be withdrawn from all the States which claim to have seceded, believing that the commencement of actual war against the Government justifies and possibly demands it. I scarcely need to say that I consider the




ï~~132       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
military posts and property situated within the States which claim to
have seceded, as yet belonging to the Government of the United States
as much as they did before the supposed secession. Whatever else I
may do for the purpose, I shall not attempt to collect the duties and
imposts by any armed invasion of any part of the country; not meaning
by this, however, that I may not land a force deemed necessary to relieve a fort upon the border of the country. From the fact that I have
quoted a part of the Inaugural Address, it must not be inferred that I
repudiate any other part, the whole of which I reaffirm, except so far as
what I now say of the mails may be regarded as a modification.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
On the 17th, two days after this report was presented, and
immediately after receiving the President's proclamation calling for troops, the Convention passed an ordinance of secession by a vote of 88 to 55; and Virginia, being thus the most
advanced member of the rebel Confederacy, became the battlefield of all the earlier contests which ensued, and on the 21st
of May the capital of the rebel government was transferred to
Richmond. Very strenuous efforts were made by the rebel
authorities to secure the adhesion of Maryland, Kentucky,
Tennessee, and Missouri to the Confederacy; but the wise
forbearance of the President in his earlier measures had checked
these endeavors, and held all those States but Tennessee aloof
from active participation in the secession movement.
The months of May and June were devoted to the most
active and vigorous preparations on both sides for the contest
which was seen to be inevitable. Over a hundred thousand
troops had been raised and organized in the rebel States, and
the great mass of them had been pushed forward toward the
Northern border. On the 20th of April the Government of
the United States seized all the despatches which had accumulated in the telegraph offices during the preceding year,
for the purpose of detecting movements in aid of the rebel
conspiracy.   On the 27th of April the blockade of rebel
ports was extended by proclamation to,the ports of North
Carolina and Virginia. On the 3d of May the President is.
*




ï~~INSTRUCTIONS TO OUR MINISTERS ABROAD.

133

sued a proclamation calling into the service of the United
States 42,034 volunteers for three years, and ordering an addition of 22,114 officers and men to the regular army, and
18,000 seamen to the navy. And on the 16th, by another
proclamation, he directed the commander of the United States
forces in Florida to "permit no person to exercise any office
or authority upon the islands of Key West, the Tortugas,
and Santa Rosa, which may be inconsistent with the laws and
Constitution of the United States, authorizing him, at the
same time, if he shall find it necessary, to suspend the writ of
habeas corpus, and to remove from the vicinity of the United
States fortresses all dangerous or suspected persons."
One of the first duties of the new Administration was to
define the position to be taken by the Government of the
United States towards foreign nations in view of the rebellion.
While it is impossible to enter here upon this very wide
branch of the general subject at any considerable length, this
history would be incomplete if it did not state, in official
language, the attitude which the President decided to assume.
That is very distinctly set forth in the letter of instructions
prepared by the Secretary of State for Mr. Adams, on the
eve of his departure for the court of St. James, and dated
April 10, in the following terms:
Before considering the arguments you are to use, it is important to
indicate those which you are not to employ in executing that mission:
First. The President has noticed, as the whole American people have,
with much emotion, the expressions of good-will and friendship towards
the United States, and of concern for their present embarrassments,
which.have been made on apt occasions, by her Majesty and her ministers. You will make due acknowledgment for these manifestations, but
at the same time you will not rely on any mere sympathies or national
kindness. You will make no admissions of weakness in our Constitution, or of apprehension on the part of the Government. You will
rather prove, as you easily can, by comparing the history of our country
with that of other States, that its Constitution and Government are
really the strongest and surest which have ever been elected for the safety
of any people. You will in no case listen to any suggestions of corn



ï~~134       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
promise by this Government, under foreign auspices, with its discontented citizens. If, as the President does not at all apprehend, you
shall unhappily find her Majesty's Government tolerating the application
of the so-called seceding States, or wavering about it, you will not leave
them to suppose for a moment that they can grant that application and
remain the friends of the United States. You may even assure them
promptly, in that case, that if they determine to recognize, they may at
the same time prepare to enter into alliance with the enemies of this
republic. You alone will represent your country at London, and you
will represent the whole of it there. When you arc asked to divide that
duty with others, diplomatic relations between the Government of Great
Britain and this Government will be suspended, and will remain so until
it shall be seen which of the two is most strongly intrenched in the confidence of their respective nations and of mankind.
You will not be allowed, however, even if you were disposed, as the President is sure you will not be, to rest your opposition to the application
of the Confederate States on the ground of any favor this Administration, or the party which chiefly called it into existence, proposes to show
to Great Britain, or claims that Great Britain ought to show them. You
will not consent to draw into debate before the British Government any
opposing moral principles which may be supposed to lie at the foundation of the controversy between those States and the Federal Union.
You will indulge in no expressions of harshness or disrespect, or even
impatience, concerning the seceding States, their agents, or their people.
But you will, on the contrary, all the while remember that those States
are now, as they always heretofore have been, and, notwithstanding their
temporary self-delusion, they must always continue to be, equal and
honored members of this Federal Union, and that their citizens throughout all political misunderstandings and alienations still are and always
must be our kindred and countrymen. In short, all your arguments must
belong to one of three classes, namely: First. Arguments drawn from
the principles of public law and natural justice, which regulate the intercourse of equal States. Secondly. Arguments which concern equally the
honor, welfare, and happiness of the discontented States, and the honor,
welfare, and happiness of the whole Union. Thirdly. Arguments which
are equally conservative of the rights anj interests, and even sentiments
of the United States, and just in their bearing upon the rights, interests,
and sentiments of Great Britain and all other nations.
Just previous to the arrival of Mr. Adams at his post, the
British Government determined, acting in concert with that
of France, to recognize the rebels as a belligerent power.
Against this recognition our Government directed Mr. Adams




ï~~RECOGNITION OF THE REBELS AS BELLIGERENTS. 135
to make a decided and energetic protest. On the 15th of
June the British and French ministers at Washington requested an interview with the Secretary of State for the purpose of reading to him certain instructions they had received
on  this  subject from    their respective    governments.     Mr.
Seward declined to hear them officially until he knew the
nature of the document, which was accordingly left with him
for perusal, and he afterwards declined altogether to hear it
read, or receive official notice of it. In a letter to Mr. Adams,
on the 19th, he thus states its character and contents:
That paper purports to contain a decision at which the British Government has arrived, to the effect that this country is divided into two
belligerent parties, of which this Government represents one, and that
Great Britain assumes the attitude of a neutral between them.
This Government could not, consistently with a just regard for the sovereignty of the United States, permit itself to debate these novel and
extraordinary positions with the Government of her Britannic Majesty;
much less can we consent that that Government shall announce to us a
decision derogating from that sovereignty, at which it has arrived without previously conferring with us upon the question. The United States
are still solely and exclusively sovereign within the territories they have
lawfully acquired and long possessed, as they have always been. They
are at peace with all the world, as, with unimportant exceptions, they have
always been. They are living under the obligations of the law of nations,
and of treaties with Great Britain, just the same now as heretofore; they
are, of course, the friend of Great Britain, and they insist that Great Britain
shall remain their friend now, just as she has hitherto been. Great Britain,
by virtue of these relations, is a stranger to parties and sections in this country, whether they are loyal to the United States or not, and Great Britain
can neither rightfully qualify the sovereignty of the United States, nor
concede, nor recognize any rights or interests or power of any party, State,.
or section, in contravention to the unbroken sovereignty of the Federal
Union. What is now seen in this country is the occurrence, by no means
peculiar, but frequent in all countries, more frequent even in Great
Britain than here, of an armed insurrection engaged in attempting to
overthrow the regularly constituted and established Government. There
is, of course, the employment of force by the Government to suppress
the insurrection, as every other government necessarily employs force in
such cases. But these incidents by no means constitute a state of war
impairing the sovereignty of the Government, creatihg belligerent sections, and entitling foreign States to intervene, or to act as neutrals




ï~~136       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
between them, or in any other way to cast off their lawful obligations to
the nation thus for the moment disturbed. Any other principle than
this would be to resolve government everywhere into a thing of accident
and caprice, and ultimately all human society into a state of perpetual
war.
We do not go into any argument of fact or of law in support of the
positions we have thus assumed. They grc simply the suggestions of the
instinct of self-defence, the primary law of human action-not more the
law of individual than of national life.
Similar views were presented for the consideration of the
French Emperor, and, indeed, of all the foreign governments with which we held diplomatic intercourse. The action
of the seceding States was treated as rebellion, purely domestic in its character, upon the nature or merits of which it
would be unbecoming in us to hold any discussion with any
foreign power. The President pressed upon. all those governments the duty of accepting this view of the question,
and of abstaining, consequently, from every act which could
be construe! into any recognition of the rebel Confederacy,
or which could embarrass the Government of the United
States in its endeavors to re-establish its rightful authority.
Especial pains were taken, by the most emphatic declarations,
to leave no doubt in the mind of any foreign statesman as to
the purpose of the people of the United States to accomplish
that result. "You cannot be too decided or explicit," was the
uniform language of the Secretary, " in making known to the
government that there is not now, nor has there been, nor
will there be, any the least idea existing in this Governmeit of
suffering a dissolution of this Union to take place in any way
whatever."   Efforts were also made by our Government to
define, with the precision which the novel features of the case
required, the law of nations in regard to neutral rights, and
also to secure a general concurrence of the maritime powers
in the principles of the Paris Convention of 1859: the latter
object was, however, thwarted by the demand made by both




ï~~RIGHTS OF NEUTTRALS.              137
France and England, that they should not be required to abide
by these principles in their application to the internal conflict
which was going on in the United States. This demand the
President pronounced inadmissible.




ï~~138    PRESIDENT TINCOLN"S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER IV.
THE EXTRA SESSION OF CONGRESS, AND THE MILITARY EVENTS
OF THE SUMMER OF 1861.
IN pursuance of the President's proclamation of the 15th
of April, Congress met in extra session on the 4th of July,
1861. The Republicans had control of both houses, counting
31 votes out of 48 in the Senate, and 106 out of 178 in the
House, there being, moreover, 5 in the Senate and 28 in the
House who, without belonging to the Republican party, supported the Administration in its efforts to preserve the Union.
Hon. G. A. GRow was elected Speaker of the House; and,
on the 5th, the President communicated to Congress his first
annual message as follows:
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and
House of Representatives:
Having been convened on an extraordinary occasion, as authorized by
the Constitution, your attention is not called to any ordinary subject of
legislation.
At the beginning of the present presidential term, four months ago,
the functions of the Federal Government were found to be generally sus
pended within the several States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, excepting only those of the PostOffice Department.
Within these States all the forts, arsenals, dock-yards, custom-houses
and the like, including the movable and stationary property in and about
them, had been seized, and were held in open hostility to this Government, excepting only Forts Pickens, Taylor, and Jefferson, on and near
the Florida coast, and Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor, South Carolina.
The forts thus seized had been put in improved condition, new ones had
been built, and armed forces had been organized and were organizing, all
avowedly with the same hostile purpose.




ï~~FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

139

The forts remaining in the possession of the Federal Government in
and near these States were either besieged or menaced by warlike preparations, and especially Fort Sumter was nearly surrounded by wellprotected hostile batteries, with guns equal in quality to the best of its
own, and outnumbering the latter as perhaps ten to one. A disproportionate share of the Federal muskets and rifles had somehow found their
way into these States, and had been seized to be used against the Government. Accumulations of the public revenue, lying within them, had
been seized for the same object. The Navy was scattered in distant seas,
leaving but a very small part of it within the immediate reach of the
Government. Officers of the Federal Army and Navy had resigned in
great numbers; and of those resigning, a large proportion had taken up
arms against the Government. Simultaneously, and in connection with
all this, the purpose to sever the Federal Union was openly avowed. In
accordance with this purpose, an ordinance had been adopted in each of
these States, declaring the States, respectively, to be separated from the
National Union. A formula for instituting a combined government of
these'States had been promulgated; and this illegal organization, in the
character of Confederate States, was already invoking recognition, aid,
and intervention from foreign Powers.
Finding this condition of things, and believing it to be an imperative
duty upon the incoming Executive to prevent, if possible, the consummation of such attempt to destroy the Federal Union, a choice of means
to that end became indispensable. This choice was made, and was declared in the Inaugural Address. The policy chosen looked to the exhaustion of all peaceful measures before a resort to any stronger ones. It
sought only to hold the public places and property not already wrested
from the Government, and to collect the revenue, relying for the rest on
time, discussion, and the ballot-box. It promised a continuance of the
mails, at Government expense, to the very people who were resisting the
Government; and it gave repeated pledges against any disturbance to
any of the people, or any of their rights. Of all that which a President
might constitutionally and justifiably do in such a case, every thing was
forborne, without which it was believed possible to keep the Government
on foot.
On the 5th of March (the present incumbent's first full day in office,
a letter of Major Anderson, commanding at Fort Sumter, written on the
28th of Februiary, and received at the War Department on the 4th of
March, was by that Department placed in his hands. This letter expressed the professional opinion of the writer, that re-enforcements could
not be thrown into that fort within the time for his relief, rendered necessary by the limited supply of provisions, and with a view of holding
possession of the same, with a force of less than twenty thousand good
and well-disciplined men. This opinion was concurred in by all the




ï~~140        PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
officers of his command, and their memoranda on the subject were made
enclosures of Major Anderson's letter. The whole was immediately laid
before Lieutenant-General Scott, who at once concurred with Major
Anderson in opinion. On reflection, however, he took full time, consulting with other officers, both of the army and the navy; and at the
end of four days came reluctantly, but decidedly, to the same conclusion
as before. He also stated at the same time that no such sufficient force
was then at the control of the Government, or could be raised and
brought to the ground within the time when the provisions in the fort
would be exhausted. In a purely military point of view, this reduced
the duty of the Administration in the case to the mere matter of getting
the garrison safely out of the fort.
It was believed, however, that to so abandon that position, under the
circumstances, would be utterly ruinous; that the necessity under which
it was to be done would not be fully understood; that by many it would
be construed as a part of a voluntary policy; that at home it would discourage the friends of the Union, embolden its adversaries, and go far to
insure to the latter a recognition abroad; that, in fact, it would be our
national destruction consummated. This could not be allowed. Starvation was not yet upon the garrison; and ere it would be reached Fort
Pickens might be re-enforced. This would be a clear indication of policy,
and would better enable the country to accept the evacuation of Fort
Sumter as a military necessity. An order was at once directed to be sent
for the landing of the troops from the steamship Brooklyn into Fort
Pickens. This order could not go by land, but must take the longer and
slower route by sea. The first return news from the order was received
just one week before the fall of Fort Sumter. The news itself was that
the officer commanding the Sabine, to which vessel the troops had been
transferred from the Brooklyn, acting upon some quasi armistice of the
late Administration (and of the existence of which the present Administration, up to the time the order was despatched, had only too vague and
uncertain rumors to fix attention), had refused to land the troops. To
now re-enforce Fort Pickens before a crisis would be reached at Fort
Sumter was impossible-rendered so by the near exhaustion of provisions
in the latter-named fort. In precaution against such a conjuncture, the
Government had a few days before commenced preparing an expedition,
as well adapted as might be, to relieve Fort Sumter, which expedition
was intended to be ultimately used or not, according to circumstances.
The strongest anticipated case for using it was now presented, and it was
resolved to send it forward. As had been intended in this contingency,
it was also resolved to notify the Governor of South Carolina that he
might expect an attempt would be made to provision the fort; and that,
if the attempt should not be resisted, there would be no effort to throw
in men, arms, or ammunition, without further notice, or in case of an




ï~~FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

141

attack upon the fort. This notice was accordingly given; whereupon
the fort was attacked and bombarded to its fall, without even awaiting
the arrival of the provisioning expedition.
It is thus seen that the assault upon and reduction of Fort Sumter was
in no sense a matter of self-defence upon the part of the assailants. They
well knew that the garrison in the fort could by no possibility commit
aggression upon them. They knew-they were expressly notified-that
the giving of bread to the few brave and hungry men of the garrison
was all which would on that occasion be attempted, unless themselves,
by resisting so much, should provoke more. They knew that this Government desired to keep the garrison in the fort, not to assail them, but
to maintain visible possession, and thus to preserve the Union from
actual and immediate dissolution-trusting, as hereinbefore stated, to
time, discussion, and the ballot-box for final adjustment; and they assailed and reduced the fort for precisely the reverse object-to drive out
the visible authority of the Federal Union, and thus force it to immediate
dissolution. That this was their object the Executive well understood;
and having said to them in the Inaugural Address, " You can have no
conflict without being yourselves the aggressors," he took pains not
only to keep this declaration good, but also to keep the case so free from
the power of ingeniohs sophistry that the world should not be able to
misunderstand it. By the affair at Fort Sumter, with its surrounding
circumstances, that point was reached. Then and thereby the assailants
of the Government began the conflict of arms, without a gun in sight,
or in expectancy to return their fire, save only the few in the fort, sent
to that harbor years before for their own protection, and still ready to
give that protection in whatever was lawful. In this act, discarding all
else, they have forced upon the country the distinct issue, " immediate
dissolution or blood."
And this issue embraces more than the fate of these United States. It
presents to the whole family of man the question, whether a constitutional republic or democracy-a government of the people by the same
people-can or cannot maintain its territorial integrity against its own
domestic foes. It presents the question, whether discontented individuals,
too few in numbers to control administration, according to organic law,
in any case, can always, upon the pretences made in this case, or on any
other pretences, or arbitrarily, without any pretence, break up their
Government, and thus practically put an end to free government upon
the earth. It forces us to ask, " Is there, in all republics, this inherent
and fatal weakness?"  "Must a government, of necessity, be too strong
for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?"
So viewing the issue, no choice was left but to call out the war power

0




ï~~142        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
of the Government; and so to resist force employed for its destruction,
by force for its preservation.
The call was made, and the response of the country was most gratifying, surpassing in unanimity and spirit the most sanguine expectation.
Yet none of the States commonly called Slave States, except Delaware,
gave a regiment through regular State organization. A few regiments
have been organized within some otherp of those States by individual
enterprise, and received into the Government service. Of course, the
seceded States, so called (and to which Texas had been joined about the
time of the inauguration), gave no troops to the cause of the Union.
The Border States, so called, were not uniform in their action, some of them
being almost for the Union, while in others-as Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Arkansas-the Union sentiment was nearly repressed and
silenced. The course taken in Virginia was the most remarkable-perhaps the most important. A convention, elected by the people of that
State to consider this very question of disrupting the Federal Union,
was in session at the capital of Virginia when Fort Sumter fell. To this
body the people had chosen a large majority of professed Union men.
Almost immediately after the fall of Sumter many members of that
majority went over to the original disunion minority, and with them
adopted an ordinance for withdrawing the State from the Union. Whether
this change was wrought by their great approval of the assault upon
Sumter, or their great resentment at the Government's resistance to that
assault, is not definitely known. Although they submitted the ordinance
for ratification to a vote of the people, to be taken on a day then somewhat more than a month distant, the Convention and the Legislature
(which was also in session at the same time and place), with leading
men of the State not members of either, immediately commenced acting
as if the State were already out of the Union. They pushed military
preparations vigorously forward all over the State. They seized the
United States armory at Harper's Ferry, and the navy-yard at Gosport,
near Norfolk. They received-perhaps invited-into their State large
bodies of troops, with their warlike appointments, from the so-called
seceded States. They formally entered into a treaty of temporary alliance and co-operation with the so-called "Confederate States," and sent
members to their Congress at Montgomery; and, finally, they permitted
the insurrectionary Government to be transferred to their capital at Richmond.
The people of Virginia have thus allowed this giant insurrection to
make its nest within her borders; and this Government has no choice
left but to deal with it where it finds it. And it has the less regret, as
the loyal citizens have in due form claimed its protection. Those loyal
citizens this Government is bound to recognise and protect as being
Virginia.




ï~~FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

143

In the Border States, so-called-in fact, the Middle States-there are
those who favor a policy which they call "armed neutrality "-that is,
an arming of those States to prevent the Union forces passing one way,
or the disunion the other, over their soil. This would be disunion completed. Figuratively speaking, it would be the building of an impassable
wall along the line of separation-and yet not quite an impassable one,
for, under the guise of neutrality, it would tie the hands of Union men,
and freely pass supplies from among them to the insurrectionists, which
it could not do as an open enemy. At a stroke it would take all the
trouble off the hands of secession, except only what proceeds from the
external blockade. It would do for the disunionists that which of all
things they most desire-feed them well, and give them'disunion without
a struggle of their own. It recognizes no fidelity to the Constitution, no
obligation to maintain the Union; and while very many who have favored it are doubtless loyal citizens, it is, nevertheless, very injurious in
effect.
Recurring to the action of the Government, it may be stated that at
first a call was made for seventy five thousand militia; and rapidly following this, a proclamation was issued for closing the ports of the insurrectionary districts by proceedings in the nature of a blockade. So far
all was believed to be strictly legal. At this point the insurrectionists
announced their purpose to enter upon the practice of privateering.
Other calls were made for volunteers to serve for three years, unless
sooner discharged, and also for large additions to the regular army apd
navy. These measures, whether strictly legal or not, were ventured upon
under what appeared to be a popular demand and a public necessity;
trusting then, as now, that Congress would readily ratify them. It is
believed that nothing has been done beyond the constitutional competency of Congress.
Soon after the first call for militia, it was considered a duty to authorize
the Commanding-General, in proper cases, according to his discretion,
to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, or, in other words,
to arrest and detain, without resort to the ordinary processes and forms
of law, such individuals as he might deem dangerous to the public safety.
This authority has purposely been exercised but very sparingly. Nevertheless, the legality and propriety of what has been done under it are
questioned, and the attention of the country has been called to the
proposition, that one who has sworn to " take care that the laws be
faithfully executed," should not himself violate them. Of course, some
consideration was given to the question of power and propriety before
this matter was acted upon. The whole of the laws which were required
to be faithfully executed were being resisted, and failing of execution in
nearly one-third of the States. Must they be allowed to finally fail of execution, even had it been perfectly clear that by the use of the means
necessary to their execution some single law, made in such extreme




ï~~144       PRESIDENT LTNCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
tenderness of the citizen's liberty that practically it relieves more of the
guilty than of the innocent, should to a very limited extent be violated?
To state the question more directly: Are all the laws but one to go unexecuted, and the Government itself go to pieces, lest that one be violated?
Even in such a case, would not the official oath be broken if the Government should be overthrown, when it was believed that disregarding
the single law would tend to preserve it? But it was not believed that
this question was presented. It was not believed that any law was
violated. 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, the public safety may require it," is equivalent to
a provision-is a provisioi-that such privilege may be suspended when,
in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety does require it. It was
decided that we have a case of rebellion, and that the public safety does
require the qualified suspension of the privilege of the writ which was
authorized to be made. Now, it is insisted that Congress, and not the
Executive, is vested with this power. But the Constitution itself is silent
as to which or who is to exercise the power; and as the provision was
plainly made for a dangerous emergency, it cannot be believed the
framers of the instrument intended that in every case the danger should
run its course tntil Congress could be called together, the very assembling
of which might be prevented, as was intended in this case, by the rebellion.
No more extended argument is now offered, as an opinion, at some
length, will probably be presented by the Attorney-General. Whether
there shall be any legislation on the subject, and, if any, what, is submitted entirely to the better judgment of Congress.
The forbearance of this Government had been so extraordinary, and so
long continued, as to lead some foreign nations to shape their action
as if they supposed the early destruction of our national Union was
probable. While this, on discovery, gave the Executive some concern,
he is now happy to say that the sovereignty and rights of the United
States are now everywhere practically respected by foreign powers; and
a general sympathy with the country is manifested throughout the
world.
The reports of the Secretaries of the Treasury, War, and the Navy,
will give the information in detail deemed necessary and convenient for
your deliberation and action; while the Executive and all the Departments will stand ready to supply omissions, or to communicate new facts
considered important for you to know.
It is now recommended that you give the legal means for making this
contest a short and decisive one; that you place at the control of the
Government, for the work, as least four hundred thousand men and
$400,000,000. That number of men is about one-tenth of those of proper
ages within the regions where, apparently, all are willing to engage; and




ï~~THR PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

145

the sum is less than a twenty-third part of the money value owned by
the men who seem ready to devote the whole. A debt of $600,000,000
now, is a less sum per head than was the debt of our Revolution when
we came out of that struggle; and the money value in the country now
bears even a greater proportion to what it was then, than does the population. Surely each man has as strong a motive now to preserve our
liberties, as each had then to establish them.
A right result, at this time, will be worth more to the world than ten
times the men and ten times the money. The evidence reaching us from
the country leaves no doubt that the material for the work is abundant,
and that it needs only the hand of legislation to give it legal sanction,
and the hand of the Executive to give it practical shape and efficiency.
One of the greatest perplexities of the Government is to avoid receiving
troops faster than it can provide for them. In a word, the people will
save their Government, if the Government itself will do its part only
indifferently well.
It might seem, at first thought, to be of little difference whether the
present movement at the South be called "secession," or "rebellion."
The movers, however, will understand the difference. At the beginning,
they knew they could never raise their treason to any respectable
magnitude by any name which implies violation of law. They knew
their people possessed as much of moral sense, as much of devotion. to
law and order, and as much pride in, and reverence for the history and
Government of their common country, as any other civilized and patriotic
people. They knew they could make no advancement directly in the
teeth of these strong and noble sentiments. Accordingly, they commenced by an insidious debauching of the public mind. They invented
an ingenious sophism, which, if conceded, was followed by perfectly
logical steps, through all the incidents, to the complete destruction of
the Union. The sophism itself is, that any State of the Union may,
consistently with the national Constitution, and therefore lawfully and
peacefully, withdraw from the Union without the consent of the Union,
or of any other State. The little disguise that the supposed right is to
be exercised only for just cause, themselves to be the sole judges of its
justice, is too thin too merit any notice.
With rebellion thus sugar-coated they have been drugging the public
mind of their section for more than thirty years, and until at length they
have brought many good men to a willingness to take up arms against
the Government the day after some assemblage of men have enacted the
farcical pretence of taking their State out of the Union, who could have
been brought to no such thing the day before.
This sophism derives much, perhaps the whole, of its currency from
the assumption that there is some omnipotent and sacred supremacy
pertaining to a State-to each State of our Federal Union. Our States
have neither more nor less power than that reserved to them in the
7




ï~~146        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Union by the Constitution-no one of them ever having been a State out
of the Union. The original ones passed into the Union even before they
cast off their British colonial dependence; and the new ones each came
into the Union directly from a condition of dependence, excepting Texas.
And even Texas, in its temporary independence, was never designated a
State. The new ones only took the designation of States on coming into
the Union, while that name was first adppted by the old ones in and by
the Declaration of Independence. Therein the " United Colonies" were
declared to be "free and independent States;" but, even then, the object plainly was not to declare their independence of one another, or of
the Union, but directly the contrary; as their mutual pledge and their
mutual action before, at the time, and afterwards, abundantly show. The
express plighting of faith by each and all of the original thirteen in the
Articles of Confederation, two years later, that the Union shall be perpetual, is most conclusive. Having never been States, either in substance
or in name, outside of the Union, whence this magical omnipotence of
" State rights," asserting a claim of power to lawfully destroy the Union
itself? Much is said about the " sovereignty" of the States; but the
word even is not in the national Constitution; nor, as is believed, in any
of the State constitutions. What is "sovereignty " in the political sense
of the term? W;ould it be far wrong to define it "a political community
without a political superior?" Tested by this, no one of our States, except Texas, ever was a sovereignty. And even Texas gave up the character on coming into the Union; by which act she acknowledged the
Constitution of the United States and the laws and treaties of the United
States made in pursuance of the Constitution, to be for her the supreme
law of the land. The States have their status in the Union, and they have
no other legal status. If they break from this, they can only do so
against law and by revolution. The Union, and not themselves separately, procured their independence and their liberty. By conquest or
purchase the Union gave each of them whatever of independence or
liberty it has. The Union is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it
created them as States. Originally some dependent colonies made the
Union, and, in turn, the Union threw off their old dependence for them,
and made them States, such as they are. Not one of them ever had a
State constitution independent of the Union. Of course, it is not forgotten that all the new States framed their constitutions before they entered the Union; nevertheless dependent upon, and preparatory to, coming into the Union.
Unquestionably the States have the powers and rights reserved to them
in and by the national Constitution; but among these, surely, are not included all conceivable powers, however mischievous or destructive; but,
at most, such only as were known in the world, at the time, as governmental powers; and, certainly, a power to destroy the Government itself had never been known as a governmental-as a merely administra40




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

147

tive power. This relative matter of national power and State rights, as
a principle, is no other than the principle of generality and locality.
Whatever concerns the whole should be confided to the whole-to the
General Government; while whatever concerns only the State should be
left exclusively to the State. This is all there is of original principle
about it. Whether the national Constitution in defining boundaries between the two has applied the principle with exact accuracy, is not to be
questioned. We are all bound by that defining without question.
What is now combated, is the position that secession is consistent
with the Constitution-is lawful and peaceful. It is not contended that
there is anV express law for it; and nothing should ever be implied as
law which leads to unjust or absurd consequences. The nation purchased with money the countries out of which several of these States
were formed; is it just that they shall go off without leave and without refunding? The nation paid very large sums (in the aggregate,
I believe, nearly a hundred millions) to relieve Florida of the aboriginal
tribes; is it just that she shall now be off without consent, or without
making any return? The nation is now in debt for money applied
to the benefit of these so-called seceding States in common with the
rest; is it just either that creditors shall go unpaid, or the remaining
States pay the whole? A part of the present national debt was contracted
to pay the old debts of Texas; is it just that she shall leave and pay no
part of this herself?
Again, if one State may secede, so may another; and when all shall
have seceded, none is left to pay the debts. Is this quite just to
creditors? Did we notify them of this sage view of ours when we borrowed their money? If we now recognize this doctrine by allowing the
seceders to go in peace, it is difficult to see What we can do if others
choose to go, or to extort terms upon which they will promise to remain.
The seceders insist that our constitution admits of secession. They
have assumed to make a national constitution of their own, in which, of
necessity, they have either discarded or retained the right of secession,
as they insist it exists in ours. If they have discarded it, they thereby
admit that, on principle, it ought not to be in ours. If they have retained
it, by their own construction of ours, they show that to be consistent
they must secede from one another whenever they shall find it the
easiest way of settling their debts, or effecting any other sellish or unjust
object. The principle itself is one of disintegration, and upon which no
Government can possibly endure.
If all the States save one should assert the power to drive that one out
of the Union, it is presumed the whole class of seceder politicians would
at once deny the power, and denounce the act as the, greatest outrage
upon State rights. But suppose that precisely the same act, instead of
being called "driving the one out," should be called "the seceding of




ï~~148       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
the others from that one," it would be exactly what the seceders claim to
do; unless, indeed, they make the point that the one, because it is a minority, may rightfully do what the others, because they are a majority,
may not rightfully do. These politicians are subtile and profound on the
rights of minorities. They are not partial to that power which made the
Constitution, and speaks from the preamble, calling itself "We, the
People."
It may well be questioned whether there is to-day a majority of the
legally qualified voters of any State, except, perhaps, South Carolina, in
favor of disunion. There is much reason to believe that the Union men
are the majority in many, if not in every other one, of the so-called
seceded States. The contrary has not been demonstrated in any one of
them. It is ventured to affirm this even of Virginia and Tennessee; for
the result of an election held in military camps, where the bayonets are
all on one side of the question voted upon, can scarcely be considered as
demonstrating popular sentiment. At such an election, all that large
class who are at once for the Union and against coercion would be coerced to vote against the Union.
It may be affirmed, without extravagance, that the free institutions we
enjoy have developed the powers and improved the condition of our
whole people beyond any example in the world. Of this we now have a
striking and an impressive illustration. So large an army as the Government has now on foot was never before known without a soldier in it but
who had taken his place there of his own free choice. But more than
this; there are many single regiments whose members, one and another,
possess full practical knowledge of all the arts, sciences, professions, and
whatever else, whether useful or elegant, is known in the world; and
there is scarcely one from which there could not be selected a President,
a Cabinet, a Congress and perhaps a court, abundantly competent to administer the Government itself. Nor do I say this is not true also in the
army of our late friends, now adversaries in this contest; but if it is, so
much better the reason why the Government which has conferred such
benefits on both them and us should not be broken up. Whoever, in any
section, proposes to abandon such a Government, would do well to consider in deference to what principle it is that he does it; what better he
is likely to get in its stead; whether the substitute will give, or be intended to give, so much of good to the people? There are some foreshadowings on this subject. Our adversaries have adopted some declarations of independence, in which, unlike the good old one, pennedA by
Jefferson, they omit the words, "all men are created equal."  Why?
They have adopted a temporary national constitution, in the preamble of
which, unlike our good old one, signed by Washington, they omit "We,
the People," and substitute, "We, the deputies of the sovereign and independent States." Why? Why this deliberate pressing out of view
the rights of men and the authority of the people?
0




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

149

This is essentially a people's contest. On the side of the Union it is a
struggle for maintaining in the world that form and substance of government whose leading object is to elevate the condition of men; to lift
artificial weights from all shoulders; to clear the paths of laudable pursuits for all; to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race
of life. Yielding to partial and temporary departures, from necessity, this
is the leading object of the Government for whose existence we contend.
I am most happy to believe that the plain people understand and appreciate this. It is worthy of note, that while in this the Government's
hour of trial, large numbers of those in the army and navy who have been
favored with the offices have resigned and proved false to the hand which
had pampered them, not one common soldier or common sailor is known
to have deserted his flag.
Great honor is due to those officers who remained true, despite the example of their treacherous associates; but the greatest honor, and most
important fact of all, is the unanimous firmness of the common soldiers
and common sailors. To the last man, so far as known, they have successfully resisted the traitorous efforts of those whose commands but an
hour before they obeyed as absolute law. This is the patriotic instlct
of plain people. They understand, without an argument, that the destroying the Government which was made by Washington means no
good to them.
Our popular Government has often been called an experiment. Two
points in it our people have already settled-the successful establishing
and the successful administering of it. One still remains-its successful
maintenance against a formidable internal attempt to overthrow it. It is
now for them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry
an election can also suppress a rebellion; that ballots are the rightful and
peacetful successors of bullets; and that when ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets;
that there can be no successful appeal, except to ballots themselves, at
succeeding elections. Such will be a great lesson of peace; teaching
men that what they cannot take by an election, neither can they take by
a war; teaching all the folly of being the beginners of a war.
Lest there be some uneasiness in the minds of candid men as to what
is to be the course of the Government towards the Southern States after
the rebellion shall have been suppressed, the Executive deems it proper
to say, it will be his purpose then, as ever, to be guided by the Constitution and the laws; and that he probably will have no different understanding of the powers and duties of the Federal Government relatively
to the rights of the States and the people under the Constitution than
that expressed in the inaugural address.
He desires to preserve the Government, that it may 'be administered
for all, as it was administered by the men who made it. Loyal citizens
everywhere have the right to claim this of their Government, and the
0




ï~~150    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

Government has no right to withhold or neglect it. It is not perceived
that in giving it there is any coercion, any conquest, or any subjugation,
in any just sense of those terms.
The Constitution provides, and all the States have accepted the provision, that "the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union
a republican form of Government." But if a State may lawfully go out
of the Union, having done so it may also discard the republican form of
Government; so that to prevent its going out is an indispensable means
to the end of maintaining the guarantee mentioned; and when an end is
lawful and obligatory, the indispensable means to it are also lawful and
obligatory.
It was with the deepest regret that the Executive found the duty of
employing the war power in defence of the Government forced upon him.
He could but perform this duty or surrender the existence of the Government. No compromise by public servants could in this case be a cure;
not that compromises are not often proper, but that no popular Government can long survive a marked precedent that those who carry an election can only save the Government from immediate destruction by giving
up the main point upon which the people gave the election. The people
themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate
decisions.
As a private citizen the Executive could not have consented that these
institutions shall perish; much less could he, in betrayal of so vast and
so sacred a trust as these free people have confided to him. He felt that
he had no moral right to shrink, or even to count the chances of his own
life, in what might follow. In full view of his great responsibility he has
so far done what he has deemed his duty. You will now, according to
your own judgment, perform yours. He sincerely hopes that your views
and your action may so accord with his as to assure all faithful citizens
who have been disturbed in their rights of a certain and speedy restoration to them, under the Constitution and the laws.
And having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and
with manly hearts.
ABRAHAM LINcoLN.
July 4, 1861.
Congress imitated the President in confining its attention
exclusively to the rebellion and the means for its suppression.
The zealous and enthusiastic loyalty of the people met a prompt
response from their representatives. Th Judiciary Committee
in the House was instructed on the 8th to prepare a bill to
confiscate the property oftrebels against the Government, and




ï~~ACTION OF CONGRESS.

151

on the 9th a resolution was adopted (ayes 93, noes 55), declaring it to be " no part of the duty of the soldiers of the
United States to capture and return fugitive slaves." A bill
was promptly introduced to declare valid all the acts of the
President for the suppression of the rebellion previous to the
meeting of Congress, and it brought on a general discussion
of the principles involved and the interests concerned in the
contest. There were a few in both Houses, with John C.
Breckinridge, of Kentucky, at their head, who still insisted
that any resort by the Government to the use of the war
power against the rebels was unconstitutional, and could only
end in the destruction of the Union; but the general sentiment of both Houses fully sustained the President in the steps
he had taken. The subject of slavery was introduced into the
discussion commenced by Senator Powell, of Kentucky, who
proposed on the 18th to amend the Army Bill by adding a
section that no part of the army should be employed "in subjecting or holding as a conquered province any sovereign state
now or lately one of the United States, or in abolishing or interfering with African slavery in any of the States." The
debate which ensued elicited the sentiments of members oin
this subject. Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, concurred in the sentiment that the war was " not to be waged for the purpose of
subjugating any state or freeing any slave, or to interfere with
the social or domestic institutions of any State or any people;
it was to preserve this Union, to maintain the Constitution as
it is in all its clauses, in all its guarantees, without change or
limitation." 'Mr. Dixon, of Connecticut, assented to this, but
also declared that if the South should protract the war, and
"cit should turn out that either this Government or slavery
must be destroyed, then the people of the North-the Conservative people of the North-would say, rather than let the
Government perish, let slavery perish." Mr. Lane, of Kansas,
did not believe that slavery could survive in any state the




ï~~152       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
march of the Union armies. These seemed to be the sentiments of both branches of Congress. The amendment was rejected and bills were passed ratifying the acts of the President,
authorizing him to accept the services of half a million of vollunteers, and placing five hundred millions of dollars at the
disposal of the Government for the prosecution of the war.
On the 15th of July, Mr. McClernand, a democrat from Illinois, offered a resolution pledging the House to vote any
amount of money and any number of men necessary to suppress the rebellion, and restore the authority of the Government, which was adopted with but five opposing votes; and
on the 22d of July, Mr. Crittenden, of Kentucky, offered the
following resolution, defining the objects of the war:
SResolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress cf the United
States, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the
country by the clisunionists of the Southern States, now in arms against
the constitutional Government, and in arms around the capital; that in
this national emergency, Congress, banishing all feelings of mere passion
or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that
this war is not waged on their part in any spirit of oppression, or for any
purpose of conquest or subjugation, or purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those States, but to
defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution, and to preserve
the Union with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States
unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war
ought to cease.
This resolution was adopted with but two dissenting votes.
It was accepted by the whole country as defining the objects
and limiting the continuance of the war, and was regarded wvith
special favor by the loyal citizens of the Border States, whose
sensitiveness on the subject of slavery had been skilfully and
zealously played upon by the agents and allies of the rebel confederacy. The war was universally represented by these men as
waged for the destruction of slavery, and as aiming, not at the
preservation of the Union, but the emancipation of the slaves;
and there was great danger that these appeals to the pride,




ï~~SLAVERY AND CONFISCATION.

153

the interest, and the prejudices of the Border Slave States
might bring them to join their fortunes to those of the rebellion. The passage of this resolution, with so great a degree
of unanimity, had a very soothing effect upon the apprehensions of these states, and contributed largely to strengthen the
Government in its contest with the rebellion.
The sentiments of Congress on this matter, as well as on
the general subject of the war, were still further developed in
the debates which followed the introduction to the House of a
bill passed by the Senate to " confiscate property used for
insurrectionary purposes." It was referred to the Judiciary
Committee and reported back with an amendment, providing
that whenever any slave should be required or permitted by
his master to take up arms, or be employed in any fort,
dock-yard, or in any military service in aid of the rebellion, he
should become entitled to his freedom. Mr. Wickliffe and
Mr. Burnett of Kentucky at once contested the passage of the
bill on the ground that the Government had no right to interfere in any way with the relation existing between a master
and his slave;-and they were answered by the northern members with the argument that the Government certainly had a
right to confiscate property of any kind employed in the
rebellion, and that there was no more reason for protecting
slavery against the consequences of exercising this right, than
for shielding any other interest that might be thus involved.
The advocates of the bill denied that it was the intention of
the law to emancipate the slaves, or that it would bear any
such construction in the courts of justice. They repudiated
the idea that men in arms against the Union and Constitution
could claim the protection of the Constitution, and thus derive
from that instrument increased ability to secure its destruction;
but they based their proposed confiscation of slave property
solely on the ground that it was a necessary neans to the
prosecution of the war, and not in any sense the object for




ï~~154       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
which the war was waged. After a protracted debate, that
section of the bill which related to this subject was passedayes 60, noes 48, in the following form:
That whenever hereafter, during the present insurrection against the
Government of the United States, any person claimed to be held to labor
or service, under the laws of any State, shall be required or permitted
by the person to whom such labor or service is claimed to be due, or by
the lawful agent of such person, to take up arms against the United
States, or shall be required or permitted by the person to whom such
service or labor is claimed to be due, or his lawful agent, to work or to
be employed in or upon any fort, navy-yard, dock, armory, ship, or intrenchment, or in any military or naval service whatever, against the
Government and lawful authority of the United States, then, and in
every such case, the person to whom such service is claimed to be due,
shall forfeit his claim to such labor, any law of the State, or of the
United States, to the contrary notwithstanding; and whenever thereafter the person claiming such labor or service shall seek to enforce his
claim, it shall be a full and sufficient answer to such claim that the person whose service or labor is claimed, had been employed in hostile service against the Government of the United States, contrary to the
provisions of this act.
Congress closed its extra session on the 6th of August. It
had taken the most vigorous and effective measures for the
suppression of the rebellion, having clothed the President with
even greater power than he had asked for in the prosecution
of the war, and avoided with just fidelity all points which
could divide and weaken the loyal sentiment of the country.
The people responded with hearty applause to the patriotic
action of their representatives. The universal temper of the
country was one of buoyancy and hope. Throughout the early
part of the summer the rebels had been steadily pushing troops
through Virginia to the borders of the Potomac, menacing the
national capital with capture, until in the latter part of June
they had an army of not far from 35,000 men, holding a strong
position along the Bull Run creek,-its left posted at Winchester, and its right resting at Manassas. It was determined




ï~~THE DEFEAT AT BULL RUN.

155

to attack this force and drive it from the vicinity of Washington, and the general belief of the country was that this would
substantially end the war. The national army, numbering
about 30,000 men, moved from the Potomac, on the 16th of
July, under General McDowell, and themain attack was made
on the 21st. It resulted in the defeat, with a loss of 480
killed and 1,000 wounded, of our forces, and their falling back,
in the utmost disorder and confusion, upon Washington. Our
army was completely routed, and if the rebel forces had known
the extent of their success, and had been in condition to avail
themselves of it with vigor and energy, the Capital would
easily have fallen into their hands.
The result of this battle took the whole country by surprise.
The most sangine expectations of a prompt and decisive
victory had been universally entertained; and the actual issue
first revealed to thb people the prospect of a long and bloody
war. But the public heart was not in the least discouraged.
On the contrary, the effect was to rouse still higher the
courage and determination of the people. No one dreamed
for an instant of submission. The most vigorous efforts were
made to reorganize the army, to increase its numbers by
volunteering, and to establish a footing for national troops at
various points along the rebel coast. On the 28th of August
Fort Hatteras was surrendered to the National forces, and on
the 31st of October Port Royal, on the coast of South
Carolina, fell into possession of the United States. On the
3d of December Ship Island, lying between Mobile and New
Orleans, was occupied. Preparations were also made for an
expedition against New Orleans, and by a series of combined
movements the rebel forces were driven out of Western Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri-States in which the population
had from the beginning of the contest been divided in sentiment and in action.
On the 31st of October General Scott, finding himself un



ï~~156       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
able, in consequence of illness and advancing age, to take the
field or discharge the duties imposed by the enlarging contest,
resigned his position as commander of the army, in the following letter to the Secretary of War:
HEAD-QUARTERS OF TIHE ARMY,
WASHINGTON, October 31, 1861.
The Hon. S. CAMERON, Secretary of War:
SIR: For more than three years I have been unable, from a hurt, to
mount a horse, or to walk more than a few paces at a time, and that
with much pain. Other and new infirmities-dropsy and vertigoadmonish me that repose of mind and body, with the appliances of
surgery and medicine, are necessary to add a little more to a life
already protracted much beyond the usual span of man.
It is under such circumstances-made doubly painful by the unnatural
and unjust rebellion now raging in the Southern States of our (so late)
prosperous and happy Union-that I am compelled to request that my
name be placed on the list of army officers retired from active service.
As this request is founded on an absolute right, granted by a recent
act of Congress, I am entirely at liberty to say it is with deep regret
that I withdraw myself, in these momentous times, from the orders of a
President who has treated me with distinguished kindness and courtesy;
whom I know, upon much personal intercourse, to be patriotic, without
sectional partialities or prejudices; to be highly conscientious in the
performance of every duty, and of unrivalled activity and perseverance.
And to you, Mr. Secretary, whom I now officially address for the last
time, I beg to acknowledge my many obligations, for the uniform high
consideration I have received at your hands; and have the honor to
remain, sir, with high respect, your obedient servant.
WINFIELD SCOTT.
President LINCOLN waited upon General Scott at his fesidence, accompanied by his Cabinet, and made personal expression to him of the deep regret which he, in common with
the whole country, felt in parting with a public servant so
venerable in years and so illustrious for the services he had
rendered. He also issued the following order:
On the first day of November, 1861, upon 'his own application to
the President of the United States, Brevet Lieutenant-General Win



ï~~TREATMENT OF THE SLAVERY QUESTION.

157

field Scott is ordered to be placed, and hereby is placed, upon the list
of retired officers of the army of the United States, without reduction
of his current pay, subsistence, or allowances.
The American people will hear with sadness and deep emotion that
General Scott has withdrawn from the active control of the army, while
the President and unanimous Cabinet express their own and the nation's sympathy in his personal affliction, and their profound sense of
the important public services rendered by him to his country during
his long and brilliant career, among which will ever be gratefully distinguished his faithful devotion to the Constitution, the Union, and the
Flag, when assailed by parricidal rebellion.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The command of the army then devolved by appointment
upon Major-General McClellan, who had been recalled from
Western Virginia after the battle of Bull Run, and had devoted himself to the task of recruiting the army in front of
Washington, and preparing it for the defence of the capital,
and for a fresh advance upon the forces of the rebellion.
It cannot have escaped attention that thus far, in its policy
concerning the war, the government had been very greatly influenced by a desire to prevent the Border Slave States from
joining the rebel confederacy. Their accession would have
added immensely to the forces of the rebellion, and would
have increased very greatly the labor and difficulty of its suppression. The administration and Congress had, therefore,
avoided, so far as possible, any measures in regard to slavery
which could needlessly excite the hostile prejudices of the
people of the Border States. The Confiscation Act affected
only those slaves who should be "required or permitted" by
their masters to render service to the rebel cause. It did not
in any respect change the condition of any others. The President, in the executive department, acted upon the same principle. The question first arose in Virginia, simultaneously at
Fortress Monroe and in the western part of th9 state. On the
26th of May, General McClellan issued an address to the peoa




ï~~158       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
ple of the district under his command, in which he said to
them, " Understand one thing clearly: not only will we abstain from all interference with your slaves, but we will, on
the contrary, with an iron hand crush any attempt at insurrection on their part." On the 27th of May, General Butler, in
command at Fortress Monroe, wrote to the Secretary of War
that he was greatly embarrassed by the number of slaves that
were coming in from the surrounding country and seeking
protection within the lines of his camp. He had determined
to regard them as contraband of war, and to employ their
labor at a fair compensation, against which should be charged
the expense of their support-the relative value to be adjusted
afterwards. The Secretary of War, in a letter dated May
30th, expressed the approval by the Government of the course
adopted by General Butler, and directed him, on the one
hand, to "permit no interference by the persons under his
command with the relations of persons held to service under
the laws of any state," and on the other, to " refrain from surrendering to alleged masters any such persons who might
come within his lines."
On the 8th of August, after the passage of the Confiscation
Act by Congress, the Secretary of War again wrote to General
Butler, setting forth somewhat more fully the views of the
President and the administration upon this subject, as follows:
It is the desire of the President that all existing rights in all the States
be fully respected and maintained. The war now prosecuted on the part
of the Federal Government is a war for the Union and for the preservation of all constitutional rights of States and the citizens of the States
in the Union. Hence no question can arise as to fugitives from service
within the States and territories in which the authority of the Union is
fully acknowledged. The ordinary forms of judicial proceeding, which
mut be respected by military and civil authorities alike, will suffice for
the enforcement of all legal claims. But in States wholly or partially
under insurrectionary control, where the laws of' the United States are
so far opposed and resisted that they cannot be effectually enforced, it




ï~~THE SLAVE QUESTION.

159

is obvious that rights dependent on the execution of those laws must
temporarily fail; and it is equally obvious that rights dependent on the
laws of the States within which military operations are conducted must
be necessarily subordinated to the military exigencies created by the
insurrection, if not wholly forfeited by the treasonable conduct of parties claiming them. To this general rule rights to services can form no
exception.
The act of Congress approved August 6th, 1861, declares that if persons held to service shall be employed in hostility to the United States,
the right to their services shall be forfeited, and such persons shall be
discharged therefrom. It follows of necessity that no claim can be recognized by the military authorities of the Union to the services of such
persons when fugitives.
A more difficult question is presented in respect to persons escaping
from the service of loyal masters. It is quite apparent that the laws of
the State, under which only the services of such fugitives can be
claimed, must needs be wholly, or almost wholly suspended, as to
remedies, by the insurrection and the military measures necessitated by
it, and it is equally apparent that the substitution of military for
iudicial measures, for the enforcement of such claims, must be attended
by great inconveniences, embarrassments, and injuries.
Under these circumstances it seems quite clear that the substantial
rights of loyal masters will be best protected by receiving such fugitives,
as well as fugitives from disloyal masters, into the service of the United
States, and employing them under such organizations and in such occupations as circumstances may suggest or require. Of course a record
should be kept, showing the name and description of the fugitives, the
name and the character, as loyal or disloyal, of the master, and such
facts as may be necessary to a correct understanding of the circumstances of each case after tranquillity shall have been restored. Upon
the return of peace, Congress will doubtless properly provide for all thepersons thus received into the service of the Union, and for just compensation to loyal masters. In this way only, it would seem, can the
duty and safety of the Government, and the just rights of all, be fully
reconciled and harmonized.
You will therefore consider yourself as instructed to govern your
future action, in respect to fugitives from service, by the principles
herein stated, and will report from time to time, and at least twice in
each month, your action in the premises to this Department. You will,
however, neither authorize nor permit any interference, by the troops




ï~~160       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
under your command, with the servants of peaceful citizens, in house or
field, nor will you, in any way, encourage such servants to leave the
lawful service of their masters; nor will you, except in cases where the
public safety may seem to require it, prevent the voluntary return of any
fugitive to the service from which he may have escaped.
The same policy was adopted in every part of the country,
All interference with the internal institutions of any state was
expressly forbidden; but the Government would avail itself of
the services of a portion of the slaves, taking care fully to provide for compensation to loyal masters. On the 16th of August, Hon. C. B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior, in a speech
made at Providence, R. I., took occasion to declare the policy
of the administration upon this subject. Its theory, said he,
is that " the states are sovereign within their spheres; the
Government of the United States has no more right to interfere with the institution of slavery in South Carolina than it
has to interfere with the peculiar institution of Rhode Island
whose benefits I have enjoyed."
On the 31st of August, General Fremont, commanding the
western department, which embraced Missouri and a part of
Kentucky, issued an order "extending and declaring established martial law throughout the state of Missouri," and
declaring that "the property, real and personal, of all persons
in the State of Missouri, who shall take up arms against the
United States, or who shall be directly proven to have taken
an active part with their enemies in the field, is declared to be
confiscated to the public use, and their slaves, if any they
have, are hereby declared free men." The President regarded
this order as transcending the authority vested in him by the
Act of Congress, and wrote to General Fremont, calling his
attention to this point, and requesting him to modify his
proelamation so as to make it conform to the law. General
Fremont, desiring to throw off from himself the responsibility
of changing his action, desired an explicit 'order-whereupon
the President thus addressed him:



ï~~GENERAL FREMONT AND THE PRESIDENT.

161

WASHINGTON, D. C., September 11, 1861.
Major-General JOHN C. FREMONT:
SIR: Yours of the 8th, in answer to mine of the 2d inst., was just
received. Assured that you upon the ground could better judge of the
necessities of your position than I could at this distance, on seeing your
proclamation of August 30, I perceived no general objection to it; the
particular clause, however, in relation to the confiscation of property
and the liberation of slaves appeared to me to be objectionable in its
non-conformity to the act of Congress, passed the 6th of last August,
upon the same subjects, and hence I wrote you expressing my wish that
that clause should be modified accordingly. Your answer just received
expresses the preference on your part that I should make an open order
for the modification, which I very cheerfully do. It is therefore
ordered that the said clause of said proclamation be so modified, held
and construed as fo conform with, and not to transcend, the provisions
on the same subject contained in the act of Congress entitled "An act
to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes," approved
August 6, 1861, and the said act be published at length with this
order. Your obedient'servant,
A. LINcoLN.
These views of the Government were still farther enforced
in a letter from the Secretary of War to General T. WV. Sherman, who commanded the expedition to Port Royal, and in
orders issued by General Dix in Virginia on the 17th of November, and by General Halleck, who succeeded General Fremont in the western department, prohibiting fugitive slaves
from being received within the lines of the army. During all
this time strenuous efforts were made in various quarters to
induce the President to depart from this policy, and not only
to proclaim a general emancipation of all the slaves, but to
put arms in their hands and employ them in the field against
the rebels.  But they were ineffectual. The President adhered firmly and steadily to the policy which the then existing circumstances of the country, in his judgment, rendered
wise and necessary; and he was sustained in this action by
the public sentiment of the loyal States, and by the great body




ï~~162      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
of the people in the slave States along the border. The
course which he pursued at that time contributed largely,
beyond doubt, to strengthen the cause of the Union in those
Border States, and especially to withdraw Tennessee from her
hastily formed connection with the rebel confederacy.
In the early part of November an incident occurred which
threatened for a time to involve the country in open war with
England. On the 7th of that month the British mail steamer
Trent left Havana for St. Thomas, having on board Messrs.
J. M. Mason and John Slidell, on their way as commissioners
from the Confederate States to England and France. On the
8th the Trent was hailed from the U. S. frigate San Jacin to,
Captain Wilkes, and brought to by a shot across her bows.
Two officers and about twenty armed men from the latter then
went on board the Trent, searched her, and took from her by
force and against the protest of the British officers, the two
rebel commissioners, with Messrs. Eustis and McFarland, their
secretaries, who were brought to the United States and lodged
in Fort Warren, the Trent being released and proceeding on
her way. The most intense excitement pervaded the country
when news of this affair was received. The feeling was one
of admiration at the boldness of Captain Wilkes, and of exultation at the capture of the rebel emissaries. In England the
most intense and passionate resentment took possession of the
public mind. The demand for instant redress was universal,
and, in obedience to it, the Government at once ordered troops
to Canada and the outfit of vessels of war.
Our Government met the matter with prompt and self-possessed decision.  On the 30th of November Mr. Seward
wrote to Mr. Adams a general statement of the facts of the
case, accompanied by the assurance that "in the capture of
Messrs. Mason and Slidell Captain Wilkes had acted without
any instructions from the Government," and that our Government was prepared to discuss the matter in a perfectly fair




ï~~THE TRENT AFFAIR.

163

and friendly spirit as soon as the ground taken by the British
Government should be made known. Earl Russell, under
the same date, wrote to Lord Lyons, rehearsing the facts of
the case, and saying that the British Government was " willing
to believe that the naval officer who conmmitted the aggression
was not acting in compliance with any authority from his
Government," because the Government of the United States
"must be fully aware that the British Government could not
allow such an affront to the national honor to pass without full
reparation." Earl Russell trusted, therefore, that when the
matter should be brought under its notice the United States
Government would, "of its own accord, offer to the British
Government such redress as alone could satisfy the British
nation, namely, the liberation of the four gentlemen and their
delivery to the British minister, that they may again be placed
under British protection, and a suitable apology for the
aggression which has been committed." In a subsequent note
Lord Lyons was instructed to wait seven days after its delivery
for a reply to this demand, and in case no answer, or any other
answer than a compliance with its terms, should be, given by
the expiration of that time, he was to leave Washington with
the archives of the legation, and repair immediately to
London.
On the 26th of December the Secretary of State, by direction of the President, sent a reply to this dispatch, in which
the whole question was discussed at length, and with conspicuous ability. The Government decided that the detention of
the vessel and the removal from her of the emissaries of the
rebel confederacy, was justifiable by the laws of war and the
practice and precedents of the British Government; but that
in assuming to decide upon the liability of these persorns to
capture for himself, instead of sending them before a legal
tribunal where a regular trial could be had, Captain Wilkes
had departed from the rule of international law uniformly




ï~~164      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
asserted by the American Government, and forming part of its
most cherished policy. The Government decided, therefore,
that the four persons in question would be " cheerfully liberated."  This decision, sustained by the reasoning advanced
in its support, commanded the immediate and universal acquiescence of the American people; while in England it was
received with hearty applause by the friends of this country,
especially as it silenced the clamors and disappointed the
hostile hopes of its enemies. The French Government had
joined that of England in its representations upon this subject,
and the decision of our Government was received there with
equal satisfaction. The effect of the incident, under the just
and judicious course adopted by the Administration, was
eminently favorable to the United States,-increasing the
general respect for its adherence to sound principles of public
law, and silencing effectually the slander that its Government
was too weak to disappoint or thwart a popular clamor. One
of the immediate fruits of the discussion was the prompt rejection of all demands for recognizing the independence of the
Confederate States.




ï~~MEETING OF CONGRESS-PRESIDENTS MESSAGE. 165

CHAPTER V.
THE REGULAR SESSION OF CONGRESS, D~EC. 1861.-THE MESSAGE.- DEBATES, ETC.
CONGRESS met in regular session (the second of the thirtyseventh Congress) on the 2d of December, 1861. On the
next day the President sent in his Annual Message, as follows:
FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
In the midst of unprecedented political troubles, we have cause of
great gratitude to God for unusual good health, and most abundant
harvests.
You will not be surprised to learn that, in the peculiar exigencies of
the times, our intercourse with foreign nations has been attended with
profound solicitude, chiefly turning upon our own domestic affairs.
A disloyal portion of the American people have, during the whole
year, been engaged in an attempt to divide and destroy the Union. A
nation which endures factious domestic division, is exposed to disrespect
abroad; and one party, if not both, is sure, sooner or later, to invoke
foreign intervention.
Nations thus tempted to interfere are not always able to resist the
counsels of seeming expediency and ungenerous ambition, although
measures adopted under such influences seldom fail to be unfortunate
and injurious to those adopting them.
The disloyal citizens of the United States who have offered the ruin
of our country, in return for the aid and comfort which they have invoked abroad, have received less patronage and encouragement than
they probably expected. If it were just to suppose, as the insurgents
have seemed to assume, that foreign nations, in this case, discarding all
moral, social, and treaty obligations, would act solely and selfishly for
the most speedy restoration of commerce, including especially the acquisition of cotton, those nations appear, as yet, not to have seen their
way to their object more directly, or clearly, through.the destruction,
than through the preservation, of the Union. If we could dare to believe that foreign nations are actuated by no higher principle than this,
"




ï~~166        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
I am quite sure a sound argument could be made to show them that
they can reach their aim more readily and easily by aiding to crush this
rebellion, than by giving encouragement to it.
The principal lever relied on by the insurgents for exciting foreign
nations to hostility against us, as already intimated, is the embarrassment of commerce. Those nations, however, not improbably, saw from
the first, that it was the Union which made, as well our foreign as our
domestic commerce. They can scarcely have failed to perceive that the
effort for disunion produced the existing difficulty; and that one strong
nation promises more durable peace, and a more extensive, valuable,
and reliable commerce, than can the same nation broken into hostile
fragments.
It is not my purpose to review our discussions with foreign States;
because whatever might be their wishes or dispositions, the integrity of
our country and the stability of our Government mainly depend, not
upon them, but on the loyalty, virtue, patriotism, and intelligence of
the American people. The correspondence itself, with the usual reservations, is herewith submitted.
I venture to hope it will appear that we have practised prudence and
liberality towards foreign powers, averting causes of irritation; and with
firmness maintaining our own rights and honor.
Since, however, it is apparent that here, as in every other State,
foreign dangers necessarily attend domestic difficulties, I recommend
that adequate and ample measures be adopted for maintaining the public defences on every side. While, under this general recommendation,
provision for defending our sea-coast line readily occurs to the mind, I
also, in the same connection, ask the attention of Congress to our great
lakes and rivers. It is believed that some fortifications and dep6ts of arms
and munitions, with harbor and navigation improvements, all at wellselected points upon these. would be of great importance to the national
defence and preservation. I ask attention to the views of the Secretary
of War, expressed in his report upon the same general subject.
I deem it of importance that the loyal regions of East Tennessee and
Western North Carolina should be connected with Kentucky and other
faithful parts of the Union by railroad. I, therefore, recommend, as a
military measure, that Congress provide for the construction of such
road as speedily as possible.
Kentucky will no doubt co-operate, and, through her Legislature,
make the most judicious selection of a line.' The northern terminus
must connect with some existing railroad, and whether the route shall




ï~~THE PRESIDENT S MESSAGE.

167

be from Lexington or Nicholasville to the Cumberland Gap, or from
Lebanon to the Tennessee line, in the direction of Knoxville, or on some
still different line, can easily be determined. Kentucky and the General
Government co-operating, the work can be completed in a very short
time, and when done it will be not only of vast present usefulness, but
also a valuable permanent improvement worth its cost in all the future.
Some treaties, designed chiefly for the intdrests of commerce, and
having no grave political importance, have been negotiated, and will be
submitted to the Senate for their consideration. Although we have
failed to induce some of the commercial Powers to adopt a desirable
melioration of the rigor of maritime war, we have removed all obstructions from the way of this humane reform, except such as are merely of
temporary and accidental occurrence.
I invite your attention to the correspondence between her Britannic
Majesty's Minister, accredited to this Government, and the Secretary of
State, relative to the detention of the British ship Perthshire in June
last by the United States steamer Massachusetts, for a supposed breach
of the blockade. As this detention was occasioned by an obvious misapprehension of the facts, and as justice requires that we should commit no belligerent act not founded in strict right as sanctioned by public
law, I recommend that an appropriation be made to satisfy the reasonable demand of the owners of the vessel for her detention.
I repeat the recommendation of my predecessor in his annual messago
to Congress in December last in regard to the disposition of the surplus
which will probably remain after satisfying the claims of American
citizens against China, pursuant to the awards of the commissioners
under the act of the 3d of March, 1859.
If, however, it should not be deemed advisable to carry that recommendation into effect, I would suggest that authority be given for investing the principal over the proceeds of the surplus referred to in
good securities, with a view to the satisfaction of such other just claim
of our citizens against China as are not unlikely to arise hereafter in the
course of our extensive trade with that Empire.
By the act of the 5th of August last, Congress authorized the President to instruct the commanders of suitable vessels to defend themselves
against and to capture pirates. This authority has been exercised in a
single instance only.
For the more effectual protection of our extensive and valuable commerce in the Eastern seas, especially, it seems to me that it would also
be advisable to authorize the commanders of sailing-vessela to recapture




ï~~168       PRRSIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
any prizes which pirates may make of the United States vessels and
their cargoes, and the Consular Courts established by law in Eastern
countries to adjudicate the cases in the event that this should not be
objected to by the local authorities.
If any good reason exists why we should persevere longer in withholding our recognition of the independence and sovereignty of Hayti
and Liberia, I am unable to discern' it. Unwilling, however, to inaugurate a novel policy in regard to them without the approbation of
Congress, I submit for your consideration the expediency of an appropriation for maintaining a Chargi d'Affaires near each of those new
States. It does not admit of doubt that important commercial advantages
might be secured by favorable treaties with them.
The operations of the Treasury during the period which has elapsed
since your adjournment have been conducted with signal success. The
patriotism of the people has placed at the disposal of the Government
the large means demanded by the public exigencies. Much of the
national loan has been taken by citizens of the industrial classes, whose
confidence in their country's faith, and zeal for their country's deliverance from its 'present peril, have induced them to contribute to the
support of the Government the whole of their limited acquisitions. This
fact imposes peculiar obligations to economy and disbursement and
energy in action. The revenue from all sources, including loans for the
financial year ending on the 30th of June, 1861, was $86,835,900 27;
and the expenditures for the same period, including payments on account
of the public debt, were $84,578,034 47, leaving a balance in the
treasury, on the 1st of July, of $2,257,065 80 for the first quarter of the
financial year ending on September 30, 1861. The receipts from all
sources, including the balance of July 1, were $102,532,509 27, and the
expenses $98,239,733 09, leaving a balance, on the 1st of October,
1861, of $4,292,776 18.
Estimates for the remaining three-quarters of the year and for the
financial year of 1863, together with his views of the ways and means
for meeting the demands contemplated by them, will be submitted to
Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury. It is gratifying to know
that the expenses made necessary by the rebellion are not beyond the
resources of the loyal people, and to believe that the same patriotism
which has thus far sustained the Government will continue to sustain it
till peace and union shall again bless the land. I respectfully refer to
the report of the Secretary of War for information respecting the
numerical strength of the army, and for recommendations having in




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

169

view an increase of its efficiency, and the well-being of the various
branches of the service intrusted to his care. It is grdtifying to know
that the patriotism of the people has proved equal to the occasion, and
that the number of troops tendered greatly exceed the force which
Congress authorized me to call into the field. I refer with pleasure to
these portions of his report which make allusion to the creditable degree
of discipline already attained by our troops, and to the excellent sanitary condition of the entire army. The recommendation of the Secretary for an organization of the militia upon a uniform basis is a subject
of vital importance to the future safety of the country, and is commended
to the serious attention of Congress. The large addition to the regular
army, in connection with the defection that has so considerably diminished the number of its officers, gives peculiar importance to his recommendation for increasing the corps of cadets to the greatest capacity of
the Military Academy.
By mere omission I presume Congress has failed to provide chaplains
for the hospitals occupied by the volunteers. This subject was brought
to my notice, and I was induced to draw up the form of a letter, one
copy of which, properly addressed, has been delivered to each of the
persons, and at the dates respectively named and stated in a schedule,
containing, also, the form of the letter marked A, and herewith transmitted. These gentlemen, I understand, entered upon the duties
designated at the times respectively stated in the schedule, and have
labored faithfully therein ever since. I therefore recommend that they
be compensated at the same rate as chaplains in the army. I further
suggest that general provision be made for chaplains to serve at hospitals, as well as with regiments.
The report of the Secretary of the Navy presents, in detail, the operations of that branch of the service, the activity and energy which have
characterized its administration, and the results of measures to increase
its efficiency and power. Such have been the additions, by construction.
and purchase, that it may almost be said a navy has been created and
brought into service since our difficulties commenced.
Besides blockading our extensive coast, squadrons larger than ever
before assembled under our flag have been put afloat, and performed
deeds which have increased our naval renown.
I would invite special attention to the recommendation of the Secretary
for a more perfect organization of the navy, by introducing additional
grades in the service.
The present organization is defective and unsatisfactory, and the sugS                        A




ï~~170       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
gestions submitted by the department will, it is believed, if adopted, obviate the difficulties alluded to, promote harmony, and increase the efficiency of the navy.
There are three vacancies on the bench of the Supreme Court-two
by the decease of Justices Daniel and McLean. and one by the resignation of Justice Campbell. I have so far forborne making nominations to
fill these vacancies for reasons which I will now state. Two of the outgoing judges resided within the States now overrun by revolt; so that
if successors were appointed in the same localities, they could not now
serve upon their circuits; and many of the most competent men there
probably would not take the personal hazard of accepting to serve, even
here, upon the supreme bench. I have been unwilling to throw all the
appointments northward, thus disabling myself from doing justice to the
South on the return of peace; although I may remark that to transfer
to the North one which has heretofore been in the South, would not,
with reference to territory and population, be unjust.
During the long and brilliant judicial career of Judge McLean, his circuit grew into an empire-altogether too large for any one judge to give
the courts therein more than a nominal attendance-rising in population
from one million four hundred and seventy thousand and eighteen, in
1830, to six million one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred
and five, in 1860.
Besides this, the country generally has outgrown our present judicial
system. If uniformity was at all intended, the system requires that all
the States shall be accommodated with Circuit Courts, attended by supreme judges, while, in fact, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Florida, Texas, California, and Oregon, have never had any such courts.
Nor can this well be remedied without a change of the system; because
the adding of judges to the Supreme Court, enough for the accommodation of all parts of the country with Circuit Courts, would create a court
altogether too numerous for a judicial body of any sort. And the evil,
if it be one, will increase as new States come into the Union. Circuit
Courts are useful, or they are not useful  If useful, no State should be
denied them; if not useful, no State should have them. Let them be
provided for all, or abolished as to all.
Three modifications occur to me, either of which, I think, would be
an improvement upon our present system. Let the Supreme Court be
of convenient number in every event. Then, first, let the whole country
be divided into circuits of convenient size, the'supreme judges to serve
in a number of them corresponding to their own number, and indepen



ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

171

dent circuit judges be provided for all the rest. Or, secondly, let the
supreme judges be relieved from circuit duties, and circuit judges provided for all the circuits. Or, thirdly, dispense with circuit courts altogether, leaving the judicial functions wholly to the district courts and an
independent Supreme Court.
I respectfully recommend to the consideratio; of Congress the present
condition of the statute laws, with the hope that Congress will be able
to find an easy remedy for many of the inconveniences and evils which
constantly embarrass those engaged in the practical administration of
them. Since the organization of the Government, Congress has enacted
some five thousand acts and joint resolutions, which fill more than six
thousand closely-printed pages, and are scattered through many volumes. Many of these acts have been drawn in haste and without sufficient caution, so that their provisions are often obscure in themselves,
or in conflict with each other, or at least so doubtful as to render it very
difficult for even the best-informed persons to ascertain precisely what
the statute law really is.
It seems to me very important that the statute laws should be
made as plain and intelligible as possible, and be reduced to as small a
compass as may consist with the fulness and precision of the will of the
legislature and the perspicuity of its language. This, well done, would,
I think, greatly facilitate the labors of those whose duty it is to assist in
the administration of the laws, and would be a lasting benefit to the
people, by placing before them, in a more accessible and intelligible
form, the laws which so deeply concern their interests and their duties.
I am informed by some whose opinions I respect, that all the acts of
Congress now in force, and of a permanent and general nature, might be
revised and re-written, so as to be embraced in one volume (or, at most,
two volumes) of ordinary and convenient size. And I respectfully
recommend to Congress to consider of the subject, and, if my suggestion
be approved, to devise such plan as to their wisdom shall seem most
proper for the attainment of the end proposed.
One of the unavoidable consequences of the present insurrection is the
entire suppression, in many places, of all the ordinary means of administering civil justice by the officers, and in the forms of existing law.
This is the case, in whole or in part, in all the insurgent States; and as
our armies advance upon and take possession of parts of those States,
the practical evil becomes more apparent. There are no courts nor officers to whom the citizens of other States may apply for the enforcement
of their lawful claims against citizens of the insurgent States; and there




ï~~172        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
is a vast amount of debt constituting such claims. Some have estimated
it as high as two hundred million dollars, due, in large part, from insurgents in open rebellion to loyal citizens who are, even now, making great
sacrifices in the discharge of their patriotic duty to support the Government.
Under these circumstances, I have been urgently solicited to establish,
by military power, courts to administer'summary justice in such cases.
I have thus far declined to do it, not because I had any doubt that the
end proposed-the collection of the debts-was just and right in itself,
but because I have been unwilling to go beyond the pressure of necessity in the unusual exercise of power. But the powers of Congress, I
suppose, are equal to the anomalous occasion, and therefore I refer the
whole matter to Congress, with the hope that a plan may be devised for
the administration of justice in all such parts of the insurgent States and
Territories as may be under the control of this Government, whether by
a voluntary return to allegiance and order, or by the power of our arms;
this, however, not to be a permanent institution, but a temporary substitute, and to cease as soon as the ordinary courts can be re-established
in peace.
It is important that some more convenient means should be provided,
if possible, for the adjustment of claims against the Government, especially in view of their increased number by reason of the war. It is as
much the duty of Government to render prompt justice against itself, in
favor of citizens, as it is to administer the same between private individuals. The investigation and adjudication of claims, in their nature
belong to the judicial department; besides, it is apparent that the attention of Congress will be more than usually engaged, for some time to
come, with great national questions. It was intended, by the organization of the Court of Claims, mainly to remove this branch of business
from the halls of Congress; but while the court has proved to be an effective and valuable means of investigation, it in great degree fails to
effect the object of its creation, for want of power to make its judgments
final
Fully aware of the delicacy, not to say the danger, of the subject, I
commend to your careful consideration whether' this power of making
judgments final may not properly be given to the court, reserving the
right of appeal on questions of law to the Supreme Court, with such
other provisions as experience may have shown to be necessary.
I ask attention to the report of the Postmaster-General, the following
being a summary statement of the condition of the department:
0




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

173

The revenue from all sources during the fiscal year ending June 30,
1861, including the annual permanent appropriation of seven hundred
thousand dollars for the transportation of "free mail matter," was nine
million, forty-nine thousand, two hundred and ninety-six dollars and
forty cents, being about two per cent. less than the revenue for 1860.
The expenditures were thirteen million, six hundred and six thousand,
seven hundred and fifty-nine dollars and eleven cents, showing a decrease of more than eight per cent. as compared with those of the previous year, and leaving an excess of expenditure over the revenue for
the last fiscal year of four million, five hundred and fifty-seven thousand,
four hundred and sixty-two dollars and seventy-one cents.
The gross revenue for the year ending June 30, 1863, is estimated at
an increase of four per cent. on that of 1861, making eight million, six
hundred and eighty-three thousand dollars, to which should be added
the earnings of the department in carrying free matter, viz.: seven hundred thousand dollars, making nine millions three hundred and eightythree thousand dollars.
The total expenditures for 1863 are estimated at twelve million, five
hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars, leaving an estimated deficiency of three million, one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars to
be supplied from the Treasury, in addition to the permanent appropriation.
The present insurrection shows, I think, that the extension of this
district across the Potomac River, at the time of establishing the Capitol
here, was eminently wise, and consequently that the relinquishment of
that portion of it which lies within the State of Virginia was unwise and
dangerous. I submit for your consideration the expediency of regaining
that part of the district, and the restoration of the original boundaries
thereof, through negotiations with the State of Virginia.
The report of the Secretary of the Interior, with the accompanying
documents, exhibits the condition of the several branches of the public
business pertaining to that department. The depressing influences of
the insurrection have been especially felt in the operations of the Patent
and General Land Offices.  The cash receipts from the sales of public
lands during the past year have exceeded the expenses of our land system only about two hundred thousand dollars. The sales have been
entirely suspended in the Southern States, while the interruptions to the
business of the country, and the diversion of large numbers of men from
labor to military service, have obstructed settlements in' the new States
and territories of the Northwest.

v  T




ï~~174        PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
The receipts of the Patent Office have declined in nine months about
one hundred thousand dollars, rendering a large reduction of the force
employed necessary to make it self-sustaining.
The demands upon the Pension Office will be largely increased by the
insurrection. Numerous applications for pensions, based upon the casualties of the existing war, have already been made. There is reason to
believe that many who are now upon the pension rolls, and in receipt of
the bounty of the Government, are in the ranks of the insurgent army,
or giving them aid and comfort. The Secretary of the Interior has directed
a suspension of the payment of the pensions of such persons upon proof
of their disloyalty. I recommend that Congress authorize that officer
to cause the names of such persons to be stricken from the pension
rolls.
The relations of the Government with the Indian tribes have been
greatly disturbed by the insurrection, especially in the southern superintendency and in that of New Mexico. The Indian country south of
Kansas is in the possession of insurgents from Texas and Arkansas.
The agents of the United States appointed since the 4th of March for
this superintendency have been unable to reach their posts, while the
most of those who were in office before that time have espoused the
insurrectionary cause, and assume to exercise the powers of agents by
virtue of commissions from the insurrectionists. It has been stated in the
public press that a portion of those Indians have been organized as a
military force, and are attached to the army of the insurgents. Although
the Government has no official information upon this subject, letters
have been written to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs by several prominent chiefs, giving assurance of their loyalty to the United States, antd
expressing a wish for the presence of Federal troops to protect them. It
is believed that upon the repossession of the country by the Federal
forces, the Indians will readily cease all hostile demonstrations, and resume their former relations to the Government.
Agriculture, confessedly the largest interest of the nation, has not a
department, nor a bureau, but a clerkship only, assigned to it in the
Government    While it is fortunate that this great interest is so independent in its nature as to not have demanded and extorted more from
the Government, I respectfully ask Congress to consider whether something more cannot be given voluntarily with general advantage.
Annual reports exhibiting the condition of our agriculture, commerce,
and manufactures, would present a fund of information of great practical
value to the country. While I make no suggestion as to details, I yen



ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

175

ture the opinion that an agricultural and statistical bureau might profitably be organized.
The execution of the laws for the suppression of the African slave-trade
has been confided to the Department of the Interior, It is a subject of
gratulation that the efforts which have been made for the suppression of
this inhuman traffic have been recently attended with unusual success.
Five vessels being fitted out for the slave-trade lfave been seized and condemned. Two mates of vessels engaged in the trade, and one person in
equipping a vessel as a slaver, have been convicted and subjected to the
penalty of fine and imprisonment, and one captain, taken with a cargo
of Africans on board his vessel, has been convicted of the highest grade
of offence under our laws, the punishment of which is death.
The Territories of Colorado, Dakotah, and Nevada, created by the last
Congress, have been organized, and civil administration has been inaugurated therein under auspices especially gratifying, when it is considered that the leaven of treason was found existing in some of these new
countries when the Federal officers arrived there.
The abundant natural resources of these Territories, with the security
and protection afforded by organized government, will doubtless invite
to them a large immigation when peace shall restore the business of the
country to its accustomed channels. I submit the resolutions of the
Legislature of Colorado, which evidence the patriotic spirit of the people
of the Territory. So far the authority of the United States has been upheld in all the Territories, as it is hoped it will be in the future. I commend their interests and defence to the enlightened and generous care
of Congress.
I recommend to the favorable consideration of Congress the interests
of the District of Columbia. The insurrection has been the cause of
much suffering and sacrifice to its inhabitants, and as they have no representative in Congress, that body should not overlook their just claims
upon the Government.
At your late session a joint resolution was adopted authorizing the
President to take measures for facilitating a proper representation of the
industrial interests of the United States at the exhibition of the industry of all nations to be holden at London in the year 1862. I regret to
say I have been unable to give personal attention to this subject-a,
subject at once so interesting in itself, and so extensively and intimately
connected with the material prosperity of the world. Through the Secretaries of State and of the Interior a plan or system,has been devised
and partly matured, and which will be laid before you.




ï~~176       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Under and by virtue of the act of Congress entitled "An act to confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes," approved August
6, 1861, the legal claims of certain persons to the labor and service of
certain other persons have become forfeited; and numbers of the latter,
thus liberated, are already dependent on the United States, and must be
provided for in some way. Besides this it is not impossible that some
of the States will pass similar enactments for their own benefit respectively, and by operation of which persons of the same class will be
thrown upon them for disposaL  In such case I recommend that Congress provide for accepting such persons from such States, according to
some mode of valuation, in lieu, pro tanto, of direct taxes, or upon some
other plan to be agreed on with such States respectively; that such
persons, on such acceptance by the General Government, be at once
deemed free; and that, in any event, steps be taken for colonizing both
classes (or the one first mentioned, if the other shall not be brought
into existence) at some place or places in a climate congenial to them. It
might be well to consider, too, whether the free colored people already
in the United States could not, so far as individuals may desire, be inluded in such colonization.
To carry out the plan of colonization may involve the acquiring of
territory, and also the appropriation of money beyond that to be expended in the territorial acquisition. Having practised the acquisition
of territory for nearly sixty years, the question of constitutional power
to do so is no longer an open one with us. The power was questioned
at first by Mr. Jefferson, who, however, in the purchase of Louisiana,
yielded his scruples on the plea of great expediency. If it be said that
the only legitimate object of acquiring territory is to furnish homes for
white men, this measure effects that object; for the emigration of colored
men leaves additional room for white men remaining or coming here.
Mr. Jefferson, however, placed the importance of procuring Louisiana
more on political and commercial grcunds than on providing room- for
population.
On this whole proposition, including the appropriation of money with
the acquisition of territory, does not the expediency amount to absolute
necessity-that, without which the Government itself cannot be perpetuated?
The war continues. In considering the policy to be adopted for suppressing the insurrection, I have been anxious and careful that the inevitable conflict for this purpose shall not degenerate into a violent and
remorseless revolutionary struggle.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

177

In the exercise of my best discretion I have adhered to the blockade
of the ports held by the insurgents, instead of putting in force by proclamation the law of Congress enacted at the late session for closing
those ports.
So, also, obeying the dictates of prudence, as well as the obligations
of law, instead of transcending I have adhered,to the act of Congress to
confiscate property used for insurrectionary purposes. If a new law
upon the same subject shall be proposed, its propriety will be duly considered. The Union must be preserved; and hence all indispensable
means must be employed. We should not be in haste to determine that
radical and extreme measures, which may reach the loyal as well as the
disloyal, are indispensable.
The inaugural address at the beginning of the Administration, and
the message to Congress at the late special session, were both mainly
devoted to the domestic controversy out of which the insurrection and
consequent war have sprung. Nothing now occurs to add or subtract
to or from the principles or general purposes stated and expressed in
those documents.
The last ray of hope for preserving the Union peaceably expired at
the assault upon Fort Sumter; and a general review of what has occurred since may not be unprofitable. What was painfully uncertain
then is much better defined and more distinct now; and the progress of
events is plainly in the right direction. The insurgents confidently
claimed a strong support from north of Mason and Dixon's line; and the
friends of the Union were not free from apprehension on the point.
This, however, was soon settled definitely, and on the right side. South
of the line, noble little Delaware led off right from the first. Maryland
was made to seem against the Union. Our soldiers were assaulted,
bridges were burned, and railroads torn up within her limits; and we
were many days, at one time, without the ability to bring a single regiment over her soil to the capital. Now her bridges and railroads are
repaired and open to the Government; she already gives seven regiments
to the cause of the Union, and none to the enemy; and her people, at a
regular election, have sustained the Union by a larger majority and a
larger aggregate vote than they ever before gave to any candidate or
any question. Kentucky, too, for some time in doubt, is now decidedly
and, I think, unchangeably ranged on the side of the Union. Missouri
is comparatively quiet, and, I believe, cannot again be overrun by the
insurrectionists. These three States of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, neither of which would promise a single soldier at first, have now
8*                       0




ï~~178       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
an aggregate of not less than forty thousand in the field for the Union;
while of their citizens, certainly not more than a third of that number,
and they of doubtful whereabouts and doubtful existence, are in arms
against it. After a somewhat bloody struggle of months, winter closes
on the Union people of Western Virginia, leaving them masters of their
own country.
An insurgent force of about fifteen hundred, for months dominating
the narrow peninsular region constituting the counties of Accomac and
Northampton, and known as Eastern Shore of Virginia, together with
some contiguous parts of Maryland, have laid down their arms; and the
people there have renewed their allegiance to, and accepted the protection of, the old flag. This leaves no armed insurrectionist north of the
Potomac, or east of the Chesapeake.
Also we have obtained a footing at each of the isolated points on the
southern coast of Hatteras, Port Royal, Tybee Island, near Savannah,
and Ship Island; and we likewise have some general accounts of popular movements in behalf of the Union in North Carolina and Tennessee.
These things demonstrate that the cause of the Union is advancing
steadily and certainly southward.
Since your last adjournment Lieutenant-General Scott has retired from
the head of the army. During his long life the nation has not been unmindful of his merit; yet, on calling to mind how faithfully, ably, and
brilliantly he has served the country, from a time far back in our history, when few of the now living had been born, and thenceforward
continually, I cannot but think we are still his debtors. I submit,
therefore, for your consideration what further mark of recognition is
due to him, and to ourselves as a grateful people.
With the retirement of General Scott came the executive duty of appointing in his stead a general-in-chief of the army. It is a fortunate
circumstance that neither in council nor country was there, so far as I
know, any difference of opinion as to the proper person to be selected.
The retiring chief repeatedly expressed his judgment in favor of General
McClellan for the position; and in this the nation seemed to give a
unanimous concurrence. The designation of General McClellan is, therefore, in considerable degree, the selection of the country as well as of
the Executive; and hence there is better reason to hope there will be
given him the confidence and cordial support thus, by fair implication, promised, and without which he cannot, with so full efficiency,
serve the country.
It has been said that one bad general is better than two good ones:




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

179

and the saying is true, if taken to mean no more than that an army is
better directed by a single mind, though inferior, than by two superior
ones at variance and cross-purposes with each other.
And the same is true in all joint operations wherein those engaged
can have none but a common end in view, and can differ only as to the
choice of means. In a storm at sea, no one on board can wish the ship
to sink; and yet not unfrequently all go down together, because too
many will direct, and no single mind can be allowed to control.
It continues to develop that the insurrection is largely, if not exclusively a war upon the first principle of popular government-the rights
of the people. Conclusive evidence of this is found in the most grave
and maturely-considered public documents, as well as in the general
tone of the insurgents. In those documents we find the abridgment of
the existing right of suffrage, and the denial to the people of all right to
participate in the selection of public officers, except the legislative,
boldly advocated, with labored arguments to prove that large control of
the people in government is the source of all political evil. Monarchy
itself is sometimes hinted at as a possible refuge from the power of the
people.
In my present position, I could scarcely be justified were I to omit
raising a warning voice against this approach of returning despotism.
It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general argument should be
made in favor of popular institutions; but there is one point, with its
connections, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing with, if not
above, labor, in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor
is available only in connection with capital; that nobody labors unless
somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him
to labor. This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that
capital shall hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their own
consent, or buy them, and drive them to it without their consent..
Having proceeded so far, it is naturally concluded that all laborers are
either hired laborers, or what we call slaves. And further, it is assumed that whoever is once a hired laborer is fixed in that condition for
life.
Now, there is no such relation between capital and labor as assumed;
nor is there any such thing as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Both these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless.
Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit




ï~~180        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed.
Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any
other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will
be, a relation between labor and capital, producing mutual benefits.
The error is in assuming that the whole labor of community exists within that relation. A few men own capital, and those few avoid labor
themselves, and, with their capital, hire or buy another few to labor for
them. A   large majority belong to neither class-neither work for
others, nor have others working for them. In most of the Southern
States, a majority of the whole people of all colors are neither slaves
nor masters; while in the Northern, a large majority are neither hirers
nor hired. Men, with their families-wives, sons, and daughterswork for themselves, on their farms, in their houses, and in their shops,
taking the whole product to themselves, and asking no favors of capital
on the one hand, nor of hired laborers or slaves on the other. It is not
forgotten that a considerable number of persons mingle their own labor
with capital-that is, they labor with their own hands, and also buy or
hire others to labor for them; but this is only a mixed, and not a
distinct class. No principle stated is disturbed by the existence of this
mixed class.
Again: as has already been said, there is not of necessity any such
thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condition for life.
Many independent men everywhere in these States, a few years back
in their lives, were hired laborers. The prudent, penniless beginner in
the world labors for wages awhile, saves a surplus with which to buy
tools or land for himself, then labors on his own account another while,
and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just,
and generous, and prosperous system, which opens the way to all,
gives hope to all, and consequent energy, and progress, and improvesment of condition to all. No men living are more worthy to be trusted
than those who toil up from poverty-none less inclined to take or
touch aught which they have not honestly earned. Let them beware of
surrendering a political power which they already possess, and which, if
surrendered, will surely be used to close the door of advancement
against such as they, and to fix new disabilities and burdens upon them,
till all of liberty shall be lost.
From the first taking of our national census to the last are seventy
years; and we find our population, at the end of'the period, eight times
as great as it was at the beginning. The increase of those other things




ï~~DISPOSITION OF CONGRESS.

181

which men deem desirable has been even greater. We thus have, at
one view, what the popular principle, applied to Government through
the machinery of the States and the Union, has produced in a given
time; and also what, if firmly maintained, it promises for the future.
There are already among us those who, if the Union be preserved, will
live to see it contain two hundred and fifty millions. The struggle of
to-day is not altogether for to-day; it is for a vast future also. With a
reliance on Providence, all the more firm and earnest, let us proceed in
the great task which events have devolved upon us.
ABRAHIAM LINcoLN.
The actual condition of the country and the progress of the
war, at the opening of the session, are very clearly stated in
this document; and the principles upon which the President
had based his conduct of public affairs are set forth with great
distinctness and precision. On the subject of interfering with
slavery, the President had adhered strictly to the letter and
spirit of the act passed by Congress at its extra session; but
he very distinctly foresaw that it might become necessary, as
a means of quelling the rebellion and preserving the Union, to
resort to a much more vigorous policy than was contemplated
by that act. While he threw out a timely caution against
undue haste in the adoption of extreme measures, he promised
full and careful consideration of any new law which Congress
might consider it wise and expedient to pass.
It very soon became evident that Congress was disposed to
make very considerable advances upon the legislation of the
extra session. The resistance of the rebels had been more
vigorous and effective than was anticipated, and the defeat at
Bull Run had exasperated, as well as aroused, the public
mind. The forbearance of the Government in regard to slavery had not only failed to soften the hostility of the rebels, but
had been represented to Europe by the rebel authorities as
proving a determination on the part of the United States to
protect and perpetuate slavery by restoring the authority of
the Constitution which guaranteed its safety; and the acts of




ï~~182      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
the extra session, especially the Crittenden resolution, defining
and limiting the objects of the war, were quoted in rebel dispatches to England, for that purpose. It was known also that
within the lines of the rebel army, slaves were freely employed
in the construction of fortifications, and that they contributed,
in this and other ways, very largelf to the strength of the insurrection. The whole country, under the iufluence of these
facts, began to regard slavery as not only the cause of the
rebellion, but as the main strength of its armies and the
bond of union for the rebel forces;-and Congress, representing and sharing this feeling, entered promptly and zealously
upon such measures as it would naturally suggest. Resolutions at the very outset of the session were offered, calling on
the President to emancipate slaves whenever and wherever
such action would tend to weaken the rebellion; and the general policy of.the Government upon this subject became the
theme of protracted and animated debate. The orders issued
by the generals of the army, especially McClellan, Halleck, and
Dix, by which fugitive slaves were prohibited from coming
within the army lines, were severely censured. All the resolutions upon these topics were, however, referred to appropriate committees, generally without specific instructions as
to the character of their action upon them.
Early in the session a strong disposition was evinced in
some quarters to censure the Government for its arbitrary
arrests of persons in the loyal States, suspected of aiding the
rebels, its suppression of disloyal presses, and other acts which
it had deemed essential to the safety of the country: and a
sharp debate took place in the Senate upon a resolution of
inquiry and implied censure offered by Mr. Trumbull, of
Illinois. The general feeling, however, was so decidedly in
favor of sustaining the President, that the resolution was
referred to the Judiciary Committee, by a, vote of 25 to 17.
On the 19th of December, in the Senate, a debate on the




ï~~SLAVERY IN TERRITORIES AND DIST. COLUMBIA. 183
relation of slavery to the rebellion arose upon a resolution
offered by Mr. Willey, of Virginia, who contested the opinion
that slavery was the cause of the war, and insisted that the
rebellion had its origin in the hostility of the Southern political leaders to the democratic principle of government; he
believed that when the great body of the Southern people
came to see the real purpose and aim of the rebellion, they
would withdraw their support, and restore the Union. No
action was taken on the resolution, which merely gave occasion for debate. A resolution was adopted in the House,
forbidding the employment of the army to return fugitive
slaves to their owners; and a bill was passed in both Houses,
declaring that hereafter there shall be " neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude in any of the Territories of the United
States, now existing, or which may at any time be formed or
acquired by the United States, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted."
In the Senate, on the 18th of March, a bill was taken up to
abolish slavery in the District of Columbia; and an amendment was offered, directing that those thus set free should be
colonized out of the United States. The policy of colonization was fully discussed in connection with the general
subject, the senators from the Border States opposing the bill
itself, mainly on grounds of expediency, as calculated to do
harm under the existing circumstances of the country. The
bill was passed, with an amendment appropriating money to
be used by the President in colonizing such of the emancipated slaves as might wish to leave the country. It received
in the Senate 29 votes in its favor and 14 against it. In the
House it passed by a vote of 92 to 38.
President Lincoln sent in the following Message, announcing
his approval of the bill:




ï~~184        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
The act entitled "An act for the release of certain persons held to
service or labor in this District of Columbia," has this day been approved
and signed.
I have never doubted the constitutional authority of Congress to
abolish slavery in this District; and I have ever desired to see the
national capital freed from the institution in some satisfactory way.
Hence there has never been in my mind any question upon the subject
except the one of expediency, arising in view of all the circumstances.
If there be matters within and about this act which might have taken a
course or shape more satisfactory to my judgment, I do not attempt to
specify them. I am gratified that the two principles of compensation
and colonization are both recognized and practically applied in the act.
In the matter of compensation, it is provided that claims may be
presented within ninety days from the passage of the act, "but not
thereafter;" and there is no saving for minors, femmes covert, insane, or
absent persons. I presume this is an omission by mere oversight, and
I recommend that it be supplied by an amendatory or supplemental act.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
April 16, 1862.
On the 6th of March the President sent to Congress the
following Message on the subject of aiding such slaveholding
States as might take measures to emancipate their slaves:
WASHINGTON, MLarch 6, 1862.
FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
I recommend the adoption of a joint resolution by your honorable
body, which shall be, substantially, as follows:
Resolved, That the United States, in order to co-operate with any
State which may adopt gradual abolition of slavery, give to such State
pecuniary aid, to be used by such State, in its discretion, to compensate
it for the inconvenience, public and private, produced by such change of
system.
If the proposition contained in the resolution does not meet the
approval of Congress and the country, there is an end of it. But if it
does command such approval, I deem it of importance that the States
and people immediately interested should be at once distinctly notified
of the fact, so that they may begin to consider whether to accept or
reject it.
The Federal Government would find its highest interest in such a
0




ï~~PROPOSED AID TO EMANCIPATION BY SLAVE STATES. 185
measure as one of the most important means of self-preservation. The
leaders of the existing rebellion entertain the hope that this Government
will ultimately be forced to acknowledge the independence of some part
of the disaffected region, and that all the Slave States north of such
part will then say, "The Union for which we have struggled being
already gone, we now choose to go with the Southern section." To
deprive them of this hope substantially ends the rebellion; and the
initiation of emancipation deprives them of it, and of all the States
initiating it.
The point is not that all the States tolerating slavery would very
soon, if at all, initiate emancipation; but while the offer is equally made
to all, the more Northern shall, by such initiation, make it certain to
the more Southern that in no event will the former ever join the latter
in their proposed Confederacy. I say initiation, because, in my judgment, gradual and not sudden emancipation is better for all.
In the mere financial or pecuniary view, any member of Congress
with the census or an abstract of the Treasury report before him, can,
readily see for himself how very soon the current expenditures of this
war would purchase, at a fair valuation, all the slaves in any named
State.
Such a proposition on the part of the General Government sets up no
claim of a right by the Federal authority to interfere with slavery within
State limits-referring as it does the absolute control of the subject, in
each case, to the State and the people immediately interested. It is
proposed as a matter of perfectly free choice to them.
In the annual Message, last December, I thought fit to say "the
Union must be preserved, and hence all indispensable means must be
employed." I said this, not hastily but deliberately. War has been
made, and continues to be an indispensable means to this end. A
practical reacknowledgment of the national authority would render the
war unnecessary, and it would at once cease. But resistance continues,
and the war must also continue; and it is impossible to foresee all the
incidents which may attend, and all the ruin which may follow it.
Such as may seem indispensable, or may obviously promise great
efficiency towards ending the struggle, must and will come.
The proposition now made (though an offer only) I hope it may be
esteemed no offence to ask whether the pecuniary consideration tendered
would not be of more value to the States and private persons concerned
than would the institution and property in it, in the pjresent aspect of
affairs. While it is true that the adoption of the proposed resolution




ï~~186       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
would be merely initiatory, and not within itself a practical measure, it
is recommended in the hope that it would lead to important practical
results.
In full view of my great responsibility to my God and my country,
I earnestly beg the attention of Congress and the people to the subject.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
This Message indicates very clearly the tendency of the
President's reflections upon the general relations of slavery to
the rebellion. He had most earnestly endeavored to arouse
the people of the Southern States to a contemplation of the
fact that, if they persisted in their effort to overthrow the Government of the United States, the fate of slavery would sooner
or later inevitably be involved in the conflict. The time was
steadily approaching when, in consequence of their obstinate
persistence in the rebellion, this result would follow; and the
President, with wise forethought, sought anxiously to reconcile the shock which the contest would involve, with the order
of the country and the permanent prosperity of all classes of
the people. The general feeling of the country at that time
was in harmony with this endeavor. The people were still
disposed to exhaust every means which justice would sanction,
to withdraw the people of the Southern States from the disastrous war into which they had been plunged by their leaders, and they welcomed this suggestion of the President as
likely to produce that result, if any effort in that direction
could.
In pursuance of the recommendation of the Message Mr.
R. Conkling, of New York, introduced, in the House of Representatives, on the 10th of March, the following resolution:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
in Congress assembled, That the United States ought to co-operate with
any State which may adopt gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to
such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State in its discretion, to
compensate for the inconveniences, public and f5rivate, produced by such
a change of system.




ï~~THE DEBATE IN CONGRESS.

187

The debate on this resolution illustrated the feelings of the
country on the subject. It was vehemently opposed by the
sympathizers with secession from both sections, as an unconstitutional interference with slavery, and hesitatingly supported by the anti-slavery men of the North, as less decided
in its hostility than they had a right to expect. The sentiment of the more moderate portion of the community was
expressed by Mr. Fisher, of Delaware, who regarded it as an
olive-branch of peace and harmony and good faith presented
by the North, and as well calculated to bring about a peaceful
solution and settlement of the slavery question. It was
adopted in the House by a vote of 89 to 31. Coming up in
the Senate on the 24th of March, it was denounced in strong
terms by Mr. Saulsbury, of Delaware, and others-Mr. Davis,
of Kentucky, opposing the terms in which it was couched, but
approving its general tenor. It subsequently passed, receiving 32 votes in its favor, and but 10 against it. This resolution was approved by the President on the 10th of April. It
was generally regarded by the people and by the President
himself as rather an experiment than as a fixed policy-as
intended to test the temper of the people of the Southern
States, and offer them a way of escape from the evils and
embarrassments with which slavery had surrounded them,
rather than set forth a distinct line of conduct which was to
be pressed upon the country at all hazards. This character,
indeed, was stamped upon it by the fact that its practical execution was made to depend wholly on the people of the
Southern States themselves. It recognized their complete
control over slavery, within their own limits, and simply tendered them the aid of the General Government in any steps
they might feel inclined to take to rid themselves of it.
The President was resolved that the experiment should have
a full and a fair trial; and while he would not, on the one
hand, permit its effect to be impaired by the natural im



ï~~188       PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
patience of those among his friends who were warmest and
most extreme in their hostility to slavery, he, on the other
hand, lost no opportunity to press the proposition on the
favorable consideration of the people of the Border Slave States.
On the 9th of May, General Hunter, who commanded the
department of South Carolina, wlbich included also the States
of Georgia and Florida, issued an order declaring all the slaves
within that department to be thenceforth        "forever free."
This was done not from any alleged military necessity, growing
out of the operations in his department, but upon a theoretical incompatibility between slavery and martial law.       The
President thereupon at once issued the following proclamation:
Whereas, There appears in the public prints what purports to be a
proclamation of Major-General Hunter, in the words and figures
following:.
HEAD-QUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE SOUTH,
HILTON HEAD, S. C., efay 9, 1862.
General Order, No. 11.
The three States of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina, comprising
the Military Department of the South, having deliberately declared
themselves no longer under the United States of America, and having
taken up arms against the United States, it becomes a military necessity
to declare them under martial law.
This was accordingly done on the 25th day of April, 1862. Slavery and
martial law in a free country are altogether incompatible. The persons
in these States-Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina-heretofore held
as slaves, are therefore declared forever free.
[OFFICIAL.]
Signed,                             DAVID HUNTER,
Major-General Commanding.
ED. W. SMITH, Acting Assistant Adj't General.
And, whereas, the same is producing some excitement and misunderstanding, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,
proclaim and declare that the Government of the United States had no
knowledge or belief of an intention on the part of General Hunter to
issue such proclamation, nor has it yet any authentic information that
the document is genuine; and, further, that neither General Hunter nor
any other commander or person has been authorized by the Government
of the United States to make proclamation declaring the slaves of any
State free, and that the supposed proclamation now in question, whether
genuine or false, is altogether void so far as respeots such declaration.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL HUNTER.

189

I further make known that, whether it be competent for me, as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, to declare the slaves of any
State or States free; and whether at any time, or in any case, it shall
have become a necessity indispensable to the maintenance of the Government to exercise such supposed power, are questions which, under
my responsibility, I reserve to myself, and which I cannot feel justified
in leaving to the decision of commanders in th$ field.
These are totally different questions from those of police regulations
in armies or in camps.
On the sixth day of March last, by a special Message, I recommended
to Congress the adoption of a joint resolution, to be substantially as
follows:
Resolved, That the United States ought to co-operate with any State
which may adopt a gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State
earnest expression to compensate for its inconveniences, public and
private, produced by such change of system.
The resolution in the language above quoted was adopted by large
majorities in both branches of Congress, and now stands an authentic,
definite, and solemn proposal of the Nation to the States and people
most interested in the subject matter. To the people of these States
now, I mostly appeal. I do not argue-I beseech you to make the
arguments for yourselves. You cannot, if you would, be blind to the
signs of the times.
I beg of you a calm and enlarged consideration of them, ranging, if it
may be, far above partisan and personal polities.
This proposal makes common cause for a common object, casting no
reproaches upon any. It acts not the Pharisee. The change it contemplates would come gently as the dews of Heaven, not rending or
wrecking any thing. Will you not embrace it? So much good has not
been done by one effort in all past time, as in the Providence of God it
is now your high privilege to do. May the vast future not have to
lament that you have neglected it.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
of the United States to be hereunto affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this 19th day of May, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-sixth.
(Signed)                             ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
W. H. SE WARD, Secretary of State.
"




ï~~190       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
This proclamation silenced the clamorous denunciation by
which its onemies had assailed the Administration on the
strength of General Hunter's order, and renewed the confidence, which for the moment had been somewhat impaired, in
the President's adherence to the principles of action he had
laid down. Nothing practical, however, was done in any of
the Border States indicating any disposition to act upon his
suggestions and avail themselves of the aid which Congress had
offered. The members of Congress from those States had
taken no steps towards inducing action iri regard to it on the
part of their constituents. Feeling the deepest interest in the
adoption of some measure which should permanently detach
the Border Slave States from the rebel Confederacy, and believing that the plan he had recommended would tend to
accomplish that object, President LINcoLN sought a conference
with the members of Congress from those States, and on the
12th of July, when they waited upon him at the executive
mansion, he addressed them as follows:
GENTLEMEN: After the adjournment of Congress, now near, I shall
have no opportunity of seeing you for several months. Believing that
you of the Border States hold more power for good than any other
equal number of members, I feel it a dtty which I cannot justifiably
waive to make this appeal to you.
I intend no reproach or complaint when I assure you that, in my
opinion, if you all had voted for the resolution in the gradual emancipation Message of last March the war would now be substantially ended.
And the plan therein proposed is yet one of the most potent and swift
means of ending it. Let the States which are in rebellion see defilitely
and certainly that in no event will the States you represent ever join
their proposed Confederacy, and they cannot much longer maintain the
contest. But you cannot divest them of their hope to ultimately have
you with them so long as you show a determination to perpetuate the
institution within your own States. Beat them at elections, as you
have overwhelmingly done, and, nothing daunted, they still claim you
as their own. You and I know what the Jever of their power is.
Break that lever before their faces, and they can shake you no more forever.




ï~~THE BORDER STATE REPRESENTATIVES.

191

Most of you have treated me with kindness and consideration, and I
trust you will not now think I improperly touch what is exclusively
your own, when, for the sake of the whole country, I ask, Can you, for
your States, do better than to take the course I urge? Discarding
punctilio and maxims adapted to more manageable times, and looking
only to the unprecedentedly stern facts of our case, can you do better in
any possible event? You prefer that the constitutional relation of the
States to the nation shall be practically restored without disturbance of
the institution: and if this were done, my whole duty, in this respect,
under the Constitution and my oath of office, would be performed. But
it is not done, and we are trying to accomplish it by war. The incidents
of the war cannot be avoided. If the war continues long, as it must if
the object be not sooner attained, the institution in your States will be
extinguished by mere friction and abrasion-by the mere incidents of
the war. It will be gone, and you will have nothing valuable in lieu of
it. Much of its value is gone already. How much better for you and
for your people to take the step which at once shortens the war, and
secures substantial compensation for that which is sure to be wholly
lost in any other eventI How much better to thus save the money
which else we sink forever in the war I How much better to do it
while we can, lest the war ere long render us pecuniarily unable to do
it! How much better for you, as seller, and the nation, a buyer, to
sell out and buy out that without which the war could never have been,
than to sink both the thing to be sold and the price of it in cutting one
another's throats 1
I do not speak of emancipation at once, but of a decision at once to
emancipate gradually. Room in South America for colonization can be
obtained cheaply, and in abundance, and when numbers shall be large
enough to be company and encouragement for one another, the freed
people will not be so reluctant to go.
I am pressed with a difficulty not yet mentioned--one which threatens
division among those who, united, are none too strong. An instance of
it is known to you. General Hunter is an honest man. He was, and I
hope still is, my friend. I valued him none the less for his agreeing
with me in the general wish that all men everywhere could be free. He
proclaimed all men free within certain States, and I repudiated the proclamation. He expected more good and less harm from the measure
than I could believe would follow. Yet, in repudiating it, I gave dissatisfaction, if not offence, to many whose support the country cannot
afford to lose. And this is not the end of it. The pressure in this




ï~~192       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
direction is still upon me, and is increasing. By conceding what I now
ask you can relieve me, and, much more, can relieve the country in this
important point.
Upon these considerations I have again begged your attention to the
Message of March last. Before leaving the Capitol, consider and discuss
it among yourselves. You are patriots and statesmen, and as such I
pray you consider this proposition; and at the least commend it to the
consideration of your States and people. As you would perpetuate
popular government for the best people in the world, I beseech you that
you do in nowise omit this.  Our common country is in great peril, demanding the loftiest views and boldest action to bring a speedy relief.
Once relieved, its form of government is saved to the world; its beloved
history and cherished memories are vindicated, and its happy future
fully assured and rendered inconceivably grand. To you, more than to
any others, the privilege is given to assure that happiness and swell
that grandeur, and to link your own names therewith forever.
The members to whom the President thus appealed were
divided in opinion as to the merits of the proposition which
he had laid before them. A majority of them submitted an
elaborate reply, in which they dissented from the President's
opinion that the adoption of this policy would terminate the
war or serve the Union cause. They held it to be his duty
to avoid all interference, direct or indirect, with slavery in the
Southern States, and attributed much of the stubborn hostility
which the South had shown in prosecuting the war, to the fact
that Congress had departed in various instances from the
spirit and objects for which the war ought to be prosecuted by
the Government. A minority of those members, not.being
able to concur in this reply, submitted one of their own, in
which they thus set forth their view of the motives of the
President in the course he had adopted, and expressed their
substantial concurrence in its justice and wisdom:
We believe that the whole power of the Government, upheld and
sustained by all the influences and means of all loyal men in all
sections and of all parties, is essentially necessary to put down the
rebellion and preserve the Union and the Constitution. We understand




ï~~THE BORDER STATE REPLY.

193

your appeal to us to have been made for the purpose of securing this
result. A very large portion of the people in the Northern States
believe that slavery is the "lever power of the rebellion."  It matters
not whether this opinion is well-founded or not. The belief does exist,
and we have to deal with things as they are, and not as we would have
them be. In consequence of the existence of this belief, we understand
that an immense pressure is brought to bear for the purpose of striking
down this institution through the exercise of military authority. The
Government cannot maintain this great struggle if the support and influence of the men who entertain these opinions be withdrawn. Neither
can the Government hope for early success if the support of that element
called "conservative" be withdrawn.
Such being the condition of things, the President appeals to the
Border State men to step forward and prove their patriotism by making
the first sacrifice. No doubt, like appeals have been made to extreme
men in the North to meet us half way, in order that the whole moral.
political, pecuniary, and physical force of the nation may be firmly and
earnestly united in one grand effort to save the Union and the Constitution.
Believing that such were the motives that prompted your address,
and such the results to which it looked, we cannot reconcile it to our
sense of duty, in this trying hour, to respond in a spirit of fault-finding
or querulousness over the things that are past. We are not disposed
to seek for the cause of present misfortunes in the errors and wrongs
of others who propose to unite with us in a common purpose. But, on
the other hand, we meet your address in the spirit in which it was
made, and, as loyal Americans, declare to you and to the world, that
there is no sacrifice that we are not ready to make to save the Government and institutions of our fathers. That we, few of us though there
may be, will permit no men, from the North or from the South, to go
further than we in the accomplishment of the great work before us.
That, in order to carry out these views, we will, so far as may be in
our power, ask the people of the Border States calmly, deliberately,
and fairly to consider your recommendations. We are the more emboldened to assume this position from the fact now become history,
that the leaders of the Southern rebellion have eoffered to abolish slavery
amongst them as a condition to foreign intervention in favor of their
independence as a nation.
If they can give up slavery to destroy the Union, we'can surely ask
our people to consider the question of emancipation to save the Union.




ï~~194       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Hon. Horace Maynard, of Tennessee, on the 16th of July
submitted to the President his views of the question, in which
he thus set forth his appreciation of the motives which had
induced him to make the proposition in question to the Southern States:
Your whole administration gives the highest assurance that you
are moved, not so much from a desire to see all men everywhere made
free, as from a desire to preserve free institutions for the benefit of
men already free; not to make slaves free men, but to prevent free men
from being made slaves; not to destroy an institution which a portion
of us only consider bad, but to save an institution which we all alike
consider good. I am satisfied that you would not ask from any of your
fellow-citizens a sacrifice not in your judgment imperatively required
by the safety of the country. This is the spirit of your appeal, and I
respond to it in the same spirit.
Determined to leave undone nothing which it was in his
power to do'to effect the object he had so much at heart, the
President on the 12th of July sent into Congress a Message
transmitting the draft of a bill upon the subject, as follows:
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:-Herewith
is the draft of the bill to compensate any State which may abolish
slavery within its limits, the passage of which, substantially as presented,
I respectfully and earnestly recommend.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress a.sembled:-That whenever the President of
the United States shall be satisfied that any State shall have lawfully
abolished slavery within and throughout such State, either immediately
or gradually, it shall be the duty of the President, assisted by the Secretary of the Treasury, to prepare and deliver to each State an amount of
six per cent. interest-bearing bonds of the United States, equal to'the aggregate value at - dollars per head of all the slaves within such State as
reported by the census of 1860; the whole amount for any one State to be
delivered at once, if the abolishment be immediate, or in equal annual
installments, if it be gradual, interest to begin running on each bond at
the time of delivery, and not before.
And be it further enacted, That if any State, having so received any such
bonds, shall at any time afterwards by law reintroduce or tolerate slavery
within its limits, contrary to the act Of abolishment upon which such
bonds shall have been received, said bonds so received by said State shall
at once be null and void, in whosesoever hapds they may be, and such
State shall refund to the United States all interest which may have been
paid on such bonds.




ï~~THE FINANCES.

195

The bill was referred to a Committee, but no action was
taken upon it in Congress, nor did any of the Border States
respond to the President's invitation. The proposition, however, served a most excellent purpose in testing the sentiment
of both sections of the country, and in preparing the way for
the more vigorous treatment of the subject of slavery which
the blind and stubborn prejudices of the slaveholding communities were rapidly rendering inevitable.
Two other subjects of importance engaged the attention
and received the action of Congress during this session; the
provision of a currency, and the amendment of the law to confiscate the property of rebels. A bill authorizing the issue of
Treasury notes to the amount of $150,000,000, and making
them a legal tender in all business transactions, was reported
in the House by the Finance Committee, of which Hon. E. G.
Spaulding, of New -York, was Chairman, and taken up for
discussion on the 17th of June. It was advocated mainly on
the score of necessity, and was opposed on the ground of
its alleged unconstitutionality. The division of sentiment on
the subject was not a party one, some of the warmest friends
and supporters of the administratioA doubting whether Congress had the power to make any thing but silver and gold a
legal tender in the payment of debts. The same bill provided
for a direct tax, involving stamp duties, taxes upon incomes,
etc., sufficient with the duties upon imports to raise $150,000,000 per annum, and also for the establishment of a system of
free banking by which bank notes to be circulated as currency
might be issued upon the basis of stocks of the United States
deposited as security. The bill was discussed at length, and
was finally adopted by a vote 93 to 59. In the Senate it encountered a similar opposition, but passed by a vote of 30 to 7,
a motion to strike out the legal tender clause having been
previously rejected, 17 voting in favor of striking it out, and 22
against it.




ï~~196      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
The subject of confiscating the property of rebels excited
still deeper interest. A bill for that purpose was taken up in
the Senate, on the 25th of February, for discussion. By one
of its sections all the slaves of any person, anywhere in the
United States, aiding the rebellion, were declared to be forever
free, and subsequent sections provided for colonizing slaves
thus enfranchised. The bill was advocated on the ground that
in no other way could the property of rebels, in those States
where the judicial authority of the United States had been overborne, be reached; while it was opposed on the ground that it was
unconstitutional, and that it would tend to render the Southern
people still more united and desperate in their rebellion. By
the confiscation act of the previous session, a slave who had
been employed in aiding the rebellion was declared to be free,
but the fact that he had been thus employed must be shown by
due judicial process; by this bill all the slaves of any person
who had been thus engaged were set free without the intervention of any judicial process whatever. This feature of the bill
was warmly opposed by some of the ablest and most reliable
of the supporters of the Administration as a departure from all
recognized rules of proceeding, and as a direct interference
with slavery in the States, in violation of the most solemn
pledge of the Government, the Republican party, and individual supporters of the Administration. Senator Collamer,
of Vermont, urged this view of the case with great cogency,
citing Mr. Sumner's opinion expressed on the 25th of February, 1861, when, on presenting a memorial to the Senate in
favor of abolishing slavery, he had added: "In offering it, I
take this occasion to declare most explicitly that I do not
think that Congress has any right to interfere with slavery in
a State;" and quoting also Senator Fessenden's declaration in
the debate on abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia,
when he said: " I have held, and I hold to-day, and I say
to-day what I have said in my place before, that the Congress




ï~~THE CONFISCATION BILL.

197

of the United States, or the people of the United States
through the Congress, under the Constitution as it now exists, have no right whatever to touch by legislation the institution of slavery in the States where it exists by law."  Mr.
Sherman's opinion, expressed in the same debate, that "we
ought religiously to adhere to the promises we made to the
eople of this country when Mr. LINCOLN was elected President-we ought to abstain religiously from all interference
with the domestic institutions of the Slave or the Free States,"
was also quoted, and Mr. Collamer said he did not see how it
was possible to pass the bill in its present form without giving
the world to understand that they had violated those pledges,
and had interfered with slavery in the States. Mr. Collamer
accordingly offered an ameridment to the bill, obviating the
objections he had urged against it; and this, with other
amendments offered'by other Senators, was referred to a Select
Committee, which subsequently reported a bill designed, as
the Chairman, Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, explained, to
harmonize the various shades of opinion upon the subject, and
secure the passage of some measure which should meet the
expectations of the country and the emergency of the case.
The first section of this bill provided, that every person who
should hereafter commit the crime of treason against the
United States, and be adjudged guilty thereof, should suffer
death, and all his slaves, if any, be declared and made free;
or he should he imprisoned not less than five years, and fined
not less than ten thousand dollars, and all his slaves, if any,
be declared and made free.
The distinctive feature of this section, as distinguished from
the corresponding section of the original bill, consisted in the
fact that a trial and conviction were required before any person guilty of treason could be punished, either by death, imprisonment, or the forfeiture of his property. It was opposed
on the one hand, by Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, on the ground




ï~~198      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
that it "made treason easy"-and on the other, by Mr. Davis,
of Kentucky, because it set slaves free. Mr. Sumner offered
a substitute to the whole bill, which in his judgment did not
go far enough in giving the country the advantage of the
" opportunity which God, in his leneficence, had afforded" it
for securing universal emancipation. Mr. Powell, of Kentucky,
moved to strike out the eleventh section, which authorized the
President to "employ as many persons of African descent as
he might deem necessary and proper for the suppression of
the rebellion, and to organize and use them in such manner as
he might judge best for the public welfare,"-but his motion
was rejected by a vote of 11 to 25. While the bill was thus
denounced by one class of Senators as too violent in its
method of dealing with the rebels, it was resisted with still
greater vehemence by another class as entirely defective in
that respect. Mr. Sumner was especially severe in his censure of Senators who proposed, he said, "when the life of
our Republic is struck at, to proceed as if by an indictment
in a criminal court." His remarks gave rise to considerable
personal discussion-which was interrupted by the receipt
of a similar bill which had been passed by the House of Representatives, and which was decidedly more in harmony with
the extreme views of Mr. Sumner and his friends, than the
Senate bill. It assumed that the rebels were to be treated
like a foreign enemy, without regard to the limitations and
requirements of the Constitution, and that Congress, instead
of the President, had the supreme and exclusive control of
the operations of the war. This bill on coming before the
Senate was set aside, and the bill which had been reported by
the Senate Committee substituted in its place, by a vote of
21 to 17, and the latter was finally passed; ayes 28, noes
13. The House did not concur in this amendment to its own
bill; but on receiving the report of a Committee of Conference which made some amendments to the Senate bill, it was




ï~~THE NEW CONFISCATION BILL.

199

passed, as amended, by both Houses and sent to the President
for his signature.
The provisions of this bill were as follows:
SECTIox 1 enacted that every person who should after its passage
commit the crime of treason against the United States, and be adjudged
guilty thereof, should suffer death, and all his slaves, if any, should be
declared and made free; or he should be imprisoned for not less than
five years, and fined not less than $10,000, and all his slaves made free.
SECTION 2 declared that if any person shall hereafter incite, assist,
or engage in any rcbellion against the authority of the United States
or the laws thereof, or give aid or comfort thereto, or to any existing
rebellion, and be convicted thereof, he shall be imprisoned for ten years
or less, fined not more than $10,000, and all his slaves shall be set free.
SECTION 3. Every person guilty of these offences shall be forever
disqualified to hold any office under the United States.
SECTION 4. This act was not to affect the prosecution, conviction, or
punishment of any person guilty of treason before the passage of the
act, unless convicted under it.
SECTION 5 made it the duty of the President to seize and apply to the
use of the army of the United States, all the property of persons who
had served as officers of the rebel army, or had held certain civil offices
under the rebel Government, or in the rebel States, provided they had
taken an oath of allegiance to the rebel authorities, and also of persons
who, having property in any of the loyal States, shall hereafter give aid
to the rebellion.
SECTION 6 prescribed that if any other persons being engaged in the
rebellion should not, within sixty days after public proclamation duly
made by the President, cease to aid the rebellion, all their property
should be confiscated in the same manner.
SECTION 7 directed that proceedings in rem should be instituted
in the name of the United States in the court of the district within which
such property might be found, and if said property, whether real or personal, should be found to belong to any person engaged in rebellion, it
should be condemned as enemies' property, and become the property of
the United States.
SECTION 8 gave the several District Courts of the United States authority and power to make such orders as these proceedings might require.
SECTION 9 enacted that all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be




ï~~200        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
engaged in rebellion against the Government of the United States, or
who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such
persons, and taking refuge within the lines of the army, and all slaves
captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the
control of the Government of the United States, and all slaves of such
persons found, or being within any place occupied by rebel forces, and
afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed
captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not
again held as slaves.
SECTION 10 enacted that no slave escaping into another State should
he delivered up, unless the claimant should make oath that the owner
or master of such slave had never borne arms against the United States,
or given any aid and comfort to the rebellion; and every person in the
military service of the United States was prohibited from deciding on
the validity of any claim to the services of any escaped slave, on pain of
Sdismissal.
SEcTION 11 authorized the President to employ as many persons of
African descent as he might deem necessary and proper for the suppression of the rebellion, and to organize and use them as he might deem
best for the public welfare.
SEcTIoN 12 authorized the President to make provision for the colonization, with their own consent, of persons freed under this act, to
some country beyond the limits of the United States, having first obtained the consent of the Government of said country to their protection
and settlement, with all the privileges of free men.
SECT'rIoN 13 authorized the President at any time hereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have participated in this Rebellion, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions, and at such time, and
on such conditions as he might deem expedient for the public welfare.
SEcTION 14 gave the Courts of the United States authority to institute such proceedings, and issue such orders as might be necessary to
carry this act into effect.
It soon came to be understood that the President had objections to certain portions of the bill which would probably
prevent him from signing it, A joint resolution was at once
passed in the House, providing that the bill should be so construed "as not to apply to any acts done, prior to its passage;
nor to include any member of a State legislature, or judge of




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S ACTION AND OPINIONS.            201
any State court who has not, in accepting or entering upon
his office, taken an oath to support the constitution of the socalled Confederate States of America." When this reached
the Senate, Mr. Clark, of New Hampshire, offered the follow
ing, to be added to the resolution:
Nor shall any punishment or proceedings under said act be so construed as to work a forfeiture of the real estate of the offender beyond
his natural life.
This provision encountered a sharp opposition, Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, insisting that the forfeiture of real estate for
life only would amount to nothing, and other Senators objecting to being influenced in their action by the supposed opinions of the President. Mr. Clark also proposed another amendment, authorizing the President, in granting an amnesty, to
restore to the offender any property which might have been
seized and condemned under this act. The resolutions and
amendments were passed by the Senate, and received the
concurrence of the    House.    On the 17th of July President LINCOLN sent in the following message, announcing that
he had signed the bill, and specifying his objections to the
act in its original shape:
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Considering the bill for "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish
treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and
for other purposes," and the joint resolution explanatory of said act
as being substantially one, I have approved and signed both.
Before I was informed of the resolution, I had prepared the draft of
a message, stating objections to the bill becoming a law, a copy of which
draft is herewith submitted.               ABRAmAi LIN oLN.
July 12, 1862.
[Copy.]
Fellow- Citizens of the House of Representatives:
I herewith return to the honorable body, in which it originated, the
bill for an act entitled " An act to suppress treason and rebellion, to
9*                     "




ï~~202        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes,"
together with my objections to its becoming a law.
Their is much in the bill to which I perceive no objection. It is
wholly prospective; and it touches neither person nor property of any
loyal citizen, in which particular it is just and proper.
The first and second sections provide,for the conviction and punishment of persons who shall be guilty of treason, and persons who shall
"incite, set on foot, assist, or engage in any rebellion or insurrection
against the authority of the United States, or the laws thereof, or shall
give aid or comfort thereto, or shall engage in or give aid and comfort
to any such existing rebellion or insurrection." By fair construction,
persons within those sections are not punished without regular trials
in duly constituted courts, under the forms and all the substantial provisions of law and the Constitution applicable to their several cases.
To this I perceive no objection; especially as such persons would be
within the general pardoning power, and also the special provision for
pardon and amnesty contained in this act.
It is also provided that the slaves of persons convicted under these
sections shall be free. I think there is an unfortunate form of expression, rather than a substantial objection, in this. It is startling to say
that Congress can free a slave within a State, and yet if it were said the
ownership of a slave had first been transferred to the nation, and Congress had then liberated him, the difficulty would at once vanish. And
this is the real case. The traitor against the General Government forfeits his slave at least as justly as he does any other property; and he
forfeits both to the Government against which he offends. The Government, so far as there can be ownership, thus owns the forfeited
slaves, and the question for Congress in regard to them is, "Shall they
be made free or sold to new masters?" I perceive no objection to
Congress deciding in advance that they shall be free. To the high
honor of Kentucky, as I am informed, she is the owner of some slaves
by escheat, and has sold none, but liberated all. I hope the same is true
of some other States. Indeed, I do not believe it will be physically
possible for the General Government to return persons so circumstanced
to actual slavery. I believe there would be physical resistance to it,
which could neither be turned aside by argument nor driven away by
force. In this view I have no objection to this feature of the bill.
Another matter involved in these two sections, and running through
other parts of the act, will be noticed hereafter.
I perceive no objections to the third or fourth sections.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

203

So far as I wish to notice the fifth and sixth sections, they may be
considered together. That the enforcement of these sections would do
no injustice to the persons embraced within them is clear. That those
who make a causeless war should be compelled to pay the cost of it is
too obviously just to be called in question. To give governmental protection to the property of persons who have 4bandoned it, and gone on
a crusade to overthrow the same Government, is absurd, if considered
in the mere light of justice. The severest justice may not always be
the best policy. The principle of seizing and appropriating the property of the person embraced within these sections is certainly not very
objectionable, but a justly discriminating application of it would be very
difficult, and, to a great extent, impossible. And would it not be wise
to place a power of remission somewhere, so that these per-cns may
know they have something to lose by persisting and something to gain
by desisting? I am not sure whether such power of remission is or
is not in section thirteen. Without any special act of Congress, I think
our military commanders, when, in military phrase, "they are within
the enemy's country," should, in an orderly manner, seize and use
whatever of real or personal property may be necessary or convenient
for their commands; at the same time preserving, in some way, the
evidence of what they do.
What I have said in regard to slaves, while commenting on the first
and second sections, is applicable to the ninth, with the difference that
no provision is made in the whole act for determining whether a particular individual slave does or does not fall within the classes defined in
that section. He is to be free upon certain conditions; but whether
those conditions do or do not pertain to him, no mode of ascertaining
is provided. This could be easily supplied.
To the tenth section I make no objection. The oath therein required
seems to be proper, and the remainder of the section is substantially
identical with a law already existing.
The eleventh section simply assumes to confer discretionary power
upon the Executive. Without the law, I have no hesitation to go as far
in the direction indicated as I may at any time deem expedient. And I
am ready to say now, I think it is proper for our military commanders
to employ, as laborers, as many persons of African descent as can be
used to advantage.
The twelfth and thirteenth sections are something better than unobjectionable; and the fourteenth is entirely proper, if all other parts of
the Act shall stand.




ï~~204       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
That to which I chiefly object pervades most part of the Act, but
more distinctly appears in the first, second, seventh, and eighth sections. It is the sum of those provisions which results in the divesting
of title forever.
For the causes of treason and ingredients of treason, not amounting
to the full crime, it declares forfeiture extending beyond the lives of the
guilty parties; whereas the Constitution of the United States declares
that "'no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture
except during the life of the person attainted." True, there is to be no
formal attainder in this case; still, I think, the greater punishment
cannot be constitutionally inflicted, in a different form, for the same
offence.
With great respect I am constrained to say I think this feature of
the Act is unconstitutional. It would not be difficult to modify it.
I may remark that the provision of the Constitution, put in language
borrowed from Great Britain, applies only in this country, as I understand, to real or landed estate.
Again, this Act, in rem, forfeits property for the ingredients of treason
without a conviction of the supposed criminal, or a personal hearing
given him in any proceeding. That we may not touch property lying
within our reach, because we cannot give personal notice to an owner
who is absent endeavoring to destroy the Government, is certainly satisfactory. Still, the owner may not be thus engaged; and I think a
reasonable time should be provided for such parties to appear and have
personal hearings. Similar provisions are not uncommon in connection
with proceedings in rem.
For the reasons stated, I return the Bill to the House in which it originated.
The passage of this bill constituted a very important step
in the prosecution of the war for the suppression of the Rebellion. It prescribed definite penalties for the crime of
treason, and thus supplied a defect in the laws as they then
existed.   It gave the rebels distinctly to understand that one
of these penalties, if they persisted in their resistance to the
authority of the United States, would be the emancipation of
their slaves. And it also authorized the employment by the
President of persons of African descent,' to aid in the suppression of the Rebellion in any way which he might deem




ï~~MESSAGE IN REGARD TO MR. CAMERON.  2

205

most conducive to the public welfare. Yet throughout the
bill, it was clearly made evident that the object and purpose
of these measures was not the abolition of slavery, but the
preservation of the Union and the restoration of the authority
of the Constitution.
On the 14th of January SIMON CAMERON resigned his position as Secretary of War. On the 30th of April the House
of Representatives passed, by a vote of 75 to 45, a resolution,
censuring certain official acts performed by him while acting
as Secretary of War; whereupon, on the 27th of May, President Lincoln transmitted to the House the following message:
To THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
The-insurrection which is yet existing in the United States, and aims
at the overthrow of the Federal Constitution and the Union, was clandestinely prepared during the winter of 1860 and 1861, and assumed
an open organization in the form of a treasonable provisional government at Montgomery, Alabama, on the eighteenth day of February, 1861.
On the twelfth day of April, 1861, the insurgents committed the flagrant act of civil war by the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter,
which cut off the hope of immediate conciliation. Immediately afterwards all the roads and avenues to this city were obstructed, and the
capital was put into the condition of a siege. The mails in every direction were stopped and the lines of telegraph cut off by the insurgents,
and military and naval forces which had been called out by the Government for the defence of Washington were prevented from reaching the
city by organized and combined treasonable resistance in the State of
Maryland. There was no adequate and effective organization for the
public defence. Congress had indefinitely adjourned. There was no
time to convene them. It became necessary for me to choose whether,
using only the existing means, agencies, and processes which Congress
had provided, I should let the government fall into ruin, or whether,
availing myself of the broader powers conferred by the Constitution in
cases of insurrection, I would make an effort to save it, with all its
blessings, for the present age and for posterity. I thereupon summoned
my constitutional advisers, the heads of all the departments, to meet on
Sunday, the twentieth day of April, 1861, at the office of the Navy
Department, and then and there, with their unanimous concurrence, I




ï~~206       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
directed that an armed revenue cutter should proceed to sea to afford
protection to the commercial marine, especially to the California treasureships, then on their way to this coast. I also directed the Commandant
of the Navy Yard at Boston to purchase or charter, and arm, as quickly
as possible, five steamships for purposes of public defence. I directed
the Commandant of the Navy Yard at Philadelphia to purchase or charter, and arm an equal number for the same purpose. I directed the
Commandant at New York to purchase or charter, and arm an equal
number. I directed Commander Gillis to purchase or charter, and arm
and put to sea two other vessels. Similar directions were given to
Commodore Du Pont, with a view to the opening of passages by water to
and from the capital. I directed the several officers to take the advice
and obtain the aid and efficient services in the matter of his Excellency
Edwin D. Morgan, the Governor of New York, or, in his absence,
George D. Morgan, Win. M. Evarts, R. M. Blatchford, and Moses ILH.
Grinnell, who were, by my directions, especially empowered by the Secretary of the Navy to act for his department in that crisis, in matters
pertaining to the forwarding of troops and supplies for the public defence. On the same occasion I directed that Gov. Morgan and Alexander Cummings, of the city of New York, should be authorized by the
Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, to make all necessary arrangements
for the transportation of troops and munitions of war in aid and assistance of the officers of the army of the United States, until communication by mails and telegraph should be completely re-established between
the cities of Washington and New York. No security was required to
be given by them, and either of them was authorized to act in case of
inability to consult with the other. On the same occasion I authorized
and directed the Secretary of the Treasury to advance, without requiring securing, two millions of dollars of public money to John A. Dix,
George Opdyke, and Richard M. Blatchford, of New York, to be used
by them in meeting such requisitions as should be directly consequent
upon the military and naval measures for the defence and support of
the Government, requiring them only to act without compensation, and
to report their transactions when duly called upon. The several departments of the Government at that time contained so large a number
of disloyal persons that it would have been impossible to provide safely
through official agents only, for the performance of the duties thus confided to citizens favorably known for their ability, loyalty, and patriotism. The several orders issued upon these occurrences were transmitted by private messengers, who pursued a circuitous way to the




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CABINET.

207

seaboard cities, inland across the States of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and
the northern lakes. I believe that by these and other similar measures taken in that crisis, some of which were without any authority of
law, the Government was saved from overthrow. I am not aware that
a dollar of the public funds thus confided without authority of law, to
unofficial persons, was either lost or wasted, although apprehensions
of such misdirections occurred to me as objections to these extraordinary proceedings, and were necessarily overruled. I recall these transactions now because my attention has been directed to a resolution
which was passed by the House of Representatives on the thirtieth of
last month, which is in these words:
Resolved, that Simon Cameron, late Secretary of War, by intrusting
Alexander Cummings with the control of large sums of the public
money, and authority to purchase military supplies without restriction,
without requiring from him any guarantee for the faithful performance
of his duties, while the services of competent public officers were available, and by involving the government in a vast number of contracts
with persons not legitimately engaged in the business pertaining to the
subject matter of such contracts, especially in the purchase of arms for
future delivery, has adiopted a policy highly injurious to the public service, and deserves the censure of the House.
Congress will see that I should be wanting in candor and in justice
if I should leave the censure expressed in this resolution to rest exclusively or chiefly upon Mr. Cameron. The same sentiment is unanimously entertained by the heads of the departments, who participated
in the proceedings which the House of Representatives has censured.
It is due to Mr. Cameron to say that although he fully approved the
proceedings, they were not moved nor suggested by himself, and that
not only the President, but all the other heads of departments were at
least equally responsible with him for whatever error, wrong or fault
was committed in the premises.               ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
This letter was in strict conformity with the position uniformly held by the President in regard to the responsibility
of members of his cabinet for acts of the Administration. He
always maintained that the proper duty of each Secretary
was, to direct the details of every thing done within his own
department, and to tender such suggestions, information, and
advice to the President as he might solicit at his hands. But
the duty and responsibility of deciding what line of policy




ï~~208      PRESIDENT LINCOLN S ADMINISTRATION.
should be pursued, or what steps should be taken in any
specific case, in his judgment, belonged exclusively to the
President; and he was always willing and ready to assume it.
This position has been widely and sharply assailed in various
quarters as contrary to the precedents of our early history:
but we believe it to be substantially in accordance with the
theory of the Constitution upon this subject.
The progress of our armies in certain portions of the Southern States had warranted the suspension, at several ports, of
the restrictions placed upon commerce by the blockade. On
the 12th of May the President accordingly issued a proclamation declaring that the blockade of the ports of Beaufort, Port
Royal, and New Orleans, should so far cease from the 1st of
June, that commercial intercourse from those ports, except as
to contraband of war, might be resumed, subject to the laws
of the United States and the regulations of the Treasury Department.
On the 1st of July he issued another proclamation, in pursuance of the law of June 7th, designating the States and
parts of States that were then in insurrection, so that the laws
of the United States concerning the collection of taxes could
not be enforced within their limits, and declaring that "the
taxes legally chargeable upon real estate, under the act referred to, lying within the States or parts of States thus designated, together with a penalty of fifty per cent. of said taxes,
should be a lien upon the tracts or lots of the same, severally
charged, till paid."
On the 20th of October, finding it absolutely necessary to
provide judicial proceedings for the State of Louisiana, a part
of which was in our military possession, the President issued
an order establishing a Provisional Court in the City of New
Orleans, of which Charles A. Peabody was made Judge, with
authority to try all causes, civil and criininal, in law, equity,
revenue, and admiralty, and particularly to exercise all such




ï~~CLOSE OF THE SESSION OF CONGRESS.

209

power and jurisdiction as belongs to the Circuit and District
Courts of the United States. His proceedings were to be
conformed, so far as possible, to the course of proceedings
and practice usual in the Courts of the United States of
Louisiana, and his judgment was to be final and conclusive.
Congress adjourned on the 17th of July, having adopted
many measures of marked though minor importance, besides
those to which we have referred, to aid in the prosecution of
the war. Several Senators were expelled for adherence, direct
or indirect, to the rebel cause; measures were taken to remove
from the several departments of the Government employes
more or less openly in sympathy with secession; Hayti and
Liberia were recognized as independent republics; a treaty
was negotiated and ratified with Great Britain which conceded
the right, within certain limits, of searching suspected slavers
carrying the American flag, and the most liberal grants in
men and money were made to the Government for the prosecution of the war. The President had appointed military
Governors for several of the Border States, where public
sentiment was divided, enjoining them to protect the loyal
citizens and to regard them as alone entitled to a voice in the
direction of civil affairs.
Public sentiment throughout the loyal States sustained the
action of Congress and the President as adapted to the emergency and well calculated to aid in the suppression of the rebellion. At the same time it was very evident that the conviction was rapidly gaining ground that Slavery was the cause
of the Rebellion; that the paramount object of the conspirators against the Union was to obtain new guaranties for the
institution; and that it was this interest alone which gave
unity and vigor to the rebel cause. A very active and influential party at the North had insisted from the outset that the
most direct way of crushing the Rebellion was by crushing
Slavery, and they had urged upon the President the adoption




ï~~210       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
of a policy of immediate and unconditional emancipation, as
the only thing necessary to bring into the ranks of the Union
armies hundreds of thousands of enfranchised slaves, as well
as the great mass of the people of the Northern States who
needed this stimulus of an appeal to their moral sentiment.
After the adjournment of Congress these demands became still
more clamorous and importunate.       the President was summoned to avail himself of the opportunity offered by the passage of the Confiscation Bill, and to decree the instant liberation of every slave belonging to a rebel master. These demands soon assumed, with the more impatient and intemperate portion of the friends of the Administration, a tone of
complaint and condemnation, and the President was charged
with gross and culpable remissness in the discharge of duties
imposed upon him by the Act of Congress. They were embodied with force and effect in a letter addressed to the President by Hon. Horace Greeley, and published in the N. Y.
Tribune of the 19th of August, to which President LINCOLN
made the following reply:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 1862.
HoN. HORACE GREELEY:
DEAR SIR-I have just read yours of the 19th instant, addressed to
myself through the New 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 any inferences which I may believe to be falsely drawn,
I do not now and here argue against them.
If there be perceptible 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 in 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.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO MR. GREELEY.             211
If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at
the same time save slavery, 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 is to save the Union, and not either to save or destroy
slavery.
If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do itif I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it-and if I
could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do
that.
What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe
it helps to save this 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 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 views of official duty,
and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all
men everywhere could be free.
Yours,
A. LINCOLN.
It was impossible to mistake the President's meaning after
this letter, or to have any doubt as to the policy by which he
expected to re-establish the authority of the Constitution over
the whole territory of the United States.     His "paramount
object," in every thing he did and in every thing he abstained
from doing, was to "save the Union." He regarded all the
power conferred on him by Congress in regard to slavery, as
having been conferred to aid him in the accomplishment of
that object--and he was resolved to wield those powers so as
best, according to his own judgment, to aid in its attainment.
He forebore, therefore, for a long time, the issue of such a
proclamation as he was authorized to make by the sixth section of the Confiscation act of Congress-awaiting the developments of public sentiment on the subject, and being espe



ï~~212       PRESIDENT LINCOLNIS ADMINISTRATION.
cially anxious that when it was issued it should receive the
moral support of the great body of the people of the whole
country, without regard to party distinctions.     He sought,
therefore, with assiduous care, every opportunity of informing
himself as to the drift of public sentiment on this subject.
He received and conversed freely with all who came to see
him and to urge upon him the adoption of their peculiar
views; and on the 13th of September gave formal audience to
a deputation from all the religious denominations of the city
of Chicago, which had been appointed on the 7th, to wait
upon him. The Committee presented a memorial requesting
him at once to issue a proclamation of universal emancipation,
and the chairman followed it by some remarks in support of
this request.
The President listened attentively to the memorial, and then
made to those who had presented it the following reply:'
The subject presented in the memorial is one upon which I have
thought much for weeks past, and I may even say for months. I am
approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by
religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine
will I am sure that either the one or the other class is mistaken in
that belief, and perhaps in some respect both. I hope it will not be
irreverent for me to say that if it is probable that God would reveal his
will to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed he would reveal it directly to me; for, unless I am more deceived
in myself than I often am, it is my earnest desire to know the will of
Providence in this matter. And if I can learn what it is I will (jo it I
These are not, however, the days of miracles, and I suppose it will be
granted that I am not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the
plain physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible, and learn
what appears to be wise and right.
The subject is difficult, and good men do not agree. For instance, the
other day, four gentlemen of standing and intelligence from New York
called as a delegation on business connected with the war; but before
leaving two of them earnestly besought me to proclaim general emancipation, upon which the other two at once attacked them. You know




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE CHICAGO COMMITTEE. 213
also that the last session of Congress had a decided majority of antislavery men, yet they could not unite on this policy. And the same is
true of the religious people. Why, the rebel soldiers are praying with
a great deal more earnestness, I fear, than our own troops, and expecting God to favor their side: for one of our soldiers who had been taken
prisoner told Senator Wilson a few days since that he met nothing so
discouraging as the evident sincerity of thosf he was among in their
prayers. But we will talk over the merits of the case.
What good would a proclamation of emancipation from me do, especially as we are now situated? I do not want to issue a document that
the whole world will see must necessarily be inoperative, like the Pope's
bull against the comet! Would my word free the slaves, when I cannot
even enforce the Constitution in the rebel States? Is there a single
court, or magistrate, or individual that would be influenced by it there?
And what reason is there to think it would have any greater effect upon
the slaves than the late law of Congress, which I approved, and which
offers protection and freedom to the slaves of rebel masters who come
within our lines? Yet I cannot learn that that law has caused a single
slave to come over to us: And suppose they could be induced by a proclamation of freedom from me to throw themselves upon us, what should
we do with them? How can we feed and care for such a multitude?
General Butler wrote me a few days since that he was issuing more
rations to the slaves who have rushed to him than to all the white
troops under his command. They eat, and that is all; though it is true
General Butler is feeding the whites also by the thousand; for it nearly
amounts to a famine there. If, now, the pressure of the war should call
off our forces from New Orleans to defend some other point, what is to
prevent the masters from reducing the blacks to slavery again; for I
am told that whenever the rebels take any black prisoners, free or slave,
they immediately auction them off!  They did so with those they took
from a boat that was aground in the Tennessee River a few days ago.
And then I am very ungenerously attacked for it I For instance, when,
after the late battles at and near Bull Run, an expedition went out from
Washington under a flag of truce to bury the dead and bring in the
wounded, and the rebels seized the blacks who went along to help, and
sent them into slavery, Horace Greeley said in his paper that the Government would probably do nothing about it. What could I do?
Now, then, tell me, if you please, what possible result of good would
follow the issuing of such a proclamation as you desire? Understand,
I raise no objections against it on legal or constitutional grounds, for, as
0




ï~~214       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
commander-in-chief of the army and navy, in time of war I supposo I
have a right to take any measure which may best subdue the enemy,
nor do I urge objections of a moral nature, in view of possible consequences of insurrection and massacre at the South. I view this
matter as a practical war measure, to be decided on according to the
advantages or disadvantages it may offer to the suppression of the rebellion.
The Committee replied to these remarks, insisting that a
proclamation of emancipation would secure at once the sympathy of Europe and the civilized world; and that as slavery
was clearly the cause and origin of the rebellion, it was simply
just, and in accordance with the word of God, that it should
be abolished.   To these remarks the President responded as
follows:
I admit that slavery is at the root of the rebellion, or at least its sine
qua non. The ambition of politicians may have instigated them to act,
but they would have been impotent without slavery as their instrument.
I will also concede that emancipation would help us in Europe, and convince them that we are incited by something more than ambition. I
grant, further, that it would help somewhat at the North, though not
so much, I fear, as you and those you represent imagine. Still, some
additional strength would be added in that way to the war, and then,
unquestionably, it would weaken the rebels by drawing off their laborers,
which is of great importance; but I am not so sure we could do much
with the blacks. If we were to arm them, I fear that in a few weeks
the arms would be in the hands of the rebels; and, indeed, thus far, we
have not had arms enough to equip our white troops. I will mention
another thing, though it meet only your scorn and contempt. There
are 50,000 bayonets in the Union army from the Border Slave States.
It would be a serious matter if in consequence of a proclamation such
as you desire, they should go over to the rebels. I do not think they all
would-not so many, indeed, as a year ago, or as six months ago-not
so many to-day as yesterday. Every day increases their Union feeling.
They are also getting their pride enlisted, and want to beat the rebels.
Let me say one thing more: I think you should admit that we already
have an important principle to rally and unite the people, in the fact
that constitutional government is at stake. This is a fundamental idea
going down about as deep as any thing.




ï~~PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.

215

The Committee replied to this in some brief remarks, to
which the President made the following response:
Do not misunderstand me because I have mentioned these objections.
They indicate the difficulties that have thus far prevented my action in
some such way as you desire. I have not decided against a proclamation of liberty to the slaves, but hold the matter under advisement.
And I can assure you that the subject is on my mind, by day and night,
more than any other. Whatever shall appear to be God's will I will do.
I trust that in the freedom with which I have canvassed your views I
have not in any respect injured your feelings.
After free deliberation, and being satisfied that the public
welfare would be promoted by such a step, and that public
sentiment would sustain it, on the 22d of September the
President issued the following preliminary
PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.
I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States of America,
and Commander-in-Chief of the army and navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the constitutional relation
between the United States and each of the States, and the people thereof, in which States that relation is or may be suspended or disturbed.
That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again
recommend the adoption of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid
to the free acceptance or rejection of all Slave States so-called, the
people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States,
and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may
voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual abolishment of slavery within
their respective limits; and that the effort to colonize persons of African
descent, with their consent, upon this continent or elsewhere, with the
previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, will be
continued.
That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, all persons held as slaves within
any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then
be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward,
and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States,




ï~~$16        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and
maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to
repress such, persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make
for their actual freedom.
That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by
proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which
the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the
United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall
on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United
States, by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of
the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the
absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion
against the United States.
That attention is hereby called to an act of Congress entitled "An
Actto make an additional Article of War," approved March 13th, 1862,
and which act is in the words and figures following:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter the following shall be
promulgated as an additional article of war for the government of the
army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such:
ARTICLE.-All officers or persons in the military or naval service of
the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under
their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from
service or labor who may have escaped from any persons to whom such
service or labor is claimed to be due; and any officer who shall be found
gilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from
the service.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect from and
after its passage.
Also, to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled " An Act to
Suppress Insurrection, to Punish Treason and Rebellion, to seize and
Confiscate Property of Rebels, and for other Purposes," approved July
16, 1862, and which sections are in the words and figures following:
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons who shall
hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the Government of the United
States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from
such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all
slaves Captured from such persons, or deserted by them and coming
under the control of the Government of the United States; and all slaves
of such persons found on [or] being within any place occupied by rebel
forces and afterward occupied by forces of the United States, shall be
deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and
not again held as slaves.
SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That no slave escaping into any State,
Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for




ï~~PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.

217

crime, or some offence against the laws, unless the person claiming said
fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner, and has not
borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any
way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim oi any person to the
service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to
the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service.
And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the
military and naval service of the United States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the act and sections
above recited.
And the Executive will in due time recommend that all citizens of
the United States who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout
the rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of the constitutional relation
between the United States and their respective States and people, if
that relation shall have been suspended or disturbed) be compensated
for an losses by acts of the United States, including the loss of
slaves.
In witness whereof,; I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
[L. s.] and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States
the eighty-seventh.                 AmBRAHAM LINcoLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM 11. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
The issuing of this proclamation created the deepest interest, not unmixed with anxiety, in the public mind. The opponents of the Administration in the loyal States, as well as
the sympathizers with secession everywhere, insisted that it
afforded unmistakable evidence that the object of the war was,
what they had always declared it to be, the abolition of
slavery, and not the restoration of the Union; and they put
forth the most vigorous efforts to arouse public sentiment
against the Administration on this ground. They were met,
however, by the clear and explicit declaration of the document
itself, in which the President "proclaimed and declared" that
"hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be prosecuted for the
10                   a




ï~~218       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
object of practically restoring the constitutional relation between the United States and each of the States and the people
thereof, in which that relation is or may be suspended or
disturbed." This at once made it evident that emancipation,
as provided for in the Proclamation, as a war measure, was
subsidiary and subordinate to the paramount object of the
war-the restoration of the Union, and the re-establishment
of the authority of the Constitution; and in this sense it was
favorably received by the great body of the loyal people of
the United States.
It only remains to be added, in this connection, that on the
first of January, 1863, the President followed this measure by
issuing the following
PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, on.the 22d day of September, in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by
the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the
following, to wit:
That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any
States or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in
rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and
forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and
maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for
their actual freedom.
That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by
proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which
the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the
United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall
on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United
States, by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of
the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the
absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion
against the United States.
Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States,
by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army
and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against
the authority and Government of the United States, and as a fit and
0




ï~~PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION.      2

219

necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first
day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and
sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first
above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States
wherein the people thereof respectively are this*day in rebellion against
the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard,
Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension,
Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, Ste. Marie, St. Martin, and
Orleans, including the city of New Orleans), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the
forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties
of Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess
Anne, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and
which excepted parts are for the present left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order
and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States
and parts of States are and henceforward shall be free; and that the
Executive Government of the United States, including the military and
naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of
said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain
from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to
them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable
wages.
And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable
condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States
to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this first day of January, in the year
L. Sof our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of..] the independence of the United States the eighty-seventh.
By the President:                        ABRAHAM LNCOLN.
WmmAm H. SEWARD, Secretary a State.




ï~~220     PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER VI.
THE MILITARY ADMINISTRATION OF 1862-THE PRESIDENT AND
GENERAL M'CLELLAN.
TimE repulse of the national forces at the battle of Bull Run
in July, 1861, aroused the people of the loyal States to a sense
of the magnitude of the contest which had been forced upon
them. It stimulated to intoxication the pride and ambition of
the rebels, and gave infinite encouragement to their efforts to
raise fresh troops, and increase the military resources of their
Confederation. Nor did the reverse the national cause had sustained for an instant damp the ardor, or check the determination, of the Government and people of the loyal States. General McDowell, the able and accomplished officer who commanded the army of the United States in that engagement,
conducted the operations of the day with signal ability; and
his defeat was due, as subsequent disclosures have clearly
shown, far more to accidents for which others were responsible,
than to any lack of skill in planning the battle, or of courage
and generalship on the field. But it was the first considerable
engagement of the war, and its loss was a serious and startling
disappointment to the sanguine expectations of the people: it
was deemed necessary, therefore, to place a new commander at
the head of the army in front of Washington. General McClellan, who had been charged, at the outset of the war, with operations in the department of the Ohio, and who had achieved
marked success in clearing Western Virginia of the rebel
troops, was summoned to Washington' on the 22d of July, and
on the 27th assumed command of the Army of the Potomac.




ï~~GEN. M'ICLELLAN SUCCEEDS M'DOWELL.

221

Although then in command only of a department, General McClellan, with an ambition and a presumption natural, perhaps, to
his age and the circumstances of his advancement, addressed his
attention to the general conduct of the war in all sections of the
country, and favored the Government and Lieutenant-General
Scott with several elaborate and meritoriofs letters of advice, as
to the method most proper to be pursued for the suppression of
the rebellion. Ile soon, however, found it necessary to attend
to the preparation of the army under his command for an immediate resumption of hostilities. Fresh troops in great numbers speedily poured in from the Northern States, and were
organized and disciplined for prompt and effective service.
The number of troops in and about the capital when General
McClellan assumed command, was a little over 50,000, and the
brigade organization of General McDowell formed the basis
for the distribution.of these new forces. By the middle of
October this army had been raised to over 150,000 men, with
an artillery force of nearly 500 pieces-all in a state of excellent discipline, under skilful officers, and animated by a zealous
and impatient eagerness to renew the contest for the preservation of the Constitution and Government of the United States.
The President and Secretary of War had urged the division of
the army into corps d'armee, for the purpose of more effective
service; but General McClellan had discouraged and thwarted
their endeavors in this direction, mainly on the ground that
there were not officers enough of tried ability in the army to
be intrusted with such high commands as this division would
create.
On the 22d of October, a portion of our forces which had
been ordered to cross the Potomac above Washington, in the
direction of Leesburgh, were met by a heavy force of the
enemy at Ball's Bluff, repulsed with severe loss, and compelled
to return. The circumstances of this disaster excited a great
deal of dissatisfaction in the public mind, and this was still
0




ï~~222      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
further aggravated by the fact that the rebels had obtained,
and been allowed to hold, complete control of the Potomac
below Washington, so as to establish a virtual and effective
blockade of the capital from that direction. Special efforts
were repeatedly made by the President and the Navy Department to clear the banks of the river of the rebel forces, known
to be small in number, which held them, but it was found impossible to induce General McClellan to take any steps to aid
in the accomplishment of this result. In October he had
promised that on a day named, 4,000 troops should be ready
to proceed down the river to co-operate with the Potomac
flotilla under Captain Craven; but at the time appointed the
troops did not arrive, and General McClellan alleged, as a
reason for having changed his mind, that his engineers had informed him that so large a body of troops could not be landed.
The Secretaiy of the Navy replied that the landing of the
troops was a matter of which that department assumed the
responsibility; and it was then agreed that the troops should
be sent down the next night. They were not sent, however,
either then or at any other time, for which General McClellan
assigned as a reason the fear that such an attempt might bring
on a general engagement. Captain Craven upon this threw
up his command, and the Potomac remained closed to the
vessels and transports of the United States until it was opened
in March of the next year by the voluntary withdrawal of the
rebel forces.
On the 1st of November, General McClellan was appointed
by the President to succeed General Scott in the command
of all the armies of the Union, remaining in personal command of the Army of the Potomac. His attention was then
of necessity turned to the direction of army movements, and
to the conduct of political affairs, so far as they came under
military control, in the more distant sections of the country.
But no movement took place in the Army of the Potomac.
0




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S ORDER FOR AN ADVANCE.             223
The season had been unusually favorable for military operations-the troops were admirably organized and disciplined,
and in the highest state of efficiency-in numbers they were
known to be far superior to those of the rebels opposed to
them, who were nevertheless permitted steadily to push their
approaches towards Washington, while from the highest officer to the humblest private our forces were all animated with an
eager desire to be led against the enemies of their country.
As winter approached without any indications of an intended
movement of our armies, the public impatience rose to the
highest point of discontent. The Administration was everywhere held responsible for these unaccountable delays, and
was fieely charged by its opponents with a design to protract
the war for selfish political purposes of its own: and at the
fall election the public dissatisfaction made itself manifest by
adverse votes in every considerable State where elections were
held.
Unable longer to endure this state of things, President Lincoln put an end to it on the 27th of January, 1862, by issuing
the following order:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 27, 1862.
Ordered, That the twenty-second day of February, 1862, be the day
for a general movement of the land and naval forces of the United
States against the insurgent forces. That especially the army at and
about Fortress Monroe, the army of the Potomac, the army of Western
Virginia, the army near Munfordsville, Kentucky, the army and flotilla
at Cairo, and a Aaval force in the Gulf of Mexico, be ready to move on
that day.
That all other forces, both land and naval, with their respective commanders, obey existing orders for the time, and be ready to obey additional orders when duly given.
That the heads of departments, and especially the Secretaries of War
and of the Navy, with all their subordinates, and the General-in-Chief.
with all other commanders and subordinates of land and naval forces,
will severally be held to their strict and full responsibilities for prompt
execution of this order.                  ABRAHAM LINCOLN.




ï~~224       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
This order, which applied to all the armies of the United
States, was followed four days afterwards by the following
special order directed to General McClellan:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 31, 1862.
Ordered, That all the disposable force of the Army of the Potomac,
after providing safely for the defence of*Washington, be formed into an
expedition for the immediate object of seizing and occupying a point upon the railroad southwestward of what is known as Manassas Junction, all details to be in the discretion of the Commander-inChief, and
the expedition to move before or on the twenty-second day of February
next.                                      ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The object of this order was to engage the rebel army in
front of Washington by a flank attack, and by its defeat relieve the capital, put Richmond at our mercy, and break the
main strength of the rebellion by destroying the principal
army arrayed in its support. Instead of obeying it, General
McClellan remonstrated against its execution, and urged the
adoption of a different plan of attack, which was to move
upon Richmond by way of the Chesapeake Bay, the Rappahannock River, and a land march across the country from Urbana,
leaving the rebel forces in position at Manassas to be held in
check, if they should attempt a forward movement, only by
the troops in the fortifications around Washington. As the
result of several conferences with the President, he obtained
permission to state in writing his objections to his plan-the
President meantime sending him the following letter of inquiry:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 3, 1862.
MY DEAR SIR: You and I have distinct and different plans for a
movement of the Army of the Potomac; yours to be done by 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 satisfactory answers to the following questions, I
shall gladly yield my plan to yours:
1st. Does not your plan involve a greatly larger expenditure of time
and money than mine?




ï~~THE MOVEMENT TO THE PENINSULA.

225

2d. Wherein is a victory more certain by your plan than mine?
3d. Wherein is a victory more valuable by your plan than mine?
4th. 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?
5th. In case of disaster, would not a retreat be more difficult by your
plan than mine?
Yours, truly,    ' ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Major-General MCCLELLAN.
General McClellan sent to the Secretary of War, under date
of February 3d, a very long letter, presenting strongly the advantage possessed by the rebels in holding a central defensive
position, from which they could with a small force resist any
attack on either flank, concentrating their main strength upon
the other for a decisive action. The uncertainties of the
weather, the necessity of having long lines of communication,
and the probable indecisiveness even of a victory, if one should
be gained, were   urged against the President's plan. So
strongly was General McClellan in favor of his own plan of
operations, that he said he "should prefer the move from Fortress Monroe as a base, to an attack upon Manassas."    The
President was by no means convinced by General McClellan's
reasoning; but in consequence of his steady resistance and unwillingness to enter upon the execution of any other plan, he assented to a submission of the matter to a council of twelve
officers held late in February, at head-quarters. The result of
that council was, a decision in favor of moving by way of the
lower Chesapeake and the Rappahannock-seven of the Genorals present, viz., Fitz-John Porter, Franklin, W. F. Smith,
McCall, Blenker, Andrew Porter, and Naglee, voting in favor of
it, as did Keyes also, with the qualification that the army should
not move until the rebels were driven from the Potomac, and
Generals McDowell, Sumner, Heintzelman, and Barnard, voting
against it.
In this decision the President acquiesced, and on the 8th
of March, issued two general war orders, the first directing
10*                     a




ï~~226       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'IS ADMINISTRATION.
the Major-General commanding the Army of tne Potomac to
proceed forthwith to organize that part of said army destined
to enter upon active operations into four army corps, to be
commanded, the first by General McDowell, the second by
General Sumner, the third by General Ieintzelman, and the
fourth by General Keyes. GeneralBanks was assigned to the
command of a fifth corps. It also appointed General Wadsworth Military Governor of Washington, and directed the
order to be "executed with such promptness and dispatch as
not to delay the commencement of the operations already
directed to be undertaken by the Army of the Potomac."
The second of these orders was as follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, March 8, 1862.
Ordered, That no change of the base of operations of the Army of
the Potomac shall be made without leaving in and about Washington
such a force as, in the opinion of the General-in-Chief and the commanders of army corps, shall leave said city entirely secure.
That no more than two army corps (about fifty thousand troops) of
said Army of the Potomac shall be moved en route for a new base of operations until the navigation of the Potomac, from Washington to the
Chesapeake Bay, shall be freed from the enemy's batteries, and other
obstructions, or until the President shall hereafter give express permission.
That any movement as aforesaid, en route for a new base of operations,
which may be ordered by the General-in-Chief, and which may be intended to move upon the Chesapeake Bay, shall begin to move upon the
bay as early as the eighteenth March instant, and the General-in-Chief
shall be responsible that it moves as early as that day.
Ordered, That the army and navy co-operate in an immediate effort
to capture the enemy's batteries upon the Potomac between Washington and the Chesapeake Bay.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
L. THOMAS, Adjutant- General.
This order was issued on the 8th of March. On the 9th, information was received by General McClellan, at Washington,




ï~~REBEL EVACUATION OF MANASSAS.

227

that the enemy had abandoned his position in front of that
city. He at once crossed the Potomac, and on the same
night issued orders for an immediate advance of the whole army
towards Manassas,-not with any intention, as he has since
explained, of pursuing the rebels, and taking advantage of their
retreat, but to "get rid of superfluous baggage and other impediments which accumulate so easilyaround an army encamped for a long time in one locality"-to give the troops
"some experience on the march and bivouac preparatory to
the campaign," and to afford them also a "good intermediate
step between the quiet and comparative comfort of the camps
around Washington and the vigor of active operations."* These
objects, in General McClellan's opinion, were sufficiently accomplished by what the Prince de Joinville, of his staff, styles
a "promenade" of the army to Manassas, where they learned,
from personal inspection, that the rebels had actually evacuated that position; and on the 15th, orders were issued for a
return of the forces to Alexandria.
On the 11th of March, the President issued another order,
stating that "Major-General McClellan having personally taken
the field at the head of the Army of the Potomac, until otherwise ordered, he is relieved from the command of the other
military departments, retaining command of the department of
the Potomac." Major-General Halleck was assigned to the
command of the dep.artment of the Mississippi, and the Mountain department was created for Major-General Fremont. All
the commanders of departments were also required to report
directly to the Secretary of War.
On the 13th of March, a council of war was held at headquarters, then at Fairfax Court-House, by which it was decided
that, as the enemy had retreated behind the Rappahannock,
operations against Richmond could best be conducted from
Fortress Monroe, provided:

* See General McClellan's Report, dated August 4, 1863.




ï~~228       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
1st. That the enemy's vessel, Merrimac, can be neutralized.
2d. That the means of transportation, sufficient for an immediate
transfer of the force to its new base, can be ready at Washington and
Alexandria to move down the Potomac; and,
3d. That a naval auxiliary force can be had to silence, or aid in
silencing, the enemy's batteries on the York River.
4th. That the force to be left to cover Vashington shall be such as to
give an entire feeling of security for its safety from menace.
NOTE.-That with the forts on the right bank of the Potomac fully
garrisoned, and those on the left bank occupied, a covering force in front
of the Virginia line of twenty-five thousand men would suffice. (Keyes,
Heintzelman, and McDowell.)
A total of forty thousand men for the defence of the city would
suffice. (Sumner.)
Upon receiving a report of this decision, the following communication was at once addressed to the commanding general:
WAR DEPARTMENT, Mfarch 13, 1862.
The President having considered the plan of operations agreed upon
by yourself and the commanders of army corps, makes no objection to
the same, but gives the following directions as to its execution:
1. Leave such force at Manassas Junction as shall make it entirely
certain that the enemy shall not repossess himself of that position and
line of communication.
2. Leave Washington entirely secure.
3. Move the remainder of the force down the Potomac, choosing a
new base at Fortress Monroe, or anywhere between here and there,
or, at all events, move such remainder of the army at once in pursuit of the
enemy by some route.
EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
Major-General GEORGE B. MOCLELLAN.
It will readily be seen, from these successive orders, that
the President, in common with the whole country, had been
greatly pained by the long delay of the Army of the Potomac
to move against the enemy while encamped at Manassas, and
that this feeling was converted into chagrin and mortification




ï~~ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE PENINSULAR MOVEMENT. 229
when the rebels were allowed to withdraw from that position
without the slightest molestation, and without their design
being even suspected until it had been carried into complete
and successful execution. He was impatiently anxious, therefore, that no more time should be lost in delays. In reply to
the Secretary of War, General McClellaff, before embarking for
the Peninsula, communicated his intention of reaching, without
loss of time, the field of what he believed would be a decisive
battle, which he expected to fight between West Point and
Richmond. On the 31st of March, the President, out of
deference to the importunities of General Fremont and his
friends, and from a belief that this officer could make good use
of a larger force than he then had at his command in the
mountain department, ordered General Blenker's division to
leave the Army of the Potomac and join him, a decision which
he announced to General McClellan in the following letter:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, March 31, 1862.
Mr DEAR SIR: This morning I felt constrained to order Blenker's
division to Fremont, and I write this to assure you that I did so with
great pain, understanding that you would wish it otherwise. If you
could know the full pressure of the case, I am confident that you would
justify it, even beyond a mere acknowledgment that the Commander-inChief may order what he pleases.
Yours, very truly,             A. LINCOLN.
Major-General MCCLELLAN.
General Banks, who had at first been ordered by General
McClellan to occupy Manassas, and thus cover Washington,
was directed by him, on the 1st of April, to throw the rebel
General Jackson well back from Winchester, and then move
on Staunton at a time "nearly coincident with his own move
on Richmond;" though General McClellan expressed the fear
that General Banks "could not be ready in time" for that




ï~~230      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
movement. The four corps of the Army of the Potomac, destined for active operations by way of the Peninsula, were ordered to embark, and forwarded as rapidly as possible to Fortress
Monroe. On the 1st of April, General McClellan wrote to the
Secretary of War, giving a report of the dispositions he had
made for the defence of Washington; and on the 2d, General
Wadsworth submitted a statement of the forces under his
command, which he regarded as entirely inadequate to the
service required of them. The President referred the matter
to Adjutant-General Thomas and General E. A. Hitchcock,
who made a report on the same day, in which they decided
that the force left by General McClellan was not sufficient to
make Washington "entirely secure," as the President had
required in his order of March 13; nor was it as large as the
council of officers held at Fairfax Court-House on the same
day had adjudged to be necessary. In accordance with this
decision, and for the purpose of rendering the capital safe,
the army corps of General McDowell was detached from
General McClellan's immediate command,.anu1 ordered to report to the Secretary of War.
On reaching Fortress Monroe, General McClellan found
Commodore Goldsborough, who commanded on that naval
station, unwilling to send any considerable portion of his force
up the York River, as he was employed in watching the Merrimac, which had closed the James River against us. He had,
therefore, landed at the Fortress and commenced his march
up the Peninsula, having reached the Warwick River, in -the
immediate vicinity of Yorktown, which had been fortified, and
was held by a rebel force of about 11,000 men, under
General Magruder-a part of them, however, being across
the river at Gloucester. He here halted to reconnoitre the
position; and on the 6th, wrote to the President that he had
but 85,000 men fit for duty-that the whole line of the
Warwick River was strongly fortified-that it was pretty
"




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO GEN. M'CLELLAN. 231
certain he was to "have the whole force of the enemy on his
hands, probably not less than 100,000 men, and probably
more," and that he should commence siege operations as soon
as he could get upl) his train. He entered, accordingly, upon
this work, telegraphing from time to time complaints that
he was not properly supported by the Government, and asking
for re-enforcements.
On the 9th of April, President LINcoLN addressed him the
following letter:
WASHINGTON, April 9, 1862.
MY DEAR SIR: Your dispatches, 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 know the pressure under which I did it, and, as I thought, acquiesced in it-certainly not without reluctance.
After you left, I ascertained that less than twenty thousand unorganized men, without a single field battery, were all you designed to be
left for the defence of Washington and Manassas Junction, and part of
this even was to go to General Hooker's old position. General Banks's
corps, once designed for Manassas Junction, was diverted 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 Washington.   My implicit order that
Washington should, by the judgment of all the commanders of army
corps, be left entirely secure, had been neglected. It was precisely
this that drove me to detain McDowell.
I do not forget that I was satisfied with your arrangement to leave
Banks at Manassas Junction: but when that arrangement was broken
up, and nothing was substituted for it, of course I was constrained to
substitute something for it myself. 'And 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 twenty thousand unorganized troops? This is a
question which the country will not allow me to evade.
There is a curious mystery about the number of troops now with you.
When I telegraphed you on the sixth, saying you had 'over a hundred
thousand with you, I had just obtained from the Secretary of War a
1




ï~~232       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
statement taken, as he said, from your own returns, making one hundred and eight thousand then with you and en route to you. You now
say you will have but eighty-five thousand when all en route to you
shall have reached you.  How can the discrepancy of twenty-three
thousand be accounted for?
As to General Wool's command, I understand it is doing for you precisely what a like number of your own *ould have to do if that command was away.
I suppose the whole force which has gone forward for 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 relatively gain upon youthat is, he will gain faster by fortifications and re-enforcements than you
can by re-enforcements alone. And once more let me tell you, it is indispensable to you that you strike a blow. I am powerless to help this.
You will do me the justice 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 intrenchments, at
either place. The country will not fail to note, is now noting, 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 feeling than now, nor with a fuller purpose to
sustain you, so far as, in my most anxious judgment, I consistently
can. But you must act.
Yours, very truly,
A. LInCOLN.
Major-General McCzLLAN.
In this letter the President only echoed the impatience and
eagerness of the whole country. The most careful inquiries
which General Wool, in command at Fortress Monroe, had
been able to make, satisfied him that Yorktown was not held
by any considerable force; and subsequent disclosures have
made it quite certain that this force was so utterly inadequate
to the defence of the position that a prompt movement upon
it would have caused its immediate surrender, and enabled our
army to advance at once upon Richmond: General McClellan
decided, however, to approach it by a regular siege; and it was




ï~~THE REBEL STRENGTH AT YORKTOWN.

233

not until this design had become apparent, that the rebel Government began to re-enforce Magruder.*        He continued his
* The following extract from the official report of Major-General
Magruder, dated May 3d, 1862, and published by order of the Confederate
Congress, is conclusive as to the real strength of the force which General McClellan had in front of him at Yorktown
HEAD-QUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF TIlE PENINSULA,
LEE'S FARM, May 3, 1862.
General S. COOPER, A. and I. G. C. S. A.:
GENERAL: Deeming it of vital importance to hold Yorktown on York
River, and Mulberry Island on James River, and to keep the enemy in
check by an intervening line until the authorities might take such steps
as should be deemed necessary to meet a serious advance of the enemy in
the Peninsula, I felt compelled to dispose my forces in such a manner
as to accomplish these objects with the least risk possible under the
circumstances of great hazard which surrounded the little army I commanded.
I had prepared as my real line of defence, positions in advance at
Harwood's and Young's Mills. Both flanks of this line were defended
by boggy and difficult streams and swamps. * * In my opinion this
advanced line, with its flank defences, might have been held by 20,000
troops.  *    Finding miy forces too weak to attempt the defence of this line,
I was compelled to prepare to receive the enemy on a second line on Warwick River. This line was incomplete in its preparations. Keeping then
only small bodies of troops at Harwood's and Young's Mills, and on Ship
Point, I distributed my remaining forces along the Warwick line, embracing a front from Yorktown to Minor's farm of twelve miles, and from the
latter place to Mulberry Island Point one and a half miles. I was compelled to place in Gloucester Point, Yorktown, and Mulberry Island, fixed
garrisons amounting to 6,000 men, my whole force being 11,000, so that it will
be seen that the balance of the line, embracing a length of thirteen miles, was
defended by about 5,000 men.
After the reconnoissances in great force from Fortress Monroe and Newport News, the enemy, on the 3d of April, advanced and took possession
of Harwood's Mill. He advanced in two heavy columns, one along the
old York road, and the other along the Warwick road, and on the 5th of
April appeared simultaneously along the whole part of our line from
Minor's farm to Yorktown. I have no accurate data upon which to base
an exact statement of his force; but from various sources of information
I was satisfied that I had before me the enemy's Army of the Potomac,
under the command of General McClellan, with the exception of the two
corps d'armee of Banks and McDowell respectively-forming an aggregate
number certainly of not less than 100,000, since ascertained to have been
120.000 men.
On every portion of my lines he attacked us with a furious cannonading and musketry, which was responded to with effect by our batteries
and troops of the line. His skirmishers also were well thrown forward
on this and the succeeding day, and energetically felt our whole line, but
were everywhere repulsed by the steadiness of our troops. Thus with
5,000 men, exclusive of the garrisons, we stopped and held in check over one
hundred thousand of the enemy. Every preparation was made in anticipation of another attack by the enemy. The men slept in the trenches and




ï~~234      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
applications to the Government for more troops, more cannon,
more transportation-all which were sent forward to him as
rapidly as possible, being taken mainly from     McDowell's
corps.  On the 14th of April, General Franklin, detached
from that corps, reported to General McClellan, near Yorktown, but his troops remained ofh board the transports. A
month was spent in this way, the President urging action in
the most earnest manner, and the commanding general delaying from day to day his reiterated promises to commence
operations immediately. At last, on the morning of the 4th
of May, it was discovered that the rebels had been busy for a
day or two in evacuating Yorktown, and that the last of their
columns had left that place, all their supply-trains having been
previously removed on the day and night preceding. General
McClellan, in announcing this event to the Government, added
that "no time would be lost" in the pursuit, and that he
should "push the enemy to the wall."     General Stoneman,
with a column of cavalry, was at once sent forward to overtake
the retreating enemy, which he succeeded in doing on the
same day, and was repulsed. On the 5th, the forces ordered
forward by General McClellan came up, and found a very
strong rear-guard of the rebels strongly fortified, about two
miles east of Williamsburg, and prepared to dispute the
advance of the pursuing troops. It had been known from the
beginning that a very formidable line of forts had been erected
here, and it ought to have been equally well known by the
commanding general that the retreating enemy would avail
under arms, but, to my utter surprise, he permitted day after day to elapse
without an assault.
In a few days the object of his delay was apparent. In every direction in
front of our lines., throagh the intermeninq woods and along the open fields,
earthworks began to appear. Through the energetic action of the government re-enforcements began to pour in, and each hour the army of the Peninsdula grew stronger and stronger, until anxiety passed from my mind as to
the result of an attack upon us.
J. BANKHEAD MAGRUDER, Mlajor-General.




ï~~THE BATTLE OF WILLIAMSBURG.

235

himself of them to delay the pursuit. General McClellan,
however, had evidently anticipated no resistance. He remained
at his head-quarters, two miles in the rear of Yorktown, until
summoned by special messenger in the afternoon of the 5th,
who announced to him that our troops had encountered the
enemy strongly posted, that a bloody battle was in progress,
and that his presence on the field was imperatively required.
Replying to the messenger that he had supposed our troops in
front "could attend to that little matter," General McClellan
left his head-quarters at about half-past two, P. M., and reached
the field at five. General Hooker, General Heintzelman, and
General Sumner, had been fighting under enormous difficulties,
and with heavy losses, during all the early part of the day; and
just as the commanding general arrived, General Kearney
had re-enforced General Hooker, and General Hancock had
executed a   brilliant flank  movement, which turned the
fortunes of the day, and left our forces in possession of the
field.
General McClellan does not seem to have understood that
this affair was simply an attempt of the rebel rear-guard to
cover the retreat of the main force, and that when it had
delayed the pursuit it had accomplished its whole purpose.
He countermanded an order for the advance of two divisions,
and ordered them back to Yorktown; and in a dispatch sent
to the War Department the same night, he treats the battle
as an engagement with the whole rebel army. "I find," he
says, " General Joe Johnson in front of me in strong force,
probably greater, a good deal, than my own."     He again
complains of the inferiority of his command, says he will do all
he can "with the force at his disposal," and that he should "run
the risk of at least holding them in check here (at Williamsburg') while he resumed the original plan "-which was to
send Franklin to West Point by water. But the flirect pursuit
of the retreating rebel army was abandoned-owing, as the




ï~~236       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
general said, to the bad state of the roads, which rendered it
impracticable.  Some five days were spent at Williamsburg, which enabled the rebels, notwithstanding the " state of
the roads," to withdraw their whole force across the Chickahominy, and establish themselves within the fortifications in
front of Richmond. On the morning of the 7th, General
Franklin landed at West Point, but too late to intercept the
main body of the retreating army: he was met by a strong
rear-guard, with whom   he had a sharp but fruitless engagement.
The York River had been selected as the base of operations,
in preference to the James, because it "was in a better position
to effect a junction with any troops that might move from
Washington on the Fredericksburg line;"*     and arrangements were made to procure supplies for the army by
that route. *On the 9th, Norfolk was evacuated by the
rebels, all the troops withdrawing in safety to Richmond;
and the city, on the next day, was occupied by General
Wool. On the 11th, the formidable steamer Merrimac, which
had held our whole naval force at Fortress Monroe completely
in check, was blown up by the rebels themselves, and our
vessels attempted to reopen the navigation of the James
River, but were repulsed by a heavy battery at Drury's bluff,
eight miles below Richmond. After waiting for several days
for the roads to improve, the main body of the army was put
in motion on the road towards Richmond, which was about
forty miles from Williamsburg; and, on the 16th, headquarters were established at White House, at the point where
the Richmond railroad crosses the Pamunkey, an affluent
of the York River-the main body of the army lying along
the south bank of the Chickahominy, a swampy stream, behind which the rebel army had intrenched itself for the
defence of Richmond.
* See General McClellan's testimony-Report of Committee on Conduct of the War, Vol. i., p. 431.
0




ï~~M'CLELLAN'S FEAR OF BEING OVERWHELMED.             237
General McClellan began again to prepare for fighting the
"decisive battle" which he had been predicting ever since the
rebels withdrew from Manassas, but which they had so far succeeded in avoiding. A good deal of his attention, however,
was devoted to making out a case of neglect against the Government. On the 10th of May, when he had advanced but
three miles beyond Williamsburg, he sent a long dispatch to
the War Department, reiterating his conviction that the rebels
were about to dislpute his advance with their whole force, and
asking for "every man" the Government could send him. If
not re-enforced he said he should probably be "obliged to fight
nearly double his numbers strongly intrenched." Ten days
previously the official returns showed that he had 160,000 men
unddr his command. On the 14th, he telegraphed the President, reiterating his fears that he was to be met by overwhelming numbers, saying that he could not bring more than 80,000
men into the field, and again asking for "every man" that the
War Department could send him. Even if more troops
should not be needed for military purposes, he thought a great
display of imposing force in the capital of the rebel government would have the best moral effect. To these repeated demands the President, through the Secretary of War, on the
18th of May, made the following reply:
WASHINGTON, May 18-2 P. M.
GENERAL: Your dispatch to the President, asking re-enforcements,
has been received and carefully 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 River, 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, keeping himsplf alwvays in position to save the capital from all possible attack, so to operate as to put
hia left wing in cununuication with your right wing, and you are in"




ï~~238       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
structed to co-operate so as to establish this communication as soon as
possible 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 McDowell 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 re-enforcements, 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 junction, which can put him out of position to cover
this city. You and he will communicate with each other by telegraph
or otherwise, as frequently as may be necessary for sufficient co-operation. When General McDowell is in position 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 Rappahannock, and of the forces with which he
moves forward.
By order of the President.              EDwIN M. STANTON.
In reply to this, on the 21st of May, General McClellan repeated his declarations of the overwhelning force of the rebels,
and urged that General McDowell should join him by water
instead of by land, going down the Rappahannock and the Bay
to Fortress Monroe, and then ascending the York and Pariunkey Rivers.   He feared there was "little hope that he could
join him overland in time for the coming battle. Delays," he
says, "on my part will be dangerous: I fear sickness and demoralization.  This region is unhealthy for Northern men, and
unless kept moving, I fear that our soldiers may become discouraged"-a fear that was partially justified by the experience
of the whole month succeeding, during which he kept them
idle. He complained also that McDowell was not put more
"




ï~~THE PRESIDENT TO M'CLELLAN.

239

completely under his command, and declared that a movement
by land would uncover Washington quite as completely as one
by water. He was busy at that time in bridging the Chickahomniny, and gave no instructions, as required, for supplying
McDowell's forces on their arrival at West Point.
To these representations, he received from the President the
following reply:
WASHINGTON, May 24, 1862.
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 McDowell's movement against Anderson, you
could send a force from your right to cut off the enemy's supplies from
Richmond, preserve the railroad bridge 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 succeed 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 Chickahominy
bridges? McDowell and Shields both say they can, and positively will
move Monday morning. 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 dispatch to us of the 21st.
A. LINCOLN, President.
Major-General G. B. MCCLELLAN.
General Banks, it will be remembered, had been sent by
General McClellan on the 1st of April, to guard the approaches
to Washington by the valley of the Shenandoah, which were
even then menaced by Jackson with a considerable rebel force.
A conviction of the entire insufficiency of the forces left for the




ï~~240       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
protection of the capital, had led to the retention of McDowell,
from whose command, however, upon General McClellan's
urgent and impatient applications, General Franklin's division
had been detached. On the 23d, as stated in the above letter
from the President, there were indications of a purpose on
Jackson's part to move in force against Banks; and this purpose was so clearly developed, and his situation became so
critical, that the President was compelled to re-enforce him, a
movement which he announced in the following dispatch to
General McClellan:
May 24, 1862.---(From Washington, 4 P. M.)
In consequence of General Banks's critical position, I have been compelled to suspend General McDowell's movements to join you. The
enemy are making a desperate push upon Harper's Ferry, and we are
trying to throw General Fremont's force, and part of General McDowell's, in their rear.
A. LixcoLN, President.
Major-General G. B. MCCLELLAN.
Unable apparently, or unwilling to concede any thing whatever to emergencies existing elsewhere, General McClellan remonstrated against the diversion of McDowell, in reply to
which he received, on the 26th, the following more full explanation from the President:
WASHINGTON, May 25, 1862.
Your dispatch received. General Banks was at Strasburg with
about 6,000 men, Shields having 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 Port Royal,
destroying it entirely; crossed the Shenandoah, and on the 24th, yesterday, pushed on to get north of Banks on the road to Winchester.
General Banks ran a race with them, beating them into Winchester
yesterday evening. This morning a battle ensued between the two
forces, in which General Banks was beaten back into full retreat toward
Martinsburg, and probably is broken up into a total rout. Geary, on
the Manassas Gap Railroad, just now reports that Jackson is now near
1




ï~~JACKSON'S RAID IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY.               241
Front Royal with 10,000 troops, following up and supporting, as I
understand, the force now pursuing Banks. Also, that another force of
ten thousand is near Orleans, following on in the same direction.
Stripped bare, as we are here, I will do all we can to prevent them
crossing the Potomac at Harper's Ferry or above. McDowell has about
twenty thousand of his forces moving back to the vicinity of Port Royal,
and Fremont, who was at Franklin, is moving to Harrisonburg, both
those 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 forces remain 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,
calling in militia from the adjacent States. We also have eighteen cannon on the road to Harper's Ferry, of which arm there is not a single
one at that point. This is now our situation.
If McDowell's force was now beyond our reach, we should be entirely
helpless. Apprehensions of something like this, and no unwillingness to sustain you, has always been my reason for withholding McDowell's forces
from you.
Please understand this, and do the best you can with the forces you
have.
A. LINCOLN, President.
Major-General MCCLELLAN.
Jackson continued his triumphant march through the Shenandoah valley, and for a time it seemed as if nothing could
prevent his crossing the Potomac, and making his appearance   in rear   of Washington.      The   President promptly
announced this state of things to General McClellan in the
following dispatch:
WASHINGTON, May 25, 1862-2 P. M.
The enemy is moving north in sufficient force to drive General Banks
before him; precisely in what force we cannot tell. He is also threatening Leesburg and Geary on the Manassas Gap Railroad, from both
north and south; in precisely 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 purpose of a very desperate defence of Richmond.
I think the time is near when you must either attack Richmond or give
up the job, and come to the defence of Washington. Let me hear from
you instantly.                                     A. LINCOLN.
11




ï~~242      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
To this General McClellan replied that, independently of the
President's letter, "The time was very near when he should
attack Richmond." He knew nothing of Banks's position and
force, but thought Jackson's movement was designed to prevent re-enforcements being sent to him.
On the 26th, the President announced to General McClellan
the safety of Banks at Williamsport, and then turned his attention, with renewed anxiety, to the movement against Richmond, urging General McClellan, if possible, to cut the railroad
between that city and the Rappahannock, over which the
enemy obtained their supplies. The general, on the evening of
the 26th, informed him that he was "quietly closing in upon the
enemy preparatory to the last struggle"-that he felt forced to
take every possible precaution against disaster, and that his
"arrangements for the morrow were very important, and if
successful would leave him free to strike on the return of the
force attacked." The movement here referred to was one
against a portion of the rebel forces at Hanover Court-House,
which threatened McDowell, and was in position to re-enforce
Jackson. The expedition was under command of General FitzJohn Porter, and proved a success. General McClellan on the
28th announced it to the Government as a "complete rout"
of the rebels, and as entitling Porter to the highest honors.
In the same dispatch he said he would do his best to cut off
Jackson from returning to Richmond, but doubted if he could.
The great battle was about to be fought before Richmond, and he
adds: " It is the policy and the duty of the Government to send
me by water all the well-drilled troops available. All unavailable
troops should be collected here." Porter, he said, had cut all
the railroads but the one from Richmond to Fredericksburg,
which was the one concerning which the President had evinced
the most anxiety. Another expedition was sent to the South
Anna River and Ashland, which destroyed some bridges without opposition. This was announced to the Government by




ï~~THE PRESIDENT TO M'CLELLAN.

243

General McClellan as another "complete victory" achieved by
the heroism of Porter,-accompanied by the statement that
the enemy were even in greater force than he had supposed.
"I will do," said the dispatch, "all that quick movements can
accomplish, and you must send me all the troops you can, and
leave to me full latitude as to choice of commanders." In
reply, the President sent him the following:
WASHINGTON, May 28, 1862.
I am very glad of General F. J. Porter's victory; 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 nothing. That the whole of the
enemy is concentrating 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 fifteen thousand left Hanover
Junction Monday morning to re-enforce 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 the due regard to all points.
A. LINCOLN.
Major-General MCCLELLAN.
To a dispatch reporting the destruction of the South Anna
Railroad bridge, the President replied thus:
WASHINGTON, May 29, 1862.
Your dispatches as to the South Anna and Ashland being seized by
our forces this morning is received. Understanding these points to be
on the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, I heartily congratulate
the country, and thank General McClellan and his army for their seizure.
A. LINCOLN.
On the 30th, General McClellan telegraphed to the Secretary
of War, complaining that the Government did not seem to appreciate the magnitude of Porter's victory, and saying that his




ï~~244      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
army was now well in hand, and that "another day will make
the probable field of battle passable for artillery."
On the 25th of May, General Keyes with the Fourth Corps
had been ordered across the Chickahominy, and was followed
by the Third, under General Heintzelman-one Division of the
Fourth, under General Casey, being pushed forward within
seven miles of Richmond, to Seven Pines, which he was
ordered to hold at all hazards. On the 28th, General Keyes
was ordered to advance Casey's Division three-quarters of a mile
to Fair Oaks. General Keyes obeyed the order, but made
strong representations to head-quarters of the extreme danger
of pushing these troops so far in advance without adequate
support, and requested that General Heintzelman might be
brought within supporting distance, and that a stronger force
might be crossed over the Chickahominy to be in readiness for
the general engagement which these advances would be very
likely to bring on. These requests were neglected, and General
Keyes was regarded and treated as an alarmist. On the afternoon of the 30th he made a personal examination of his front,
and reported that he was menaced by an overwhelming force
of the enemy in front and on both flanks, and he again urged
the necessity for support, to which he received a very abrupt
reply that no more troops would be crossed over, and that the
Third Corps would not be advanced unless he was attacked.
At about noon the next day he was attacked on both flanks
and in front, General Casey's Division driven back with heavy
loss, and in spite of a stubborn and gallant resistance on the
part of his corps, General Keyes was compelled to fall back with
severe losses, some two miles, when the enemy was checked,
and night put an end to the engagement. On hearing the
firing at head-quarters, some four miles distant, General
McClellan ordered General Sumner to hold his command in
readiness to move. General Sumner 'not only did so, but
moved them at once to the bridge, and on receiving authority




ï~~SEVEN PINES AND FAIR OAKS.

245

crossed over, and, by the greatest exertions over muddy roads,
reached the field of battle in time to aid in checking the rebel
advance for the night. Early the next morning the enemy
renewed the attack with great vigor, but the arrival of General
Sumner, and the advance of General Heintzelman's Corps,
enabled our forces, though still greatly inferior, not only to repel the assault, but to inflict upon the enemy a signal defeat.
They were driven back in the utmost confusion and with terrible losses upon Richmond, where their arrival created the
utmost consternation, as it was taken for granted they would
be immediately followed by our whole army.
General McClellan, who had remained with the main body
of the army on the other side of the Chickahominy during the
whole of the engagements of both days, crossed the river after
the battle was over, and visited the field. "The state of the
roads," he says, "and the impossibility of manaeuvring artillery, prevented pursuit." He returned to head-quarters in the
afternoon. On the next day, June 2d, General Heintzelman
sent forward a strong reconnoitering party under General
Hooker, which went within four miles of Richmond without
finding any enemy. Upon being informed of this fact, General
McClellan ordered the force to fall back to its old position,
assigning the bad state of the roads as the reason for not attempting either to march upon Richmond or even to hold the
ground already gained. In a dispatch to Washington on the
2d, he states that he " only waits for the river to fall to cross
with the rest of the army and make a general attack. The
morale of my troops," he adds, " is now such that I can venture
much. I do not fear for odds against me."  It seems to have
been his intention then, to concentrate his forces for an immediate advance upon the rebel capital, though in his report,
written more than a year afterwards, he says the idea of uniting
the two wings of the army at that time for a vigorous move
upon Richmond was "simply absurd, and was probably never




ï~~246      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
seriously entertained by any one connected with the Army of
the Potomac." *
The Government at once took measures to strengthen the
army by all the means available. An order was issued, placing
at his command all the disposable forces at Fortress Monroe,
and another ordering McDowell to send McCall's division
to him ly water from   Fredericksburg. McDowell or Fremont was expected to fight Jackson at Front Royal, after
which, part of their troops would become available for
the Army of the Potomac. On the 4th, General McClellan
telegraphed that it was raining, that the river was still high,
that he had "to be very cautious," that he expected another severe battle, and hoped, after our heavy losses, he
"should no longer be regarded as an alarmist."  On the 5th,
the Secretary of War sent him word that troops had been
embarked for him at Baltimore, to which he replied on the
7th, "I shall be in perfect readiness to move forward and take
Richmond the moment McCall reaches here, and the ground
will admit the passage of artillery." On the 10th, General
McCall's forces began to arrive at White House, and on the
same day General McClellan telegraphed to the Department
that a rumor had reached him that the rebels had been re-enforced by Beauregard,-that he thought a portion of Halleck's
army from Tennessee should be sent to strengthen him, but
that he should "attack with what force he had, as soon as
the weather and ground will permit-but there will be a delay,"
he added, "the extent of which no one can foresee, for the
season is altogether abnormal." The Secretary of War replied that Halleck would be urged to comply with his request
if he could safely do so-that neither Beauregard nor his army
was in Richmond, that McDowell's force would join him as
soon as possible, that Fremont had had an engagement, not
* See Gen. McClellan's Report, August 4, 1863.




ï~~M'CLELLANS COMPLAINTS OF M'DOWELL.

247

wholly successful, with Jackson, and closing with this strong
and cordial assurance of confidence and support:
Be assured, General, that there never has been a moment when my
desire has been otherwise than to aid you with my whole heart, mind,
and strength, since the hour we first met; and whatever others may say
for their own purposes, you have never had, aad never can have, any
one more truly your friend, or more anxious to support you, or more
joyful than I shall be at the success which I have no doubt will soon be
achieved by your arms.
On the 14th, General McClellan wrote to the War Department that the weather was favorable, and that two days more
would make the ground practicable. He still urges the propriety of sending him   more troops, but finds a new subject
of comriplaint in a telegram he had received from McDowell.
The latter, on the 8th, had received the following orders:
The Secretary of War directs that, having first provided adequately
for the defence of the city of Washington and for holding the position
at Fredericksburg, you operate with the residue of your force as
speedily as possible in the direction of Richmond to co-operate with
Major-General McClellan in accordance with the instructions heretofore
given you. Mc Call's Division, which has been by previous order directed towards Richmond by water, will still form a part of the Army of
the Rappahannock, and will come under your orders when you are in
a position to co-operate with General McClellan.
General McDowell had telegraphed McClellan as follows on
the 10th of June:
For the third time I am ordered to join you, and hope this time to
get through. In view of the remarks made with reference to my leaving you, and not joining you before, by your friends, and of something
I have heard as coming from you on that subject, I wish to say I go
with the greatest satisfaction, and hope to arrive with my main body
in time to be of service. McCall goes in advance by water. I will be
with you in ten days with the remainder by Fredericksburg.
And again, June 12th:




ï~~248       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
The delay of Major-General Banks to relieve the Division of my
command in the valley beyond the time I had calculated on, will prevent
my joining you with the remainder of the troops I am to take below at
as early a day as I named. My Third Division (McCall's) is now on
the way. Please do me the favor to so place it that it may be in a position
to join the others as they come down from Fredericksburg.
These telegrams, it will be seen, are in accordance with the
orders to McDowell of the 8th, which directed that McCall's
Division should continue to form part of the Army of the
Rappahannock, and required that McDowell should operate in
the direction of Richmond, to co-operate with McClellan in
accordance with instructions heretofore given him.
These instructions are those of the 17th and 18th of May,
concerning which McClellan sent the President his long telegram of the 21st, in which he says:
This fact (McDowell's forces coming within his Department), my
superior rank, and the express language of the sixty-second article of
war, will place his command under my orders, unless it is otherwise
specially directed by your Excellency, and I consider that he will be
under my.command, except that I am not to detach any portion of his
forces, or give any orders which can put him out of position to cover
Washington.
To this the President answered:
You will have command of McDowell after he joins you, precisely
as you indicated in your long dispatch to us of the 21st.
In regard to this, McClellan, in his report (August.4th,
1863), says:
This information, that McDowell's Corps would march from Fredericksburg on the following Monday-the 26th-and that he would be
under my command as indicated in my telegram of the 21st, was
cheering news, and I now felt confident that we would on his arrival
be sufficiently strong to overpower the large army confronting us.
Yet in the simple request of McDowell, as to the posting
of his Third (McCall's) Division-made to carry out the




ï~~M'CLELLANI  S COMPLAINTS OF M'DOWELL.

249

plan-the news of which, McClellan says, was so cheering,
and inspired him with such confidence, McClellan sees nothing
but personal ambition on McDowell's part, and protests against
that " spirit" in the following terms:
That request does not breathe the proper spirit. Whatever troops
come to me must be disposed of so as to do the most good. I do not
feel that, in such circumstances as those in which I am now placed,
General McDowell should wish the general interests to be sacrificed for
the purpose of increasing his command.
If I cannot fully control all his troops, I want none of them, but would
prefer to fight the battle with what I have, and let others be responsible for
the results.
The department lines should not be allowed to interfere with me; but
General McD., and all other troops sent to me, should be placed completely at my disposal, to do with them as I think best. In no other
way can they be of assistance to me. I therefore request that I may
have entire and full control. The stake at issue is too great to allow
personal considerations to be entertained: you know that I have none.
It had been suggested, in some of the journals of the day,
that General McDowell might possibly advance upon Richmond from the north, without waiting for McClellan: it is
scarcely possible, however, that any suspicion of such a purpose could have had any thing to do with General McClellan's
reiterated and emphatic desire that McDowell should join him
by water, so as to be in his rear, and not by land, which
would bring him on his front,-with his peremptory demand
that all McDowell's troops should be "completely at his disposal," with his indignant protest against McDowell's personal
ambition, or with his conviction of the propriety and necessity of disavowing all personal considerations for himself.
But it is certainly a little singular that a commander, intrusted
with an enterprise of such transcendent importance to his
army and country, who had been so urgently calling for reenforcements as absolutely indispensable to success, should
have preferred not to receive them, but to fight the battle
11*




ï~~250       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
with what he had, rather than      have the co-operation of
McDowell under the two conditions fixed by the President, (1),
that he should not deprive him of his troops, or, (2), post them
so as to prevent their being kept interposed between the
enemy and Washington.      Even if he could leave "others to
be responsible for the results," it Is not easy to see how he
could reconcile the possibility of adverse results with his professedly paramount concern for the welfare of his country.
On the 20th of June, he telegraphed the President that
troops to the number probably of 10,000 had left Richmond
to re-enforce Jackson; that his defensive works on the Chickahominy, made necessary by his " inferiority of numbers,"
would be completed the next day; and that he would be glad
to learn the " disposition, as to numbers and position, of the
troops not under his command, in Virginia and elsewhere,"
as also to lay before his Excellency, "by letter or telegraph,
his views as to the present state of military affairs throughout
the whole country." To this he received the following reply:
WASHINGTON, June 21, 1862-6 P. M.
Your dispatch of yesterday, two P. M., was received this morning.
If it would not divert too much of your time and attention from the
army under your immediate command, I would be glad to have your
views as to the present state of military affairs throughout the whole
country, as you say you would be glad to give them. I would rather it
should be by letter than by telegraph, because of the better chance of
secrecy. As to the numbers and positions of the troops not under your
command, in Virginia and elsewhere, even if I could do it with accuracy, which I cannot, I wculd rather not transmit either by telegraph
or letter, because of the chances of its reaching the enemy. I would
be very glad to talk with you, but you cannot leave your camp, and I
cannot well leave here.                 A. LINCOLN, President.
Major-General GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN.
The President also stated that the news of Jackson's having
been re-enforced from  Richmond was confirmed by Ge. King
at Fredericksburg, and added, "If this is true, it is as good




ï~~M'CLELLAN'S CONTINUED DELAYS.

251

as a re-enforcement to you of an equal force." In acknowledging the first dispatch, Gen. McClellan said, he "perceived
that it would be better to defer the communication he desired
to make" on the condition of the country at large; he soon,
indeed, had occasion to give all his attention to the army
under his command.
Gen. McClellan had been, for nearly a month, declaring his
intention to advance upon Richmond immediately. At times
as has been seen from his dispatches, the movement was fixed
for specific days, though in every instance something occurred,
when the decisive moment arrived, to cause a further postponement. On the 18th, again announcing his intention to
advance, he said that a " general engagement might take
place at any hour, as an advance by us involves a battle more
or less decisive."  But in the same dispatch he said, "After
to-morrow we shall fight the rebel army as soon as Providence
will permit." But in this case, as in every other, in spite of
his good intentions, and the apparent permission of Providence, Gen. McClellan made no movement in advance, but
waited until he was attacked. He had placed his army astride
the Chickahominy-the left wing being much the strongest
and most compact, the right being comparatively weak and
very extended. He had expended, however, a great deal of
labor in bridging the stream, so that either wing could have
been thrown across with great ease and celerity. Up to the
24th of June, Gen. McClellan believed Jackson to be in strong
force at Gordonsville, where he was receiving re-enforcements
from Richmond with a view to operations in that quarter.
But on that day he was told by a deserter that Jackson was
planning a movement to attack his right and rear on the 28th,
and this information was confirmed by advices from the War
Department on the 25th. On that day, being convinced that
he is to be attacked, and will therefore be comnpelled to fight,
he writes to the Department to throw upon others the re



ï~~252      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
sponsibility of an anticipated defeat. He declares the rebel
force to be some 200,000, regrets his "great inferiority of
numbers," but protests that he is not responsible for it, as he
has repeatedly and constantly called for re-enforcements, and
declares that if the result of the action is a disaster, the
" responsibility cannot be thrown on his shoulders, but must
rest where it belongs." He closes by announcing that a reconnoissance which he had ordered had proved successful, that
he should probably be attacked the next day, and that he
felt "that there was no use in again asking for re-enforcements."
To this the President replied as follows:
WASHINGTON, June 26, 1862.
Your three dispatches of yesterday in relation, ending with the statement that you completely succeeded in making your point, are very
gratifying. The later one, suggesting the probability of your being
overwhelmed by 200,000 men, and talking of to whom the responsibility will belong, pains me very much. I give you all I can, and act on
the presumption that you will do the best you can with what you have;
while you continue, ungenerously I think, to assume that I could give
you more if I would. I have omitted-I shall omit-no opportunity
to send you re-enforcements whenever I can.
A. LINCOLN.
Gen. McClellan had foreseen the probhbility of being attacked, and had made arrangements for a defeat.   "More than
a week previous," he says in his report, "that is, on the 18th,"
he had prepared for a retreat to the James River, and had ordered supplies to that point. His extreme right was attacked
at Mechanicsville on the afternoon of the 26th, but the enemy
were repulsed. The movement, however, disclosed the purpose of the rebel army to crush his right wing and cut off
his communications, if possible. Two plans were open to his
adoption: he might have brought over his left wing, and so
strengthened his right as to give it a victory, or he might
have withdrawn his right across the Chi'ckahominy-in itself
a strong defensive line-and have pushed his whole force into




ï~~GEN. M'CLELLAN PREPARES FOR DEFEAT. 253

Richmond, and upon the rear of the attacking force.      Concentration seemed to be absolutely essential to success in any
event. But he did not attempt it. He left the right wing to
contend next day with 30,000 men, without support, against the
main body of the rebel army, and only withdrew it across the
Chickahominy after it had been beaten with terrific slaughter on
the 27th, in the battle of Gaines's Mill.  On the evening of that
day he informed his corps commanders of his purpose to fall
back to the James River, and withdrew the remainder of his
right wing across the Chickahominy. On the next day the
whole army was put in motion on the retreat; and Gen. McClellan found time again to reproach the Government with
neglect of his army. If he had 10,000 fresh men to use at
once; he said, he could take Richmond; but as it was, all he
could do would be to cover his retreat.  He repeated that he
was " not responsible" for the result, and that he must have
instantly very large re-enforcements; and closed by saying
to the Secretary of War-what we do not believe any subordinate was ever before permitted to say to his superior
officer without instant dismissal-" If I save this army now,
I tell you plainly that I owe no thanks to you or to any persons
in Washington: you have done your best to sacrifice this army."
To this dispatch the President replied as follows:
WASHINGTON, June 28, 1862.
Save your army at all events. Will send re-enforcoments as fast as.
we can. Of course, they cannot reach you to-day, to-morrow, or next
day. I have not said you were ungenerous for saying you needed reenforcements; I thought you were ungenerous in assuming that I did
not send them as fast as I could. I feel any misfortune 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 sent could have got to you. Less than a




ï~~254       PRESIDENT LINCOLN1 S ADMINISTRATION.
week ago you notified us that re-enforcements 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.                  A. LINCOLN.
Under general orders from General McClellan, he and his
staff proceeding in advance, and leaving word where the corps
commanders were to make successive stands to resist pursuit,
but taking no part personally in any one of the succeeding engagements, the army continued its march towards James River.
They first resisted and repulsed the pursuing rebels on the 29th
at Savage Station, in a bloody battle, fought under General Sumner, and on the 30th had another severe engagement at Glendale. On the 1st of July, our troops, strongly posted at Malvern Hill, were again attacked by the rebels, whom they repulsed and routed with terrible slaughter; and orders were at
once issued for the further retreat of the army to Harrison's
Landing, which General McClellan had personally examined
and selected on the day before. Even before the battle of
Malvern Hill, he had telegraphed to Washington for "fresh
troops," saying he should fall back to the river if possible; to
which dispatch he received the following reply:
WASHINGTON, July 1, 1862-3.30 P. x.
It is impossible to re-enforce you for your present 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.
Major-General G. B. McCLLLAN.
On the next day, in reply to a request from General McClellan for 50,000 more troops, the President thus addressed him:
WAsHINGTON, July 2, 1862.
Your dispatch of yesterday induces me to hbpe that your army is
having some rest. In this hope, allow me to reason with you for a mo



ï~~GEN. M'CLELLAN'S CALL FOR MORE MEN.

255

mont. 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 defence of Washington, and advising a return to that plan. I find it included in and about Washington 75,000 men. Now, please be assured
that I have not men enough to fill that very plan by 15,000. All of
General Fremont's in the Valley, all of Genera! Banks's, all of General
McDowell's not with you, and all in Washington taken together, do
not exceed, if they reach, 60,000. With General Wool and General Dix
added to those mentioned, I have not, outside of your army, 75,000
men east of the mountains. Thus, the idea of sending you 50,000, or
any other considerable forces promptly, is simply absurd. If in your
frequent mention of responsibility 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
personnel, and I will strengthen it for the offensive again as fast as I can.
The governors of eighteen States offer me a now levy of 300,000, which
I accept.                                         A. LINcOLns.
On the next day, the 3d, General McClellan again wrote
for 100,000 men-" more rather than less," in order to enable
him to "accomplish the great task of capturing Richmond,
and putting an end to the rebellion;" and at the same time he
sent his chief of staff, General Marcy, to Washington, in order
to secure a perfect understanding of the state of the army.
The General said he hoped the enemy was as completely worn
out as his own army, though he apprehended a new attack,
from which, however, he trusted the bad condition of the
roads might protect him. On the 4th, he repeated his call
for " heavy re-enforcements," but said he held a very strong
position, from which, with the aid of the gunboats, he could
only be driven by overwhelming numbers. On the same day
he received the following from the President:
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, D. C., July 4, 1862.
I understand your position as stated in your letter,'and by General
Marcy. To re-enforce you so as to enable you to resume the offensive




ï~~256    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

within a month, or even six weeks, is impossible. In addition to that
arrived and now arriving from the Potomac (about ten thousand men,
I suppose), and about ten thousand, I hope, you will have from Burnside very soon, and about five thousand from Hunter a little later, I do
not see how I can send you another man within a month. Under these
circumstances, the defensive, for the present, must be your only care.
Save the army, first, where you are, if'you can; and 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 re-enforcements mentioned above, you can hold your present position; provided, and so long
as you can keep the James River open below 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.                                       A. LINCOLN.
P. S.-If at any time you feel able to take the offensive, you are not
restrained from'doing so.
A. L.
At this point on the 7th of July, General McClellan sent to
the President a letter of advice on the general conduct of his
Administration. He thought the time had come " when the
Government should determine upon a civil and military policy
covering the whole ground of our national trouble," and he
proceeded to lay down the basis of such a policy as ought to
be adopted. The war against the rebellion, he said, "should
not be a war looking to the subjugation of the people of any
State in any event. Neither confiscation of property, political
execution of persons, territorial organization of States, nor
forcible abolition of slavery, should be contemplated for a
moment. He added:"
Military power should not be allowed to interfere with the relations
of servitude, either by supporting or impairing the authority of the master, except for repressing disorder, as in other cases. Slaves, contraband, under the act of Congress, seeking military protection, should




ï~~GEN. M' CLELLANIS ADVICE TO THE PRESIDENT. 257
receive it. The right of the Government to appropriate permanently to
its own service claims to slave labor, should be asserted, and the right
of the owner to compensation therefor should be recognized. This
principle might be extended, upon grounds of military necessity and
security, to all the slaves of a particular State, thus working manumission in such State; and in Missouri, perhaps in Western Virginia
also, and possibly even in Maryland, the expediency of such a measure
is only a question of time. *  *
Unless the principles governing the future conduct of our struggle
shall be made known and approved, the effort'to obtain requisite forces
will be almost hopeless. A declaration of radical views, especially upon
slavery, will rapidly disintegrate our present armies.
He closed this letter by saying that to carry out these views
the President would require a Commander-in-Chief who possessed his confidence and could execute his orders: he did not
ask that place for himself, but would serve in any position that
might be assigned him. "I may be," he adds, "on the brink of
eternity; and as I hope for forgiveness from my Maker, I have
written this letter with sincerity towards you, and from love
for my country."
The President, instead of entering upon a discussion as to
the general policy of his Administration, continued to urge the
general's attention to the state of his own army; and in order
to inform himself more accurately as to its actual condition
and prospects, visited the camp on the 8th of July, at Harrison's Landing. The actual strength of the army seems to
have been at that time a matter of considerable difference of
opinion; and in regard to it, on returning to Washington, the
President thus addressed the general:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, July 13, 1862.
MY DEAR SiR: I am told that over 160,000 men have gone with your
army on the Peninsula. When I was with you the other day, we made
out 86,000 remaining, leaving 73,500 to be accounted for. I believe
3,500 will cover all the killed, wounded, and missing, in all your battles




ï~~258       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
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 perfect 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 nupnbers for the future?
A. LncoLx.
In reply to this letter, the general disclosed the fact that
38,250 men of his army were absent by authority-i. e., on furloughs granted by permission of the Commanding General.
The actual number of troops composing his army on the 20th of
July, according to official returns, was 158,314, and the aggregate losses in the retreat to the James River was 15,249.
During the President's visit to the camp, the future movements of the army were a subject of anxious deliberation. It
was understood that the rebels were gathering large forces for
another advance upon Washington, which was comparatively
unprotected-and as General McClellan did not consider himself strong enough to take the offensive, it was felt to be
absolutely necessary to concentrate the army, either on the
Peninsula or in front of Washington, for the protection of the
capital. The former course, after the experience of the past
season, was felt to be exceedingly hazardous, and the corps
commanders of the Army of the Potomac were decidedly in
favor of the latter. General McClellan at once addressed
himself to the task of defeating the project. On the 11th, he
telegraphed to the President that "the army was in fine
spirits, and that he hoped he would soon make him strong
enough to try again."   On the 12th, he said he was "more
and more convinced that the army ought not to be withdrawn,
but promptly re-enforced and thrown again upon Richmond."
He "dreaded the effects of any retreat on the morale of his
men "--though his previous experience should have obviated




ï~~PREPARATIONS TO CONCENTRATE THE ARMY.         259
any such apprehension in his mind. "If we have a little
more than half a chance," he said, "we can take Richmond."
On the 17th, he urged that General Burnside's whole command in North Carolina should be ordered to join him, to
enable him to "assume the offensive as soon as possible."  On
the 18thi, he repeated this request; and on'the 28th, again urged
that he should be "at once re-enforced by all available troops."
On the 25th, General Halleck had visited the camp, and, after
a careful inspection of the condition of the army, called an informal council of the officers, a majority of whom, upon
learning the state of affairs, recommended its withdrawal from
the Peninsula. On the 30th, he issued an order to General
McClellan to make arrangements at once for a prompt removal
of all the sick in his army, in order to enable him to move "in
any direction." On the 2d of August, not having received
any reply, General -Halleck renewed his order to " remove
them as rapidly as possible;" to which, on the 3d, General
McClellan replied that it was "impossible to decide what cases
to send off unless he knew what was to be done with the
army "-and that if he was to be "kept longer in ignorance
of what was to be effected, he could not be expected to
accomplish the object in view." In reply, General Halleck
informed him that his army was to be "withdrawn from the
Peninsula to Acquia Creek," but that the withdrawal should
be concealed even from his own officers. General McClellan,
on the 4th, wrote a long protest against this movement--
saying it mattered not what partial reverses might be sustained elsewhere-there was the "true defence of Washington," and he asked that the order might be rescinded. To
this letter, after again urging General McClellan on the 4th to
hasten the removal of the sick, which he was "expected to
have done without waiting to know what were or would be
the intentions of the Government respecting future movements," General Halleck on the 6th addressed him as follows:




ï~~260       PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
WASHINGTON, August 6, 1862. f
GENERAL: Your telegram of yesterday was received this morning, and
I immediately telegraphed a brief reply, promising to write you moro
fully by mail.
You, General, certainly could not have been more pained at receiving
my order than I was at the necessity of issuing it. I was advised by
high officers, in whose judgment I had great confidence, to make the
order immediately on my arrival here, but I determined not to do so
until I could learn your wishes from a personal interview. And even
after that interview I tried every means in my power to avoid withdrawing your army, and delayed my decision as long as I dared to
delay it.
I assure you, General, it was not a hasty and inconsiderate act, but
one that caused me more anxious thoughts than any other of my life.
)But after full and mature consideration of all the pros and cons, I was
reluctantly forced to the conclusion that the order must be issuedthere was to my mind no alternative.
Allow me to allude to a few of the facts in the case.
You and your officers at our interview estimated the enemy's forces
in and around Richmond at two hundred thousand men. Since then,
you and others report that they have received and are receiving large
re-enforcements from the South. General Pope's army, covering Washington, is only about forty thousand. Your effective force is only about
ninety thousand. You are thirty miles from Richmond, and General
Pope eighty or ninety, with the enemy directly between you, ready to fall
with his superior numbers upon one or the other as he may elect; neither can
re-enforce the other in case of such an attack.
If General Pope's army be diminished to re-enforce you, Washington,
Maryland, and Pennsylvania, would be left uncovered and exposed. If
your force be reduced to strengthen Pope, you would be too weak to
even hold the position you now occupy, should the enemy turn round
and attack you in full force. In other words, the old Army of the
Potomac is split into two parts, with the entire force of the enemy
directly between them. They cannot be united by land without exposing both to destruction, and yet they must be united. To send Pope's
forces by water to the Peninsula is, under present circumstances, a
military impossibility. The only alternative is to send the forces on the
Peninsula to some point by water, say Fredericksburg, where the two
armies can be united.




ï~~GEN. HALLECK TO M'CLELLAN.

261

Let me now allude to some of the objections which you have urged:
you say that the withdrawal from the present position will cause the
certain demoralization of the army, "which is now in excellent discipline
and condition."
I cannot understand why a simple change of position to a new and
by no means distant base will demoralize an army in excellent discipline,
unless the officers themselves assist in that femoralization, which I am
satisfied they will not.
Your change of front from your extreme right at Hanover Court-House
to your present condition was over thirty miles, but I have not heard
that it demoralized your troops, notwithstanding the severe losses they
sustained in effecting it.
A new base on the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg brings you
within about sixty miles of Richmond, and secures a re-enforcement of
forty or fifty thousand fresh and disciplined troops.
The change with such advantages will, I think, if properly represented
to your army, encourage rather than demoralize your troops. Moreover,
you yourself suggested that a junction might be effected at Yorktown,
but that a flank march across the isthmus would be more hazardous than
to retire to Fort Monroe.
You will remember that Yorktown is two or three miles further than
Fredericksburg is. Besides, the latter is between Richmond and
Washington, and covers Washington from any attack of the enemy.
The political effect of the withdrawal may at first be unfavorable; but
I think the public are beginning to understand its necessity, and that
they will have much more confidence in a united army than in its separated fragments.
But you will reply, why not re-enforce me here, so that I can strike
Richmond from my present position? To do this, you said, at our interview, that you required thirty thousand additional troops. I told you
that it was impossible to give you so many. You finally thought you
would have "some chance" of success with twenty thousand. But you
afterwards telegraphed me that you would require thirty-five thousand,
as the enemy was being largely re-enforced.
If your estimate of the enemy's strength was correct, your requisition
was perfectly reasonable; but it was utterly impossible to fill it until
new troops could be enlisted and organized, which would require several
weeks.
To keep your army in its present position until it could be so re-enforced would almost destroy it in that climate.




ï~~262       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
The months of August and September are almost fatal to whites who
live on that part of James River; and even after you received the reenforcement asked for, you admitted that you must reduce Fort Darling
and the river batteries before you could advance on Richmond.
It is by no means certain that the reduction of these fortifications
would not require considerable time-perhaps as much as those at Yorktown.
This delay might not only be fatal to the health of your army, but in
the mean time General Pope's forces would be exposed to the heavy
blows of the enemy without the slightest hope of assistance from you.
In regard to the demoralizing effect of a withdrawal from the Peninsula to the Rappahannock, I must remark that a large number of your
highest officers, indeed a majority of those whose opinions have been reported to me, are decidedly in favor of the movement. Even several of
those who originally advocated the line of the Peninsula now advise its
abandonment.
I have not inquired, and do not wish to know, by whose advice or for
what reasons the army of the Potomac was separated into two parts
with the enemy between them. I eust take things as I find them.
I find the forces divided, and I wish to unite them. Only one feasible
plan has been presented for doing this. If you, or any one else, had
presented a better plan, I certainly should have adopted it. But all of
your plans require re-enforcements which it is impossible to give you.
It is very easy to ask for re-enforcements, but it is not so easy to give
them when you have no disposable troops at your command.
I have written very plainly as I understand the case, and I hope you
will give me credit for having fully considered the matter, although I
may have arrived at very different conclusions from your own.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. H. HALLECK, General-n-Chi-ef.
Major-General G. B. MCCLELLAN, Commanding, etc., Berkeley, Virginia.
The order for the removal of the sick was given to General
McCleUllan on the 2d of August. On the 7th he reported that
3,740 had been sent, and 5,700 still remained. On the 9th, General Halleck telegraphed McClellan that the enemy was massing
his forces in front of General Pope and Burnside to crush them
and move upon Washington, and that re-enforcements must at
once be sent to Aquia Creek; to which he replied that he




ï~~APPOINTMENT OF GEN. POPE.

263

would "move the whole army as soon as the sick were disposed of." On the 12th, in replyto the most pressing orders
for immediate dispatch from General Halleck, who urged that
Burnside had moved 13,000 troops in two days to Aquia
Creek, General McClellan said if Washington was in danger,
that army could scarcely arrive in time to save it. On the 14th,
he announced that the movement had commenced; on the
17th, he said he "should not feel entirely secure until he had
the whole army beyond the Chickahominy, but that he would
then begin to forward troops by water as fast as transportation
would permit." On the 23d, General Franklin's Corps started
from Fortress Monroe; General McClellan followed the next
day, and reached Aquia Creek on the 24th, and Alexandria on
the evening of the 26th of August.
On the 27th of June the President had issued an order consolidating into one army, to be called the Army of Virginia,
the forces under Major-Generals Fremont, Banks, and McDowell. The command of this army was assigned to Major-General John Pope; and the army was divided into three corps,
of which the first was assigned to Fremont, the second to
Banks, and the third to McDowell. Upon receiving this order
Major-General Fremont applied to be relieved from the command which it assigned him, on the ground that by the appointment of General Pope to the chief command, his (Fremont's) position was "subordinate and inferior to that heretofore held by him, and to remain in the subordinate rank now
assigned him, would largely reduce his rank and consideration
in the service."  In compliance with his request, General Fremont was at once relieved.
On the 27th of August, General McClellan was ordered by
General Halleck to " take entire direction of the sending out
of the troops from Alexandria" to re-enforce Pope, whom the
enemy were pressing with a powerful army, and whose headquarters were then at Warrenton Junction. A portion of the




ï~~264       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Army of the Potomac which arrived before General McClellan,
had at once gone forward to the aid of Pope;-of those which
arrived after him, or which were at Alexandria when he arrived, not one reached the field or took any part in the batties by which the army was saved from destruction, and the
capital from capture.
The extent to which General McClellan, who had the
" entire direction of the sending of these re-enforcements," was
responsible for this result, is a matter of so much importance,
not only to himself and the Government, but to the whole
country, as to demand a somewhat detailed examination.
In his Report of August 4th, 1863, after giving a portion
only of the correspondence between himself and the Government on this subject, General McClellan says:
It will be seen from what has preceded that I lost no time that could
be avoided in moving the Army of the Potomac from the Peninsula to
the support of the Army of Virginia; that I spared no effort to hasten
the embarkation of the troops at Fort Monroe, Newport News, and
Yorktown, remaining at Fort Monroe myself until the mass of the army
had sailed; and that after my arrival at Alexandria, I left nothing in my
power undone to forward supplies and re-enforcements to General Pope. I
sent, with troops that moved, all the cavalry I could get hold of. Even
my personal escort was sent out upon the line of the railway as a guard,
with the provost and camp guards at head-quarters, retaining less than
one hundred men, many of whom were orderlies, invalids, members of
bands, &c. All the head-quarters teams that arrived were sent out with
supplies and ammunition, none being retained even to move the headquarters camp. The squadron that habitually served as my personal
escort was left at Falmouth with General Burnside, as he was deficient
in cavalry.
Before taking up more important matters, it may be well to
remark, that as General McClellan was in the city of Alexandria, and not in any way exposed to personal danger, it is
difficult to appreciate the merit he seems to make of yielding
up his personal escort, provost and carmp guards, and headquarter baggage teams, when he had no use for them himself,




ï~~IMPERATIVE ORDERS TO M'CLELLAl.

265

and when they were needed for the purpose for which they are
maintained-operating against the enemy, and that too in a
pressing emergency. Even as it was, he seems to have retained
nearly a hundred, many of whom he says were orderlies, etc.,
etc., around his person.
Leaving this person-al matter, we come to the important
question-Is it true that General McClellan left, as he avers,
nothing undone in his power to forward supplies and re-enforcements to General Pope's Army?       Did he, on this
momentous occasion, honestly and faithfully do his whole duty
in this respect, without any personal aims, or any jealousy, and
with the single eye to the success of our arms, and the honor,
welfare, and glory of the nation?
He had been repeatedly urged to hurry forward the troops
from the Peninsula. On the 9th of August, he was informed
by General Halleck-that "the enemy is massing his forces in
front of General Pope and Burnside to try and crush them
and move forward to the Potomac;" and was further told:
"considering the amount of transportation at your disposal,
your delay is not satisfactory.  You must move with all
celerity."
Again on the 10th, General Halleck informed him that "the
enemy is crossing the Rapidan in large force. They are fighting General Pope to-day.  There must be no further delay in
your movements: that which has already occured was entirely
unexpected, and must be satisfactorily explained. Let not a
moment's time be lost, and telegraph me daily what progress
you have made in executing the order to transfer your troops."
Again on the 21st, he was told "the forces of Burnside and
Pope are hard pushed and require aid as rapidly as you can.
By all means see that the troops sent have plenty of ammunition. We have no time to supply them; moreover, they may
have to fight as soon as they land."
Whether or not the delays of General McClellan were ex12




ï~~266    PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.

cusable, those telegrams must have shown him, if proof were
necessary, the emergency in which Pope was placed, and that
the concentration of the two armies was not being effected in
the time expected, and as a consequence that Pope was in a
critical position, needing immediate help to save his army from
defeat. It was under these circumstances that General
McClellan left the Peninsula.
When he reached Aquia on the 24th, under most positive
and pressing orders from Washington, General Pope, who had
been holding the line of the Rappahannock for nearly a week
g.  against the assaults of Lee's whole army, and keeping up communication with Fredericksburg, so as to receive the re-enforcements McClellan had been ordered to send up from the
Peninsula-finding these re-enforcements not coming by water
to join his left as fast as Lee marched by land argund his
right, and that his right, though stretched to Waterloo Bridge,
had been turned and his rear threatened, had been obliged to
throw back his right first to Warrenton, and then to Gainesville,
and his left and centre from Rappahannock and Sulphur
Springs, to Warrenton Junction, Bristol and Manassas. General McClellan knew on the 24th, when at Aquia, of the
abandoning of Rappahannock Station, and of Pope's having
broken his communication with Fredericksburg, and himself
reported the facts to General Halleck.
August 26th, General HIalleck ordered General McClellan
from Aquia to Alexandria, and told him "General Franklin's
Corps" which had arrived at Alexandria, "will march as soon
as it receives transportation."
General Pope had, when his line was stretched from below
Rappahannock   Station to beyond Warrenton, asked that
Franklin's Corps might be sent out to take post on his right at
Gainesville, to which there was transportation by turnpike and
railroad, to guard against what afterwards happened,-the
movement of the enemy through that place, on his rear. The




ï~~M CLELLAN'S FAILURE TO AID POPE.

267

failure to have that corps at that place or in the action at all,
was one of the chief causes of Pope's failure.  Why was
this?
August 27th, as already stated, General McClellan was
directed "to take entire direction of the sending out of the
troops from Alexandria."  On the same day he was informed
of the position of Pope's head-quarters; of that of most of
Pope's forces; of where Pope wished re-enforcements sent
him-Gainesville; and that Fitz John Porter, then under Pope,
reported a battle imminent. At 10 A. M. on that day, he was
told by Halleck, "that Franklin's Corps should march in that
direction (Manassas) as soon as possible; and again at 12 P. M.,ho was further told by Halleck that "Franklin's Corps should
move out by forced marches, carrying three or four days' provisions, and to be supplied as far as possible by Railroad."
It is well to bear in mind these explicit orders, and the circumstances under which, and the object for which they were
given, for General McClellan either seems to have forgotten
them, or to have utterly failed to appreciate their importance.
A battle reported by his favorite general, Fitz-John Porter, as
imminent, within cannon sound of where he was,-the road
to the battle-field, a wide, straight, Macadam turnpike, wellknown to both General McClellan and General Franklin, as each
had been over it more than once,-the whole of the enemy
and army which had been pressing Pope since the 9th, now
concentrating to overwhelm him,-here one would think, was
every motive for him to do, as he claims to have done, every
thing in his power to send re-enforcements forward, and to
send them instantly.
Why was it then, that, at 7.15 P. M., on the 29th, more than
two days after the order for it to go by forced marches to reenforce an army engaged in battle, Franklin's Corps was still
at Anandale, about seven miles from Alexandria,- and Franklin
himself in Alexandria? General Halleck says it was all con



ï~~268       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
trary to his orders, and McClellan acknowledges himself "responsible for both these circumstances."
In the meantime, Pope's forces fought the battles of the
27th, 28th, and 29th, and were now to fight that of the 30th
without Franklin's help. Why was this? Were the orders to
send Franklin out countermanded'? General Halleck says they
were not. As it is never just to judge a person by the light
obtained after the fact, let us see, so far as the correspondence enables us, what were the different phases of the case as
they presented themselves at the time.
The intimation to McClellan on the 26th, that Franklin was
to go to the front, was followed by the positive orders of the
27th, given at 10 A. M. and 12 M. On that day General McClellan reports that Generals Franklin, Smith, and Slocum are
all in Washington; and that he had given orders to place
the corps in readiness to march to the next in rank. At the
same time, he reports heavy firing at Centreville.
On the 28th, Halleck, learning that McClellan, who it seems
had also gone to Washington, had not returned to Alexandria,
sent orders to Franklin direct, to move with his corps that day
(the 28th) towards Manassas Junction. On the 28th, at 3.30
P. M., Halleck informs McClellan that "not a moment must be
lost in pushing as large a force as possible towards Manassas
so as to communicate with Pope before the enemy is re-enforced."  On the same day, at 7.40 P. M., he again tells him:
"There must be no further delay in moving Franklin's Corps towards
Manassas. They must go to-morrow morning ready or not ready. If we
delay too long to get ready, there will be no necessity to go at all, for
Pope will either be defeated or victorious without our aid. If there is
a want of wagons, the men must carry provisions with them till the
wagons come to their relief."
There is no possible room for misunderstanding the intention of the General-in-Chief from these orders. He wished,




ï~~M 'CLELLAN S EXCUSES FOR DELAY.

269

and ordered, that communication should be at once re-established with Pope, and Pope re-enforced in time to be of service.
Why did not McClellan re-establish the communication, and
re-enforce Pope in time to be of service?    Why did he halt
Franklin's Corps at Anandale?
He gives reasons for this in his telegram to Halleck of
August 29th.    "By referring to my telegrams," he says, "of
10.30 A. M., 12 M., and 1 P. M., together with your reply of
2.48 r. M., you will see why Franklin's Corps halted at Anandale." Let us examine these telegrams in connection with the
circumstances then existing. The first is follows:
CAMP NEAR ALEXANDRIA,
August 29, 10.30 A. M.
"Franklin's Corps are in motion; started about six A. M. I can give
him but two squadrons of cavalry. I propose moving General Cox
to Upton's Hill to hold that important point with its works, and to push
cavalry scouts to Vienna via Freeman Hill and Hunter's lane. Cox has
two squadrons of cavalry. Please answer at once whether this meets
your approval. I have directed Woodbury, with the Engineer Brigade,
to hold Fort Lyon. Sumner detached last night two regiments to the
vicinity of Forts Ethan Allen and Marcy. Meagher's Brigade is still at
Aquia.  If Sumnermoves in support of Franklin, it leaves us without any
reliable troops in and near Washington; yet Franklin is too weak alone.
What shall be done? No more cavalry arrived. Have but three squadrons belonging to the Army of the Potomac. Franklin has but forty
rounds of ammunition, and no wagons to move more. I do not think
Franklin is in a condition to accomplish much if he meets strong resistance. I should not have moved him but for your pressing orders of last
night. What have you from Vienna and Drainsville?
GEO. B. MCCLELLAN, Major-General.
Major-General H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief
To this Halleck replies:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, D. C., August 29, 1862.
Upton's Hill arrangement all right. We must send wagons and ammunition to Franklin as fast as they arrive. Meagher's Brigade ordered




ï~~270       PRESIDENT LINCOLNIS ADMINISTRATION.
up yesterday. Fitzhugh Lee was, it is said on good authority, in Alexandria on Sunday last for three hours. I hear nothing from Drainsville.
H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief.
"Major-General MCCLELLAN, Alexandria.
To this McClellan sends the second of the dispatches he refers to, as follows. There are two.telegrams of the same date.
HEAD-QUARTERS ARMY POTOMAC,
S  August 29, 1862, 12 M.
Your telegram received. Do you wish the movement of Franklin's
Corps to continue? He is without reserve ammunition, and without
transportation.               GEO. B. MCCLELLAN, Mlafor-General.
Major-General H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY POTOMAC,
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA, Aug. 29, 1862, 12 M.
Have ordered most of the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry to report to
General Barnard for scouting duty toward Rockville, Poolesville, etc.
If you apprehend a raid of cavalry on your side of river, I had better
send a brigade.or two of Sumner's to near Tennallytown. Would it
meet your views to post rest of Sumner's Corps between Arlington and
Fort Corcoran, where they can either support Cox, Franklin, Chain Bridge,
and even Tennallytown?
Franklin has only 10,000 to 11,000 ready for duty. How far do you
wish the force to advance?
GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, Maj.- Gen. U. S. Army.
Major-General HALLECr. Genera'-in- Chief.
Then follows the telegram of 1 P. m.:
HEAD-QUARTERS NEAR ALEXANDRIA,
August 29, 1862, 1 P. M.
I anxiously await reply to my last dispatch in regard to Sumner.
Wish to give order at once. Please authorize me to attach new regimhents
permanently to my old brigades. I can do much good to old and new
troops in that way. I shall endeavor to hold a line in advance of Forts
Allen and Marsh, at least with strong advanced guards. I wish to
hold the line through Prospect Hill, Marshall's, Miner's, and Hall's
Hills. This will give us timely warning. Shall I do as seems best to me
with all the troops in this vicinity, including Franklin, who I really think
ought not, under the present circumstances, to proceed beyond Anandale 7
G. B. MCCLrLLAN, Major- General.
General HALLECK, General-in-Chief,




ï~~M'CLELLAN PROPOSES TO LEAVE POPE UNAIDED. 271
It certainly is not easy to discover in these dispatches any
indications of a strong desire to re-enforce the Army of the
Potomac, then fighting a battle in his front and within his
hearing, but under another commander. They evince no
special interest in the result of that battle, or the fate of that
army-the army for which, while under his command, he had
expressed so much affection, and whose defeat he afterwards
declared, when he was again at its head, would be incomparably more disastrous to the nation than the capture of Washington itself. We find in these dispatches, which he cites in his
own vindication, no evidence to sustain the declaration of his
report, that from the moment of his arrival at Alexandria he
" left nothing in his power undone to forward supplies and reenforeements to Gen. Pope." On the contrary, they seem to
show that he had decided to do, what in a telegram of the
same date he had suggested to the President, " leave Pope to
get out of his scrape," and devote himself exclusively to the
safety of Washington.*   Hie thinks any disposition of Franklin's and Sumner's troops wise, except sending them forward
to re-enforce Pope. lie is anxious to send them to Upton's
Hill, to Chain Bridge, to Tennallytown, to Arlington, and Fort
Corcoran-anywhere and everywhere except where they were
wanted most, and where alone they could assist in getting
* On the 29th he had telegraphed to the President as follows:
I am clear that one of two courses should be adopted: First, to concentrate all our available forces to open communications with Pope;
second, to leave Pope to get out of his scrape, and at once use all our means
o make the capital perfectly safe. No middle ground will now answer.
Tell me what you wish me to do, and I will do all in my power to
accomplish it.
To this the President had thus replied:
WASHINGTON, August 29, 1862-4.10 P. v.
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 control. That I now leave
to General Halleck, aided by your counsels.   ' A. LINCOLN.
Major-General MCCLELLAN.




ï~~272       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Pope " out of his scrape," and in saving the Army of the
Potomac. It was natural and proper that he should give attention to the defence of Washington, for he had, as Gen.
Halleck says, " general authority over all the troops" that
were defending it. But his special duty was " sending out
troops from Alexandria to re-enforce Pope." Why did he
give so much attention to the former, and so little to the
latter duty? Why was it that, from  the time of his landing
at Alexandria, not another man of his army joined Pope, or
made a diversion in his favor, till after Pope had fallen back
from Manassas and fought four battles without the aid he had
a right to expect, and which Gen. McClellan was repeatedly
and peremptorily ordered to give?
Those of McClellan's forces which had reached Alexandria
before him, or were there before his arrival, Sturgis, Kearney,
Hooker, and Heintzelman, had all gone forward and joined in
these battles. Why could not Franklin-all of whose movements were controlled by McClellan-do as much with him
as his brother commanders had done without him?
The first thing that McClellan did, on reaching Alexandria,
in the discharge of his duties to send forward troops, was to
stop those actually going! In his dispatch of August 27th,
9 o'clock P. M., he says to General Halleck-" I found part
of Cox's command under orders to take the cars: will halt
it with Franklin until morning!" And Cox never went out,
though anxiously expected and under orders to move. What
are the reasons given by McClellan for not sending, or not
permitting Franklin to go?    On the 27th, at 11.15 P. M.,
immediately after the positive order was issued for Franklin
to move by forced marches and carry three or four days' provisions, McClellan says:
"Franklin's artillery has no horses except for four guns without caissons. I can pick up no cavalry. * * I do not see that we have force
enough in hand to form a connection with Pope, whose exact position
we do not know."




ï~~EXCUSES FOR FRANKLIN'S DELAY.

278

A part of the perplexity he seems to have been in was
removed that day at 6 o'clock, P. M., when he received, as he
says, a copy of a dispatch from Pope to Halleck, in which
Pope says: "All forces now sent forward should be sent to
my right at Gainesville."
The next day, at 1 r. M., he telegraphs,
"I have been doing all possible to hurry artillery and cavalry. The
moment Franklin can be started with a reasonable amount of artillery he
shall go."
Again, at 4.40 of the 28th, he telegraphs,
General Franklin is with me here.  I will know in a few moments
the condition of artillery and cavalry. We are not yet in a condition to
more; may be by to-morrow morning.
A few moments later, he says:
Your dispatch received. Neither Franklin's nor Sumner's Corps is
now in condition to move and fight a battle. It would be a sacrifice to
send them out now I I have sent aids to ascertain the condition of
Colonel Tyler: but I still think that a premature movement in small force
will accomplish nothing but the destruction of the troops sent out."
The small force (?) to which he refers consisted, as heretofore stated, of Sumner's Corps of 14,000 and Franklin's of
11,000, a total of 25,000-not going to fight a battle by itself,
but to re-enforce an army already engaged, and constituting
certainly a handsome re-enforcement on any field. On the 29th,
he says:
Franklin has but forty rounds of ammunition and no wagons to move
more. I do not think Franklin is in a condition to accomplish much if
he meets strong resistance. I should not have moved him but for your
pressing orders of last night.
On this same dayDo you wish the movement of Franklin's Corps to continue? He is without reserve ammunition and without transportation.
12*




ï~~274      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
It may be remarked here, that Franklin had not yet gone
beyond Anandale-about seven miles-and had as yet, neither
come upon the enemy or joined the army in front, nor gained
any information about either. If, therefore, his movement
was not to continue, it must be because it was too hazardous,
or because he had no reserve ammumition or transportation.
So, it seems, it was Gen. McClellan's judgment that Franklin could not be sent, as soon as he landed, to re-enforce
Pope-because, 1st, he had his artillery only partially mounted;
2d, he had no cavalry; 3d, he had but forty rounds of ammunition, and no transportation for more. The subsequent
difficulties were, that he had no transportation for his reserve
ammunition, and was too weak alone, and Sumner ought not
to be sent to support him, as it would leave the Capital unprotected!
It is fortunate some of McClellan's corps preceded him from
the Peninsula, and arrived and marched before he came up.
For, if not, two of the corps who joined Pope and fought
under him would have been halted for the reasons that stayed
Franklin. Kearney joined without artillery, and Pope ordered
two batteries to be given him; Porter had but forty rounds
of ammunition-Heintzelman joined without cavalry.
Why, may it be asked, were " neither Sumner's nor Franklin's Corps in a condition to move and fight a battle?"
McClellan had been told that in embarking his troops he
must see they were supplied with ammunition, "as they
might have to fight as soon as they landed." The men were
not fatigued by hard marches, nor exhausted with fighting
and lack of food, as were their companions in front. What
was there to prevent their going to re-enforce them, but the
orders and pretexts for delay of General McClellan?
It will have been noticed that lack of transportation was at
the bottom of the alleged difficulties. Transportation was not
required for supplies, for the men were ordered to carry their




ï~~M'CLELLANIS EXCUSES PROVED GROUNDLESS.             275
food with them. Is it not strange that, in view of the emergency
of the case, some extraordinary means were not resorted to to
impress horses and wagons-if none existed in the hands of the
Government---in the cities of Alexandria, Georgetown, and
Washington, where there was an abundance           of   both?
Such things have been done even invthis war, on much less
important occasions than this one.
But will not this plea seem stranger still when it is found
that there was no need of pressing any private property
into service-that there was plenty of public transportation
on hand?    Let the following dispatch show:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, D. C., August 30th, 1862.
I am by no means satisfied with General Franklin's march of yesterday, considering the circumstances of the case. He was very wrong in
stopping at Alexandria. Moreover, I learned last night that the Quartermaster's Departmentwvould have given him plenty of transportation if he had
applied for it any time since his arrival at Alexandria. HIe knew the
importance of opening communication with General Pope's army, and
should have acted more promptly.
H. W. HALLECK, Guneral-in- Chief.
Major-General McCLELLAN, Alexandria.
But most strange of all is, that General McClellan knew of
there being public transportation at hand, and yet did not use
it, even when the fate of a campaign depended upon it, and
afterwards assigned the want of it as the reason for not obeying his orders to send re-enforcements. He says, in his dispatch of August 30, to Gen. Pope:
The quartermasters here (Alexandria) said there was none disposable. The difficulty seems to consist in the fact (he adds), that the greater
part of the transportation on hand at Alexandria and Washington has been
needed for current supplies of the garrisons."
The inference is irresistible that General McClellan, who
had charge of every thing in and around 'Alexandria and




ï~~276       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Washington, thought it was better that the Army of the
Potomac, under Pope, should not be re-enforced, and be defeated, than that the garrisons should be subjected to the
slightest inconvenience!
The answer of General Halleck to the telegrams of General
McClellan, in which the latter made so many propositions
about the movements of Sumner's Cbrps and the disposition of
Cox's force and the other troops for the defence of Washington, is as follows:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, D. C., August 29th, 1862.
Your proposed disposition of Sumner's Corps seems to me judicious.
Of course I have no time to examine into details. The present danger
is a raid upon Washington in the night time. Dispose of all troops as
you deem best. I want Franklin's Corps to go far enough to find out
something about the enemy. Perhaps he may get such information at
Anandale as to prevent his going further. Otherwise, he will push on
towards Fairfax. Try to get something from direction of Manassas
either by telegrams or through Franklin's scouts. Our people must
move actively and find out where the enemy is. I am tired of guesses.
H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief.
Major-General MCCLELLA, Alexandria.
It is in this dispatch that General McClellan finds his
authority to halt Franklin at Anandale.    Franklin had been
repeatedly ordered to join Pope, but had been delayed by
McClellan, who evidently did not intend he should get beyond
his control if possible.
In his telegram to Halleck of 1 P. M. of the 29th, he asks if
he may do as seems to him best with all the troops in the
vicinity of Alexandria, including Franklin-Franklin being
still in the vicinity of Alexandria. Halleck, in giving him
authority to dispose of all troops in his vicinity evidently refers
to the disposition to be made of those for the forts and
defences, for he proceeds to say, I want "Franklin's Corps
to go far enough to find out something about the enemy."




ï~~M'CLELLAN'S ALLEGED LACK OF SUPPLIES.          277
Franklin's Corps did not go out far enough to learn any thing
about the enemy. What he learned he picked up at Anandale from  citizens, and probably from Banks's wagon-train,
which passed him as it came from the front, which it seems
it was able to do with safety at the time McClellan considered
it too hazardous for 40,000 men to move to the front to join
the army.
It is unnecessary to pursue this matter any further, and
show, as might easily be done, how similar delays were procured with respect to other troops which might have been
sent to re-enforce Pope. It is sufficient to say that forty
thousand men, exclusive of Burnside's force, were thus-as it
seems to us intentionally-withheld from Pope at the time he
was engaged in holding the army of Lee in check.
Having thus disposed of the question of re enforcements, it
now remains to say a word about supplies which General
McClellan says he left nothing undone to forward to Pope.
When at Fort Monroe he telegraphed (August 21st, 10.
52 P. M.):
I have ample supplies of ammunition for infantry and artillery, and
will have it up in time. I can supply any deficiency that may exist in
General Pope's army.
August the 30th (1.45 P. M.), General Halleck telegraphed
him:
Ammunition, and particularly for artillery, must be immediately sent
forward to Centreville for General Pope.
To which he replied:
I know nothing of the calibres of Pope's artillery. All I can do is to
direct my ordnance officer to load up all the wagons sent to him.
General McClellan might have very easily found out those
calibres. His ordnance officer knew those of the corps of his
own army, and he was in telegraphic communication with the
ordnance officer in Washington, where a register is kept of all
the batteries in service.




ï~~278      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
What was his course with respect to supplies of forage and
subsistence, of which Pope's army was in such extreme
need?
He directed Franklin to say to Pope he would send him out
supplies if he, Pope, would send back cavalry to escort them
out! "Such a request," (says Pope in his dispatch of 5 A. M.,
August 30), "when Alexandria is full of troops, and I fighting
the enemy, needs no comment."
The Army of the Potomac, under General Pope, was
defeated and driven back upon Washington. But it had contested every inch of the ground, and had fought every battle
with a gallantry and tenacious courage that would have insured
a decisive viciory if it had been properly and promptly supported. It was not broken, either in spirit or in organization;
and it fell back upon the Capital prepared to renew the
struggle for its salvation.
By this time, however, General McClellan had become the
recognized head of a political party in the country, and a
military clique in the army; and it suited the purposes of both
to represent the defeat of the Army of the Potomac as due to
the fact that General McClellan was no longer at its head.
The progress of the rebel army, moreover, up the Potomac,
with the evident intention of moving upon Baltimore or into
Pennsylvania, had created a state of feeling throughout the
country and in Washington eminently favorable to the designs
of General McClellan's partisans; and upon the urgent but tinjust representation of some of his officers that the army would
not serve under any other commander, General Pope was
relieved, and General McClellan again placed at the head of
the Army of the Potomac, and on the 4th of September he
commenced the movement into Maryland to repel the invading
rebel forces.
On the 11th, he made urgent application for re-enforce0




ï~~'CLELLAN'S ADVANCE INTO MARYLAND.

279

ments, asking that Colonel Miles be withdrawn from Harper's Ferry, and that one or two of the three army corps
on the Potomac, opposite Washington, be at once sent to
join him. "Even if Washington should be taken," he said,
" while these armies are confronting each other, this would
not in my judgment bear comparison with the ruin and
disaster that would follow a single defeat of this army,"
although, as will be remembered, when that army was under
Pope, and engaged in a battle which might destroy it, he
had said (Aug. 27), " I think we should first provide for the
defence of the Capital."  General Halleck replied that "the
capture of Washington would throw them back six months if not
destroy them," and that Miles could not join him until communications were opened. On the 14th, the battle of South Mountain took place, the rebels falling back to the Potomac, and on
the 17th, the battle.of Antietam was fought, resulting in the
defeat of the rebel forces, although no pursuit was made, and
they were allowed, during the night and the whole of the next
day, quietly to withdraw their shattered forces to the other
side of the Potomac. The losses he had sustained and the
disorganization of some of his commands were assigned by
General McClellan as his reason for not renewing the attack,
although the corps of General Fitz-John Porter had not been
brought into action at all.  Orders were issued, however, for
a renewal of the battle on the 19th, but it was then suddenly
discovered that the enemy was on the other side of the Potomac. General McClellan did not feel authorized on account
of the condition of his army to cross in pursuit, and on the
23d, wrote to Washington, asking for re-enforcements, renewing the application on the 27th, and stating his purpose to be
to hold the army where it was, and to attack the enemy should
he attempt to recross into Maryland.  He thought that only
the troops necessary to garrison Washington should be retained there, and that every thing else available 'should be sent




ï~~280       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
to him. If re-enforced and allowed to take his own course,
he said, he would be responsible for the safety of the Capital.
On the 1st of October, President LINCOLN visited the army
and made careful inquiry into its strength and condition. On
the 6th, he issued the following order for an immediate advance:
WASHINGTON, D. C., October 6, 1862.
I am instructed to telegraph to you as follows: The President directs
that you cross the Potomac 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 re-enforced with thirty thousand
men. If you move up the valley of the Shenandoah not more than
twelve or fifteen thousand can be sent you. The President advises the
interior 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 re-enforcements 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 and the General-inChief fully concur with the President in these instructions.
H. W. HALLECK, General-in- Chief.
Major-General MCCLELLAN.
On receiving this order, Gen. McClellan inquired as to the
character of troops that would be sent him, and as to the
number of tents at command of the army. He also called
for very large quantities of shoes, clothing, and other supplies, and said that without these the army could not move.
On the 11th, the rebel Gen. Stuart, with a force of about
2,500 men, made a raid into Pennsylvania, going completely
round our army, and thwarting all the arrangements by which
Gen. McClellan had reported that his capture was certain.
On the 13th, in consequence of his protracted delays, the
President addressed to General McClellan the following letter:




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO M9CLELLAN.    2

281

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASIHINGTON, Oct. 13, 1862.
MY DEAR SIR:-You remember my speaking to you of what I called
your overcautiousness. Are you not overcautious when you assume
that you cannot do what the enemy is constantly doing? Should you
not claim to be at least his equal in prowess, and act upon the claim?
As I understand, you telegraphed Gen. Halleck that you cannot subsist your army at Winchester unless the railroad from Harper's Ferry
to that point be put in working 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 Culpepper 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 certainly 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
can not apply in your favor. Change positions with the enemy, and
think you not he would break your communication 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 would at once menace the enemy's communications, 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 opportunity should present,
and at least try to beat him to Richmond on the inside track. I say




ï~~282        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
"try;" if we never try, we shall never succeed. If he make 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 important to be lost
sight of for a moment. In coming to us, hlie tenders us an advantago
which we 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 near 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 Richmond. 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, extending 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,
Haymarket, 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 understand to be about the following distances from Harper's
Ferry, to wit: Vestal's, five miles; Gregory's, thirteen; Snicker's,
eighteen; Ashby's, twenty-eight; Manassas, thirty-eight; Chester, fortyfive; and Thornton's, fifty-three. 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 to Richmond ahead of him enables him to move this way, if he
does so, turn and attack him in the 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.
Major-Gen. McCLELLAN.
For over a fortnight longer Gen. McClellan delayed any
attempt to move his army in obedience to the President's




ï~~THE PEESIDENT PROTESTS AGAINST DELAY.             283
order. He spent this interval in complaints of inadequate
supplies, and in incessant demands for re-enforcements; and
on the 21st inquired whether it was still the President's wish
that he should march upon the enemy at once, or await the
arrival of fresh horses. He was told in reply that the order
of the 6th was unchanged, and that while the President did not
expect impossibilities, he was " very anxious that all this good
weather should not be wasted in inactivity." Gen. McClellan
states in his report that he inferred, from the tenor of this
dispatch, that it was left to his own judgment whether
it would be safe for the army to advance or not; and
he accordingly fixed upon the first of November as the
earliest date at which the forward movement could be commenced.    On the 25th he complained to the Department
of the condition of his cavalry, saying that the horses were
fatigued and greatly troubled with sore tongue; whereupon
the President addressed him the following inquiry:
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 1862.
I have just read your dispatch about sore-tongue 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.
The General replied that they had been engaged in making
reconnoissances, scouting, and picketing, to which the President thus rejoined:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, Oct. 261h, 1862.
Yours in reply to mine about horses received. Of course you know
the facts better than I. Still, two considerations remain: Stuart's
cavalry outmarched ours, having certainly done more marked service on
the Peninsula and everywhere 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 dispatch to General Halleck that you began
crossing the river this morning.
A. LINcOLN.




ï~~284       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
The General replied in a long dispatch, rehearsing in detail
the labors performed by his cavalry, to which he thought the
President had done injustice. This note elicited the following
reply:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26th7 1862.
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
had sent to that army every fresh horse we possibly could, amounting
in the whole to 7,918, that the cavalry horses were too much fatigued to
move, presented a very cheerless, almost hopeless, prospect for the
future, and it may have forced something of impatience into my dispatches. 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 crossing.
A. LINCOLN.
The General next started, as a new topic of discussion, the
extent to which the line of the Potomac should be guarded
after he left it, so as to cover Maryland and Pennsylvania
from further invasions. He thought strong garrisons should
be left at certain points, complained that his forces were
inadequate, and made some suggestion concerning the position
of the rebel army under Bragg, which led General Halleck in
reply to remind him that Bragg was four hundred miles away,
while Lee was but twenty. On the 27th the General telegraphed to the President that it was necessary to "fill up the
old regiments of his command before taking them again into
action," to which the President thus replied:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27th, 1862.
Your dispatch of three P. M. to-day, in regard to filling up old regiments with drafted men, is received, and the request therein shall be
complied with as far as practicable. And now I ask a distinct answer
to the question, "Is it your purpose not to go into action again till the
men now being drafted in the States are incorporated in the old
regiments?"                                     A. LINCOLN




ï~~GENERAL M'CLELLAN RELIEVED FROM COMMAND. 285
The General, in reply, explained that the language of the
dispatch, which was prepared by one of his aids, had incorrectly expressed his meaning, and that he should not postpone
the advance until the regiments were filled by drafted men.
The army was gradually crossed over, and on the 5th of November the General announced to the President that it was all
on the Virginia side. This was just a month after the order
to cross had been given-the enemy meantime having taken
possession of all the strong points, and falling back, at his
leisure, towards his base of operations. These unaccountable
delays in the movement of the army created the most intense
dissatisfaction in the public mind, and completely exhausted
the patience of the Government. Accordingly, on the 5th of
November, an order was issued relieving General McClellan
from the command of the Army of the Potomac, and directing
General Burnside to take his place.
Thus closed a most remarkable chapter in the history of the
war. For over fifteen months General McClellan had commanded the Army of the Potomac, the largest and most
powerful army ever marshalled upon this continent-consisting
of 160,000 men, and furnished, in lavish profusion, with
every thing requisite for effective service. Throughout the
whole of this long period that army had been restrained by its
commander from attacking the enemy: except in the single
instance of Antietam, where, moreover, there was no possibility of avoiding an engagement, every battle which it fought
was on the defensive. According to the sworn testimony of
his own commanders, General McClellan might have overwhelmhned the rebel forces arrayed against him at Manassas, at
Yorktown, after Williamsburgh, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, and
Antietam; but on every one of these occasions he carefully
forbore to avail himself of the superiority of his position, and
gave the enemy ample time to prepare for more complete and




ï~~286      PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
effective resistance. It is no part of our present purpose to
inquire into the causes of this most extraordinary conduct on
the part of a commander to whom, more completely than to
any other, were entrusted the destinies of the nation during
the most critical period of its existence. Whether he acted
from an innate disability, or upon a political theory-whether
he intentionally avoided a decisive engagement in order to accomplish certain political results which he and his secret advisers deemed desirable, or whether he was, by the native
constitution of his mind, unable to meet the gigantic responsibilities of his position when the critical moment of trial arrived,
are points which the public and posterity will decide from an
unbiased study of the evidence which his acts and his words
afford.  As the record we have given shows, President
LINcoLN lost no opportunity of urging upon him more prompt
and decisive action, while in no instance did he withhold from
him any aid which it was in the power of the Government to
give.
Nothing can show more clearly the disposition of the President to sustain him to the utmost, and to protect him from
the rapidly rising tide of public censure and discontent with
his ruinous and inexplicable delays, than the following remarks
made by him at a war meeting held at Washington on the 6th
of August, after the retreat to the James River, and just before the withdrawal of the army from the Peninsula:
FELLOW-CITIZENS; I believe there is no precedent for my appearing
before you on this occasion, but it is also true that there is no precedent for your being here yourselves, and I offer, in justification of myself and of you, that, upon examination, I have found nothing in the
Constitution against it. I, however, have an impression that there are
younger gentlemen who will entertain you better, and better address
your understanding than I will or could, and therefore I propose but to
detain you a moment longer.
I am very little inclined on any occasion to say any thing uniless I
hope to produce some good by it. The only thing I think of just now




ï~~A SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT.

287

not likely to be better said by some one else, is a matter in which we
have heard some other persons blamed for what I did myself. There
has been a very wide-spread attempt to have a quarrel between General
McClellan and the Secretary of War. Now, I occupy a position that
enables me to observe, that these two gentlemen are not nearly so deep
in the quarrel as some pretending to be their friends. General McClellan's attitude is such that, in the very selfishness of his nature, he cannot but wish to be successful, and I hope he will-and the Secretary of
War is in precisely the same situation. If the military commanders in
the field cannot be successful, not only the Secretary of War, but myself, for the time being the master of them both, cannot but be failures.
I know General McClellan wishes to be successful, and I know he does
not wish it any more than the Secretary of War for him, and both of
them together no more than I wish it. Sometimes we have a dispute
about how many men General McClellan has had, and those who would
disparage him say that he has had a very large number, and those who
would disparage the Secretary of War insist that General McClellan has
had a very small number. The basis for this is, there is always a wide
difference, and on this occasion, perhaps a wider one than usual, between
the grand total on McClellan's rolls and the men actually fit for duty;
and those who would disparage him talk of the grand total on paper,
and those who would disparage the Secretary of War talk of those at
present fit for duty. General McClellan has sometimes asked for things
that the Secretary of War did not give him. General McClellan is not to
blame for asking what he wanted and needed, and the Secretary of War
is not to blame for not giving when he had none to give. And I say
here, as far as I know, the Secretary of War has withheld no one thing
at any time in my power to give him. I have no accusation against
him. I believe he is a brave and able man, and I stand here, as justice
requires me to do, to take upon myself what has been charged on the
Secretary of War, as withholding from him.
I have talked longer than I expected to do, and now I avail myself
of my privilege of saying no more.




ï~~288    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER VII.
MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE WEST AND SOUTH, AND THE
GENERAL CONDUCT OF THE ADMINISTRATION IN 1862.
IN every other section of the country, except in Eastern
Virginia, the military operations of the year 1862 were marked
by promptitude and vigor, and attended by success to the
National arms. Early in February a lodgment had been
effected by the expedition under General Burnside on the
coast of North Carolina, and on the 19th of January the
victory of Mill Springs had released Western Kentucky from
rebel rule, and opened a path for the armies of the Union into
East Tennessee. The President's order of January 27th, for
an advance of all the forces of the Government on the 22d of
February, had been promptly followed by the capture of Forts
Henry and Donelson on the Cumberland River, which led to
the evacuation of Bowling Green, the surrender of Nashville,
and the fall of Columbus, the rebel stronghold on the Mississippi. Fort Pulaski, which guarded the entrance to Savannah,
was taken, after eighteen hours bombardment, on the 12th of
April, and the whole west coast of Florida had been occupied
by our forces. By the skilful strategy of General Halleck,
commanding the Western Department, seconded by the vigorous activity of General Curtis, the rebel commander in Missouri, General Price, had been forced to retreat, leaving the
whole of that State in our hands; and he was badly beaten in
a subsequent engagement at Sugar Creek in Arkansas. On the
14th, Island No. 10, commanding the passage of the Missis



ï~~SUCCESSES IN THE SOUTHWEST.

289

sippi, was taken by General Pope, and on the 4th of June Forts
Pillow and Randolph, still lower down, were occupied by our
forces. On the 6th the city of Memphis was surrendered by
the rebels. Soon after the fall of Nashville a formidable
expedition had ascended the Tennessee River, and being joined
by all the available Union forces in that vicinity, the whole
under command of General HIIalleck, prepared to give battle
to the rebel army which, swelled by large re-enforcements
from every quarter, was posted in the vicinity of Corinth,
ninety miles east of Memphis, intending by a sudden attack to
break the force of the Union army, which was sweeping
steadily down upon them from the field of its recent conquests. The rebels opened the attack with great fury and
effect, on the morning of the 6th of April, at Pittsburg Landing, three miles in advance of Corinth. The fight lasted
nearly all day, the rebels having decidedly the advantage;
but in their final onset they were driven back, and the next
day our army, strengthened by the opportune arrival of
General Buell, completed what proved to be a signal and most
important victory.   When news of it reached Washington
President LINCOLN issued the following proclamation:
It has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the
land and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion, and
at the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign
intervention and invasion.
It is therefore recommended to the people of the United States, that
at their next weekly assemblages in their accustomed places of public
worship, which shall occur after the notice of this Proclamation shall
have been received, they especially acknowledge and render thanks to
our Heavenly Father for these inestimable blessings; that they then and
there implore spiritual consolation in behalf of all those who have been
brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and
civil war; and that they reverently invoke the Divine guidance for our
national counsels, to the end that they may speedily result in the
restoration of peace, harmony, and unity throughout our borders, and

13

a




ï~~290      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
hasten the establishment of fraternal relations among all the countries
of the earth.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this tenth day of April, in the year of
[L. s.] our Lord one thousand eighI hundred and sixty-two, and of
the independence of the United States the eighty-sixth.
ABRAHIIAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WM. It. SEWARD, Scretary of State.
On the 28th of May the rebels evacuated Corinth, and were
pushed southward by our pursuing forces for some twenty-five
or thirty miles. General Mitchell, by a daring and most
gallant enterprise in the latter part of April, took possessian
of Huntsville in Alabama. In February a formidable naval
expedition had been fitted out under Commodore Farragut
for the capture of New Orleans; and on the 18th of April the
attack commenced upon Forts Jackson and St. Philip, by
which the passage of the Mississippi below the city is guarded.
After six days' bombardment the whole fleet passed the forts
on the night of the 23d, under a terrible fire firom both; and
on the 25th the rebel General Lovell, who had command of the
military defences of the city, withdrew, and Commodore Farragut took possession of the town, which he retained until the
arrival of General Butler on the 1st of May, who thereupon
entered upon the discharge of his duties as commander of that
Department.
During the summer a powerful rebel army, under General
Bragg, invaded Kentucky for the double purpose of obtaining
supplies and affording a rallying point for what they believed
to be the secession sentiment of the State. In the accomplishment of the former object they were successful, but not in
the latter. They lost more while in the State from desertions
than they gained by recruits; and aft6r a battle at Perryville
on the 7th of October they began their retreat. On the 5th




ï~~RECOGNIZED OBJECTS OF THE WAR.

291

of October a severe battle was fought at Corinth, from which
a powerful rebel army attempted to drive our troops under
General Rosecrans, but they were repulsed with very heavy losses, and the campaign in Kentucky and Tennessee was virtually
at an end. A final effort of the enemy in that region led to a
severe engagement at Murfreesborough on the 31st of December, which resulted in the defeat of the rebel forces, and in
relieving Tennessee from the presence of the rebel armies.
In all the military operations of this year especial care had
been taken by the Generals in command of the several Departments, acting under the general direction of the Government, to cause it to be distinctly understood that the object of
the war was the preservation of the Union and the restoration
of the authority of the Constitution. The rebel authorities,
both civil and military, lost no opportunity of exciting the
fears and resentments of the people of the Southern States, by
ascribing to the National Government designs of the most
ruthless and implacable hostility to their institutions and their
persons. It was strenuously represented that the object of
the war was to rob the Southern people of their rights and
their property, and especially to set free their slaves. The
Government did every thing in its power to allay the apprehensions and hostilities which these statements were calculated
to produce. General Garfield, while in Kentucky, just before
the victory of Mill Springs, issued on the 16th of January.an
address to the citizens of that section of the State, exhorting
them to return to their allegiance to the Federal Government,
which had never made itself injuriously felt by any one among
them, and promising them full protection for their persons and
their property, and full reparation for any wrongs they might
have sustained. After the battle of Mill Springs the Secretary
of War, under the direction of the President, issued an order
of thanks to the soldiers engaged in it, in whicli he again
announced that the "purpose of the war was to attack, pursue
0




ï~~292       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
and destroy a rebellious enemy, and to deliver the country
from danger menaced by traitors." On the 20th of November,
1861, General Halleck, commanding the Department of the
Missouri, on the eve of the advance into Tennessee, issued an
order enjoining upon the troops the necessity of discipline
and of order, and calling on them to prove by their acts that
they came " to restore, not to violate the Constitution and the
laws," and that the people of the South, under the flag of the
Union, should "enjoy the same protection of life and property
as in former days."    " It does not belong to the military,"
said this order, "to decide upon the relation of master and
slave. Such questions must be settled by the civil courts. No
fugitive slave will, therefore, be admitted within our lines or
camps except when specially ordered by the General commanding."* So also General Burnside, when about to land on the
soil of North Carolina, issued an order, February 3d, 1262,
calling upon the soldiers of his army to remember that they
were there "to support the Constitution and the laws, to put
down rebellion, and to protect the persons and property of the
loyal and peaceable citizens of the State." And on the 18th of
* In regard to this order, which was afterwards severely criticised
in Congress, General Halleck wrote the following letter of explanation:
HEAD-QUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI,
ST. Louis, December 8, 1861..My DEAR COLONEL: Yours Qf the 4th instant is just received. Order No. 3 was, in my mind, clearly a military necessity. Unauthorized
persons, black or white, free or slaves, must be kept out of our camps,
unless we are willing to publish to the enemy every thing we do, or intend to do. It was a military, and not a political order.
I am ready to carry out any lawful instructions in regard to fugitive
slaves, which my superiors may give me, and to enforce any law which
Congress may pass. But I cannot make law, and will not violate it.
You know my private opinion on the policy of confiscating the slave
property of the rebels in arms. If Congress shall pass it, you may be
certain that I shall enforce it. Perhaps my policy as to the treatment
of rebels and their property is as well set,out in Order No. 13, issued
the day your letter was written, as I could now describe it.
Hon. F. F. BLAIRa, Washington.
1




ï~~RELATIONS OF THE WAR TO SLAVERY.

293

the same month, after Fort Henry and Roanoke Island had
fallen into our hands, Commodore Goldsborough and General
Burnside issued a joint proclamation, denouncing as false and
slanderous the attempt of the rebel leaders to impose on the
credulity of the Southern people by telling them of "our desire
to destroy their freedom, demolish their property, and liberate
their slaves," and declaring that the Government asked only
that its authority might be recognized, and that "in no way
or manner did it desire to interfere with their laws, constitutionally established, their institutions of any kind whatever,
their property of any sort, or their usages in any respect."
And on the 1st of March General Curtis in Arkansas had
addressed a proclamation to the people of that State, denouncing as false and calumnious the statements widely circulated of the designs and sentiments of the Union armies,
and declaring that they sought only "to put down rebellion
by making war against those in arms, their aiders and
abettors"-and that they came to "vindicate the Constitution,
and to preserve and perpetuate civil and- religious liberty
under a flag that was embalmed in the blood of our revolutionary fathers." In all this the Government adhered, with
just and rigorous fidelity, to the principles it had adopted for
its conduct at the outset of the war; and in its anxiety to
avoid all cause of complaint and all appearance of justification
for those who were in arms against its authority, it incurred
the distrust and even the denunciation of the more zealous and
vehement among its own friends and supporters in the Northern States.
On the 22d of July, in order to secure unity of action
among the commanders of the several military departments,
upon the general use to be made of rebel property, the President directed the issue of the following order:




ï~~294        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, July 22, 1862.
First. Ordered that military commanders within the States of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
Texas, and Arkansas, in an orderly manner seize and use any property,
real or personal, which may be necessary or convenient for their several
commands, for supplies, or for other military purposes; and that while
property may be destroyed for proper military objects, none shall be
destroyed in wantonness or malice.
Second. That military and naval commanders shall employ as laborers,
within and from said States, so many persons of African descent as can
be advantageously used for military or naval purposes, giving them
reasonable wages for their labor.
Third. That, as to both property, and persons of African descent,
accounts shall be kept sufficiently accurate and in detail to show
quantities and amounts, and from whom both property and such persons
shall have come, as a basis upon which compensation can be made in
proper cases; and the several departments of this Government shall
attend to and perform their appropriate parts towards the execution of
these orders. -
By order of the President:
EDwIN M. STANTON Secrctary of War.
And on the 25th of July he issued the following proclamation, warning the people of the Southern States against persisting in their rebellion, under the penalties prescribed by the
confiscation act passed by Congress at its preceding session:
By Order of the Prcsident of the United States.
A PROCLAMATION.
In pursuance of the sixth section of the Act of Congress, entitled " An
Act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize
and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes," approved
July 17th, 1862, and which Act, and the joint resolution explanatory
thereof, are herewith published, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the
United States, do hereby proclaim to and warn all persons within the
contemplation of said sixth section to cease participating in, aiding,
countenancing, or abetting the existing rebellion, or any rebellion,
against the Government of the United States, and to return to their
proper allegiance to the United States, on pain of the forfeiture and
seizures as within and by said sixth section provided.
0




ï~~OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS.

295

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fifth day of July, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two,
[L. s.] and of the independence of the United States the eightyseventh.
vABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIA M H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
Our relations with foreign nations during the year 1862
continued to be in the main satisfactory. The President held
throughout, in all his intercourse with European powers, the
same firm and decided language in regard to the rebellion
which had characterized the correspondence of the previous
year. Our Minister in London, with vigilance and ability,
pressed upon the British Government the duty of preventing
the rebel authorities from building and fitting out vessels of
war in English ports to prey upon the commerce of the United
States; but in every instance these remonstrances were without practical effect. The Government could never be convinced that the evidence in any specific case was sufficient to
warrant its interference, and thus one vessel after anothpr was
allowed to leave British ports, go to some other equally
neutral locality and take on board munitions of war, and enter
upon its career of piracy in the rebel service. As early as the
18th of February, 1862, Mr. Adams had called the attention of
Earl Russell to the fact that a steam gunboat, afterwards
called the Oreto, was being built in a Liverpool ship-yard,
under the supervision of well-known agents of the rebel Government, and evidently intended for the rebel service. The
Foreign Secretary replied that the vessel was intended for the
use of parties in Palermo, Sicily, and that there was no reason
to suppose she was intended for any service hostile to the
United States. Mr. Adams sent evidence to show that the
claim of being designed for service in Sicily was a mere




ï~~296       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
pretext; but he failed, by this dispatch, as in a subsequent
personal conference with Earl Russell on the 15th of April, to
induce him to take any steps for her detention. She sailed
soon after, and was next heard of at the British "neutral" port
of Nassau, where she was seized by the authorities at the
instance of the American consul but released by the same
authorities on the arrival of Captain Semmes to take command
of her as a Confederate privateer. In October an intercepted
letter was sent to Earl Russell by Mr. Adams, written by the
Secretary of the Navy of the Confederate Government, to a
person in England, complaining that he had not followed the
Oreto on her departure from England and taken command of
her, in accordance with his original appointment. In June
Mr. Adams called Earl Russell's attention to another powerful
war-steamer, then in progress of construction in the ship-yard
of a member of the House of Commons, evidently intended
for the rebel service. This complaint went through the usual
formalities, was referred to the "Lords Commissioners of her
Majesty's Treasury," who reported in due time that they could
discover no evidence sufficient to warrant the detention of the
vessel.  Soon afterwards, however, evidence was produced
which was sufficient to warrant the collector of the port of
Liverpool in ordering her detention; but before the necessary
formalities could be gone through with, and through delays
caused, as Earl Russell afterwards explained, by the "sudden
development of a malady of the Queen's advocate, totally incapacitating him for the transaction of business," the vessel,
whose managers were duly advertised of every thing that was
going on, slipped out of port, took on board an armament in
the Azores, and entered the rebel service as a privateer. Our
Government subsequently notified the British Government
that it would be held responsible for all the damage which
this vessel, known first as " 290," and afterwards as the Alabama, might inflict on American commerce.

0




ï~~PROPOSED MEDIATION OF THE FRENCH EMPEROR. 297
Discussions were had upon the refusal of the British
authorities to permit American vessels of war to take in coal
at Nassau, upon the systematic attempts of British merchants
to violate our blockade of Southern ports, and upon the recapture, by the crew, of the Emily St. Pierre, which had been
seized in attempting to run the blockage at Charleston, and
was on her way as a prize to the port of New York. The
British Government vindicated her rescue as sanctioned by
the principles of international law.
The only incident of special importance which occurred
during the year in our foreign relations, grew out of an attempt
on the part of the Emperor of the French to secure a joint
effort at mediation between the Government of the United
States and the rebel authorities, on the part of Great Britain
and Russia in connection with his own Government. Rumors
of such an intention on the part of the Emperor led Mr.
Dayton to seek an interview with the Minister for Foreign
Affairs on the 6th of November, at which indications of such
a purpose were apparent. The attempt failed, as both the
other powers consulted declined to join in any such action.
The French Government thereupon determined to take action
alone, and on the 9th of January, 1863, the Foreign Secretary
wrote to the French Minister at Washington a dispatch,
declaring the readiness of the French Emperor to do any
thing in his power which might tend towards the termination
of the war, and suggesting that " nothing would hinder the
Government of the United States, without renouncing tho
advantages which it believes it can attain by a continuation of
the war, from entering upon informal conferences with the
Confederates of the South, in case they should show themselves disposed thereto." The specific advantages of such a
conference, and the mode in which it was to be brought about,
were thus set forth in this dispatch:
13*




ï~~298       PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
Representatives or commissioners of the two parties could assemble
at such point as it should be deemed proper to designate, and which
could, for this purpose, be declared neutral. Reciprocal complaints
would be examined into at this meeting. In place of the accusations
which North and South mutually cast upon each other at this time,
would be substituted an argumentative discussion of the interests which
divide them. They would seek out byineans of well-ordered and profound deliberations whether these interests are definitively irreconcilable-whether separation is an extreme which can no longer be avoided,
or whether the memories of a common existence, whether the ties of
any kind which have made of the North and of the South one sole and
whole Federative State, and have borne them on to so high a degree of
prosperity, are not more powerful than the causes which have placed
arms in the hands of the two populations. A negotiation, the object of
which would be thus determinate, would not involve any of the objections raised against the diplomatic interventions of Europe, and, without
giving birth to the same hopes as the immediate conclusion of an armistice, would exercise a happy influence on the march of events.
Why, therefore, should not a combination which respects all the relations
of the United States obtain the approbation of the Federal Government?
Persuaded on our part that it is in conformity with their true interests,
we do not hesitate to recommend it to their attention; and, not having
sought in the project of a mediation of the maritime powers of Europe
any vain display of influence, we would applaud, with entire freedom
from all susceptibility of self-esteem, the opening of a negotiation which
would invite the two populations to discuss, without the co-operation of
Europe, the solution of their difference.
The reply which the President directed to be made to this
proposition embraces so many points of permanent interest
and importance in connection with his Administration; that
we give it in full. It was as follows:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 1863.
SIR: The intimation given in your dispatch of January 15th, that I
might expect a special visit from M. Mercier, has been realized. He
called on the 3d instant, and gave me a copy of a dispatch which he
had just then received from M. Drouyn de l'Huys under the date of the
9th of January.




ï~~REPLY TO THE FRENCHI PROPOSAL.

299

I have taken the President's instructions, and I now proceed to give
you his views upon the subject in question.
It has been considered with seriousness, resulting from the reflection
that the people of France are known to be faultless sharers with the
American nation in the misfortunes and calamities of our unhappy
civil war; nor do we on this, any more than on other occasions, forget
the traditional friendship of the two countries, yhich we unhesitatingly
believe has inspired- the counsels that M. Drouyn de l'Huys has imparted.
He says, "the Federal Government does not despair, we know, of
giving more active impulse to hostilities;" and again he remarks, "the
protraction of the struggle, in a word, has not shaken the confidence (of
the Federal Government) in the definitive success of its efforts."
These passages seem to me to do unintentional injustice to the language, whether confidential or public, in which this Government has
constantly spoken on the subject of the war. It certainly has had and
avowed only one purpose-a determination to preserve the integrity of
the country. So far from admitting any laxity of effort, or betraying
any despondency, the Government has, on the contrary, borne itself
cheerfully in all vicissitudes, with unwavering confidence in an early
and complete triumph of the national cause. Now, when we are, in a
manner, invited by a friendly power to review the twenty-one months'
history of the conflict, we find no occasion to abate that confidence.
Through such an alternation of victories and defeats as is the appointed
incident of every war, the land and naval forces of the United States
have steadily advanced, reclaiming from the insurgents the ports, forts,
and posts which they had treacherously seized before the strife actually
began, and even before it was seriously apprehended. So many of
the States and districts which the insurgents included in the field of
their projected exclusive slaveholding dominions have already been reestablished under the flag of the Union, that they now retain only the
States of Georgia, Alabama, and Texas, with half of Virginia, half of
North Carolina, and two thirds of South Carolina, half of Mississippi,
and one-third respectively of Arkansas and Louisiana. The nationta
forces hold even this small territory in close blockade and siege.
This Government, if required, does not hesitate to submit its achievements to the test of comparison; and it maintains that in no part of the
world, and in no times, ancient or modern, has a nation, when rendered
all unready for combat by the enjoyment of eighty years of almost unbroken peace, so quickly awakened at the alarm of sedition, put forth




ï~~300        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
energies so vigorous, and achieved successes so signal and effective as
those which have marked the progress of this contest on the part of the
Union.
M. Drouyn de l'Huys, I fear, has taken other light than the correspondence of this Government for his guidance in ascertaining its temper
and firmness. Hle has probably read of divisions of sentiment among
those who hold themselves forth as orgkns of public opinion here, and
has given to them an undue importance. It is to be remembered that
this is a nation of thirty millions, civilly divided into forty-one States and
Territories, which cover an expanse hardly less than Europe; that the
people are a pure democracy, exercising everywhere the utmost freedom
of speech and suffrage; that a great crisis necessarily produces vehement as well as profound debate, with sharp collisions of individual,
local, and sectional interests, sentiments, and ambitions; and that this
heat of controversy is increased by the intervention of speculations,
interests, prejudices, and passions from every other part of the civilized
world. It is, however, through such debates that the agreement of the
nation upon any subject is habitually attained, its resolutions formed,
and its policy established. While there has been much difference of
popular opinion and favor concerning the agents who shall carry on the
war, the principles on which it shall be waged, and the means with
which it shall be prosecuted, M. Drouyn de l'Iuys has only to
refer to the statute book of Congress and the       Executive ordinances to learn that the national activity has hitherto been, and yet
is, as efficient as that of any other nation, whatever its form of government, ever was, under circumstances of equally grave import to
its peace, safety, and welfare. Not one voice has been raised anywhere, out of the immediate field of the insurrection, in favor of foreign
intervention, of mediation, of arbitration, or of compromise, with the
relinquishment of one acre of the national domain, or the surrender of
even one constitutional franchise. At the same time, it is manifest to
the world that our resources are yet abundant, and our credit adequate
to the existing emergency.
What M. Drouyn de l'Huys suggests is that this Government shall
appoint commissioners to meet, on neutral ground, commissioners of thy
insurgents. He supposes that in the conferences to be thus held, reciprocal complaints could be discussed, and in place of the accusations
which the North and South now mutually cast upon each other, the
en- " -ees would be engaged with discussions of the interests which..side them. He assumes, further, that the commissioners would seek.




ï~~SECRETARY SEWVARD'S DISPATCH.

301

by means of well-ordered and profound deliberation, whether these
interests are definitively irreconcilable, whether separation is an extreme that can no longer be avoided, or whether the memories of a
common existence, the ties of every kind which have made the North
and the South one whole Federative State, and have borne them on to
so high a degree of prosperity, are not more powerful than the causes
which have placed arms in the hands of the two populations.
The suggestion is not an extraordinary one, and it may well have
been thought by the Emperor of the French, in the earnestness of his
benevolent desire for the restoration of peace, a feasible one. But
when M. Drouyn de l'Huys shall come to review it in the light in which
it must necessarily be examined in this country, I think he can hardly
fail to perceive that it amounts to nothing less than a proposition that,
while this Government is engaged in suppressing an armed insurrection,
with the purpose of maintaining the constitutional national authority,
and preserving the integrity of the country, it shall enter into diplomatic discussion with the insurgents upon the questions whether that
authority shall not be renounced, and whether the country shall not be
delivered over to disunion, to be quickly followed by ever-increasing
anarchy.
If it were possible for the Government of the United States to compromise the national authority so far as to enter into such debates, it is
not easy to perceive what good results could be obtained by them.
The commissioners must agree in recommending either that the Union
shall stand or that it shall be voluntarily dissolved; or else they must
leave the vital question unsettled, to abide at last the fortunes of the
war. The Government has not shut out the knowledge of the present
temper, any more than of the past purposes of the insurgents. There
is not the least ground to suppose that the controlling actors would be
persuaded at this moment, by any arguments which national commissioners could offer, to forego the ambition that has impelled them to the
disloyal position they are occupying. Any commissioners who should.
be appointed by these actors, or through their dictation or influence,
must enter the conference imbued with the spirit and pledged to the
personal fortunes of the insurgent chiefs. The loyal people in the insurrectionary States would be unheard, and any offer of peace by this
Government, on the condition of the maintenance of the Union, must
necessarily be rejected.
On the other hand, as I have already intimated, this Government has
not the least thought of relinquishing the trust which has been con
0




ï~~302        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
fided to it by the nation under the most solemn of all political sanctions; and if it had any such thought, it would still have abundant
reason to know that peace proposed at the cost of dissolution would be
immediately, unreservedly, and indignantly rejected by the American
people. It is a great mistake that European statesmen make, if they
suppose this people are demoralized. Whatever, in the case of an insurrection, the people of France, or of Great Britain, or of Switzerland,
or of the Netherlands would do to safe their national existence, no
matter how the strife might be regarded by or might affect foreign
nations, just so much, and certainly no less, the people of the United
States will do, if necessary to save for the common benefit the region
which is bounded by the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts, and by the
shores of the Gulfs of St. Lawrence and Mexico, together with the free
and common navigation of the Rio Grande, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, St. Lawrence, Hudson, Delaware, Potomac, and other
natural highways by which this land, which to them is at once a land
of inheritance and a land of promise, is opened and watered. Even if
the agents of the American people now exercising their power should,
through fear or faction, fall below this height of the national virtue,
they would be speedily, yet constitutionally, replaced by others of
sterner character and patriotism.
I must be allowed to say, also, that M. Drouyn de l'Huys errs in his
description of the parties to the present conflict. We have here, in
the political sense, no North and South, no Northern and Southern
States. We have an insurrectionary party, which is located chiefly
upon and adjacent to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico; and we have,
on the other hand, a loyal people, who constitute not only Northern
States, but also Eastern, Middle, Western, and Southern States.
I have on many occasions heretofore submitted to the French Government the President's views of the interests, and the ideas more
effective for the time than even interests, which lie at the bottom of
the determination of the American Government and people to maintain
the Federal Union. The President has done the same thing in his
Messages and other public declarations. I refrain, therefore, from reviewing that argument in connection with the existing question.
M. Drouyn de 1'Huys draws to his aid the conferences which took
place between the Colonies and Great Britain in our Revolutionary
War. He will allow us to assume that action in the crisis of a nation
must accord with its necessities, and therefore can seldom be conformed
to precedents. Great Britain, when entering on 'the negotiations, had




ï~~SECRETARY SEWARD"S DISPATCH.

303

manifestly come to entertain doubts of her ultimate success; and it is
certain that the councils of the Colonies could not fail to take new
courage, if not to gain other advantage, when the parent State compromised so far as to treat of peace on the terms of conceding their independence.
It is true, indeed, that peace must come at some time, and that conferences must attend, if they are not allowed to precede the pacification.
There is, however, a better form for such conferences than the one which
M. Drouyn de l'Huys suggests. The latter would be palpably in derogation of the Constitution of the United States, and would carry no weight,
because destitute of the sanction necessary to bind either the disloyal or
the loyal portions of the people. On the other hand, the Congress of the
United States furnishes a constitutional forum for debates between the
alienated parties. Senators and representatives from the loyal portion
of the people are there already, freely empowered to confer; and seats
also are vacant, and inviting senators and representatives of this discontented party who may be constitutionally sent there from the States
involved in the insurrection. Moreover, the conferences which can
thus be hold in Congress have this great advantage over any that could
be organized upon the plan of M. Drouyn de l'Huys, namely, that the
Congress, if it were thought wise, could call a national convention to
adopt its recommendations, and give them all the solemnity and binding force of organic law. Such conferences between the alienated
parties may be said to have already begun. Maryland, Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri-States which are claimed by the
insurgents-are already represented in Congress, and submitting with
perfect freedom and in a proper spirit their advice upon the course best
calculated to bring about, in the shortest time, a firm, lasting, and
honorable peace. Representatives have been sent also from Louisiana,
and others are understood to be coming from Arkansas.
There is a preponderating argument in favor of the Congressional
form of conference over that which is suggested by M. Drouyn de
l'Huys, namely, that while an accession to the latter would bring this
Government into a concurrence with the insurgents in disregarding and
setting aside an important part of the Constitution of the United States,
and so would be of pernicious example, the Congressional conference,
on the contrary, preserves and gives new strength to that sacred writing
which must continue through future ages the sheet anchor of the Republic.
You will be at liberty to read this dispatch to M. Drouyn de l'Huys,
and to give him a copy if he shall desire it.




ï~~304      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
To the end that you may be informed of the whole caso, I transmit
a copy of M. Drouyn de l'Huys's dispatch.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
The effect of this dispatch was very marked. It put an
end to all talk of foreign intervention in any form, and met
the cordial and even enthusiastic approbation of the people
throughout the country. Its closing suggestions as to the
mode in which the Southern States could resume their old
relations to the Federal Government, were regarded as significant indications of the policy the Administration was inclined
to pursue whenever the question of restoration should become
practical; and while they were somewhat sharply assailed in
some quarters, they commanded the general assent of the great
body of the people.
The subject of appointing commissioners to confer with the
authorities of the rebel Confederacy had been discussed, before
the appearance of this correspondence, in the Northern States. It
had emanated from the party most openly in hostility to the Administration, and those men in that party who had been most
distinctly opposed to any measures of coercion, or any resort
to force for the purpose of overcoming the rebellion. It was
represented by these persons that the civil authorities of the
Confederacy were restrained from abandoning the contest only
by the refusal or neglect of the Government to give them an
opportunity of doing so without undue humiliation and dishonor; and in December Hon. Fernando Wood, of New
York, wrote to the President informing him that he had
reason to believe the Southern States would " send representatives to the next Congress, provided a full and general amnesty
should permit them to do so," and asking the appointment of
commissioners to ascertain the truth of these assurances.
To this request the President made the following reply:




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO FERNANDO WOOD. 305
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Dec. 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 authority
which I deemed likely to be well informed as wll as reliable and truthful, that the Southern States would send representatives to the next
Congress, provided that a full and general amnesty should permit them
to do so. No guarantee 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 stich 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 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 unequivocally. Nor do I think it proper now to
suspend military operations to try any experiment of negotiation.
I should nevertheless receive, with great pleasure, 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 1st 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 become public. I therefore have to request that you will regard it
as confidential. Your obedient servant,
A. LINCOLN.
The intimation in this letter that information concerning
the alleged willingness of the rebels to resume their allegiance,
"might be more valuable before the 1st of January than after



ï~~306       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'9S ADMINISTRATION.
wards," had reference to the Emancipation Proclamation which
he proposed to issue on that day, unless the offer of his preliminary proclamation should be accepted. That proclamation
had been issued on the 22d of September, and the seise of
responsibility under which this step was taken, was clearly
indicated in the following remarks made by the President on
the evening of the 24th of that month, in acknowledging the
compliment of a serenade at the executive mansion:
FELLOW-CITIZENS: I appear before you to do little more than acknowledge the courtesy you pay me, and to thank you for it. I have not
been distinctly informed why it is that on this occasion you appear to
do me this honor, though I suppose it is because of the Proclamation.
What I did, I did after a very full deliberation, and under a very heavy
and solemn sense of responsibility. I can only trust in God I have
made no mistake. I shall make no attempt on this occasion to sustain
what I have done or said by any comment. It is now for the country
and the world to pass judgment, and may be take action upon it. I
will say no more upon this subject. In my position I am environed
with difficulties. Yet they are scarcely so great as the difficulties of
those who, upon the battle-field, are endeavoring to purchase with their
blood and their lives, the future happiness and prosperity of this country. Let us never forget them. On the 14th and 17th days of this
present month, there have been battles bravely, skilfully, and successfully fought. We do not yet know the particulars. Let us be sure that,
in giving praise to certain individuals, we do no injustice to others. I
only ask you at the conclusion of these few remarks, to give three hearty
cheers to all good and brave officers and men who fought those successful battles.
In November the President published the following order
regarding the observance of the day of rest, and the vice of
profanity, in the army and navy:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 1862.
The President, commander-in-chief of the army and navy, desires and
enjoins the orderly observance of the Sabbath by the officers and men
in the military and naval service. The importance for man and beast
of the prescribed weekly rest, the sacred rights of Christian soldiers and
i




ï~~OBSERVANCE OF TJIE SABBATH.                 307
sailors, a becoming deference to the best sentiment of a Christian people, and a due regard for the Divine will, demand that Sunday labor in
the army and navy be reduced to the measure of strict necessity.
The discipline and character of the national forces should not suffer,
nor the cause they defend be imperilled, by the profanation of the day
or name of the Most High. "At this time of public distress," adopting
the words of Washington in 1776, "men mayfind enough to do in the
service of God and their country, without abandoning themselves to vice
and immorality." The first general order issued by the Father of his
Country, after the Declaration of Independence, indicates the spirit in
which our institutions were founded, and should ever be defended.
"The general hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor
to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest
rights and liberties of his country."
A. LINCOLN.




ï~~808    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER *VII.
THE CONGRESSIONAL SESSION OF 1862-'63.-MESSAGE OF THE
PRESIDENT, AND GENERAL ACTION OF THE SESSION.
THE third session of the Thirty-seventh Congress opened on
the first day of December, 1862-the supporters of the
Administration having a large majority in both branches.
The general condition of the country, and the progress made
in quelling the rebellion, are clearly set forth in the following
Message of President LINCOLN, which was sent in to Congress
at the beginning of the session:
FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
Since your last annual assembling, another year of health and bountiful
harvests has passed, and while it has not pleased the Almighty to bless
us with a return of peace, we can but press on, guided by the best light
He gives us, trusting that, in his own good time and wise way, all will
be well.
The correspondence, touching foreign affairs, which has taken place
during the last year, is herewith submitted, in virtual compliance with
a request to that effect made by the House of Representatives near the
close of the last session of Congress. If the condition of our relations
with other nations is less gratifying than it has usually been at former
periods, it is certainly more satisfactory than a nation so unhappily distracted as we are might reasonably have apprehended. In the month
of June last there were some grounds to expect that the maritime
Powers which, at the beginning of our domestic difficulties, so unwisely
and unnecessarily, as we think, recognized the insurgents as a belligerent, would soon recede from that position, which has proved only less
injurious to themselves than to our own country. But the temporary
reverses which afterward befel the National arms, and which were
0




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

309

exaggerated by our own disloyal citizens abroad, have hitherto delayed
that act of simple justice.
The civil war which has so radically changed for the moment the
occupations and habits of the American people, has necessarily disturbed
the social condition, and affected very deeply the prosperity of the
nations with which we have carried on a commerce that has been
steadily increasing throughout a period of half a century. It has, at the
same time, excited political ambitions and apprehensions which have
produced a profound agitation throughout the civilized world. In this
unusual agitation we have forborne from taking part in any controversy
between foreign states, and between parties or factions in such states.
We have attempted no propagandism, and acknowledged no revolution.
But we have left to every nation the exclusive conduct and management
of its own affairs. Our struggle has been, of course, contemplated by
foreign nations with reference less to its own merits, than to its
supposed and often exaggerated effects and consequences resulting to
those nations themselves. Nevertheless, complaint on the part of this
Government, even if it were just, would certainly be unwise.
The treaty with Great Britain for the suppression of the slave trade
has been put into operation with a good prospect of complete success. It
is an occasion of special pleasure to acknowledge that the execution of
it on the part of Her Majesty's Government, has been marked with a
jealous respect for the authority of the United States and the rights of
their moral and loyal citizens.
The convention with Hanover for the abolition of the stado dues
has been carried into full effect, under the act of Congress for that
purpose.
A blockade of three thousand miles of seacoast could not be established and vigorously enforced, in a season of great commercial activity
like the present, without committing occasional mistakes, and inflicting
unintentional injuries upon foreign nations and their subjects.
A civil war occurring in a country where foreigners reside and carry
on trade under treaty stipulations is necessarily fruitful of complaints of
the violation of neutral rights. All such collisions tend to excite misapprehensions, and possibly to produce mutual reclamations between
nations which have a common interest in preserving peace and friendship. In clear cases of these kinds I have, so far as possible, heard and
redressed complaints which have been presented by friendly Powers.
There is still, however, a large and an augmenting ntimber of doubtful
cases, upon which the Government is unable to agree with the Govern



ï~~310       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
ments whose protection is demanded by the claimants. There are,
moreover, many cases in which the United States, or their citizenk
suffer wrongs from the naval or military authorities of foreign nations,
which the Governments of these states are not at once prepared to
redress. I have proposed to some of the foreign states thus interested,
mutual conventions to examine and adjust,such complaints. This proposition has been made especially to Great Britain, to France, to Spain,
and to Prussia. In each case it has been kindly received, but has not
yet been formally adopted.
I deem it my duty to recommend an appropriation in behalf of the
owners of the Norwegian bark Admiral P. Tordenskiold, which vessel
was in May, 1861, prevented by the commander of the blockading force
off Charleston from leaving that port with cargo, notwithstanding a
similar privilege had, shortly before, been granted to an English vessel. I have directed the Secretary of State to cause the papers in the
ease to be communicated to the proper committees.
Applications have been made to me by many free Americans of
African descent to favor their emigration, with a view to such coloniza
tion as was contemplated in recent acts of Congress. Other parties,
at home and abroad-some from interested motives, others upon patriotic considerations, and still others influenced by philanthropic sentiments-have suggested similar measures; while, on the other hand,
several of the Spanish-American Republics have protested against the
sending of such colonies to their respective territories. Under these
circumstances I have declined to move any such colony to any State
without first obtaining the consent of its Government, with an agreement on its part to receive and protect such emigrants in all the rights
of freemen; and I have at the same time offered to the several States
situated within the tropics, or having colonies there, to negotiate with
them, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, to favor the
voluntary emigration of persons of that class to their respective tefritories, upon conditions which shall be equal, just and humane. Liberia
and Hayti are, as yet, the only countries to which colonists of African
descent from here could go with certainty of being received and adopted
as citizens; and I regret to say such persons, contemplating colonization
do not seem so willing to migrate to those countries as to some others,
nor so willing as I think their interest demands. I believe, however,
opinion among them in this respect is improving; and that ere long
there will be an augmented and considerable migration to both these
countries from the United States.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

311

The new commercial treaty between the United States and the Sultan
of Turkey has been carried into execution.
A commercial and consular treaty has been negotiated, subject to the
Senate's consent, with Liberia; and a similar negotiation is now pending with the Republic of Hayti. A considerable improvement of the
national commerce is expected to result from these measures.
Our relations with Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia,
Prussia, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Rome, and
the other European states remain undisturbed. Very favorable relations also continue to be maintained with Turkey, Morocco, China,
and Japan.
During the last year there has not only been no change of our previous relations with the Independent States of our own continent, but
more friendly sentiments than have heretofore existed are believed to
be entertained by these neighbors, whose safety and progress are so
intimately connected with our own. This statement especially applies
to Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and Chili.
The commission under the convention with the Republic of New
Granada closed its session without having audited and passed upon all
the claims which were submitted to it. A proposition is pending to
revive the convention, that it be able to do more complete justice. The
joint commission between the United States and the Republic of Costa
Rica has completed its labors and submitted its report.
I have favored the project for connecting the United States with
Europe by an Atlantic telegraph, and a similar project to extend the
telegraph from San Francisco to connect by a Pacific telegraph with
the line which is being extended across the Russian Empire.
The Territories of the United States, with unimportant exceptions,
have remained undisturbed by the civil war; and they are exhibiting
such evidence of prosperity as justifies an expectation that some of
them will soon be in a condition to be organized as States, and be constitutionally admitted into the Federal Union.
The immense mineral resources of some of those Territories ought
to be developed as rapidly as possible. Every step in that direction
would have a tendency to improve the revenues of the Government
and diminish the burdens of the people. It is worthy of your serious
consideration whether some extraordinary measures to promote that
end cannot be adopted. The means which suggests itself as most
likely to be effective, is a scientific exploration of the 'mineral regions
in those Territories, with a view to the publication of its results at
0




ï~~312       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
home and in foreign countries-results which cannot fail to be auspicious.
The condition of the finances will claim your most diligent consideration. The vast expenditures incident to the military and naval operations required for the suppression of the rebellion have been hitherto
met with a promptitude and certainty unusual in similar circumstances:
and the public credit has been fully maintained. The continuance of
the war, however, and the increased disbursements made necessary by
the augmented forces now in the field, demand your best reflections as
to the best modes of providing the necessary revenue, without injury
to business, and with the least possible burdens upon labor.
The suspension of specie payments by the Banks, soon after the
commencement of your last session, made large issues of United States
notes unavoidable. In no other way could the payment of the troops
and the satisfaction of other just demands, be so economically or so
well provided for. The judicious legislation of Congress, securing the
receivability of these notes for loans and internal duties, and making
them a legal tender for other debts, has made them a universal currency, and has satisfied, partially at least, and for the time, the long felt
want of an uniform circulating medium, saving thereby to the people
immense sums in discounts and exchanges.
A return to specie payments, however, at the earliest period compatible with due regard to all interests concerned, should ever be kept
in view. Fluctuations in the value of currency are always injurious,
and to reduce these fluctuations to the lowest possible point will always
be a leading purpose in wise legislation. Convertibility, prompt and
certain convertibility into coin. is generally acknowledged to be the
best and surest safeguard against them; and it is extremely doubtful
whether a circulation of United States notes, payable in coin, and sufficiently large for the wants of the people, can be permanently, usefully, and safely maintained.
Is there, then, any other mode in which the necessary provision for
the public wants can be made, and the great advantages of a safe and
uniform currency secured?
I know of none which promises so certain results, and is, at the same
time, so unobjectionable as the organization of banking associations,
under a general act of Congress, well guarded in its provisions. To
such associations the Government might furnish circulating notes, on
the security of United States bonds deposited 'in the Treasury. These
notes, prepared under the supervision of proper officers, being uniform




ï~~THE PRESIDENT 'S MESSAGE.

313

in appearance and security, and convertible always into coin, would at
once protect labor against the evils of a vicious currency, and facilitate
commerce by cheap and safe exchanges.
A moderate reservation from the interest on the bonds would compensate the United States for the preparation and distribution of the
notes, and a general supervision of the system, and would lighten the
burden of that part of the public debt employed as securities. The
public credit, moreover, would be greatly improved, and the negotiation
of new loans greatly facilitated by the steady market demand for Government bonds which the adoption of the proposed system would create.
It is an additional recommendation of the measure, of considerable
weight, in my judgment, that it would reconcile as far as possible all
existing interests, by the opportunity offered to existing institutions to
reorganize under the act, substituting only the secured uniform national
circulation for the local and various circulation, secured and unsecured,
now issued by them.
The receipts into the Treasury, from all sources, including loans, and
balance from the preceding year, for the fiscal year ending on the 30th
of June, 1862, were $583,885,247 60, of which sum $49,056,397 62
were derived from customs; $1,795,331 73 from the direct tax; from
public lands, $152,203 77; from miscellaneous sources, $931,787 64;
from loans in all forms, $529,692,460 50. The remainder, $2,257,065 80,
was the balance from last year.
The disbursements during the same period were for Congressional,
Executive, and Judicial purposes, $5,939,009 29; for foreign intercourse,
$1,339,710 35; for miscellaneous expenses, including the mints, loans,
post-office deficiencies, collection of revenue, and other like charges,
$14,129,771 50; for expenses under the Interior Department, $3,102,985 52 under the War Department, $394,368,407 36; under the Navy
Department, $42,674,569 69; for interest on public debt, $13,190,324
45; and for payment of public debt, including reimbursement of
temporary loan, and redemptions, $96,096,922 09; making an aggregate of $570,841,700 25, and leaving a balance in the Treasury on the
1st day of July, 1862, of 13,043,546 81.
It should be observed that the sum of $96,096,922 09, expended for
reimbursements and redemption of public debt, being included also in
the loans made, may be properly deducted, both from receipts and expenditures, leaving the actual receipts for the year $487,788,324 97,
and the expenditures, $474,744,778 16.
Other information on the subject of the finances will be found in the
14




ï~~314       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
report of the Secretary of the Treasury, to whose statements and views
I invite your most candid and considerate attention.
The reports of the Secretaries of War and of the Navy are herewith
transmitted. These reports, though lengthy, are scarcely more than
brief abstracts of the very numerous and extensive transactions and operations conducted through those Departments. Nor could I give a summary of them here, upon any principle Which would admit of its being
much shorter than the reports themselves. I therefore content myself
with laying the reports before you, ani asking your attention to them.
It gives me pleasure to report a decided improvement in the financial
condition of the Post-Office Department, as compared with several preceding years. The receipts for the fiscal year 1861 amounted to
$8,349,296, 40, which embraced the revenue from all the States of the
Union for three quarters of that year. Notwithstanding the cessation
of revenue from the so-called seceded States during the last fiscal year,
the increase of the correspondence of the loyal States has been sufficient to produce a revenue during the same year of $8,299,820 90,
being only $50,000 less than was derived from all the States of the
Union during the previous year. The expenditures show a still more
favorable result. The amount expended in 1861 was $13,606,759 11.
For the last year the amount has been reduced to $11,125,364 13,
showing a decrease of about $2,481,000 in the expenditures as compared with the preceding year, and about $3,750,000 as compared with
the fiscal year 1860. The deficiency in the Department for the previous year was $4,551,966 98. For the last fiscal year it was reduced to
$2,112,814 57. These favorable results are in part owing to the cessation of mail service in the insurrectionary States, and in part to a careful review of all expenditures in that department in the interest of
economy. The efficiency of the postal service, it is believed, has also
been much improved. The Postmaster-General has also opened a correspondence, through the Department of State, with foreign Governments, proposing a convention of postal representatives for the purpose
of simplifying the rates of foreign postage, and to expedite the foreign
mails. This proposition, equally important to our adopted citizens and
to the commercial interests of this country, has been favorably entertained and agreed to by all the Governments from whom replies have
been received.
I ask the attention of Congress to the suggestions of the PostmasterGeneral in his report respecting the further legislation required, in his
opinion, for the benefit of the postal service.

0




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

315

The Secretary of the Interior reports as follows l. regard to the
public lands:
The public lands have ceased to be a source of revenue. From the
1st July, 1861, to the 30th September, 1862, the entire cash receipts from
the sale of lands were $137,476 26--a sum much less than the expenses
of our land system during the same period. The homestead law, which
will take effect on the 1st of January next, offrs such inducements to
settlers that sales for cash.cannot be expected, to an extent sufficient to
meet the expense of the General Land Office, and the cost of surveying
and bringing the land into market.
The discrepancy between the sum here stated as arising from the
sales of the public lands, and the sum derived from the same source as
reported from the Treasury Department, arises, as I understand, from
the fact that the periods of time, though apparently, were not really
coincident at the beginning-point-the Treasury report including a considerable sum now which had previously been reported from the Interior-sufficiently large to greatly overreach the sun-m derived from the
three months now reported upon by the Interior, and not by the
Treasury.
The Indian tribes upon our frontiers have, during the past year,
manifested a spirit of insubordination, and, at several points, have
engaged in open hostilities against the white settlements in their
vicinity. The tribes occupying the Indian country south of Kansas
renounced their allegiance to the United States, and entered into
treaties with the insurgents. Those who remained loyal to the United
States were driven from the country. The chief of the Cherokees has
visited this city for the purpose of restoring the former relations of the
tribe with the United States. He alleges that they were constrained,
by superior force, to enter into treaties with the insurgents, and that
the United States neglected to furnish the protection which their treaty
stipulations required.
In the month of August last, the Sioux Indians in Minnesota, attacked
the settlement in their vicinity with extreme ferocity, killing, indiscriminately, men, women, and children. This attack was wholly
unexpected, and therefore no means of defence had been provided. It
is estimated that not less than eight hundred persons were killed by
the Indians, and a large amount of property was destroyed. How this
outbreak was induced is not definitely known, and suspicions, which
may be unjust, need not to be stated. Information was received by the
Indian Bureau, from different sources, about the time hostilities were
oommenced, that a simultaneous attack was to be made upon the white




ï~~816        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
settlements by all the tribes between the Mississippi River and tho
Rocky Mountains. The State of Minnesota has suffered great injury
from this Indian war. A large portion of her territory has been depopulated, and a severe loss has been sustained by the destruction of
property. The people of that State manifest much anxiety for the removal of the tribes beyond the limits of the State as a guarantee against
future hostilities. The Commissioner df Indian Affairs will furnish full
details. I submit for your especial consideiation whether our Indian
system shall not be remodelled. # Many wise and good men have impressed me with the belief that this can be profitably done.
I submit a statement of the proceedings of commissioners, which
shows the progress that has been made in the enterprise of constructing the Pacific railroad. And this suggests the earliest completion of
this road, and also the favorable action of Congress upon the projects
now pending before them for enlarging the capacities of the great
canals in New York and Illinois, as being of vital and rapidly increasing importance to the whole nation, and especially to the vast interior
region hereinafter to be noticed at some greater length. I purpose
having prepared and laid before you at an early day some interesting
and valuable statistical information upon this subject. The military
and commercial importance of enlarging the Illinois and Michigan
canal, and improving the Illinois river, is presented in the report of
Col. Webster to the Secretary of War, and now transmitted to Congress. I respectfully ask attention to it.
To carry out the provisions of the act of Congress of the 15th of
May last, I have caused the Department of Agriculture of the United
States to be organized.
The Commissioner informs me that within the period of a few months
this department has established an extensive system of correspondence
and exchanges, both at home and abroad, which promises to effect
highly beneficial results in the development of a correct knowledge of
recent improvements in agriculture, in the introduction of new pr6ducts,
and in the collection of the agricultural statistics of the different States.
Also, that it will soon be prepared to distribute largely seeds, cereals,
plants and cuttings, and has already published and liberally diffused
much valuable information in anticipation of a more elaborate report,
which will in due time be furnished, embracing some valuable tests in
chemical science now in progress in the laboratory.
The creation of this department was for thp more immediate benefit
of a large class of our most valuable fellow-citizens; and I trust that




ï~~THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.

the liberal basis upon which it has been organized will not only meet
your approbation, but that it will realize, at no distant day, all the
fondest anticipations of its most sanguine friends, and become the fruitful source of advantage to all our people.
On the 22d day of September last, a proclamation was issued by the
Executive, a copy of which is herewith submitted.
In accordance with the purpose expressed in. the second paragraph
of that paper, I now respectfully call your attention to what may be
called "compensated emancipation."
A nation may be said to consist of its territory, its people, and its
laws. The territory is the only part which is of certain durability.
"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the
earth abideth forever." It is of the first importance to duly consider
and estimate this ever-enduring part. That portion of the earth's surface which is owned and inhabited by the people of the United States,
is well adapted to the home of one national family; and it is not well
adapted for two or more. Its vast extent, and its variety of climate and
productions, are of advantage in this age for one people, whatever they
might have been in former ages. Steam, telegraphs, and intelligence
have brought these to be an advantageous combination for one united
people.
In the Inaugural Address I briefly pointed out the total inadequacy
of disunion as a remedy for the differences between the people of the
two sections. I did so in language which I cannot improve, and which,
therefore, I beg to repeat:
"One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to
be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not to be
extended. This is the only substantial dispute. The fugitive slave
clause of the Constitution, and the law for the suppression of the foreign
slave-trade, are each as well enforced, perhaps, as any law can ever be
in a community where the moral sense of the people imperfectly supports the law itself. The great body of the people abide by the dry
legal obligation in both cases, and a few break over in each. This, I
think, cannot be perfectly cured; and it would be worse, in both cases,
after the separation of the sections than before. The foreign slavetrade, now imperfectly suppressed, would be ultimately revived without
restriction in one section; while fugitive slaves, now only partially
surrendered, would not be surrendered at all by the other.
" Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our
respective sectipns from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced, and go out of the
presence and beyond the reach of each other; but th6 different parts
of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain face to face;




ï~~318       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between
them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous
or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make
treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? "Suppose
you go to war, you cannot fight always; and when, after much loss on
both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old
questions, as to terms of intercourse, arp again upon you."
There is no line, straight or crooked, suitable for a national boundary,
upon which to divide. Trace through, from east to west, upon the
line between the free and slave country, and we shall find a little
more than one-third of its length are rivers, easy to be crossed, and
populated, or soon to be populated, thickly upon both sides; while
nearly all its remaining length are merely surveyors' lines, over which
people may walk back and forth without any consciousness of their
presence. No part of this line can be made any more difficult to pass
by writing it down on paper or parchment as a national boundary. The
fact of separation, if it comes, gives up, on the part of the seceding section, the fugitive slave clause, along with all other constitutional obligations upon the section seceded from, while I should expect no treaty
stipulation would ever be made to take its place.
But there is another difficulty. The great interior region, bounded
east by the Alleghanies, north by the British dominions, west by the
Rocky Mountains, and south by the line along which the culture of
corn and cotton meets, and which includes part of Virginia, part of Tennessee, all of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois,
Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Territories of Dakota, Nebraska, and part of Colorado, already has above ten millions of people,
and will have fifty millions within fifty years if not prevented by any
political folly or mistake. It contains more than one-third of the country owned by the United States-certainly more than one million of
square miles. Once half as populous as Massachusetts already is, it
would have more than seventy-five millions of people. A glance at the
map shows that, territorially speaking, it is the great body of the Republic. The other parts are but marginal borders to it, the magnificent
region sloping west from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific being the
deepest, and also the richest in undeveloped resources. In the production of provisions, grains, grasses, and all which proceed from them,
this great interior region is naturally one of the most important of the
world. Ascertain from the statistics the small proportion of the region
which has as yet been brought into cultivation,'and also the large and




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

319

rapidly increasing amount of its products, and we shall be overwhelmed
with the magnitude of the prospect presented. And yet this region has
no seacoast-touches no ocean anywhere. As part of one nation, its
people now find, and may forever find, their way to Europe by New
York, to South America and Africa by New Orleans, and to Asia by
San Francisco. But separate our common country into two nations, as
designed by the present rebellion, and every man of this great interior
region is thereby cut off from some one or more of these outlets, not
perhaps by a physical barrier, but by embarrassing and onerous trade
regulations.
And this is true, wherever a dividing or boundary line may be fixed.
Place it between the now free and slave country, or place it south of
Kentucky, or north of Ohio, and still the truth remains that none south
of it can trade to any port or place north of it, and none north of it can
trade to any port or place south of it, except upon terms dictated by a
Government foreign to them. These outlets, east, west, and south, are
indispensable to the well-being of the people inhabiting and to inhabit this
vast interior region. Which of the three may be the best is no proper
question. All are better than either, and all of right belong to that
people and to their successors forever. True to themselves, they will
not ask where a line of separation shall be, but will vow rather that
there shall be no such line. Nor are the marginal regions less interested
in these communications to and through them to the great outside world.
They too, and each of them, must have access to this Egypt of the West,
without paying toll at the crossing of any national boundary.
Our national strife springs not from our permanent part; not from
the land we inhabit; not from our national homestead. There is no
possible severing of this but would multiply and not mitigate evils
among us. In all its adaptations and aptitudes it demands union and
abhors separation. In fact, it would ere long force reunion, however
much of blood and treasure the separation might have cost.
Our strife pertains to ourselves-to the passing generations of men;
and it can, without convulsion, be hushed forever with the passing of one
generation.
In this view, I recommend the adoption of the following resolution
and articles amendatory to the Constitution of the United States:
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress as.embled (two-thirds of both Houses concurring),
That the following articles be proposed to the Legislatu-es (or Conventions) of the several States as amendments to the Constitution of the




ï~~320        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
United States, all or any of which articles, when ratified by three-fourths
of the said Legislatures (or Conventions), to be valid as part or parts
of the said Constitution, viz:
ARTICLE. - Every State, wherein Slavery now exists, which shall abolish
the same therein at any time or times before the first day of January, in
the year of our Lord one thousand and nine hundred, shall receive compensation from the United States as follows, to wit:
The President of the United States shall deliver to every such State
bonds of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of -   per cent.
per annum, to an amount equal to the aggregate sum of      for each
slave shown to have been therein by the eighth census of the United
States, said bonds to be delivered to such State by installments, or in one
parcel, at the completion of the abolishment, accordingly as the same
shall have been gradual, or at one time, within such State; and interest
shall begin to run upon any such bond only from the proper time of its
delivery as aforesaid. Any State having received bonds as aforesaid, and
afterwards reintroducing or tolerating slavery therein, shall refund to the
United States the bonds so received, or the value thereof, and all interest
paid thereon.
ARTICLE. -All slaves who shall have enjoyed actual freedom by the
chances of the war, at any time before the end of the rebellion, shall be
forever free; but all owners of such who shall not have been disloyal
shall be compensated for them at the same rates as is provided for States
adopting abolishment of slavery, but in such way that no slave shall be
twice accounted for.
ARTICLE. - Congress may appropriate money, and otherwise provide
for colonizing fr~e colored persons, with their own consent, at any place
or places without the United States.
I beg indulgence to discuss these proposed articles at some length.
Without slavery the rebellion could never have existed; without
slavery it could not continue.
Among the friends of the Union there is great diversity of sentiment
and of policy in regard to slavery, and the African race amongst us.
Some would perpetuate slavery; some would abolish it suddenly, and
without compensation; some would abolish it gradually, and with compensation; some would remove the freed people from us, and some
would retain them with us: and there are yet other minor diversities.
Because of these diversities we waste much strength among ourselves.
By mutual concession we should harmonize and act together. This
would be compromise; but it would be compromise among the friends,
and not with the enemies of the Union. These articles are intended to
embody a plan of such mutual concessions. If the plan shall be adopted,
it is assumed that emancipation will follow in at least several of the
States.
As to the first article, the main points are: first, the emancipation;
secondly, the length of time for consummating it- -thirty-seven years;
and, thirdly, the compensation.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

321

The emancipation will be unsatisfactory to the advocates of perpetual
slavery; but the length of time should greatly mitigate their dissatisfaction. The time spares both races from the evils of sudden derangement-in fact, from the necessity of any derangement; while most of
those whose habitual course of thought will be disturbed by the measure will have passed away before its consummation. They will never
see it. Another class will hail the prospect of emancipation, but will
deprecate the length of time. They will feel that it gives too little to
the now living slaves. But it really gives them much. It saves them
from the vagrant destitution which must largely attend immediate
emancipation in localities where their numbers are very great; and it
gives the inspiring assurance that their posterity shall be free forever.
The plan leaves to each State choosing to act under it, to abolish
slavery now, or at the end of the century, or at any intermediate time,
or by degrees, extending over the whole or any part of the period; and
it obliges no two States to proceed alike. It also provides for compensation, and generally the mode of making it. This, it would seem,
must further mitigate the dissatisfaction of those who favor perpetual
slavery, and especially of those who are to receive the compensation.
Doubtless some of those who are to pay and not receive will object.
Yet the measure is both just and economical. In a certain sense the
liberation of slaves is the destruction of property-property acquired
by descent or by purchase, the same as any other property. It is no less
true for having been often said, that the people of the South are not more
responsible for the original introduction of this property than are the
people of the North; and when it is remembered how unhesitatingly
we all use cotton and sugar, and share the profits of dealing in them,
it may not be quite safe to say that the South has been more responsible
than the North for its continuance. If, then, for a common object this
property is to be sacrificed, is it not just that it be done at a common
charge?
And if with less money, or money more easily paid, we can preserve
the benefits of the Union by this means than we can by the war alone,
is it not also economical to do it? Let us consider it, then. Let us
ascertain the sum we have expended in the war since compensated
emancipation was proposed last March, and consider whether, if that
measure had been promptly accepted by even some of the Slave States,
the same sum would not have done more to close the war than has
been otherwise done. If so, the measure would save money, and, in
that view, would be a prudent and economical measure. Certainly it is
14*




ï~~322       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
not so easy to pay something as it is to pay nothing; but it is easier
pay a large sum than it is to pay a larger one. And it is easier to
to pay any sum when we are able than it is to pay it before we are able.
The war requires large sums, and requires them at once. The aggregate sum necessary for compensated emancipation of course would be
large. But it would require no ready cash, nor the bonds even, any
faster than the emancipation progresses. * This might not, and probably
would not, close before the end of the thirty-seven years. At that
time we shall probably have a hundred millions of people to share the
burden, instead of thirty-one millions, as now. And not only so, but
the increase of our population may be expected to continue for a long
time after that period as rapidly as before; because our territory will
not have become full. I do not state this inconsiderately.
At the same ratio of increase which we have maintained, on an average, from our first national census, in 1790, until that of 1860, we
should, in 1900, have a population of 103,208,415. And why may we
not continue that ratio-far beyond that period? Our abundant roomour broad national homestead-is our ample resource. Were our territory as limited as are the British Isles, very certainly our population
could not expand as stated. Instead of receiving the foreign born as
now, we should be compelled to send part of the native born away.
But such is not our condition. We have two millions nine hundred
and sixty-three thousand square miles. Europe has three millions and
eight hundred thousand, with a population averaging seventy-three and
one-third persons to the square mile. Why may not our country at
some time average as many? Is it less fertile? Has it more waste
surface, by mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts, or other causes? Is it
inferior to Europe in any natural advantage? If then we are, at some
time, to be as populous as Europe, how soon? As to when this may
be, we can judge by the past and the present; as to when it will be, if
ever, depends much on whether we maintain the Union. Several of
our States are already above the average of Europe-seventy-three
and a third to the square mile. Massachusetts 157; Rhode Island 133;
Connecticut 99; New York and New Jersey, each 80. Also two other
great States, Pennsylvania and Ohio, are not far below, the former
having 63 and the latter 59. The States already above the European
average, except New York, have increased in as rapid a ratio, since
passing that point, as ever before; while no one of them is equal to
some other parts of our country in natural capacity for sustaining a
dense population.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.                 323
Taking the nation in the aggregate, and we find its population and
ratio of increase, for the several decennial periods, to be as follows:
1799....  3,929,827
1800.... 5,305,937 35.02 per cent. ratio of increase.
1810.... 7,239,814 36.45 "      "       "
1820....  9,638,131  33.13  "   i       "
1830.... 12,866,020 33.49 "     " *
1840.... 17,069,453 32.67       "
1850.... 23,191,876 35.87  "
1860.... 31,443,790  35.58  "   "       "
This shows an average decennial increase of 34.60 per cent. in
population through the seventy years, from our first to our last census
yet taken. It is seen that the ratio of increase, at no one of these two
periods, is either two per cent. below or two per cent. above the average; thus showing how inflexible, and consequently how reliable, the
law of increase in our case is. Assuming that it will continue, it gives
the following results:
1870............................ 42,323,341
1880.............................  56,967,216
1890.............................  76,677,872
1900..............................  103,208,415
1910.............................  138,918,526
1920..............................  186,984,335
1930.............................  251,680,914
These figures show that our country may be as populous as Europe
now is at some point between 1920 and 1930-say about 1925-our
territory, at seventy-three and a third persons to the square mile, being
of capacity to contain 217,186,000.
And we will reach this, too, if we do not ourselves relinquish the
chance, by the folly and evils of disunion, or by long and exhausting
wars springing from the only great element of national discord among
us. While it cannot be foreseen exactly how much one huge example
of secession, breeding lesser ones indefinitely, would retard population,
civilization, and prosperity, no one can doubt that the extent of it would
be very great and injurious.
Tho proposed emancipation would shorten the war, perpetuate peace,
insure this increase of population, and proportionately the wealth of
the country. With these we should pay all the emancipation would
cost, together with our other debt, easier than we should pay our other
debt without it. If we had allowed our old national debt to run at six




ï~~324        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
per cent. per annum, simple interest, from the end of our Revolutionary
struggle until to-day, without paying anything on either principal or
interest, each man of us would owe less upon that debt now than each
man owed upon it then; and this because our increase of men, through
the whole period, has been greater than six per cent.; has run faster
than the interest upon the debt. Thus, time alone relieves a debtor
nation, so long as its population increases faster than unpaid interest
accumulates on its debt.
This fact would be no excuse for delaying payment of what is justly
due; but it shows the great importance of time in this connection-the
great advantage of a policy by which we shall not have to pay until
we number a hundred millions, what, by a different policy, we would
have to pay now, when we number but thirty-one millions. In a word,
it shows that a dollar will be much harder to pay for the war than will
be a dollar for the emancipation on the proposed plan. And then
the latter will cost no blood, no precious life. It will be a saving of
both.
As to the second article, I think it would be impracticable to return
to bondage the class of persons therein contemplated. Some of them,
doubtless, in the property sense, belong to loyal owners; and hence
provision is made in this article for compensating such.
The third article relates to the future of the freed people. It does
not oblige, but merely authorizes Congress to aid in colonizing such as
may consent. This ought not to be regarded as objectionable on the
one hand or on the other, in so much as it comes to nothing unless by
the mutual consent of the people to be deported, and the American
voters, through their representatives in Congress.
I cannot make it better known than it already is that I strongly favor
colonization. And yet I wish to say there is an objection urged against
free colored persons remaining in the country which is largely imaginary, if not sometimes malicious.
It is insisted that their presence would injure and displace white labor
and white laborers. If there ever could be a proper time for mere catch
arguments, that time surely is not now. In times like the present men
should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible
through time and in eternity. Is it true, then, that colored people can
displace any more white labor by being free than by remaining slaves?
If they stay in their old places they jostle no white laborers; if they
',ave their old places they leave them open to, white laborers. Logically there is neither more nor less of it. Emancipation even without
"




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.3

325

deportation, would probably enhance the wages of white labor, and,
very surely, would not reduce them. Thus the customary amount of
labor would still have to be performed-the freed people would surely
not do more than their old proportion of it, and very probably for a
time would do less, leaving an increased part to white laborers, bringing their labor into greater demand, and consequently enhancing the
wages of it. With deportation, even to a kimited extent, enhanced
wages to white labor is mathematically certain. Labor is like any
other commodity in the market-increase the demand for it and you
increase the price of it. Reduce the supply of black labor, by colonizing the black laborer out of the country, and by precisely so much
you increase the demand for and wages of white labor.
But it is dreaded that the freed prople will swarm forth and cover
the whole land!  Are they not already in the land? Will liberation
make them any more numerous? Equally distributed among the
whites of the whole country, and there would be but one colored to
seven whites. Could the one, in any way, greatly disturb the seven?
There are many communities now having more than one free colored
person to seven whites; and this, without any apparent consciousness
of evil from it. The District of Columbia and the States of Maryland
and Delaware are all in this condition. The District has more than one
free colored to six whites; and yet, in its frequent petitions to Congress, I believe it has never presented the presence of free colored
persons as one of its grievances. But why should emancipation South
send the freed people North? People of any color seldom run unless
there be something to run from. Heretofore colored people to some
extent have fled North from bondage; and now, perhaps, from bondage
and destitution.  But if gradual emancipation and deportation be
adopted they will have neither to flee from. Their old masters will
give them wages at least until new laborers can be procured, and the
freed men in turn will gladly give their labor for the wages till new
homes can be found for them in congenial climes and with people of
their own blood and race. This proposition can be trusted on the
mutual interests involved. And in any event, cannot the North decide
for itself whether to receive them?
Again, as practice proves more than theory, in any case, has there
been any irruption of colored people northward because of the abolishment of slavery in this District last spring?
What I have said of the proportion of free colored persons to the
whites in the District is from the census of 1860, having no reference




ï~~326       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
to persons called contrabands, nor to those made free by the act of
Congress, abolishing slavery here.
The plan consisting of these articles is recommended, not but that
a restoration of national authority would be accepted without its adoption.
Nor will the war, nor proceedings under the proclamation of September 22, 1862, be stayed because of the recommendation of this plan.
Its timely adoption, I doubt not, would bring restoration, and thereby
stay both.
And. notwithstanding this plan, the recommendation that Congress
provide by law for compensating any State which may adopt emancipation before this plan shall have been acted upon, is hereby earnestly
renewed. Such would be only an advanced part of the plan, and the
same arguments apply to both.
This plan is recommended as a means, not in exclusion of, but additional to, all others for restoring and preserving the national authority
throughout the Union. The subject is presented exclusively in its
economical aspect. The plan would, I am confident, secure peace more
speedily, and maintain it more permanently, than can be done by force
alone; while all it would cost, considering amounts, and manner of
payment, and times of payment, would be easier paid than will be the
additional cost of the war, if we solely rely upon force. It is muchvery much-that it would cost no blood at all.
The plan is proposed as permanent constitutional law. It cannot
become such, without the concurrence of, first, two-thirds of Congress,
and afterward three-fourths of the States. The requisite three-fourths
of the States will necessarily include seven of the Slave States.
Their concurrence, if obtained, will give assurance of their severally
adopting emancipation, at no very distant day, upon the new constitutional terms. This assurance would end the struggle now, and save
the Union forever.
I do not forget the gravity which should characterize a paper addressed to the Congress of the nation by the Chief Magistrate of the
nation. Nor do I forget that some of you are my seniors; nor that
many of you have more experience than I in the conduct of public
affairs. Yet I trust that, in view of the great responsibility resting
upon me, you will perceive no want of respect to yourselves in any
undue earnestness I may seem to display.
Is it doubted, then, that the plan I propose, if adopted, would shorten
the war, and thus lessen its expenditure of money and of blood? Is it




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

327

doubted that it would restore the national authority and national prosperity, and perpetuate both indefinitely? Is it doubted that we hereCongress and Executive-can secure its adoption? Will not the good
people respond to a united and earnest appeal from us? Can we, can
they, by any other means, so certainly o, o speedily assure these vital
objects? We can succeed only by concert. It is not "can any of us
imagine better?" but "can we all do better?". Objbct whatsoever is
possible, still the question recurs, "can we do better?"  The dogmas
of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion
is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As
our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must
disenthral ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and
this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves.  No
personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us.
The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or
dishonor to the latest generation. We say that we are for the Union.
The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the
Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We-even we
here-hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom
to the slave wo assure freedom to the free-honorable alike in what
we give alad what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose
the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could
not, cannot fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just-a way
which, if followed, the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
December 1, 1862.
At the very outset of the session, resolutions were introduced
by the opponents of the Administration, censuring, in strong
terms, its arrest of individuals, in the loyal States, suspected
of giving, or intending to give aid and comfort to the rebellion.
These arrests were denounced as utterly unwarranted by the
Constitution and laws of the United States, and as involving
the subversion of the public liberties.,Jn the Senate, the general subject was discussed in a debate, commencing on the 8th
of December, the opponents of the Administration setting
forth very fully and very strongly their opinion o'f the unjusti



ï~~328      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
fiable nature of this action, and its friends vindicating it as
made absolutely necessary by the emergencies of the case.
Every department of the Government, and every section of the
country, were filled at the outset of the war with men actively
engaged in doing the work of spies and informers for the rebel
authorities; and it was known that, in repeated instances, the
plans and purposes of the Government had been betrayed and
defeated by these aiders and abettors of treason. It became
absolutely necessary, not for purposes of punishment but of
prevention, to arrest these men in the injurious and perhaps
fatal action they were preparing to take; and on this ground
the action of the Government was vindicated and justified by
the Senate. On the 8th of December, in the House of Representatives, a bill was introduced, declaring the suspension of
the writ of habeas corpus to have been required by the public
safety, confirming and declaring valid all arrests and imprisonments, by whomsoever made or caused to be made, under the
authority of the President, and indemnifying the President,
secretaries, heads of departments, and all persons who have
been concerned in making such arrests, or in doing or advising
any such acts, and making void all prosecutions and proceed.
ings whatever against them in relation to the matters in question. It also authorized the President, during the existence
of the war, to declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpu.q, "at such times, and in such places, and with regard to
such persons, as in his judgment the public safety may require."
This bill was passed, receiving ninety votes in its favor, and
forty-five against it. It was taken up in the Senate on the 22d
of December, and after a discussion of several days, a new bill
was substituted and passed; ayes 33, noes 7. This was taken
up in the House on the 18th of February, and the substitute
of the Senate was rejected. This led to the appointment of a
committee of conference, which recommended that the Senate
recede from its amendments, and that the bill, substantially as




ï~~ARE THE REBEL STATES ALIENS?

329

it came from the House, be passed. This report was agreed
to, after long debate, and the bill thus became a law.
The relations in which the Rebel States are placed by their
acts of secession towards the General Government, became a
topic of discussion in the House of Representatives, in a debate
which arose on the 8th of January, upon a1t item in the appropriation bill, limiting the amount to be paid to certain commissioners to the amount that might be collected from taxes in
the insurrectionary States.  Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania,
pronounced the opinion that the Constitution did not embrace
a State that was in arms against the Government of the United
States. He maintained that those States held towards us the
position of alien enemies-that every obligation existing between them and us had been annulled, and that with regard
to all the Southern States in rebellion, the Constitution has
no binding force and. no application. This position was very
strongly controverted by men of both parties. Those who
were not in full sympathy with the Administration opposed
it, because it denied to the Southern people the protection of
the Constitution; while many Republicans regarded it as a
virtual acknowledgment of the validity and actual force of the
ordinances of secession passed by the Rebel States.   Mr.
Thomas, of Massachusetts, expressed the sentiment of the latter class very clearly when he said that one object of the bill
under discussion was to impose a tax upon States in rebellion,
-that our only authority for so doing was the Constitution of
the United States,-and that we could only do it on the
ground that the authority of the Government over those States
is just as valid now as it was before the acts of secession were
passed, and that every one of those acts is utterly null and
void. No vote was taken which declared directly the opinion
of the House on the theoretical question thus involved.
The employment of negroes as soldiers was subjected to a
vigorous discussion, started on the 27th of January, by an
0




ï~~330      PRESIDENT LINCOLN1'S ADMINISTRATION.
amendment offered to a pending bill by Mr. Stevens, directing
the President to raise, arm, and equip as many volunteers of
African descent as he might deem useful, for such term of
service as he might think proper, not exceeding five years,to be officered by white or black persons in the President's
discretion-slaves to be accepted as well as freemen. The
members from the Border States opposed this proposition with
great earnestness, as certain to do great harm to the Union
cause among their constituents, by arousing prejudices which,
whether reasonable or not, were very strong, and against which
argument would be found utterly unavailing. Mr. Crittenden,
of Kentucky, objected to it mainly because it would convert
the war against the rebellion into a servile war, and establish
abolition as the main end for which the war was carried on.
Mr. Sedgwick, of New York, vindicated the policy suggested
as having been dictated rather by necessity than choice. He
pointed out the various steps by which the President, as the
responsible head of the Government, had endeavored to prosecute the war successfully without interfering with slavery, and
showed also how the refusal of the Rebel States to return to
their allegiance had compelled him to advance, step by step,
to the more rigorous and effective policy which had now become inevitable. After considerable further discussion, the
bill, embodying substantially the amendment of Mr. Stevens,
was passed; ayes 83, noes 54. On reaching the Senate it was
referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, which, on the
12th of February, reported against its passage, on the ground
that the authority which it was intended to confer upon the
President was already sufficiently granted in the act of the
previous session, approved July 17, 1862, which authorized
the President to employ, in any military or naval service for
which they might be found competent, persons of African
descent.
One of the most important acts of the session was that which




ï~~THE PROVISION FOR A DRAFT.

331

provided for the creation of a national force by enrolling and
drafting the militia of the whole country,-each State being
required to contribute its quota in the ratio of its population,
and the whole force, when raised, to be under the control of
the President. Some measure of the kind seemed to have
been rendered absolutely necessary by the revival of party
spirit throughout the loyal States, and by the active and effective efforts made by the Democratic party, emboldened by the
results of the fall elections of 1862, to discourage and prevent
volunteering. So successful had they been in this work, that
the Government seemed likely to fail in its efforts to raise men
for another campaign; and it was to avert this threatening
evil that the bill in question was brought forward for the action
of Congress. It encountered a violent resistance from the opposition party, and especially from those members whose sympathies with the secessionists were the most distinctly marked.
But after the rejection of numerous amendments, more or less
affecting its character and force, it was passed in the Senate,
and taken up on the 23d of February in the House, where it
encountered a similar ordeal. It contained various provisions for exempting from service persons upon whom others
were most directly and entirely dependent for support,-such
as the only son of a widow, the only son of aged and infirm
parents who relied upon him for a maintenance, etc. It
allowed drafted persons to procure substitutes; and, to cover
the cases in which the prices of substitutes might become exorbitant, it also provided that upon payment of $300 the
Government itself would procure a substitute, and release the
person drafted from service. The bill was passed in the House
with some amendments, by a vote of 115 to 49,-and the
amendments being concurred in by the Senate, the bill became
a law.
The finances of the country enlisted a good deal of attention during this session. It was necessary to provide in some




ï~~332       PRESIDENT LINCOLN7S ADMINISTRATION.
way for the expenses of the war, and also for a currency; and
two bills were accordingly introduced at an early stage of the
session relating to these two subjects. The Financial bill,
as finally passed by both houses, authorized the Secretary
of the Treasury to borrow and issue bonds for $900,000,000,
at not more than six per cent. interest, and payable at a time
not less than ten nor more than forty years. It also authorized the Secretary to issue Treasury notes to the amount
of $400,000,000, bearing interest, and also notes not bearing
interest to the amount of $150,000,000.       While this bill
was pending, a joint resolution was passed by both houses,
authorizing the issue of Treasury notes to the amount of
$100,000,000 to meet the immediate wants of the soldiers
and sailors in the service.
The President announced that he had signed this resolution
in the following
MESSAGE.
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
I have signed the joint resolution to provide for the immediate payment of the army and navy of the United States, passed by the House
of Representatives on the 14th, and by the Senate on the 15th inst.
The joint resolution is a simple authority, amounting, however, under
the existing circumstances, to a direction to the Secretary of the Treasury to make an additional issue of $100,000,000 in United States notes',
if so much money is needed, for the payment of the army and navy.
My approval is given in order that every possible facility may be afforded
for the prompt discharge of all arrears of pay due to our soldiers and
our sailors.
While giving this approval, however, I think it my duty to express
my sincere regret that it has been found necessary to authorize so large
an additional issue of United States notes, when this circulation, and
that of the suspended banks together, have become already so redundant
as to increase prices beyond real values, thereby augmenting the cost
of living, to the injury of labor, and the cost of supplies-to the injury
of the whole country. It seems very plain that continued issues of
United States notes, without any check to the issues of suspended
banks, and without adequate provision for the raising of money by




ï~~MESSAGE ON THE FINANCES AND CURRENCY.                 333
loans, and for funding the issues, so as to keep them within due limits,
must soon produce disastrous consequences; and this matter appears to
me so important that I feel bound to avail myself of this occasion to
ask the special attention of Congress to it.
That Congress has power to regulate the currency of the country can
hardly admit of doubt, and that a judicious measure to prevent the
deterioration of this currency, by a reasonable taxation of bank circulation, or otherwise, is needed, seems equally clear. Independently
of this general consideration, it would be unjust to the people at large
to exempt banks enjoying the special privilege of circulation, from their
just proportion of the public burdens.
In order to raise money by way of loans most easily and cheaply, it
is clearly necessary to give every possible support to the public credit.
To that end, a uniform currency, in which taxes, subscriptions, loans,
and all other ordinary public dues may be paid, is almost if not quite
indispensable. Such a currency can be furnished by banking associations authorized under a general act of Congress, as suggested in my
message at the beginning of the present session. The securing of this
circulation by the pledge of the United States bonds, as herein suggested, would still further facilitate loans, by increasing the present and
causing a future demand for such bonds.
In view of the actual financial embarrassments of the Government,
and of the greater embarrassment sure to come if the necessary means
of relief be not afforded, I feel that I should not perform my duty by a
simple announcement of my approval of the joint resolution, which
proposes relief only by increasing the circulation, without expressing
my earnest desire that measures, such in substance as that I have just
referred to, may receive the early sanction of Congress. By such
measures, in my opinion, will payment be most certainly secured, not
only to the army and navy, but to all honest creditors of the Government, and satisfactory provision made for future demands on the
Treasury.                                   ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The second bill-that to provide a national currency, secured
by a pledge of United States stocks, and to provide for the circulation and redemption thereof, was passed in the Senate,-ayes
23, noes 21, and in the House, ayes 78, noes 64,-under the twofold conviction that so long as the war continued the country
must have a large supply of paper-money, and that it was also

0




ï~~334      PRESIDENT LINCOLNIS ADMINISTRATION.
highly desirable that this money should be national in its character, and rest on the faith of the Government as its security.
Another act of importance, passed by Congress at this session, was the admission of Western Virginia into the Union.
The Constitution of the United States declares that no new
State shall be formed within tle jurisdiction of any State
without the consent of the Legislature of the State concerned,
as well as of the Congress. The main question on which the
admission of the new State turned, therefore, was whether that
State had been formed with the consent of the Legislature of
Virginia. The facts of the case were these: In the winter of
1860-61, the Legislature of Virginia, convened in extra session,
had called a convention, to be held on the 14th of February,
1861, at Richmond, to decide on the question of secession. A
vote was also to be taken, when the delegates to this convention should be elected, to decide whether an ordinance of secession, if passed by the convention, should be referred back
to the people; and this was decided in the affirmative by a
majority of nearly 60,000. The convention met, and an ordinance of secession was passed, and referred to the people at an
election to be held on the fourth Tuesday of May. Without
waiting for this vote, the authorities of the State levied war
against the United States, joined the Rebel Confederacy, and
invited the Confederate armies to occupy portions of their
territory. A convention of nearly five hundred delegates,
chosen in Western Virginia under a popular call, met early
in May, declared the ordinance of secession null and void, and
called another convention of delegates from all the counties of
Virginia, to be held at Wheeling, on the '11th of June, in case
the secession ordinance should be ratified by the popular vote.
It was so ratified and the convention met. It proceeded on
the assumption that the officers of the old government of the
State had vacated their offices by joining the rebellion: and it
accordingly proceeded to fill them, and to reorganize the gov




ï~~ADMISSION OF WESTERN VIRGINIA.

335

ernment of the whole State. On the 20th of August the convention passed an ordinance to "provide for the formation of
a new State out of a portion of the territory of this State."
Under that ordinance, delegates were elected to a convention
which met at Wheeling, November 26, and proceeded to draft
a Constitution for the State of Western Virginia, as the new
State was named, which was submitted to the people of Western Virginia in April, 1862, and by them ratified,-18,862
voting in favor of it, and 514 against it. The Legislature of
Virginia, the members of which were elected by authority of
the Wheeling convention of June 11th, met in extra session,
called by the Governor appointed by that convention, on the
6th of May, 1862, and passed an act giving its consent to the
formation of the new State, and making application to Congress for its admission into the Union. The question to be
decided by Congress,. therefore, was whether the legislature
which met at Wheeling on the 11th of June was "the Legislature of Virginia," and thus competent to give its consent to the
formation of a new State within the State of Virginia. The
bill for admitting it, notwithstanding the opposition of several
leading and influential Republicans, was passed in the House,
ayes 96, noes 55. It passed in the Senate without debate, and
was approved by the President on the 31st of December, 1862.
A bill was brought forward in the Senate for discussion on
the 29th of January, proposing a grant of money to aid in the
abolition of slavery in the State of Missouri. It gave rise to a
good deal of debate, some Senators doubting whether Congress
had any constitutional right to make such an appropriation,
and a marked difference of opinion, moreover, growing up as
to the propriety of gradual or immediate emancipation in that
State. Mr. Sumner, Mr. Wilson, and several others, insisted
that the aid proposed should be granted only on condition
that emancipation should be immediate; while the Senators
from Missouri thought that the State would be much more

0




ï~~336       PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
certain to provide for getting rid of slavery if the time were
extended to twenty-three years, as the bill proposed, than if
she were required to set free all her slaves at once. The
Senators from the Slave States generally opposed the measure,
on the ground that Congress had no authority under the
Constitution to appropriate any portion of the public money
for such a purpose. The bill was finally passed in the Senate,
but it failed to pass the House.
Two members of Congress from the State of Louisiana
were admitted to seatsin the House of Representatives under
circumstances which made that action of considerable importance. Immediately after the occupation of New Orleans
by the national forces under General Butler, the President had
appointed General Shepley military governor of the State
of Louisiana. The rebel forces were driven out from the city
of New Orleans, and some of the adjoining parishes; and
when, during the ensuing summer, the people were invited to
resume their allegiance to the Government of the United
States, over 60,000 came forward, took the oath of allegiance,
and were admitted to their rights as citizens. On the 3d of
December General Shepley, acting as military governor of the
State, ordered an election for members of Congress in the two
districts into which the city of New Orleans is divided-each
district embracing also some of the adjoining parishes. In
one of these districts B. F. Flanders was elected, receiving
2,370 votes, and all others 273, and in the other Michael
Hahn was elected, receiving 2,799 votes out of 5,117, the whole
number cast. A committee of the House, to which the application of these gentlemen for admission to their seats had been
referred, reported, on the 9th of February, in favor of their
claim. It was represented in this report that the requirements
of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana had in all respects been complied with, the only question being, whether
a military governor, appointed by the President of the United




ï~~CLOSE OF THE SESSION.           3

337

States, could properly and rightfully perform the functions of
the civil governor of the State. The committee held that he
could, and cited a decision of the Supreme Court of the United
States, not only recognizing the power of the President to
appoint a military governor, but also recognizing both his civil
and military functions as of full validity antl binding obligation.
On the other hand, it was maintained that representatives can
be elected to the Federal Legislature only in pursuance of an
act of the State Legislature, or of an act of the Federal Congress. In this case neither of these requirements had been
fulfilled. The House, however, admitted both these gentlemen
to their seats, by a vote of 92 to 44.
Before adjourning, Congress passed an act, approved on the
3d of March, authorizing the President, " in all domestic and
foreign wars," to issue to private armed vessels of the United
States, letters of marque and reprisal,-said authority to
terminate at the end of three years from the date of the act.
Resolutions were also adopted, in both Houses, protesting
against every proposition of foreign interference, by proffers
of mediation or otherwise, as " unreasonable and inadmissible,"
and declaring the "unalterable purpose of the United States
to prosecute the war until the rebellion shall be overcome."
These resolutions, offered by Mr. Sumner, received in the
Senate 31 votes in their favor, while but 5 were cast against
them, and in the House 103 were given for their passage, and
28 against it.
The session closed on the 4th of March, 1863. Its proceedings had been marked by the same thorough and fixed
determination to carry on the war, by the use of the most
vigorous and effective measures for the suppression of the
rebellion, and by the same filll and prompt support of the
President, which had characterized the preceding Congress.
While some members of the Administration party, becoming impatient of the delays which seemed to mark the progress
15




ï~~338       PRESIDENT LINCOLN S ADMINISTRATION.
of the war, were inclined to censure the caution of the President, and to insist upon bolder and more sweeping assaults
upon the persons and property of the people of the Rebel
States, and especially upon the institution of slavery-and
while, on the other hand, its more open opponents denounced
every thing like severity, as calculated to exasperate the South
and prolong the war, the great body of the members, like
the great body of the people, manifested a steady and firm
reliance on the patriotic purpose and the calm sagacity
evinced by the President in his conduct of public affairs.




ï~~THE MATTER OF ARBITRARY ARRESTS.

339

CHAPTER VIII.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS.- THE SUSPENSION OF TIHE WRIT OF
HABEAS CORPUS.-THE DRAFT.
AT the very outbreak of the rebellion, the Administration
was compelled to face one of the most formidable of the many
difficulties which have embarrassed its action. Long before
the issue had been distinctly made by the rebels in the
Southern States, while under the protecting toleration of Mr.
Buchanan's administration the conspirators were making
preparations for armed resistance to the Government of the
United States, evideices were not wanting that they relied
upon the active co-operation of men and parties in the Northern
States, whose political sympathies had always been in harmony
with their principles and their action. As early as in January, 1861, while the rebels were diligently and actively
collecting arms and other munitions of war, by purchase in
the Northern States, for the contest on which they had resolved, Fernando Wood, then Mayor of New York, had
apologized to Senator Toombs, of Georgia, for the seizure
by the police of New York of " arms intended for and consigned to the State of Georgia," and had assured him that
" if he had the power he should summarily punish the authors
of this illegal and unjustifiable seizure of private property."
The departments at Washington, the army and the navy, all
places of responsibility and trust under the Governrment, and
all departments of civil and political activity in the Northern
States, were found to be largely filled by persons in active
sympathy with the secession movement, and ready'at all times
to give it all the aid and comfort in their power. Upon the




ï~~340      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
advent of the new Administration, and when active measures
began to be taken for the suppression of the rebellion, the
Government found its plans betrayed and its movements
thwarted at every turn. Prominent presses and politicians,
moreover, throughout the country, began, by active hostility,
to indicate their sympathy witl those who sought, under
cover of opposition to the Administration, to overthrow the
Government, and it became speedily manifest that there was
sufficient of treasonable sentiment throughout the North to
paralyze the authorities in their efforts, aided only by the ordinary machinery of the law, to crush the secession movement.
Under these circumstances it was deemed necessary to resort
to the exercise of the extraordinary powers with which, in
extraordinary emergencies, the Constitution had clothed the
Government. That instrument had provided that "the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus should not be suspended;
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public
safety might require it." By necessary implication, whenever,
in such cases either of rebellion or invasion, the public safety
did require it, the privilege of that writ might be suspended;
and, from the very necessity of the case, the Government
which was charged with the care of the public safety, was
empowered to judge when the contingency should occur. The
only question that remained was, which department of the
Government was to meet this responsibility. If the act was
one of legislation, it could only be performed by Congress
and the President; if it was in its nature executive, then it
might be performed, the emergency requiring it, by the President. alone. The pressing emergency of the case, moreover,
went far towards dictating the decision. Congress had adjourned on the 4th of March, and could not be again assembled for some months; and infinite, and perhaps fatal mischief
might be done during the interval, if the Northern allies of the
rebellion were allowed with impunity to prosecute their plans.




ï~~FIRST SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS.        341
Under the influence of these considerations the President,
in his proclamation of the 3d of May, 1861, directing the
commander of the forces of the United States on the Florida
coast to permit no person to exercise any authority upon the
islands of Key West, the Tortugas, and Santa Rosa, which
might be inconsistent with the authority of the United States,
also authorized him, " if he should find it necessary, to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, and to remove from the
vicinity of the United States fortresses all dangerous or suspected persons."  This was the first act of the Administration
in that direction; but it was very soon found necessary to
resort to the exercise of the same powers in other sections of
the country. On the 25th of May, John Merryman, a resident
of Hayfield, in Baltimore County, Maryland, known by the
Government to be in communication with the rebels, and to
be giving them aid and comfort, was arrested and imprisoned
in Fort McHenry, then commanded by General Cadwallader.
On the same day he forwarded a petition to Roger B. Taney,
Chief-Justice of the United States, reciting the circumstances
of his arrest, and praying for the issue of the writ of habeas
corpus. The writ was forthwith issued, and General Cadwallader was ordered to bring the body of Merryman before the
Chief-Justice on the 27th. On that day Colonel Lee presented a written communication from General Cadwallader,
stating that Merryman had been arrested and committed to
his custody by officers acting under the authority of the
United States, charged with various acts of treason, with
holding a commission as lieutenant in a company avowing its
purpose of armed hostility against the Government, and with
having made often and unreserved declarations of his association with this armed force, and of his readiness to co-operate with
those engaged in the present rebellion against the Government
of the United States. The General added that be was " duly
authorized by the President of the United States to suspend
"




ï~~342      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
the writ of habeas corpus for the public safety;" and that,
while he fully appreciated the delicacy of the trust, he was also
instructed "that, in times of civil strife, errors, if any, should
be on the side of safety to the country." The commanding
General accordingly declined to obey the writ, whereupon an
attachment was forthwith issued against him for contempt of
court, made returnable at noon on the next day. On that
day, the marshal charged with serving the attachment made
return that he was not admitted within the fortress, and had
consequently been unable to serve the writ. The Chief-Justice, thereupon, read an opinion that the President could not
suspend the writ of habeas corpus, nor authorize any military
officer to do so, and that a military officer had no right to
arrest any person, not subject to the rules and articles of war,
for an offence against the laws of the United States, except in
aid of the juidicial authority, and subject to its control. The
Chief-Justice stated further, that the marshal had the power to
summon out the posse comitatus to enforce the service of the
writ, but as it was apparent that it would be resisted by a force
notoriously superior, the Court could do nothing further in the
premises.
On the 12th of May, another writ was issued by Judge
Giles, of Baltimore, to Major Morris, of the United States
Artillery, at Fort McHenry, who, in a letter dated the 14th,
refused to obey the writ, because at the time it was issued,
and for two weeks previous, the city of Baltimore had been
completely under the control of the rebel authorities-United
States soldiers had been murdered in the streets-the intention
to capture that fort had been openly proclaimed, and the
Legislature of the State was at that moment debating the
question of making war upon the Government of the United
States. All this, in his judgment, constituted a case of
rebellion, and afforded sufficient legal, cause for suspending the writ of habeas corpus.    Similar cases arose, and
0




ï~~AID AND COM3FORT TO THE REBELS.

343

were disposed of in a similar manner, in other sections of the
country.
The Governor of Virginia had proposed to Mr. G. Heincken,
of New York, the agent of the New York and Virginia Steamship Company, payment for two steamers of that line, the
Yorktown and Jamestown, which he had seized for the rebel
service, an acceptance of which proffer, Mr. Heincken was informed, would be treated as an act of treason to the Government; and on his application, Mr. Seward, the Secretary of
State, gave him the following reasons for this decision:
An insurrection has broken out in several of the States of this Union,
including Virginia, designed to overthrow the Government of the
United States. The executive authorities of that State are parties to
that insurrection, and so are public enemies. Their action in seizing or
buying vessels to be employed in executing that design, is not merely
without authority of lay, but is treason. It is treason for any person to
give aid and comfort to public enemies. To sell vessels to them which
it is their purpose to use as ships of war, is to give them aid and comfort. To receive money from them in payment for vessels which they
have seized for those purposes, would be to attempt to convert the unlawful seizure into a sale, and would subject the party so offending to
the pains and penalties of treason, and the Government would not hesitate to bring the offender to punishment.
These acts and decisions of the Government were vehemently assailed by the party opponents of the Administration,
and led to the most violent and intemperate assaults upon the
Government in many of the public prints. Some of these
journals were refused the privilege of the public mails, the
Government not holding itself under any obligation to aid in
circulating assaults upon its own authority, and stringent
restrictions were placed upon the. transmission of intelligence
by telegraph.  On the 5th of July, 1862, Attorney-General
Bates transmitted to the President an elaborate opinion, prepared at his request, upon his power to make arrests of persons known to have criminal intercourse with the insurgents,




ï~~344       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
or against whom there is probable cause for suspicion of such
criminal complicity,-and also upon his right to refuse to
obey a writ of habeas corpus in case of such arrests. The
Attorney-General discussed the subject at considerable length,
and reached a conclusion favorable to the action of the Gov"ament. From that time forwar'd the Government exerted,
with vigor and energy, all the power thus placed in its hands
to prevent the rebellion from receiving aid from those in sympathy with its objects in the Northern States. A large number of persons, believed to be in complicity with the insurgents, were placed in arrest, but were released upon taking an
oath of allegiance to the United States. Baltimore continued
for some time to be the head-quarters of conspiracies and
movements of various kinds in aid of the rebellion, and the
arrests were consequently more numerous there than elsewhere. Indeed, very strenuous efforts were made throughout
the summer to induce some action on the part of the Legislature which should place the State in alliance with the rebel
Confederacy, and it was confidently believed that an ordinance
looking to this end would be passed at the extra session which
was convened for the 17th of September; but on the 16th
nine secession members of the House of Delegates, with the
officers of both houses, were arrested by General McClellan,
then in command of the army, who expressed his full approbation of the proceedings, and the session was not held.
The President at the time gave the following statement of
his views in regard to these arrests:
The public safety renders it necessary that the grounds of these
arrests should at present be withheld, but at the proper time they will
be made public. Of one thing.the people of Maryland may rest assured, that no arrest has been made, or will be made, not based on
substantial and unmistakable complicity with those in armed rebellion
against the Government of the United States., In no case has an arrest
been made on mere suspicion, or through personal or partisan animosi



ï~~EXECUTIVE ORDER ABOUT ARRESTS.

345

ties, but in all cases the Government is in possession of tangible and
unmistakable evidence, which will, when made public, be satisfactory
to every loyal citizen.
Arrests continued to be made under authority of the
State Department, not without complaint, certainly, from large
numbers of the people, but with the general acquiescence of the
whole community, and beyond all question greatly to the
advantage of the Government and the country. On the 14th
of February, 1862, an order was issued on the subject, which
transferred control of the whole matter to the War Departmeat.   The circumstances which had        made    these arrests
necessary are stated with so much clearness and force in that
order, that we insert it at length as follows:
EXECUTIVE ORDERS IN RELATION TO STATE PRISONERS.
SWAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, Feb. 14.
The breaking out of a formidable insurrection, based on a conflict of
political ideas, being an event without precedent in the United States,
was necessarily attended by great confusion and perplexity of the public mind. Disloyalty, before unsuspected, suddenly became bold, and
treason astonished the world by bringing at once into the field military
forces superior in numbers to the standing army of the United States.
Every department of the Government was paralyzed by treason.
Defection appeared in the Senate, in the House of Representatives, in
the Cabinet, in the Federal Courts; Ministers and Consuls returned
from foreign countries to enter the insurrectionary councils, or land or
naval forces; commanding and other officers of the army and in the
navy betrayed the councils or deserted their posts for commands in the
insurgent forces. Treason was flagrant in the revenue and in the postoffice service, as well as in the territorial governments and in the Indian reserves.
Not only Governors, Judges, Legislators, and ministerial officers in
the States, but even whole States, rushed, one after another, with apparent unanimity, into rebellion. The capital was besieged and its connection with all the States cut off.
Even in the portions of the country which were most loyal, political
combinations and secret societies were formed furthering the work of
15*




ï~~346       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
disunion, while, from motives of disloyalty or cupidity, or from excited
passions or perverted sympathies, individuals were found furnishing
men, money, and materials of war and supplies to the insurgents' military and naval forces. Armies, ships, fortifications, navy yards, arsenals, military posts and garrisons, one after another, were betrayed or
abandoned to the insurgents.
Congress had not anticipated and so had not provided for the emergency. The municipal authorities were powerless and inactive. The
judicial machinery seemed as if it had been designed not to sustain the
Government, but to embarrass and betray it.
Foreign intervention, openly invited and industriously instigated by
the abetters of the insurrection, became imminent, and has only been
prevented by the practice of strict and impartial justice with the most
perfect moderation in our intercourse with nations.
The public mind was alarmed and apprehensive, though fortunately
not distracted or disheartened. It seemed to be doubtful whether the
Federal Government, which one year before had been thought a model
worthy of univ.ersal acceptance, had indeed the ability to defend and
maintain itself.
Some reverses, which perhaps were unavoidable, suffered by newly
levied and inefficient forces, discouraged the loyal, and gave new hopes
to the insurgents. Voluntary enlistments seemed about to cease, and
desertions commenced. Parties speculated upon the question whether
conscription had not become necessary to fill up the armies of the United
States.
In this emergency the President felt it his duty to employ with
energy the extraordinary powers which the Constitution confides to him
in cases of insurrection. He called into the field such military and
naval forces, unauthorized by the existing laws, as seemed necessary.
He directed measures to prevent the use of the post-office for treasonable correspondence. He subjected passengers to and from foreign
countries to new passport regulations, and he instituted a blockade,
suspended the writ of habeas corpus in various places, and caused persons who were represented to him as being or about to engage in disloyal and treasonable practices to be arrested by special civil as well as
military agencies, and detained in military custody, when necessary, to
prevent them and deter others from such practices. Examinations of
such cases were instituted, and some of the persons so arrested have
been discharged from time to time, under circumstances or upon conditions oompatible, as was thought, with the public safety.




ï~~APPOINTMENT OF A COMMISSIONER ON ARRESTS. 347
Meantime a favorable change of public opinion has occurred. The
line between loyalty and disloyalty is plainly defined; the whole structure of the Government is firm and stable; apprehensions of public danger and facilities for treasonable practices have diminished with the
passions which prompted heedless persons to adopt them. The insurrection is believed to have culminated and to lbp declining.
The President, in view of these facts, and anxious to favor a return
to the normal course of the Administration, as far as regard for the
public welfare will allow, directs that all political prisoners or State
prisoners now held in military custody, be released on their subscribing
to a parole engaging them to render no aid or comfort to the enemies
in hostility to the United States.
The Secretary of War will, however, at his discretion, except from
the effect of this order any persons detained as spies in the service of
the insurgents, or others whose release at the present moment may be
deemed incompatible with the public safety.
To all persons who shall be so released, and who shall keep their
parole, the President grants an amnesty for any past offences of treason
or disloyalty which they may have committed.
Extraordinary arrests will hereafter be made under the direction of
the military authorities alone.
By order of the President:.
EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.
On the 27th of the same month, a Commission was appointed by the War Department, consisting of Major-General
Dix and Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, of New York, to examine
into the cases of the State prisoners then remaining in custody,
and to determine whether, in view of the public safety and
the existing rebellion, they should be discharged, or remain
in arrest, or be remitted to the civil tribunals for trial. These
gentlemen entered at once upon the discharge of their duties,
and a large number of prisoners were released from custody
on taking the oath of allegiance. Wherever the public safety
seemed to require it, however, arrests continued to be madethe President, in every instance, assuming all, the responsibility of these acts, and throwipg himself upon the Courts




ï~~348       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
and the judgment of the country for his vindication. But
the President himself had not up to this time directed any
general suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, or given any
public notice of the rules by which the Government would be
guided in its action upon cases that might arise. It was left
to the Secretary of War to decide, in what instances and for
what causes arrests should be made, and the privilege of the
writ should be suspended. In some of the Courts into which
these cases were brought, the ground was accordingly taken
that, although the President might have authority under
the Constitution, when, in cases of rebellion or invasion,
the public safety should require it, to suspend the writ, he
could not delegate that authority to any subordinate. To
meet this case, therefore, the President, on the 24th of September, 1862, issued the following
PROCLAMATION.
Whereas, it has been necessary to call into service, not only volunteers, but also portions of the militia of the States by draft, in order to
suppress the insurrection existing in the United States, and disloyal
persons are not adequately restrained by the ordinary processes of law
from hindering this measure, and from giving aid and comfort in various
ways to the insurrection,
Now, therefore, be it orderedFirst, That during the existing insurrection, and as a necessary
measure for suppressing the same, all rebels and insurgents, their aiders
and abettors, within the United States, and all persons discouraging
volunteer enlistments, resisting military drafts, or guilty of any disloyal
practice affording aid and comfort to the rebels against the authority of
the United States, shall be subject to martial law, and liable to trial
and punishment by courts-martial or military commission.
Second, That the writ of habeas corpus is suspended in respect to all
persons arrested, or who are now, or hereafter during the rebellion
shall be, imprisoned in any fort, camp, arsenal, military prison, or other
place of confinement, by any military authority', or by the sentence of
any court-martial or military commission.




ï~~OPPOSITION TO THE GOVERNMENT.

349

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, and caused
the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-fourth day
of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand
[L. s.]  eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the independence
of the United States the eighty-seventh.
ABRLHAM  LrcoLK.
By the President:
WrLL     I. SwinD, Secretary of State.
This proclamation was accompanied by orders from the
War Department appointing a Provost Marshal-General, whose
head-quarters were to be at Washington, with special provostmarshals, one or more, in each State, charged with the duty of
arresting deserters and disloyal persons, and of inquiring into
treasonable practices throughout the country. They were
authorized to call upon either the civil or military authority for
aid in the discharge of their duties, and were required to report to the Department at Washington. The creation of This
new Department had been made necessary by the increased
activity of the enemies of the Government throughout the
North, and by the degree of success which had attended their
efforts. Prompted partly by merely political and partisan
motives, but in many instances by thorough sympathy with
the secession movement, active political leaders had set in
vigorous motion very extensive machinery for the advancement of their designs. "Peace meetings" were held in every
section of the Northern States, at which the action of the
Government was most vehemently assailed, the objects of the

war were misrepresented, and its prosecution denounced, and
special efforts made to prevent enlistments, to promote desertions, and in every way to cripple the Government in its
efforts to subdue the rebellion by force of arms. The vigorous
action of the Government, however, in arresting men conspicuous in these disloyal practices, had created a salutary re.




ï~~350       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
action in the public mind, and had so far relieved the Administration from apprehension as to warrant the promulgation of
the following order:
WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 1862.
Ordered-1. That all persons now in pailitary custody, who have been
arrested for discouraging volunteer enlistments, olpposing the draft, or
for otherwise giving aid and comfort to the enemy, in States where the
draft has been made, or the quota of volunteers and militia has been
furnished, shall be discharged from further military restraint.
2. The persons who, by the authority of the military commander or
governor in rebel States, have been arrested and sent from such State
for disloyalty or hostility to the Government of the United States, and
are now in military custody, may also be discharged upon giving their
Sparole to do no act of hostility against the Government of the United
States, nor render aid to its enemies. But all such persons shall remain
subject to military surveillance and liable to arrest on breach of their
parole. And if any such persons shall prefer to leave the loyal States
on condition of their not returning again during the war, or until special
leave for that purpose be obtained from the President, then such person
shall, at his option, be released and depart from the United States, or be
conveyed beyond the military lines of the United States forces.
3. This order shall not operate fo discharge any person who has been
in arms against the Government, or by force and arms has resisted or
attempted to resist the draft, nor relieve any person from liability to
trial and punishment by civil tribunals, or by court-martial or military
commission, who may be amenable to such tribunals for offences committed.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistaint Adjutant-General.
During the succeeding winter, while Congress was in
session, public sentiment was comparatively at rest on this
subject. Congress had enacted a law, sanctioning the action
of the President in suspending the writ of habeas corpus,
and clothing him with full authority to check and punish all
attempts to defeat the efforts of the Government in the prosecution of the war. After the adjournment, however, when the
political activity of the country was transferred from the
0




ï~~THE CASE OF VALLANDIGHAM.

351

Capital to the people in their respective localities, the party
agitation was revived, and public meetings were again held to
denounce the conduct of the Government, and to protest
against the further prosecution of the war. One of the most
active of these advocates of peace with the rebel Confederacy
was Hon. C. L. Vallandigham, a memter of Congress from
Ohio, who had steadily opposed all measures for the prosecution of the war throughout the session. After the adjournment he made a political canvass of his district, and in a
speech at Mount Vernon, on the 1st of May, he denounced the
Government at Washington as aiming, in the conduct of the
war, not to restore the Union, but to crush out liberty and establish a despotism. He declared that the war was waged for
the freedom of the blacks and the enslaving of the whitesthat the Government could have had peace long before if it
had desired it-that the mediation of France ought to have
been accepted, and that the Government adl deliberat ely rejected propositions by which the Southern States could have
been brought back to the Union. He also denounced an
order, No. 38, issued by General Burnside, in command of the
Department, forbidding certain disloyal practices, and giving
notice that persons declaring sympathy for the enemy would be
arrested for trial, proclaimed his intention to disobey it, and
called on the people who heard him to resist and defeat its
execution.
For this speech Mr. Vallandigham was arrested, by order of
General Burnside, on the 4th of May, and ordered for trial
before a court-martial at Cincinnati. On the 5th, he applied,
through his counsel, Senator Pugh, to the Circuit Court of the
United States for a writ of habeas corpus. In reply to this
application, a letter was read from General Burnside, setting
forth the considerations which had led him to make the arrest,
and Vallandigham's counsel was then heard in a very long argument on the case. Judge Stewart pronounced his decision,




ï~~352       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
refusing the writ, on the ground that the action of General
Burnside was necessary for the public safety. "The legality
of the arrest," said the judge, " depends upon the extent of
the necessity for making it, and that was to be determined by
the military commander." And he adds:
Men should know and lay the truth to heart, that there is a course of
conduct not involving overt treason, and not therefore subject to punishment as such, which, nevertheless, implies moral guilt, and a gross
offence against the country. Those who live under the protection and
enjoy the blessings of our benignant Government, must learn that they
cannot stab its vitals with impunity. If they Cherish hatred and hostility to it, and desire its subversion, let them withdraw from its jurisdiction, and seek the fellowship and protection of those with whom
they are in sympathy. If they remain with us, while they are not of
us, they must be subject to such a course of dealing as the great law of
self-preservation prescribes and will enforce. And let them not complain if the stringent doctrine of military necessity should find them to
be the legitimate subjects of its action. I have no fear that the recognition of this doctrine will lead to an arbitrary invasion of the personal
security, or personal liberty, of the citizen. It is rare indeed that a
charge of disloyalty will be made on insufficient grounds. But if there
should be an occasional mistake, such an occurrence is not to be put in
competition with the preservation of the nation; and I confess I am but
little moved by the eloquent appeals of those who, while they indignantly denounce violation of personal liberty, look with no horror upon
a despotism as unmitigated as the world has ever witnessed.
The military commission, before which Vallandigham was
ordered for trial, met on the 6th, found him guilty of. the
principal offences charged, and sentenced him to be placed in
close confinement in some fortress of the United States, to be
designated by the commanding officer of that Department.
Major-General Burnside approved the sentence, and designated
Fort Warren, in Boston harbor, as the place of confinement.
The President modified this sentence by directing that, instead of being imprisoned, Mr. Vallandigham should be sent
within the rebel lines, and should not return to the United




ï~~GOY. SEYMOUR ON VALLANDIGHAM.

353

States until after the termination of the w'ar. This sentence
was at once carried into execution.
The arrest, trial, and sentence of Mr. Vallandigham created
a good deal of excitement throughout the country. The opponents of the Administration treated it as a case of martyrdom, and held public meetings for the pfirpose of denouncing
the action of the Government as tyrannical and highly dangerous to the public liberties. One of the earliest of these
demonstrations was held at Albany, on the 16th of May, at
which I4on. Erastus Corning presided, and to which Governor
Seymour addressed a letter, expressing in the strongest terms
his condemnation of the course pursued by the Government.
"If this proceeding," said he, speaking of the arrest of Vallandigham, "is approved by the Government, and sanctioned
by the people, it is not merely a step towards revolution,-it
is revolution. It will not only lead to military despotism,-it
establishes military despotism. In this aspect it must be
accepted, or in this aspect rejected. *  *  The people of
this country now wait with the deepest anxiety the decision
of the Administration upon these acts. Having given it a
generous support in the conduct of the war, we pause to see
what kind of a government it is for which we are asked to
pour out our blood and our treasure. The action of the Administration will determine, in the minds of more than onehalf of the people of the loyal States, whether this war is
waged to put down rebellion at the South, or destroy free
institutions at the North."   The resolutions which were
adopted at this meeting pledged the Democratic party of the
State to the preservation of the Union, but condemned in
strong terms the whole system of arbitrary arrests, and the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
A copy of these resolutions was forwarded by the presiding
officer to President LINCOLN, who sent the following letter in
reply:




ï~~354       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, June 13, 1863.
HON. ERASTUS CORNING AND OTHERS:
Gentlemen: Your letter of May 19, inclosing the resolutions of a
public meeting held at Albany, N. Y., on the 16th of the same month,
was received several days ago.
The resolutions, as I understand them, are resolvable into two propositions-first, the expression of a purpose to sustain the cause of the
Union, to secure peace through victory, and to support the Administration in every constitutional and lawftul measure to suppress the rebellion;
and, secondly, a declaration of censure upon the Administration for
supposed unconstitutional action, such as the making of military arrests.
And from the two propositions a third is deduced, which is, that the
gentlemen composing 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 position 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
meeting 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 censures systematically cast upon
me for doing what, in my view of duty, I could not forbear. The resolutions promise to support me in every constitutional and lawful measure to suppress the rebellion, and I have not knowingly employed, nor
shall knowingly employ, any other. But the meeting, by their resolutions,
assert and argue that certain military arrests, and proceedings following them, for which I am ultimately responsible, are unconstitutional.
I think they are not. The resolutions quote from the Constitution
the definition of treason, and also the limiting safeguards and guarantees therein provided for the citizen on trial for treason, and on his being
held to answer for capital, or otherwise infamous crimes, and, in
criminal prosecutions, 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 proceed: "They were secured substantially to the English people after
years of protracted civil war, and were adopted into our Constitution at




ï~~PRESIDENT LINCOLN ON ARRESTS.

355

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 dclose of the other? I, too, am devotedly 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, under
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; nor does
any one question that they will stand the same test much longer after
the rebellion closes. But these provisions 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 conviction of which the punishment is deathnor yet were they madb to hold persons to answer for any capital or
otherwise infamous crimes; nor were the proceedings following, in any
constitutional or legal sense, "criminal prosecutions."  The arrests
were made on totally different grounds, and the proceedings following
accorded with the grounds of the arrest. 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 inculcated that any State
had atlJawful right to secede from the national Union, and that it would
be expedient to exercise the right whenever 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 inaugurated, and, of course, before I had done any official act
whatever. The rebellion thus began soon ran into the present civil
war; and, in certain 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 account. It undoubtedly was a well-pondered reliance with
them that, in their own unrestricted efforts to destroy Union, Constitua




ï~~356        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
tion, and law altogether, 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 among us a most efficient corps
of spies, informers, suppliers, and aideps 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 who 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 Executive should suspend the writ, without ruinous waste 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 no very keen perception to discover this part of the enemy's programme, so soon as, by open hostilities, their machinery was put fairly
in motion. Yet, thoroughly imbued with a reverence 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 courts of justice are utterly incompetent to 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 grgw too
numerous and powerful 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
volunteering, or induces one soldier to desert, weakens 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 resolution 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, the




ï~~PRESIDENT LINCOLN ON MILITARY ARRESTS.               357
public safety may require it," is the provision 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 suspension is allowed by
the Constitution on purpose that men may be airested and held who cannot be proved to be guilty of defined crime, "when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 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 extensive 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 vindictive than the
former. In such eases the purposes of men are much more easily understood than in cases of ordinary crime. The man who stands by and says
nothing when the peril of his Government is discussed, cannot be misunderstood. If not hindered, he is sure to help the enemy; much more,
if he talks ambiguously-talks for his country with "buts," and "ifs"
and "ands."  Of how little value the constitutional provisions 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. Gen. John C. Breckinridge, Gen. Robert E. Lee, Gen. Joseph
E. Johnston, Gen. John B. Magruder, Gen. William B. Preston, Gen.
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 committed any crime defined in the law.
Every one of them, if arrested, would have been discharged on habeas
corpus, were the writ allowed to operate. 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 mili



ï~~358        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
tary arrests may be constitutional in localities where rebellion actually
exists, but that such arrests are unconstitutional in localities where rebellion or insurrection does not actually exist. They insist that such
arrests shall not be made "outside of the lines of necessary military occupation and the scenes of insurrection." Inasmuch, however, as the
Constitution itself makes no such distinction, I am unable to believe that
there is any such constitutional distinction. I concede that the class of
arrests complained of can be constitutional only when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 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 mutiny in the army; equally
constitutional at all places where they will conduce to the public safety,
as against the dangers of rebellion or invasion. 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 condemnation of the military
orders of the general."  Now, if there be no mistake about this; if this
assertion is the truth and the whole truth; if there was no other reason
for the arrest, then I concede that the arrest was wrong. But the
arrest, as I understand, 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 because he was damaging the pqlitical
prospects 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 upon 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 this 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
"




ï~~PRESIDENT LINCOLN ON MILITARY ARRESTS.               359
in favor of suppressing the rebellion by military force--by armies.
Long experience has shown that armies cannot be maintained unless
desertions 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 soldier 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 soldier boy that he is fighting in a bad cause,
for a wicked Administration of a contemptible Government, 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 constitutional power, my error lies
in believing that certain proceedings are constitutional when, in cases of
rebellion or invasion, the public safety requires them, which would not
be constitutional when, in the absence of rebellion or invasion, the
public safety does not require them; in other words, that the Constitu.
tion is not, in its application, min all respects the same, in cases of rebellion or invasion involving the public safety, as it is in time of profound
peace and public security. The Constitution itself makes the distinction; 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 not to 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 arrests
during the rebellion, lose the right of public 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 temporary illness as to persist
in feeding upon them during the remainder of his healthful life.
In giving the resolutions that earnest consideration which you request
of me, I cannot overlook the fact that the meeting speak as "Democrats."  Nor can 1, with full respect for their known intelligence, and
the fairly presumed deliberation with which they prepared their resolutions, be permitted to suppose that this occurred by accident, or
in any way other than that they preferred to designate themselves




ï~~360       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
"Democrats" rather than "American citizens."     In this time of
national peril, I would have preferred to meet you on 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 judgment Mr. Vallandigham was arrested and tried is a Democrat, having no old party
affinity with me; and the judge who rejected the constitutional view expressed in these resolutions, by refusing 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 Jackson recalls an incident of pertinent
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, General 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. Among other things, a Mr. Louiallier published a denunciatory newspaper article. General Jackson arrested him. A lawyer
by the name of Morrel procured the United Sates Judge Hall to issue a
writ of habeas corpus to relieve Mr. Louiallier. General Jackson
arrested both the lawyer and the judge. A Mr. Hollander ventured 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 writ 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 encampment, 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 a 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
e




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO MR. CORNING.               361
fined him $1,000 for having arrested him and the others named. The
General paid the fine, and there the matter rested for nearly thirty
years, when Congress refunded principal and interest. The late
Senator Douglas, then in the House of Representatives, took a leading
part in the debates, in which the constitutional question 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 permanent right of the
people to public discussion, the liberty 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 cannot 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. Cif 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. Vallandigham. I regard this as, at least, a
fair appeal to me on the expediency of exercising a constitutional power
which I think exists. In response 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 decreases. 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,
16




ï~~362      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Similar meetings were held in New York, Philadelphia,
and other cities and towns of the North, and, on the 11th of
June, a State Convention of the Democratic party was held at
Columbus, Ohio, for the nomination of State officers. Mr.
Vallandigham was, at that Convention, made the Democratic
candidate for Governor, receiving, on the first ballot, 448 votes
out of 461, the whole number cast. Senator Pugh was nominated for Lieutenant-Governor, and resolutions were adopted
protesting against President LINCOLN' S emancipation proclamation; condemning martial law in loyal States, where war
does not exist; denouncing the suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus; protesting very strongly against the banishment of Vallandigham, and calling on the President to restore
him to his rights; declaring that they would hail with delight
the desire of the seceded States to return to their allegiance,
and that they would co-operate with the citizens of those
States in measures for the restoration of peace.
A committee of the Convention visited Washington, and on
the 26th of June presented to the President the resolutions
adopted by the Convention, and urged the immediate recall
and restoration of Mr. Vallandigham, their candidate for
Governor. To this President LINCOLN made the following
reply:
WASHINGTON, June 29, 1863.
GENTLEMEN: The resolutions of the Ohio Democratic State Convention, which you present me, together with your introductory and closing
remarks, 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 preparing your remarks, and I
desire no more than that it be used with accuracy. In a single reading
of your remarks, I only discovered one inaccuracy 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 is different in time of insurrection or invasion from
what it is in time of peace and public security."
0




ï~~THE PRESIDENT TO AHE OHIO COMMITrEE.                363
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 because 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 personal 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
limitationr upon the power of Congress, were expunged, the other guar
antees would remain the same; but the question is, not how those
guarantees 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
in expunging that clause, letter and spirit, I really think the constitutional argument would be with you.
My general view on this question was stated 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 preroragtive, is either simply a
question who shall decide, or an affirmation that nobody shall decide,
what the public safety does require in cases of rebellion or invasion.
The Constitution contemplates the question as likely to occur for
0




ï~~364       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
decision, but it does not expressly declare who is to decide it. By necessary 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 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 lawfully dealt with in accordance with the rules for
criminal trials and prnishments 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, embarrass those whose duty it is to combat a giant rebellion, and then be dealt with only in turn as if there
were no rebellion. The Constitution itself 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 other,
have been for prevention, 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 trial 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. Vallandigham'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 this sort was or is intended. I was
wholly unaware that Mr. Vallandigham was, at the time of his arrest, a
candidate for the Democratic nomination of governor, until so. informed
by your reading to me the resolutions of the convention. I am grateful
to the State of Ohio for many things, especially for the brave soldiers
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 because, as you claim, he has not damaged the military service by discouraging enlistments, encouraging desertions, 'or otherwise; and that if he
had, he should have been turned over to the civil authorities under the




ï~~THE PRESIDENT ON VYALLANDIGHAM'S CASE.              365
recent acts of Congress. I certainly do not know that Mr. Vallandigham
has specifically and by direct language advised against enlistments and
in favor of desertions 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 preparatory to a draft; and that quite a
number of assassinations have occurred from the same animus. 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 rid
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 cause in which Mr. Vallandigham has been engaged, in a
greater degree than to any other cause; and it is due to him personally
in a greater degree than to any other 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
originated with his especial friends and adherents. With perfect
knowledge of them he has frequently, if not constantly, made speeches
in Congress 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 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 counselled directly in favor of it.
With all this before their eyes, the convention you represent have
nominated Mr. Vallandigham 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 nominee 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, therefdre, encourages
desertion, resistance to the draft, and the like, because it teaches those




ï~~366       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
who incline to desert and to escape the draft to believe it is your purpose 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 subsfantial 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, may, if
you choose, indorse your names upon one of them, and return it thus
indorsed to me, with the understanding that those signing are thereby
committed to the following propositions, and to nothing else:
1. That there is now 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 any thing which, in his own judgment,
will tend to hinder the increase, or favor the decrease, or lessen the
efficiency of the army and navy, while engaged in the effort to suppress
that rebellion; and3. That each of you will, in his sphere, do all he can to have the
officers, soldiers, and seamen of the army and navy, while engaged in
the effort 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
publication 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 himself, or to authorize others to speak for him;
and hence I shall expect that on returning he would not put himself
practically in antagonism 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 consequences of any mistake in allowing Mr. Vallandigham to return, so that, on tke whole, the public safety
will not have suffered by it. Still, in regard to Mr. Vallandigham and
0




ï~~THE HABEAS CORPUS SUSPENDED.

367

all others, I must hereafter, as heretofore, do so much as the public
service may seem to require.
I have the honor to be respectfully, yours, &c.,
A. LINCOLN.
The canvass throughout the summer was very animated.
As a matter of course, the opponents of the Administration
in Ohio, as elsewhere throughout the country, made this matter of arbitrary arrests a very prominent point of attack.
Special stress was laid upon the fact that instead of acting
directly and upon his own responsibility in these cases, the
President left them to the discretion of military commanders
in the several departments. This was held to be in violation
of the law of Congress which authorized the President to sus..
pend the writ of habeas corpus, but not to delegate that high
prerogative. To meet this objection, therefore, and also in
order to establish a uniform mode of action on the subject,
the President issued the following
PROCLAMATION:
Whereas, The Constitution of the United States has ordained that
"The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it; and, whereas, a rebellion was existing on the 3d day of March,
1863, which rebellion is still existing; and, whereas, by a statute which
was approved on that day, it was enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, that during the present insurrection the President of the United States, whenever, in his judgment, the public safety may require, is authorized to
suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in any case throughout the United States, or any part thereof; and, whereas, in the juidgment of the President the public safety does require that thec privilege
of the said writ shall now be suspended throughout the United States
in cases where, by the authority of the President of the United States,
military, naval and civil officers of the United States, or any of them,
hold persons under their command or in their custody, either as prisoners
of war, spies, or aiders or abettors of the enemy, or officers, soldiers, or
seamen enrolled, drafted, or mustered, or enlisted in, or belonging to
the land or naval forces of the United States, or as deserters therefrom,




ï~~368    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

or otherwise amenable to military law, or to the rules and articles of war,
or the rules and regulations prescribed for the military or naval services
by the authority of the President of the United States, or for resisting
the draft, or for any other offence against the military or naval service;
now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States,
do hereby proclaim and make known to all whom it may concern, that
the privilege of the writ of habeas corps is suspended throughout the
United States, in the several cases before-mentioned, and that this suspension will continue throughout the duration of the said rebellion, or
until this Proclamation shall, by a subsequent one, to be issued by the
President of the United States, be modified and revoked. And I do
hereby require all magistrates, attorneys, and other civil officers within
the United States, and all otlicers and others in the military and naval
services of the United States, to take distinct notice of this suspension
and give it full effect, and all citizens of the United States to conduct
and govern themselves accordingly, and in conformity with the Constitution of the United States, and the laws of Congress in such cases
made and provided.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed, this fifteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three,
and of the independence of the United States of America the eightyeighth.
ABRAHAM LINICo.
By the President:
WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
The act passed by Congress "for enrolling and calling out
the national forces," commonly called the Conscription Act,
provided that all able-bodied male citizens, and persons of foreign birth who had declared their intention to become citizdns,
between the ages of twenty and forty-five, were liable to be
called into service. The strenuous efforts made by the enemies
of the Administration to arouse the hostility of the people
against its general policy, had proved so far successful as
greatly to discourage volunteer enlistments; and the Government was thus compelled to resort to the extraordinary
powers conferred upon it by this act. Questions had been
r




ï~~PROCLAMATION CONCERNING. ALIENS.

369

raised as to the liability of foreigners to be drafted under this
law; and in order to settle this point the President, on the
8th of May, issued the following
PROCLAMATION:
WASHINGTON, May 8, 1863.
By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas, The Congress of the United States, at its last session,
enacted a law, entitled "An act for enrolling and calling out the national
forces, and for other purposes," which was approved on the 3d day
of March last; and
Whereas, It is recited in the said act that there now exists in the
United States an insurrection and rebellion against the authority thereof,
and it is, under the Constitution of the United States, the duty of the
Government to suppress insubordination and rebellion, to guarantee to
each State a republican form of government, and to preserve the public
tranquillity; and
Whereas, For these high purposes, a military force is indispensable,
to raise and support which all persons ought willingly to contribute;
and
Whereas, No service can be more praiseworthy and honorable than
that which is rendered for the maintenance of the Constitution and the
Union, and the consequent preservation of free government; and
Whereas, For the reasons thus recited it was enacted by the said statute that all able-bodied male citizens of the United States, and persons
of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their intentions to
become citizens under and in pursuance of the laws thereof, between
the ages of twenty and forty-five years, with certain exemptions not
necessary to be here mentioned, are declared to constitute the national
forces, and shall be liable to perform military duty in the service of the
United States, when called out by the President for that purpose; and
Whereas, It is claimed, on and in behalf of persons of foreign birth,
within the ages specified in said act, who have heretofore declared on oath
their intentions to become citizens under and in pursuance to the laws
of the United States, and who have not exercised the right of suffrage,
or any other political franchise under the laws of the United States,
or of any of the States thereof, that they are not absolutely precluded by
their aforesaid declaration of intention from renouncing their purpose
to become citizens; and that, on the contrary, such, persons, under
treaties and the law of nations, retain a right to renounce that purpose,
16*




ï~~370       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
and to forego the privilege of citizenship and residence within the
United States, under the obligations imposed by the aforesaid act of
Congress:
Now, therefore, to avoid all misapprehensions concerning the liability
of persons concerned to perform the service required by such enactment, and to give it full effect, I do hereby order and proclaim that no
plea of alienage will be received, or alldved to exempt from the obligations imposed by the aforesaid act of Congress any person of foreign
birth who shall have declared on oath his intention to become a citizen
of the United States, under the laws thereof, and who shall be found
within the United States at any time during the continuance of the
present insurrection and rebellion, at or after the expiration of the period
of sixty-five days from the date of this proclamation; nor shall any
such plea of alienage be allowed in favor of any such person who has
so, as aforesaid, declared his intention to become a citizen of the United
States, and shall have exercised at any time the right of suffrage, or
any other political franchise within the United States, under the laws
thereof, or under the laws of any of the several States.
In witness vwhereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this 8th day of May, in the year
[L. s.] of our Lord 1863, and of the independence of the United
States the eighty-seventh.
By the President:                         ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
It was subsequently ordered that the draft should take place
in July, and public proclamation was made of the number
which each State would be required to furnish. Enrolling
officers had been appointed for the several districts of all the
States, and, all the names being placed in a wheel, the number
required were to be publicly drawn, under such regulations as
were considered necessary to insure equal and exact justice.
Very great pains had been taken by the opponents of the Administration to excite odium against that clause of the law
which fixed the price of exemption from service under the
draft at $300. It was represented that this clause was for the
special benefit of the rich, who could easily pay the sum
0




ï~~THE DRAFT.-TIIE NEW YORK RIOTS.

371

required; while poor men who could not pay it would be
compelled, at whatever hardships to themselves and their
families, to enter the army. The draft was commenced in the
city of New York on Saturday, July 11th, and was conducted
quietly and successfully during that day. On Sunday plots
were formed and combinations entered into to resist it; and
no sooner was it resumed on Monday morning, July 13, than a
sudden and formidable attack was made by an armed mob
upon the office in one of the districts; the wheel was destroyed,
the lists scattered, and the building set on fire. The excitement spread through the city. Crowds gathered everywhere,
with no apparent common object; but during the day the
movement seemed to be controlled by leaders in two general
directions. The first was an attack upon the negroes; the
second an assault upon every one who was supposed to be in
any way concerned in the draft, or prominently identified,
officially or otherwise, with the Administration or the Republican party. Unfortunately, the militia regiments of the city had
been sent to Pennsylvania to withstand the rebel invasion; and
the only guardians left for the public peace were the regular
police and a few hundred soldiers who garrisoned the forts.
Both behaved with the greatest vigor and fidelity, but they
were too few to protect the dozen miles between the extremities of the city. The mob, dispersed in one quarter, would
reassemble at another, and for four days the city seemed given
up to their control. The outrages committed during this
time were numerous and aggravated. Negroes were assaulted,
beaten to death, mutilated, and hung; building after building
was sacked and burned; gangs of desperadoes patrolled the
streets, levying contributions, and ordering places of business
to be closed. A Colored Orphan Asylum, sheltering some
hundreds of children, was sacked and burned. After the first
day the riot, which was at first directed againstthe draft, took
a new turn. Thie entire mass of scoundrelism in the city




ï~~372

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

seemed to have been let loose for indiscriminate plunder.
Women, half-grown boys, and children, were foremost in the
work of robbery, and no man felt safe from      attack.  The
police force did their duty manfully, aided at first by the few
troops at the disposal of the authorities, and subsequently by
the regiments who began to retutn from Pennsylvania. In
the street fights which occurred many of the defenders of law
and order lost their lives, while a far larger number of the
rioters were killed. The bands of rioters were finally dispersed,
and the peace of the city was restored.
During these occurrences the draft was necessarily suspended; and on the 3d of August, Governor Seymour addressed a
long letter to the President, asking that further proceedings
under the draft might be postponed until it should be seen
whether the number required from the State of New York
could not be.raised by volunteering, and also until the constitutionality of the law could be tested in the judicial tribunals
of the country. The Governor pointed out an alleged injustice in the application of the law, by which, in four districts
of the State of New York a far higher quota in proportion to
the population was required than in the other districts of the
State; and this was urged as an additional reason for postponing the further execution of the law.
To this appeal the President, on the 7th of August, made
the following reply:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, August 7, 183.
His Excellency, HORATIO SEYMOUR,
Governor of New York, Albany, N. Y.:
Your communication of the 3d inst., has been received and attentively
considered. I cannot consent to suspend the draft in New York, as you
request, because, among other reasons, TIME is too important. By the
figures you send, which I presume are correct, the twelve districts represented fall in two classes of eight and four respectively.
The disparity of the quotas for the draft in these two classes is certainly
very striking, being the difference between an average of 2,200 in one
class, and 4,864 in the other. Assuming that the districts arc equal, one
0




ï~~LETTER TO GOVERNOR SEYMOUR.

373

to another, in entire population, as required by the plan on which they
were made, this disparity is such as to require attention. Much of it,
however, I suppose will be accounted for by the fact that so many more
persons fit for soldiers are in the city than are in the country, who have
too recently arrived from other parts of the United States and from Europe
to be either included in the census of 1860, or to have voted in 1862.
Still, making due allowance for this, I am yet unwilling to stand upon it
as an entirely sufficient explanation of the grea disparity. I shall direct
the draft to proceed in all the districts, drawing, however, at first from
each of the four districts-to wit, the Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Eighth
-only, 2,200, being the average quota of the other class. After this
drawing, these four districts, and also the Seventeenth and Twenty-ninth,
shall be carefully re-enrolled; and, if you please, agents of yours may
witness every step of the process. Any deficiency which may appear by
the new enrolment will be supplied by a special draft for that object,
allowing due credit for volunteers who may be obtained from these districts respectively during the interval; and at all points, so far as consistent with practical convenience, due credits shall be given for volunteers,
and your Excellency shall be notified of the time fixed for commencing
a draft in each district.
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 willing to facilitate the obtaining of it.  But I cannot
consent to lose the time while it is being obtained. We are contending
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 argument is used. This produces
an army which will 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 on our side, if
we first waste time to re-experiment with the volunteer system, already
deemed by Congress, 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 constitutional 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 with absolute certainty that we get those who are to go in the
precisely legal proportion to 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.
On the 8th Governor Seymour replied, reasserting the unfair



ï~~374       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
ness and injustice of the enrolments, and expressing his regret at
the President's refusal to postpone the draft. lie also sent a
voluminous statement prepared by Judge-Advocate Waterbury, designed to sustain the position he had previously assumed.    To this the President thus replied:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,,VASHINGTON, August 11, 1863.
His Excellency HORATIO SEYMOUR,
Governor of New York:
Yours of the 8th, with Judge-Advocate General Waterbury's report,
was received to-day.
Asking you to remember that I consider time as being very important, both to the general cause of the country and to the soldiers in the
field, I beg to remind you that I waited, at your request, from the 1st
until the 6th inst. to receive your communication dated the 3d. In view
of its great length, and the known time and apparent care taken in its
preparation, I did not doubt that it contained your full case as you
desired to present it. It contained the figures for twelve districts,
omitting the other nineteen, as I supposed, because you found nothing
to complain of as to them. I answered accordingly. In doing so I
laid down the principle to which I purpose adhering, which is to proceed with the draft, at the same time employing infallible means to
avoid any great wrong. With the communication received to-day you
send figures for twenty-eight districts, including the twelve sent before,
and still omitting three, for which I suppose the enrolments are not
yet received. In looking over the fuller list of twenty-eight districts, I
find that the quotas for sixteen of them are above 2,000 and below
2,700, while of the rest, six are above 2,700 and six are below 2,000.
Applying the principle to these new facts, the Fifth and Seventh Districts must be added to the four in which the quotas have already been
reduced to 2,200 for the first draft; and with these four others must
be added to those to be re-enrolled. The correct case will then stand:
the quotas of the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth
Districts fixed at 2,200 for the first draft. The Provost-Marshal General informs me that the drawing is already completed in the Sixteenth,
Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-Second, Twenty-Fourth, TwentySixth, Twenty-Seventh, Twenty-Eighth, Twenty-Ninth, and Thirtieth
Districts. In the others, except the three outstanding, the drawing
will be made upon the quotas as now fixed. After the first draft, the




ï~~THE DRAFT RESUMED AND COMPLETED.

375

Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth,
Twenty-First, Twenty-Fifth, Twenty-Ninth, and Thirty-First will be
enrolled for the purpose, and in the manner stated in my letter of the
7th inst. The same principle will be applied to the now outstanding
districts when they shall come in. No part of my former letter is
repudiated by reason of not being restated in this, or for any other causo.
Your obedient servant,
A. LINCOLN.
The draft in New York was resumed on the 19th of August,
and as ample preparations had been made for the preservation
of the public peace, it encountered no further opposition. In
every other part of the country the proceedings were conducted and completed without resistance.
Some difficulty was experienced in Chicago, and the Mayor
and Comptroller of that city addressed the President on the
subject of alleged frauds in the enrolment, and received the
following dispatch in reply:
WASHINGTON, August 27, 1863.
F. C. SHERMAN, Mayor; J. S. HAYS, Comptroller:
Yours of the 24th, in relation to the draft, is received. It seems to
me the government here will be overwhelmed if it undertakes to conduct
these matters with the authorities of cities and counties. They must be
conducted with the Governors of States, who will, of course, represent
their cities and counties. Meanwhile, you need not be uneasy until you
again hear from here.                            A. LINCOLN.
Subsequently, in reply to further representations on the
subject, the same gentlemen received the following:
WASHINGTON, August 7, 1863.
Yours of August 29th just received. I suppose it was intended by
Congress that this Court should execute the act in question without dependence upon any other Government, State, City, or County. It is,
however, within the range of practical convenience to confer with the
Governments of States, while it is quite beyond that range to have
correspondence on the subject with counties and cities. They are too
numerous. As instances, I have corresponded with Gov. Seymour, but
not with Mayor Opdyke; with Gov. Curtin, but not with Mayor Henry.
A. LINCOLN.




ï~~376    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER IX.
MILITARY EVENTS OF 1863-TH9 REBEL DEFEAT AT GETTYSBURG-FALL OF VICKSBURG AND PORT HUDSON.
THE military events of 1863, though of very great importance, are much less closely connected with the direct action
of the President than those which occurred in 1862; we
shall not attempt, therefore, to narrate them as much in detail.
When General Burnside succeeded General McClellan in commnand of the Army of the Potomac, on the 7th of November,
1862, that army was at Warrenton, the rebel forces falling
back before it towards Richmond. Deeming it impossible to
force the enemy to a decisive battle, and unsafe to follow him
to Richmond on a line which must make it very difficult to
keep up his communications, General Burnside, on the 15th,
turned his army towards Fredericksburg-marching on the
north bank of the Rappahannock, intending to cross the
river, take possession of Fredericksburg, and march upon
Richmond from that point.    The advance division, under
General Sumner, arrived opposite Fredericksburg on the
19th; but a pontoon train, which had been ordered and was
expected to be there at the same time, had not come-so that
crossing at the moment was impossible. The delay that -thus
became unavoidable, enabled General Lee to bring up a strong
force from the rebel army, and possess himself of the heights
of Fredericksburg. On the night of the 10th of December,
General Burnside threw a bridge of pontoons across the river,
and the next day constructed four bridges, under cover of a
terrific bombardment of the town. On the 11th and 12th
his army was crossed over, and on the 1nth attacked the ene
a




ï~~THE BATTLES AT FREDERICKSBURG.

377

my-General Sumner commanding        in front, and General
Franklin having command of a powerful flanking movement
against the rebel right. The rebels, however, were too strongly
posted to. be dislodged. Our forces suffered severely, and
were unable to advance. On the night of the 15th, they were
therefore withdrawn to the opposite bank of the river. Our
losses in this engagement were 1,138 killed, 9,105 wounded,
2,078 missing; total, 12,321.
The army remained quiet until the 20th of January, when
General Burnside again issued orders for an advance, intending to cross the river some six or eight miles above Fredericksburg, and make a flank attack upon the left wing of the rebel
army. The whole army was moved to the place of crossing
early infi the morning, but a heavy storm on the preceding
night had so damaged the roads as to make it impossible to
bring up artillery and pontoons with the promptness essential
to success. On the 24th, General Burnside was relieved from
command of the Army of the Potomac, and General Hooker
appointed in his place. Three months were passed in inaction,
the season forbidding any movement; but on the 27th of
April, General Hooker pushed three divisions of his army to
Kelley's Ford, twenty-five miles above Fredericksburg, and
by the 30th had crossed the river, and turning south had
reached Chancellorsville-five or six miles southwest of that
town. A strong cavalry force, under General Stoneman, had
been sent to cut the railroad in the rear of the rebel army, so
as to prevent their receiving re-enforcements from Richmond,General Hooker's design being to attack the enemy in flank
and rear. The other divisions of his army had crossed and
joined his main force at Chancellorsville, General Sedgwick,
with one division only, being left opposite Fredericksburg.
On the 2d of May, the left wing of the rebel army, under
General Jackson, attacked our right, and gained a decided
advantage of position, which was recovered, however, before




ï~~378      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
the day closed. The action was renewed next day, and the
advantage remained with the enemy. General Sedgwick,
meantime, had crossed the river and occupied the heights of
Fredericksburg, but was driven from them and compelled to
retreat on the night of the 4th. On the morning of the 5th
a heavy rainstorm set in, and in the night of that day General Hooker withdrew his army to the north bank of the
Rappahannock, having lost not far from 18,000 in the movement.
Both armies remained inactive until the 9th of June, when
it was discovered that the rebel forces under Lee were leaving
their position near Fredericksburg and moving northwest,
through the valley of the Shenandoah. On the 13th the rebel
General Ewell, with a heavy force, attacked our advance post
of seven thousand men at Winchester under General Milroy,
and not oifly compelled him to retreat but pursued him so
closely as to convert his retreat into a rout: and on the 14th
of June the rebel army began to cross the Potomac and advanced upon Hagerstown, Maryland, with the evident purpose
of invading Pennsylvania. The movement created the most
intense excitement throughout the country. President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 100,000 militia from
the States most directly menaced, to serve for six months, and
New York was summoned to send 20,000 also.   On the 27th
the main body of the rebel army crossed the Potomac at
Williamsport, and General Lee took up his head-quarters at
Hagerstown.
Meantime, as soon as the movement of the rebel forces
from Fredericksburg was discovered, our army had broken
up its encampment and marched northward, on a line nearly
parallel with that of the enemy, and on the 27th, the same
day that the rebels reached Hagerstown, the head-quarters
of our army were at Frederick City-6ur whole force being
thus interposed between the rebels and both Baltimore and
0




ï~~REBEL RAID INTO PENNSYLVANIA.

379

Washington, and prepared to follow them into Pennsylvania.
On that day General Hooker was relieved from command of
the army, which was conferred upon General Meade, who at
once ordered an advance into Pennsylvania in the general
direction of Harrisburg-towards which the enemy was rapidly
advancing in force. On the 1st of Julr our advanced corps,
the First and Eleventh, under Generals Reynolds and Howard,
camne in contact with the enemy, strongly posted near the
town of Gettysburg, and attacking at once, fought an indecisive battle; the enemy being so far superior in numbers as
to compel General Howard, who was in command at the time,
to fall back to Cemetery Hill and wait for re-enforcements.
During the night all the corps of our army were concentrated
and the next day posted around that point. The Eleventh
Corps retained its position on the Cemetery ridge: the First
Corps was on the right of the Eleventh, on a knoll, connecting with the ridge extending to the south and east, on which
the Second Corps was placed. The right of the Twelfth
Corps rested on a small stream. The Second and Third
Corps were posted on the left of the Eleventh, on the prolongation of Cemetery ridge. The Fifth was held in reserve
until the arrival of the Sixth, at 2 P. Nr. on the 2d, after a
march of thirty-two miles in seventeen hours, when the Fifth
was ordered to the extreme left and the Sixth placed in
reserve.
At about 3 o'clock the battle was opened by a tremendous
onset of the enemy, whose troops were massed along a ridge a
mile or so in our front, upon the Third Corps, which formed
our extreme left and which met the shock with heroic firmness, until it was supported by the Third and Fifth. General
Sickles, who commanded the Third Corps, was severely
wounded early in the action, and General Birney, who succeeded to the command, though urged to fall back, was
enabled, by the help of the First and Sixth Corps, to hold his




ï~~380      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
ground, and at about sunset the enemy retired in confusion.
Another assault was made on our left during the evening,
which was also repulsed. On the morning of the 3d a spirited
assault was made upon the right of our line, but without success; and at 1 P. M. the enemy opened an artillery fire upon
our centre and left from one hurdred and twenty-five guns,
which continued for over two hours, without reply from our
side, when it was followed by a heavy assault of infantry,
directed mainly against the Second Corps, and repelled with
firmness and success by that Corps, supported by Doubleday's
Division and Stannard's Brigade of the First Corps. This
terminated the battle. On the morning of the 4th a reconnoissance showed that the enemy had withdrawn his left flank,
maintaining his position in front of our left, with the apparent
purpose of forming a new line of attack; but the next morning it was ascertained that he was in full retreat. The Sixth
Corps, with all disposable cavalry, were at once sent in pursuit; but ascertaining that the enemy had availed himself of
very strong passes which could be held by a small force,
General Meade determined to pursue by a flank movement,
and after burying the dead and succoring the wounded, the
whole army was put in motion for the Potomac. On the
12th it arrived in front of the enemy strongly posted on the
heights, in advance of Williamsport. The next day was
devoted to an examination of the position; but on advancing
for an attack on the 14th, it was discovered that the enemy had
succeeded in crossing by the bridge at Falling Waters and the
ford at Williamsport. The pursuit was continued still further,
but the enemy, though greatly harassed and subjected to severe
losses, succeeding in gaining the line of the Rapidan, and our
forces again occupied their old position on the Rappahannock.
On the morning of the 4th of July, the day celebrated
throughout the country as the anniversary of the Declaration
of Independence, the President issued the following:
"




ï~~RESULTS AT GETTYSBURG.

381

WASHINGTON, July 4, 10.30 A. M.
The President announces to the country that news from the Army of
the Potomac, up to 10 P. M. of the 3d, is such as to cover that army with
the highest honor; to promise a great success to the cause of the Union,
and to claim the condolence of all for the many gallant fallen; and that
for this he especially desires that on this day, He, whose will, not ours,
should ever be done, be everywhere remembared and reverenced with
profoundest gratitude.                           A. LINCOLN.
The result of this battle-one of the severest and most
sanguinary of the war-was of the utmost importance. It
drove the rebels back from their intended invasion of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and compelled them to evacuate the
upper part of the Valley of the Shenandoah, leaving in our
hands nearly 14,000 prisoners, and 25,000 small arms collected
on the battle-field. Our own losses were very severe, amounting to 2,834 killed,.13,709 wounded, and 6,643 missing-in all,
23,186.
During the ensuing season, a piece of ground, seventeen
and a half acres in extent, adjoining the town cemetery, and
forming an important part of the battle-field, was purchased by
the State of Pennsylvania to be used as a national buryingground for the loyal soldiers who fell in that great engagement.    It was dedicated, with solemn and impressive ceremonies, on the 19th of November, 1863, the President and
members of his Cabinet being in attendance, and a very large
and imposing military display adding grace and dignity to
the occasion.   Hon. Edward Everett delivered the formal.
address, and President Lincoln made the following remarks:
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this
continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great
civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so
dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for




ï~~382       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether
fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The
brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far
above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long
remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.
It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work
which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is
rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before
us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause
for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of
the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the
earth.
The other great military achievement of the year, was the
capture of Port Hudson and Vicksburg, and the opening of
the Mississippi river throughout its entire length to the commerce of the United States. General N. P. Banks, who succeeded General Butler in command of the military department
of Louisiana, reached New-Orleans, sustained by a formidable
expedition from New-York, and assumed command on the
15th of December, 1862, and at once took possession of Baton
Rouge. On the 21st, an expedition under General W. T.
Sherman started from Memphis, passed down the Mississippi
to the mouth of the Yazoo, some ten miles above Vicksburg,
and on the 26th ascended that river, landed and commenced
an attack   upon the town from      the rear.   Severe fighting continued for three days, during which time our army
pushed within two miles of the city; but on the 30th they
were repulsed with heavy loss. On the 2d of January, General McClernand arrived and took command, and the attack upon
Vicksburg was for the time abandoned as hopeless. Several
forts on the Arkansas and White Rivers were taken, and an
effort was subsequently made to cut a channel across the neck
of land on the extremity of which Vicksburg is situated, so as




ï~~VICKSBURG AND PORT HUDSON CAPTURED.

383

to divert the channel of the Mississippi, and make Vicksburg
substantially an inland town. Various attempts upon the place
were made during the succeeding month, but without success.
On the 30th of April, General Grant landed his forces at Bruinsburg, sixty-five miles below Vicksburg, and immediately advanced upon Port Gibson, where he was opposed by the rebel
General Bowen, who was defeated, with a loss in killed, wounded,
and prisoners, of 1,500 men. At Grand Gulf, ten miles above
Bruinsburg, the enemy had begun to erect strong fortifications.
These had been fired upon by our gunboats a few days before, under cover of which the fleet had run past. Grant having now gained the rear of this strong post, Admiral Porter,
two days after the fight at Port Gibson, returned to Grand
Gulf and found it abandoned. Grant's Army then marched
upward toward Vicksburg, and on the 12th of May encountered the enemy again at Raymond, not far from Jackson, the
capital of the State of Mississippi, and again defeated them with
a loss of 800. Two days after, May 14, they were opposed
by a corps of the enemy under General Joseph E. Johnston,
formerly the Commander-in-chief of the Confederate army,
who had been assigned to the command of the Department
of the Mississippi. Johnston was defeated, and the city of
Jackson fell into our hands, with seventeen pieces of artillery
and large stores of supplies. Grant then turned to the west,
directly upon the rear of Vicksburg. General Pemberton, the
commander at that point, advanced with the hope of checking
him, but was defeated, on the 16th, at Baker's Creek, losing
4,000 men and twenty-nine pieces of artillery. On the next
day the same force was encountered and defeated at Big Black
River Bridge, ten miles from Vicksburg, with a loss of 2,600
men, and seventeen pieces of artillery. On the 18th, Vicksburg
was closely invested, and the enemy were shut up within their
works, which were found to be very strong. An attempt to carry
them by storm was unsuccessful, and regular siege was at once




ï~~384      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
laid to the city by the land forces, the gunboats in the river cooperating. Our approaches were pushed forward with vigorous
perseverance; our works, in spite of the most strenuous opposition of the garrison under General Pemberton, drawing
nearer every day, and the gunboats in the river keeping up an
almost constant bombardment.. The enemy, it was known,
were greatly straitened by want of supplies and ammunition,
and their only hope of relief was that General Johnston would
be able to collect an army sufficient to raise the siege by attacking Grant in his rear. This had been so strongly defended
that a force of 50,000 men would have been required to make
the attempt with any hope of success, and Johnston was not
able to concentrate half of that number. On the morning of
the 4th of July, therefore, General Pemberton proposed to
surrender Vicksburg, on condition that his troops should be
permitted to march out. Grant refused, demanding an absolute surrender of the garrison as prisoners of war. Upon consultation with his officers, Pemberton acceded to these terms.
By this surrender about 31,000 prisoners, 220 cannon, and
70,000 stand of small arms fell into our hands. The prisoners were at once released on parole. The entire loss of the
enemy during the campaign which was thus closed by the
surrender of Vicksburg, was nearly 40,000; ours was not far
from 7,000.
The capture of Vicksburg was immediately followed by
that of Port Hudson, which was surrendered on the 8th of
July to General Banks, together with about 7,000 prisoners,
fifty cannon, and a considerable number of small arms. The
whole course of the Mississippi, from its source to its mouth,
was thus opened, and the Confederacy virtually separated into
two parts, neither capable of rendering any effective assistance
to the other.
The great victories, by which the Fourth of July had been
so signally, and so gloriously commemorated, called forth the




ï~~PUBLIC REJOICINGS.-THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. 385
most enthusiastic rejoicings in every section of the country.
Public meetings were held in nearly all the cities and principal
towns, at which eloquent speeches and earnest resolutions expressed the joy of the people, and testified their unflinching
purpose to prosecute the war until the rebellion should be extinguished.   A  large concourse of the citizens of Washington
preceded by a band of music, visited the residence of the
President, and the members of his cabinet-giving them, in
succession, the honors of a serenade-which the President
acknowledged, in the following remarks:
FELLOW-CITIZENS: I am very glad indeed to see you to-night, and
yet I will not say I thank you, for this call; but I do most sincerely
thank Almighty God for the occasion on which you have called. How
long ago is it,-eighty odd years since on the Fourth of July, for the
first time, in the history of the world; a nation, by its representatives,
assembled and declared as a self-evident truth, "that all men are created equal." That was the birthday of the United States of America.
Since then the Fourth of July has had several very peculiar recognitions.
The two men most distinguished in the framing and support of the Declaration were THOMAs JEFFERSON and JOHN ADAMs-the one having penned it, and the other sustained it the most forcibly in debate-the only two
of the fifty-five who signed it, and were elected Presidents of the United
States. Precisely fifty years after they put their hands to the paper, it
pleased Almighty God to take both from this stage of action. This was
indeed an extraordinary and remarkable event in our history. Another
President, five years after, was called from this stage of existence on
the same day and month of the year; and now on this last Fourth of
July, just passed, when we have a gigantic rebellion, at the bottom of
which is an effort to overthrow the principle that all men were created
equal, we have the surrender of a most powerful position and army on
that very day. And not only so, but in a succession of battles in Pennsylvania, near to us, through three days, so rapidly fought that they
might be called one great battle, on the first, second, and third of the
month of July; and on the fourth the cohorts of those who opposed
the Declaration that all men are created equal, "turned tail" and run.
[Long continued cheers.] Gentlemen, this is a glorious'theme, and the
occasion for a speech, but I am not prepared to make one worthy of the
1.7




ï~~386        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
occasion. I would like to speak in terms of praise due to the many brave
officers and soldiers who have fought in the cause of the Union and
liberties of their country from the beginning of the war. These are
trying occasions, not only in success, but for the want of success. I
dislike to mention the name of one single officer, lest I might do wrong
to those I might forget. Recent events bring up glorious names, and
particularly prominent ones; but thes; I will not mention. Having
said this much, I will now take the music.
The President, a few days afterwards, wrote to General
Grant the following letter:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, 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 inestimable service you have done the country. I write 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 below, 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, truly,
A. LINCOLN.
These victories, together with others, both numerous and
important, which were achieved in other sections of the country, gave such strong grounds of encouragement and hope
for the speedy overthrow of the rebellion, that, on the 15th
of July, the President issued the following proclamation for a
day of National Thanksgiving:
By the President of the United States of America.
A PROCLAMATION.
It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and
prayers of an afflicted people, and to vouchsafe tp the Army and the Navy
of the United States, on the land and on the sea, victories so signal and




ï~~THANKSGIVING FOR VICTORIES.

387

so effective as to furnish reasonable grounds for augmented confidence
that the Union of these States will be maintained, their Constitution
preserved, and their peace and prosperity permanently secured; but
these victories have been accorded, not without sacrifice of life, limb,
and liberty, incurred by brave, patriotic, and loyal citizens. Domestic
affliction, in every part of the country, follows in the train of these
fearful bereavements. It is meet and right to reetgnize and confess the
presence of the Almighty Father, and the power of His hand equally
in these triumphs and these sorrows.
Now, therefore, be it known, that I do set apart Thursday, the sixth
day of August next, to be observed as a day for National Thanksgiving,
praise, and prayer; and I invite the people of the United States to assemble on that occasion in their customary places of worship, and in the
form approved by their own conscience, render the homage due to the
Divine Majesty, for the wonderful things He has done in the Nation's
behalf, and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit, to subdue the
anger which has produced, and so long sustained a needless and cruel
rebellion; to change the hearts of the insurgents; to guide the counsels of the Government with wisdom adequate to so great a National
emergency, and to visit with tender care, and consolation, throughout
the length and breadth of our land, all those who, through the vicissitudes of marches, voyages, battles, and sieges, have been brought to
suffer in mind, body, or estate, and finally, to lead the whole nation
through paths of repentance and submission to the Divine will, back to
the perfect enjoyment of union and fraternal peace.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this 15th day of July, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of
[L. S.] the independence of the United States of America the eightyeighth.                            ABRAHAM LINcoua.
By the President:
Wm. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
In other portions of the field of war, our arms, during the
year 1863, had achieved other victories of marked importance
which deserve mention, though their relation to the special
object of this work is not such as to require them to be described in detail.




ï~~388      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
After the retreat of the rebel General Lee to the south side
of the Rapidan, a considerable portion of his army was
detached and sent to re-enforce Bragg, threatened by Rosecrans, at Chattanooga; but, with his numbers thus diminished,
Lee assumed a threatening attitude against Meade, and turning his left flank forced him td fall back to the line of Bull
Run. Several sharp skirmishes occurred during these operations, in which both sides sustained considerable losses, but
no substantial advantage was gained by the rebels, and by the
1st of November they had resumed their original position on
the south side of the Rapidan.
After the battle of Murfreesboro, and the occupation of
that place by our troops, on the 5th of January, 1863, the
enemy took position at Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and the
winter and spring were passed in raids and unimportant
skirmishes: In June, while General Grant was besieging
Vicksburg, information reached the government which led
to the belief that a portion of Bragg's army had been sent to
the relief of that place; and General Rosecrans was urged to
take advantage of this division of the rebel forces and drive
them back into Georgia, so as completely to deliver East Tennessee from the rebel armies. He was told that General Burnside would move from Kentucky in aid of this movement.
General Rosecrans, however, deemed his forces unequal to
such an enterprise; but, receiving re-enforcements, he commenced on the 25th of June a forward movement upon the
enemy, strongly intrenched at Tullahoma, with his main force
near Shelbyville. Deceiving the rebel General by a movement upon his left flank, Rosecrans threw the main body of
his army upon the enemy's right, which he turned so completely that Bragg abandoned his position, and fell back
rapidly, and in confusion, to Bridgeport, Alabama, being pursued as far as practicable by our forces. General Burnside
had been ordered to connect himself with Rosecrans, but had




ï~~BATTLE OF CHATTANOOGA.

389

failed to do so. Bragg continued his retreat across the Cumberland Mountain and the Tennessee River, and took post at
Chattanooga, whither he was pursued by Rosecrans, who
reached the Tennessee on the 20th of August, and on the
21st commenced shelling Chattanooga and making preparation for throwing his army across the river. A reconnoisance,
made by General Crittenden on the 9th of September, disclosed the fact, that the rebels had abandoned the position,
which was immediately occupied by our forces, who pushed
forward towards the South. Indications that the rebel General was receiving heavy re-enforcements and manoeuvring to
turn the right of our army, led to a concentration of all our
available forces, and, subsequently, to the appointment of
General Grant to command the whole army thus brought together. On the 19th of September, General Rosecrans was
attacked by the rebel forces-their main force being directed
against his left wing under General Thomas, endeavoring to
turn it so as to gain the road to Chattanooga. The attack
was renewed the next morning, and with temporary successLongstreet's Corps having reached the field and poured its
massive columns through a gap left in the centre of our line
by an unfortunate misapprehension of an order; but the
opportune arrival and swift energy of General Granger checked
his advance, and the desperate valor of Thomas and his troops
repulsed every subsequent attempt of the enemy to carry the
position. Our losses, in this series of engagements, were 1,644
killed, 9,262 wounded, and 4,845 missing-a total swelled by
the estimated losses of our cavalry to about 16,351. The
rebel General. immediately sent Longstreet against Burnside,
who was at Knoxville, while he established his main force
again in the neighborhood of Chattanooga. On the 23d of
November, General Grant moved his army to attack him, and
on the 25th the whole of the range of heights known as Missionary Ridge, held by Bragg, was carried by our troops after




ï~~390    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

a desperate struggle, and the enemy completely routed. This
was a very severe engagement, and our loss was estimated at
about 4,000.   Generals Thomas and Hooker pushed the rebel
forces back into Georgia, and Granger and Sherman were sent
into East Tennessee to relieve Burnside and raise the siege of
Knoxville, which was pressed hby Longstreet, who, failing in
this attempt, soon after retreated towards Virginia.
Upon receiving intelligence of these movements the President issued the following recommendation:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., December 7, 1863.
Reliable information being received that the insurgent force is retreat
ing from East Tennessee, under circumstances rendering it probable that
the Union forces cannot hereafter be dislodged from that important
position; and esteeming this to be of high national consequence, I recommend that all loyal people do, on receipt of this information, assemble
at their places of worship, and render special homage and gratitude to
Almighty God for this great advancement of the National cause.
A. LINCOLN.
On the 3d of October, the President had issued the following proclamation, recommending the observance of the last
Thursday of November as a dlay of Thanksgiving:
PROCLAMATION
By the President of the United States of America.
The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the
blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which
are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from
which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary
a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart
which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and
severity, which has sometimes seemed to invite and provoke the aggressions of foreign States, peace has been preserved with all nations, order
has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and
harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military
conflict, while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing
armies and navies of the Union. The needful diversion of wealth and




ï~~THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION.

391

strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence,
have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship. The axe
has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well
of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yibldcd even more
abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and
the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of
augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect a continuance
of years, with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked
out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High
God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless
remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly,
reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and voice,
by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens
in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and
those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe
the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and
prayer to our beneficent Father, who dwelleth in the heavens. And I
recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due
to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with
humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans,
mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are
unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the
Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as
soon as may be consistent with the divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the
[L. S.] year of our Lord 1863, and of the independence of the
United States the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM INCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.




ï~~892    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER X.
POLITICAL MOVEMENTS IN MISSOURI.-THE STATE ELECTIONS
OF 1863.
THE condition of affairs in Missouri has been somewhat
peculiar, from the very outbreak of the rebellion. At the outset the Executive Department of the State government was in
the hands of men in full sympathy with the secession cause,
who, under pretence of protecting the State from domestic violence, were organizing its forces for active co-operation
with the rebel movement. On the 30th of July, 1861, the
State Convention, originally called by Governor Jackson, for
the purpose of taking Missouri out of the Union, but to
which the people had elected a!arge majority of Union men,
declared all the Executive offices of the State vacant, by reason of the treasonable conduct of the incumbents, and appointed a Provisional Government, of which the Hon. H. R.
Gamble was at the head. He at once took measures to maintain the National authority within the State. He ordered the
troops belonging to the rebel confederacy to withdraw from it,
and called upon all the citizens of the State to organize for its
defence, and for the preservation of peace within its borders.
He also issued a proclamation, framed in accordance with the
following suggestions from Washington:
WASHINGTON, August 3, 1861.
To His Excellency Gov. GAMBLE, Governor of Missouri:
In reply to your Message, addressed to the President, I am directed
to say, that if, by a Proclamation, you promise security to citizens in
arms, who voluntarily return to their allegiance, qnd behave as peaceable
and loyal men, this Government will cause the promise to be respected.
SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War.




ï~~GEN. FREMONT IN MISSOURI.

393

Two days after this, Governor Jackson, returning from
Richmond, declared the State to be no longer one of the
United States; and on the 2d of November, the Legislature,
summoned by him as Governor, ratified a compact, by which
certain commissioners, on both sides, had agreed that Missouri should join the rebel confederacy. The State authority
was thus divided-two persons claiming to wield the Executive
authority, and two bodies, also, claiming to represent the popular will,-one adhering to the Union, and the other to the Confederacy in organized rebellion against it. This state of things
naturally led to wide-spread disorder, and carried all the evils
of civil war into every section and neighborhood of the State.
To these evils were gradually added others, growing out of
a division of sentiment, which afterwards ripened into sharp
hostility, among the friends of the Union within the State.
One of the earliest' causes of this dissension was the action
and removal of General Fremont, who arrived at St. Louis, to
take command of the Western Department, on the 26th of
July, 1861. On the 31st of August he issued a Proclamation,
declaring that circumstances, in his judgment, of sufficient
urgency, rendered it necessary that " the commanding general
of the Department should assume the administrative power
of the State," thus superseding entirely the authority of the
civil rulers. He also proclaimed the whole State to be under
martial law, declared that all persons taken with arms in their
hands, within the designated lines of the Department, should
be tried by court-martial, and if found guilty, shot; and confiscating the property and emancipating the slaves of " all persons who should be proved to have taken an active part with
the enemies of the United States." This latter clause, transcending the authority conferred by the confiscation act of
Congress, was subsequently modified by order of the President of the United States.*

17*

* See page 161.
"




ï~~394      rPRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
On the 14th of October, after a personal inspection of affairs in that department by the Secretary of War, an order
was issued from the War Department, in effect censuring
General Fremont for having expended very large sums of the
public money, through agents of )is own appointment, and
not responsible to the governmerrt;-requiring all contracts
and disbursements to be made by the proper officers of the
army;-dlirecting the discontinuance of the extensive fieldworks, which the General was erecting around St. Louis and
Jefferson City; and also the barracks in construction around
his head-quarters, and also notifying him that the officers, to
whom he had issued commissions, would not be paid until
those commissions should have been approved by the President.  On the 1st of November, General Fremont entered
into an agreement with General Sterling Price, commanding
the rebel forces in Missouri, by which each party stipulated
that no further arrests of citizens should be made on either
side for the expression of political opinions, and releasing all
who were then in custody on such charges.
On the 2d of November, General Fremont was relieved
from his command in the Western Department, in consequence
of his action in the matters above referred to, his command
devolving on General Hunter, to whom, as soon as a change
in the command of the Department had been decided on, the
President had addressed the following letter:
WASHINGTON, October 24, 18B1.
SIR:-The command of the Department of the West having devolved
upon you, I propose to offer you a few suggestions, knowing how hazardous
it is to bind down a distant commander in the field to specific lines of
operation, as so much always depends on the knowledge of localities and
passing events. It is intended, therefore, to leave considerable margin
for the exercise of your judgment and discretion.
The main rebel army (Price's) west of the Mississippi is believed to
have passed Dade county in full retreat upon Northwestern Arkansas,
leaving Missouri almost free from the enemy, excepting in the southeast




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO GEN. HUNTER.              395
part of the State. Assuming this basis of fact, it seems desirable-as
you are not likely to overtake Price, and are in danger of making too
long a line from your own base of supplies and re-enforcements-that
you should give up the pursuit, halt your main army, divide it into two
corps of observation, one occupying Sedalia and the other Rolla, the
present termini of railroads, then recruit the condition of both corps
by re-establishing and improving their discipline and instruction, perfecting their clothing and equipments, and providing less uncomfortable
quarters. Of course, both railroads must be guarded and kept open,
judiciously employing just so much force as is necessary for this. From
these two points, Sedalia and Rolla, and especially in judicious cooperation with Lane on the Kansas border, it would be very easy to
concentrate, and repel any army of the enemy returning on Missouri
o-i the Southwest. As it is not probable any such attempt to return
will be made before or during the approaching cold weather, before
spring the people of Missouri will be in no favorable mood for renewing
for next year the troubles which have so much afflicted and impoverished
them during this.
If you take this line of policy, and if, as I anticipate, you will see no
enemy in great force approaching, you will have a surplus force which
you can withdraw from those points, and direct to others, as may be
needed-the railroads furnishing ready means of re-enforcing those
main points, if occasion requires.
Doubtless local uprisings for a time will continue to occur, but those
can be met by detachments of local forces of our own, and will ere long
tire out of themselves.
While, as stated at the beginning of this letter, a large discretion
must be and is left with yourself, I feel sure that an indefinite pursuit
of Price, or an attempt by this long and circuitous route to reach
Memphis, will be exhaustive beyond endurance, and n ill end in the loss
of the whole force engaged in it. Your obedient servant,
A. LINCOLN.
The Commander of the Department of the West.
General Hunter's first act was to repudiate the agreement
of Gen. Fremont with General Price, and, on the 18th of
November, General Halleck arrived as his successor.
The action of General Fremont had given rise to very serious complaints on the part of the people of Missouri; and
these in turn had led to strong demonstrations on his behalf.




ï~~396       PRESIDENT LINOOLN 'S ADMINISTRATION.
His removal was made the occasion for public manifestations
of sympathy for him, and of censure for the government.
An address was presented to him, signed by large numbers
of the citizens of St. Louis, those of German birth largely
predominating, in which his removal was ascribed to jealousy
of his popularity, and to the fact tiat his policy in regard to
emancipation was in advance of the government at Washington. " You have risen," said this address, " too fast in popular favor. The policy announced in your proclamation, although hailed as a political and military necessity, furnished
your ambitious rivals and enemies with a cruel weapon for
your intended destruction. The harbingers of truth will ever
be crucified by the Pharisees. We cannot be deceived by
shallow and flimsy pretexts, by unfounded and slanderous reports. We entertain no doubt of your ability to speedily
confound and-silence your traducers. The day of reckoning
is not far distant, and the people will take care that the
schemes of your opponents shall, in the end be signally defeated." The General accepted these tributes to his merits,
and these denunciations of the government, with grateful acknowledgments, saying that the kind and affectionate demonstrations which greeted him, cheered and strengthened his
confidence-" my confidence," he said, "already somewhat
wavering, in our republican institutions."
The sharp personal discussions to which this incident gave
rise, were made still more bitter, by denunciations of General
Jialleck's course in excluding, for military reasons, which have
been already noticed,* fugitive slaves from our lines, and by
the contest that soon came up in the State Convention, on the
general subject of emancipation. On the 7th of June, 1862,
a bill was introduced into the Convention by Judge Breckinridge, of St. Louis, for gradual emancipation, framed in accordance with the recommendation of the President's Mes* See page 292.
0




ï~~EMANCIPATION IN MISSOURI.

397

sage. By the combined votes of those who were-opposed to
emancipation in any form, and those who were opposed to the
President's plan of gradual emancipation, this bill was summarily laid on the table. But on the 13th, the subject was
again brought up by a Message from Governor Gamble, calling
attention to the fact, that Congress had plssed a resolution, in
accordance with the President's recommendation, declaring
that "the United States ought to co-operate with any State
which might adopt a gradual emancipation of slavery, giving
to such State, at its discretion, compensation for the inconvenience, public and private, caused by such a change of system."  This message was referred to a special committee,
which reported resolutions, recognizing the generous spirit of
this proposal, but declining to take any action upon it. These
resolutions were adopted, and on the 16th a Mass Convention
of Emancipationists, consisting of 195 delegates from 25
counties, met at Jefferson City, and passed resolutions, declaring it to be the duty of the next General Assembly to pass
laws, giving effect to a gradual system of emancipation on
the basis proposed.
At the State election, in the following November, the question of emancipation was the leading theme of controversy.
Throughout the State the canvass turned upon this issue, and
resulted in the choice of a decided majority of the Assembly
favorable to emancipation. But the division in the ranks of
this party still continued, and gave rise to very heated and
bitter contests, especially in St. Louis. During the summer,
the main rebel army having been driven from the State, and
the Union army being of necessity in the main withdrawn to
other fields, the State was overrun by reckless bands of rebel
guerrillas, who robbed and plundered Union citizens, and created very great alarm among the people. In consequence
of these outrages, Governor Gamble ordered tho organization
of the entire militia of the State, and authorized General




ï~~398       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Schofield to call into active service such portions of it as
might be needed to put down marauders, and defend peaceable and loyal citizens. The organization was effected with
great promptness, and the State militia became a powerful
auxiliary of the national forces, and cleared all sections of the
State of the lawless bands which had inflicted so much injury
and committed so many outrages.
On the 19th of September, the States of Missouri, Kansas,
and Arkansas, were formed into a military district, of which
the command was assigned to General Curtis, who was
thoroughly in sympathy with the friends of immediate emancipation and the supporters of General Fremont in his differences with the government. He had control of the national forces in his district, but Governor Gamble did not give
him command of the State militia.
The differences of political sentiment between the two sections of the Union men of the State came thus to be represented,
to some extent, by two organized military forces; and the
contest between their respective partisans continued to be
waged with increasing bitterness, greatly to the embarrassment
of the government at Washington, and to the weakening of the
Union cause. This continued until the spring of 1863, when
the President removed General Curtis from his command, and
appointed General Schofield in his place. This gave rise to
very vehement remonstrances and protests, to one of which,
sent by telegraph, the President made the following reply:
Your dispatch of to-day is just received. It is very painful to me
that you, in Missouri, cannot, or will not, settle your factional quarrel
among yourselves. I have been tormented with it beyond 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.
To General Schofield himself, the President soon after addressed the following letter:
*




ï~~APPOINTMENT OF GEN. SCHOFIELD.

39 3

EXECUTIVE MANSION,
WASHINGTON, May 27, 1863.
General J. M. SCIHOFIELD:
DEAR Sr:-Having removed General Curtis and assigned you to the
command of the Department of the Missouri, I think it may be of some
advantage to me to state to you why I did it. I did not remove General Curtis because of my full conviction that,he had done wrong by
commission or omission. I did it because of a conviction in my mind
that the Union men of Missouri, constituting, when united, a vast majority of the people, have entered into a pestilent, factious quarrel,
among themselves, General Curtis, perhaps not of choice, being the
head of one faction, and Governor Gamble that of the other. After
months of labor to reconcile 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 Governor 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 invaders and keep the peace, and
not so strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute the people. It
is a difficult r6le, and so much greater will be the honor if you perform
it well. If both factions, or neither, shall abuse you, you will probably
be about right. Beware of being assailed by one and praised by the
other.                     Yours truly,           A. LINCOLN.
This action gave special dissatisfaction to the more radical
Unionists of the State.   They had been anxious to have the
Provisional Government, of which Governor Gamble was the
Executive head, set aside by the national authority, and the
control of the State vested in a Military Governor clothed
with the authority which General Fremont had assumed to
exercise by his proclamation of August 31st, 1861;-and the
Germans enlisted in the movement had made very urgent demands for the restoration of General Fremont himself. Several deputations visited Washington, for the purpose of representing these views and wishes to the President,-though they
by no means restricted their efforts at reform to'matters within their own State, but insisted upon sundry changes in the




ï~~400     f PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Cabinet, upon the dismissal of General Halleck from the
position of Commander of the Armies of the United States
and upon other matters of equal magnitude and importance.
The following report of President LINCOLN'S reply to these
various requests, was made by a member of a Committee appointed at a mass meeting, composed mainly of Germans, and
held at St. Louis on the 10th of May: although made by a
person opposed to the President's action, it probably gives a
substantially correct statement of his remarks:
Messrs. EMILE PRETORIOUS, THEODORE OLSHAUSEN, R. E. ROMBAUR, etc.:
GENTLEMEN:-During a professional visit to Washington city, I presented to the President of the United States, in compliance with your
instructions, a copy of the resolutions adopted in mass meeting at St.
Louis on the 10th of May, 1863, and I requested a reply to the suggestions
therein contained. The President, after a careful and loud reading of the
whole report of proceedings, saw proper to enter into a conversation of
two hours' duration, in the course of which most of the topics embraced
in the resolutions and other subjects were discussed.
As my share in the conversation is of secondary importance, I propose
to omit it entirely in this report, and, avoiding details, to communicate
to you the substance of noteworthy remarks made by the President.
1. The President said that it may be a misfortune for the nation that
he was elected President. But, having been elected by the people, he
meant to be President, and perform his duty according to his best understanding, if he had to die for it. No General will be removed, nor will
any change in the Cabinet be made, to suit the views or wishes of any
particular party, faction or set of men. General Halleck is not guilty of
the charges made against him, most of which arise from misapprehension
or ignorance of those who prefer them.
2. The President said that it was a mistake to suppose that Gqnerals
John C. Fremont, B. F. Butler, and F. Sigel are "systematically kept out
of command," as stated in the fourth resolution; that, on the contrary,
he fully appreciated the merits of the gentlemen named; that by their
own actions they had placed themselves in the positions which they
occupied; that he was not only willing, but anxious to place them again
in command as soon as he could find spheres of action for them, without doing injustice to others, but that at present he "had more pegs
than holes to put them in."
3. As to the want of unity, the President, Without admitting such to
be the case, intimated that each member of the Cabinet was responsible




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE MISSOURI RADICALS.                401
mainly for the manner of conducting the affairs of his particular department; that there was no centralization of responsibility for the action
of the Cabinet anywhere, except in the President himself.
4. The dissensions between Union men in Missouri are due solely to a
factious spirit which is exceedingly reprehensible. The two parties
"ought to have their heads knocked together."  "Either would rather
see the defeat of their adversary than that of Jfferson Davis."  To this
spirit of faction is to be ascribed the failure of'the Legislature to elect
senators and the defeat of the Missouri Aid Bill in Congress, the passage
of which the President strongly desired.
The President said that the Union men in Missouri who are in favor
of gradual emancipation represented his views better than those who aro
in favor of immediate emancipation. In explanation of his views on this
subject, the President said that in his speeches he had frequently used as
an illustration, the case of a man who had an excrescence on the back
of his neck, the removal of which, in one operation, would result in the
death of the patient, while "tinkering it off by degrees" would preserve
life. Although sorely tempted, I did not reply with the illustration of
the dog whose tail was amputated by inches, but confined myself to
arguments. The President announced clearly that, as far as he was at present
advised, the Radicals in Missouri had no right to consider themselves the exponernts of his views on the subject of emancipation in that State.
5. General Curtis was not relieved on account of any wrong act or
great mistake committed by him. The System of Provost-Marshals,
established by him throughout the State, gave rise to violent complaint.
That the President had thought at one time to appoint General Fremont
in his place; that at another time he had thought of appointing General
McDowell, whom he characterized as a good and loyal though very unfortunate soldier; and that, at last, General Schofield was appointed, with
a view, if possible, to reconcile and satisfy the two factions in Missouri.
He has instructions not to interfere with either party, but to confine
hims-lf to his military duties. I assure you, gentlemen, that our side
was as fully presented as the occasion permitted. At the close of the
conversation, the President remarked that there was evidently a " serious
misunderstanding" springing up between him and the Germans of St.
Louis, which he would like to see removed. Observing to him that the
difference of opinion related to facts, men, and measures, I withdrew.
I am, very respectfully, etc.
JAMES TAussIG.
On the 1st of July the State Convention, in session at
Jefferson City, passed an amendment to the Constitution declaring that slavery should cease to exist in Missouri on the




ï~~402      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
4th of July, 1870, with certain specified exceptions. This,
however, was by no means accepted as a final disposition of
the matter. The demand was made for immediate emancipation, and Gov. Gamble and the members of the Provisional
Government who had favored the policy adopted by the
State Convention, were denounced as the advocates of slavery
and allies of the rebellion. In the early part of August a
band of rebel guerrillas made a raid into the town of Lawrence, Kansas, and butchered in cold blood over two hundred
unarmed citizens of the place. This brutal act aroused the
most intense excitement in the adjoining State of Missouri,
of which the opponents of the Provisional Government took
advantage to throw upon it and General Schofield, who had command of the State militia as well as of the national forces, the
responsibility in having permitted this massacre to take place.
A Mass Convention was held at Jefferson City on the 2d
of September, at which resolutions were adopted denouncing
the military policy pursued in the State and the delegation
of military powers to the provisional government. A Committee of one from each county was appointed to visit Washington and lay their grievances before the President; and
arrangements were also made for the appointment of a Committee of Public Safety, to organize and arm the loyal men of
the State, and, in the event of not obtaining relief, to call on
the people in their sovereign capacity to "take such measures
of redress as the emergency might require." In the latter part
of September the Committee appointed by this Convention
visited Washington and had an interview with the President
on the 30th, in which they represented Governor Gamble and
General Schofield as in virtual alliance with the rebels, and
demanded the removal of the latter as an act of justice to the
loyal and anti-slavery men of the State. The Committee
visited several of the northern cities, and held public meetings
for the purpose of enlisting public sentiment in their support.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT TO THE MISSOURI COMMITTEE.              403
At these meetings it was claimed that the radical emancipation party was the only one which represented the loyalty
of Missouri, and President LINCOLN was very strongly censured for "closing his ears to just, loyal, and patriotic demands of the radical party, while he indorsed the disloyal and
oppressive demands of Governor Gamble, General Schofield,
and their adherents."
On the 5th of October President LINCOLN made to the representations and requests of the Committee the following reply:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 1863.
Hon. CHARLES DRAKE and others, Committee:
GENTLEMEN:-Your original address, presented on the 30th ult., and
the four supplementary ones presented on the 3d inst., have been carefully considered. I hope you will regard the other duties claiming my
attention, together with the great length and importance of these documents, as constituting a sufficient apology for my not having responded
sooner.
These papers, framed for a common object, consist of the things demanded, and the reasons for demanding them.
The things demanded are:
First-That General Schofield shall be relieved, and General Butler be
appointed as Commander of the Military Department of Missouri;
Second-That the system of enrolled militia in Missouri may be broken
up, and National forces be substituted for it; and
Third-That at elections, persons may not be allowed to vote who are
not entitled by law to do so.
Among the reasons given, enough of suffering and wrong 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 suffering 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 compound-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 arc 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 prefer it with, and those for it with or without, but prefer it
without.




ï~~404       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Among these, again, is a subdivision of those who are for gradual, but
not for immediate, and those who are for immediate, but not for gradual
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 reason of these differences, each will prefer a different
way of sustaining the Union. At once, gincerity 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 killed by him.
Revenge and retaliation 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 confusion.
Strong measures deemed indispensable but harsh at best, such men make
worse by maladministration. Murders for old grudges, and murders for
pelf proceed under any cloak that will best serve for the occasion.
These causes amply account for what has occurred in Missouri, 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 Department Commander at home, relatively
no stronger than before. Without disparaging any, I affirm with confidence, that no Commander of that Department has, in proportion to his
means, done better than General Schofield.
The first specific charge against General Schofield is, that the enrolled
militia was placed under his command, whereas it had not been placed
under the command of General Curtis. The fact is, I believe, true; but
you do not point out, nor can I conceive how that did, or could, injure
loyal men or the Union cause.
You charge that General Curtis being superseded by General Schofield,
Franklin A. Dick was superseded by James O. Broadhead as ProvostMarshal General. No very specific showing is made as to how this did
or could injure the Union cause. It recalls, however, the condition of
things, as presented to me, which led to a change of commander of that
department.
To restrain contraband intelligence and trade, a system of searches,
seizures, permits and passes, had been introduced, I think, by General
Fremont. When General Halleck came, he found and continued the system, and added an order, applicable to some parts of the State, to levy
and collect contributions from noted rebels, to compensate losses, and




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE MISSOURI COMMITTEE. 405
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 in full operation when he took command of the department. That there was a necessity for something 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 great prayer, were led into temptation. Some
might, While others would not resist that temptation. 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
in the aptest way to fill their own pockets. Money being the object, the
man having money, whether loyal or disloyal, would be a 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 in regard to it rapidly grew into almost unmanageable proportions. One side ignored the necessity and magnified the
evils of the system, while the other ignored the evils and magnified the
necessity; and each bitterly assailed the other. I could not fail to see
that the controversy enlarged in the same proportion as the professed
Union men there 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.
Plainly, the irritating system was not to be perpetual; and it was
plausibly urged that it could be modified at once with advantage. The
case could scarcely be worse, and whether it could be made better could
only be determined by a trial. In this view, and not to ban, or brand
General Curtis, or to give a victory to any party, I made the change of
commander for the department. I now learn that soon after this change
Mr. Dick was removed, and that Mr. Broadhead, a gentleman of no less
good character, was put in the place. The mere fact of this change is
more distinctly complained of than is any conduct of the new officer, or
other consequence of the change.
I gave the new commander no instructions as to the administration of
the system mentioned, beyond what is contained in the private letter
afterward surreptiously published, in which I directed him to act solely
for the public good, and independently of both parties. Neither anything you have presented me, nor anything I have otherwise learned, has
convinced me that he has been unfaithful to this charge.




ï~~406        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Imbecility is urged as one cause for removing General Schofield, and
the late massacre at Lawrence, Kansas, is pressed as evidence of that imbecility. To my mind that fact scarcely tends to prove the proposition.
That massacre is only an example of what Grierson, John Morgan, 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 themn to be pursued into Missouri.
While no punishment could be too sudden or too severe for those murderers, I am well satisfied that the preventing of the threatened remedial
raid into Missouri was the only way to avoid an indiscrimate massacre
there, including probably more innocent than guilty. Instead of condemning, I therefore approve what I understand General Schofield did in
that respect.
The charge that General Schofield has purposely withheld protection
from loyal people, and purposely facilitated the objects of the disloyal,
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 question
the judgment which would infer that these facts occurred in accordance
with the purposes of General Schofield.
With my present views, I must decline to remove General Schofield.
In this I decide nothing against General Butler. I sincerely wish it were
convenient to assign him a suitable command.
In order to meet some existing evils, I have addressed a letter of instruction to General 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 exact value. Let me say now, however, that your proposal to substitute national force for the "Enrolled 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 urgently
needed, seems to me very extraordinary. Whence shall they come?
Shall they be withdrawn from Banks, or Grant, or Steele, or Rosecrans?
Few things have been so grateful to my anxious feelings, as wher, 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 Heron kept from Grant, to police Missouri? So far from finding
cause to object, I confess to a sympathy for whatever relieves 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 Missouri. I may add, that the force being under




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND GEN. SCHOFIELD.

407

the national military control, it is also within the proclamation with 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 present 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 well. 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.
INSTRUCTIONS TO GENERAL SCHOFIELD.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., Oct. 1, 1863.
General JOHN M. SCHOFIELD:
There is no organized military force in avowed opposition to the General Government now in Missouri, and if any shall reappear, your duty in
regard to it will be top plain to require any special instruction. Still, the
condition 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 practicable, to compel the excited people there to let
one another alone.
Under your recent order, which I have approved, you will only arrest
individuals, and suppress assemblies or newspapers, 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 discretion to exercise with great caution, calmness, and forbearance.
With the matter of removing the inhabitants of certain counties en
masse, and 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




ï~~408       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
restrictions upon trade and intercourse. I think proper, however, to
enjoin upon you the following: Allow no part of the military under your
command to be engaged in either returning fugitive 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 availability for good of the enrolled militia of the State. Allow no one to enlist colored troops, except upon orders from you, or from hqre through you.
Allow no one to assume the functions of confiscating 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
restrictions 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 pretence of doing this they become marauders and murderers themselves.
To now restore peace, let the military obey orders; and those not of
the military lave each other alone, thus not breaking the peace themselves.
In giving the above directions, it is not intended to restrain you in
other expedient and necessary matters not falling within their range.
Your obedient servant,           A. LINCOLN.
The condition of affairs in this department continued to be
greatly disturbed by political agitations, and the personal controversies to which they gave rise; and after a lapse of some
months the President deemed it wise to relieve General Schofield from further command in this department. This was
done by an order from the War Department, dated January
24th, 1864, by which, also, General Rosecrans was appointed
in his place. In his order assuming command, dated January
30th, General Rosecrans paid a very high compliment to his
predecessor, for the admirable order in which he found the
business of the Department, and expressed the hope that he
might receive " the honest, firm, and united support of all true
national and Union men of the Department, without regard
to politics, creed, or party, in his endeavors to maintain law
"




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE CHURCHES.

409

and re-establish peace, and secure prosperity throughout its
limits."
Before closing this notice of the perplexities and annoyances to which the President was subjected by the domestic
contentions of Missouri, we may mention, as an illustration
of the extent to which they were carried, the case of Rev.
D)r. McPheeters, who had been silenced by General Curtis for
preaching disloyalty to his congregation in St. Louis. The
incident gave rise to a good deal of excitement, which was
continued throughout the year. Toward the close of it the
President wrote the following letter in reply to an appeal for
his interference:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 1863.
I liave just looked over a petition signed by some three dozen citizens of St. Louis, and their accompanying letters, one by yourself, one
by a Mr. Nathan Ranney, and one by a Mr. John D. Coalter, 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 ecclesiastical rights are withdrawn. 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
affairs of the church out of the control of the chosen trustees; and
near the close you state that a certain course " would insure his release."  Mr. Ranney's letter says: " Dr. Samuel McPheeters is enjoying all the rights of a civilian, but cannot preach the gospel l" Mr.
Coalter, in his letter, asks: "Is it not a strange illustration of the con-.
dition of things, that the question who shall be allowed to preach in a
church in St. Louis shall be decided 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 his doctor is enjoying all the rights of a civilian, and
another pointing out to me what will secure his release! On the 2d of
January last, I wrote to General Curtis in relation to Mr. Dick's order
upon Doctor McPheeters; and, as I suppose the doctor is enjoying all
18




ï~~410      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
the rights of a civilian, I only quote that part of my letter which relates to the church. It was 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, I supposed, of
course, it was obeyed, especially as I heard no fiurther complaint from
Doctor Mc. 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 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 Doctor Mc. back
over the heads of a majority of his own congregation, that, too, will
be declined. I will not have control of any church or any side.
A. LINCOLN.
The Presbytery, the regular church authority in the matter,
subsequently decided that Dr. McPheeters could not return
to his pastoral charge.
The victories of the Union arms during the summer of 1863
-the repulse of the rebels at Gettysburg, the capture of
Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and the consequent restoration
of the Mississippi to the commerce of the nation, produced
the most salutary effect upon the public sentiment of the
country. There was a good deal of partisan opposition to
specific measures of the Administration, and in some quarters
this took the form of open hostility to the further prosecution
of the war. But the spirit and determination of the people
were at their height, and the Union party entered upon the
political contests of the Autumn of 1863, in the several States,
with confidence and courage.
The President had been invited by the Republican State




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO ILLINOIS.

411

Committee of Illinois to attend the State Convention, to be
held at Springfield on the 3d of September. Finding it impossible to accept the invitation, he wrote in reply the following
letter, in which several of the most conspicuous features of his
policy are defended against the censures by which they had
been assailed:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, 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 for me
thus to 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 maintain unconditional devotion
to the-Uiion; and I am sure that my old political friends will thank me
for tendering, as I do, the nation's gratitude to those other noble men
whom no partisan malice 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 conceivable 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 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 that any compromise embracing the maintenance of
the Union is now possible. All that 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 compromise, 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 compromise
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 existence. But no paper compromise to which the c6ntrollers of Lee's
army are not agreed can at all affect that army. In an effort at such




ï~~41 2   PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

compromise we would 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 knowledge or belief. All, charges and insinuations to the
contrary are deceptive and groundless. And I promise you that if any
such proposition shall hereafter come, it shall not be rejected and kept a
secret from you. I freely acknowledge myself to be the servant of the
people, according to the bond of service, the United States Constitution;
and that, as such, I am responsible to them.
But, to be plain. You are dissatisfied with me about the negro.
Quite likely there is a difference of opinion between you and myself upon
that subject. I certainly wish that all men could be free, while you, I
suppose, do not. Yet, I have neither adopted nor proposed any measure
which is not consistent with even your view, provided that you are for
the Union. I suggested compensated emancipation; to which you re
plied you wished not be taxed to buy negroes. But I had not asked you
to be taxed to buy negroes, 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 it helps us and hurts the enemy? Armies,
the world over, destroy enemies' property when they cannot use it; and
even destroy their own to 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 barbarous 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 was issued,
the last one hundred days of which passed under an explicit notice that
it was coming, unless averted by those in revolt returning to their
allegiance. The war has certainly progressed as favorably for us since
the issue of the Proclamation as before.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER TO ILLINOIS.

418

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 moat
important victories, believe the Emancipation policy and the use of
colored troops constitute the heaviest blows yet dealt to the Rebellion,
and that at least one of those important successes could not have been
achieved when it was but for the aid of black soldiers.
Among the commanders who hold 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 their opinions as entitled to some weight against
the objections often urged that emancipation and arming the blacks are
unwise as military measures, and were not adopted as such in good
faith.
You say that 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. Whenever you shall have conquered all resistance to
the Union, if I shall urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time
then for you to declare you will not fight to free negroes. I thought that
in your struggle for the Union, to whatever extent the negroes should
cease helping the enemy, to that extent it weakened the enemy in his 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
any thing 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 helping hand. On the spot, their part of the
history ivas jotted down in black and white. The job was a great national
one, and let none be slighted who bore an honorable part in it. And
while those who have cleared the great river may well be proud, even
that is not all. It is hard to say that any thing has been more bravely and
well done than at Antietam, Murfreesboro, Gettysburg, and on many
fields of less 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 wherever the ground was a little damp they have been and made
their tracks. Thanks to all. For the great Republi C-for the principle
it lives by and keeps alive-for man's vast future-thanks to all.




ï~~414       PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
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 freemen 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 there will
be some black men who can remember that with silent tongue, and
clinched teeth, and steady eye, and vell-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 have striven 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.
The result of the canvass justified the confidence of the
friends of the Administration. Every State in which elections were- held, with the single exception of New Jersey,
voted to sustain the Government; and in all the largest and
most important States the majorities were so large as to make
the result of more than ordinary significance. In Ohio, Vallandigham, who had been put in nomination mainly on account
of the issue he had made with the Government in the matter
of his arrest, was defeated by a majority of nearly 100,000.
New York, which had elected Governor Seymour the year
before, and had been still further distinguished and disgraced
by the anti-draft riots of July, gave a majority of not far
from 30,000 for the Administration; and Pennsylvania, in
spite of the personal participation of General McClellan in the
canvass against him, re-elected Gov. Curtin by about the same
majority.  Those results followed a very active and earnest
canvass, in which the opponents of the Administration put
forth their most vigorous efforts for its defeat. The ground
taken by its friends in every State was that which had been
held by the President from the beginning-that the rebellion
must be suppressed and the Union preserved at whatever cost
-that this could only be done by force, and that it was




ï~~THE ELECTIONS OF 1863.

415

not only the right but the duty of the Government to use all
the means at its command, not incompatible with the laws of
war and the usages of civilized nations, for the accomplishment of this result. They vindicated the action of the Government in the matter of arbitrary arrests, and sustained
throughout the canvass, in every State, the policy of the President in regard to slavery and in issuihg the Proclamation of
Emancipation as a military measure, against the vehement and
earnest efforts of the Opposition. The result was, therefore,
justly claimed as a decided verdict of the people in support
of the Government. It was so regarded by all parties throughout the country, and its effect upon their action was of marked
importance. While it gave renewed vigor and courage to the
friends of the Administration everywhere, it developed the
division of sentiment in the ranks of the Opposition, which,
in its incipient stages, had largely contributed to their defeat. The majority of that party were inclined to acquiesce
in the deliberate judgment of the country, that the rebellion
could be subdued only by successful war, and to sustain the
Government in whatever measures might be deemed necessary
for its effectual prosecution:-but the resolute resistance
of some of its more conspicuous leaders has thus far withheld
them from open action in this direction.




ï~~418    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER XI.
THE CONGRESS OF 1863-4.-MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT.ACTION OF THE SESSION.
CONGRESS    met on Monday, December -7, 1883.           The
House of Representatives was promptly organized by the
election of Hon. Schuyler Colfax, a Republican from Indiana,
to be Speaker-he receiving 101 votes out of 181, the whole
number cast. Mr. Cox, of Ohio, was the leading candidate of
the Democratic opposition, but he received only 51 votes, the
remaining 29 being divided among several Democratic members.  In the Senate, the Senators from     Western Virginia
were admitted to their seats by a vote of 36 to 5.
On the 9th, the President transmitted to both Houses the
following MESSAGE:
Fellow- Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:
Another year of health and of sufficiently abundant harvests has
passed. For these, and especially for the improved condition of our
national affairs, our renewed and profoundest gratitude to God is due.
We remain in peace and friendship with foreign Powers. The efforts of
disloyal citizens of the United States to involve us in foreign wars to aid
an inexcusable insurrection have been unavailing. Her Britannic Majesty's Government, as was justly expected, have exercised their authority
to prevent the departure of new hostile expeditions from British ports.
The Emperor of France has, by a like proceeding, promptly vindicated
the neutrality which he proclaimed at the beginning of the contest.
Questions of great intricacy and importance have arisen out of the
blockade, and other belligerent operations between the Government and
several of the maritime Powers, but they have been discussed, and, as
far as was possible, accommodated in a spirit of frankness, justice, and
mutual good-will.
It is especially gratifying that our prize Courts, by the impartiality of




ï~~THE PRESIDENT' S MESSAGE.

417

their adjudications, have commanded the respect and confidence of
maritime Powers.
The supplemental treaty between the United States and Great Britain
for the suppression of the African Slave trade, made on the 17th day cf
February last, has been duly ratified and carried into execution. It is
believed that so far as American ports and American citizens are concerned, that inhuman and odious traffic has bden brought to an end.
I have thought it proper, subject to the approval of the Senate, to
concur with the interested commercial Powers, in an arrangement for
the liquidation of the. Scheldt dues, upon the principles which have been
heretofore adopted in regard to the imposts upon navigation in the waters
of Denmark.
The long-pending controversy between this Government and that of
Chili, touching the seizure at Sitana, in Peru, by Chilian officers, of a
large amount in treasure, belonging to citizens of the United States, has
been brought to a close by the award of His Majesty the King of the
Belgians, to whose arbitration the question was referred by the parties.
The subject was thoroughly and patiently examined by that justly
respected magistrate; and although the sum awarded to the claimants
may not have been as large as they expected, there is no reason to distrust the wisdom of His Majesty's decision. That decision was promptly
complied with by Chili when intelligence in regard to it reached that
country.
The Joint Commission under the act of the last session for carrying
into effect the Convention with Peru on the subject of claims, has been
organized at Lima, and is engaged in the business intrusted to it.
Difficulties concerning interoceanic transit through Nicaragua, are in
course of amicable adjustment.
In conformity with principles set forth in my last Annual Message, I
have received a representative from the United States of Colombia, and
have accredited a Minister to that Republic.
Incidents occurring in the progress of our civil war have forced upon
my attention the uncertain state of international questions touching the
rights of foreigners in this country and of United States citizens abroad.
In regard to some Governments, these rights are at least partially defined by treaties. In no instance, however, is it expressly stipulated
that in the event of civil war a foreigner residing in this country, within
the lines of the insurgents, is to be exempted from the rule which
classes him as a belligerent, in whose behalf the Government of his
country cannot expect any privileges or immunities distinct from that
18*




ï~~418        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
character. I regret to say, however, that such claims have been put
forward, and, in some instances, in behalf of foreigners who have lived
in the United States the greater part of their lives.
There is reason to believe that many persons born in foreign countries, who have declared their intention to become citizens, or who have
been fully naturalized, have evaded the military duty required of them
by denying the fact, and thereby throwing upon the Government the
burden of proof. It has been found difficult or impracticable to obtain
this proof, from the want of guides to the proper sources of information.
These might be supplied by requiring Clerks of Courts, where declarations
of intention may be made, or naturalizations effected, to send periodically
lists of the names of the persons naturalized or declaring their intention to become citizens, to the Secretary of the Interior, in whose Department those names might be arranged and printed for general information. There is also reason to believe that foreigners frequently become
citizens of the United States for the sole purpose of evading duties imposed by the laws of their native countries, to which, on becoming naturalized here, they at once repair, and though never returning to the United
States, they still claim the interposition of this Government as citizens.
Many altercations and great prejudices have heretofore arisen out of
this abuse. It is, therefore, submitted to your serious consideration. It
might be advisable to fix a limit beyond which no citizen of the United
States residing abroad may claim the interposition of his Government.
The right of suffrage has often been assumed and exercised by aliens
under pretences of naturalization, which they have disavowed when
drafted into the military service.
Satisfactory arrangements have been made with the Emperor of
Russia, which, it is believed, will result in effecting a continuous line of
telegraph through that Empire from our Pacific coast.
I recommend to your favorable consideration the subject of an international telegraph across the Atlantic Ocean, and also of a telegraph between this Capital and the national forts along the Atlantic seaboard and
the Gulf of Mexico. Such communications, established with any reasonable outlay, would be economical as well as effective aids to the diplomatic, military, and naval service.
The Consular system of the United States, under the enactments of
the last Congress, begins to be self-sustaining, and there is reason to
hope that it may become entirely so with the increase of trade, which
will ensue whenever peace is restored.
Our Ministers abroad have been faithful in defending American




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

419

rights. In protecting commercial interests, our Consuls have necessarily
had to encounter increased labors and responsibilities growing out of the
war. These they have. for the most part, met and discharged with zeal
and efficiency. This acknowledgment justly includes those Consuls
who, residing in Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Japan, China, and other
Oriental countries, are charged with complex functions and extraordinary powers.
The condition of the several organized territories is generally satisfactory, although Indian disturbances in New Mexico have not been
entirely suppressed.
The mineral resources of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, and
Arizona, are proving far richer than has been heretofore understood. I
lay before you a communication on this subject from the Governor of
New Mexico. I again submit to your consideration the expediency of
establishing a system for the encouragement of emigration. Although
this source of national wealth and strength is again flowing with greater
freedom than for several years before the insurrection occurred, there
is still a great deficiency of laborers in every field of industry, especially
in agriculture and in opr mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious
metals. While the demand for labor is thus increased here, tens of thousands of persons, destitute of remunerative occupation, are thronging our
foreign consulates, and offering to emigrate to the United States, if essential, but very cheap, assistance can be afforded them. It is easy to see
that under the sharp discipline of civil war the nation is beginning a new
life. This noble effort demands the aid, and ought to receive the
attention and support of the Government.
Injuries unforeseen by the Government, and unintended, may in some
cases have been inflicted on the subjects or citizens of foreign countries,
both at sea and on land, by persons in the service of the United States.
As this Government expects redress from other Powers when similar
injuries are inflicted by persons in their service upon citizens of the
United States, we must be prepared to do justice to foreigners. If the
existing judicial tribunals are inadequate to this purpose, a special Court
may be authorized, with power to hear and decide such claims of the
character referred to as may have arisen under treaties and the publio
law. Conventions for adjusting the claims by joint commission have
been proposed to some Governments, but no definite answer to the proposition has yet been received from any.
In the course of she session I shall probably have occasion to request
you to provide indemnification to claimants where decrees of restitution




ï~~420       PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
have been rendered, and damages awarded by Admiralty Courts, and
in other cases, where this Government may be acknowledged to be
liable in principle, and where the amount of that liability has been
ascertained by an informal arbitration, the proper officers of the Treasury have deemed themselves required by the law of the United States
upon the subject, to demand a tax upon the incomes of foreign Consuls in this country. While such a denand may not, in strictness, be
in derogation of public law, or perhaps of any existing treaty between
the United States and a foreign country, the expediency of so far modifying the act as to exempt from tax the income of such consuls as are
not citizens of the United States, derived from the emoluments of their
office, or from property not situate in the United States, is submitted to
your serious consideration. I make this suggestion upon the ground
that a comity which ought to be reciprocated exempts our Consuls in all
other countries from taxation to the extent thus indicated. The United
States, I think, ought not to be exceptionably illiberal to international
trade and commerce.
The operations of the Treasury during the last year have been successfully conducted. The enactment by Congress of a National Banking
Law has proved a valuable support of the public credit, and the general
legislation in relation to loans has fully answered the expectation of its
favorers. Some amendments may be required to perfect existing laws,
but no change in their principles or general scope is believed to be
needed. Since these measures have been in operation, all demands on
the Treasury, including the pay of the Army and Navy, have been
promptly met and fully satisfied. No considerable body of troops, it is
believed, were ever more amply provided and more liberally and
punctually paid; and, it may be added, that by no people were the
burdens incident to a great war more cheerfully borne.
The receipts during the year, from all sources, including loans
and the balance in the Treasury at its commencement, were $901,125,674 86, and the aggregate disbursements $895,796,630 65, leaving a
balance on the 1st of July, 1863, of $5,329,044 21. Of the receipts,
there were derived from Customs $69,059,642 40; from Internal Revenue, $37,640,787 95; from direct tfx, $1,485,103 61; from lands,
$167,617 17; from miscellaneous sources, $3,046,615 35; and from
loans, $776,682,361 57, making the aggregate $901,125,674 86. Of
the disbursements there were for the civil service $23,253,922 08;
for pensions and Indians, $4,216,520 79; for interest on public debt,
$24,729,846 51; for the War Department, $599,298,600 83; for the




ï~~TIHE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

421

Navy Department, $63,211,105 27; for payment of funded and temporary debt, $181,086,635 07, making the aggregate $895,796,630 65,
and leaving the balance of $5,329,044 21.
But the payment of the funded and temporary debt, having been
made from moneys borrowed during the year, must be regarded as
merely nominal payments, and the moneys borrowed to make them as
merely nominal receipts; and their amoun, $181,086,535 07, should
therefore be deducted both from receipts and disbursements. This being
done, there remains, as actual receipts, $720,039,039 79, and the actuad
disbursements $714,709,995 58, leaving the balance as already stated.
The actual receipts and disbursements for the first quarter, and the
estimated receipts and disbursements for the remaining three quarters
of the current fiscal year, 1864, will be shown in detail by the report of
the Secretary of the Treasury, to which I invite your attention.
It is sufficient to say here, that it is not believed that actual results
will exhibit a state of the finances less favorable to the country than the
estimates of that officer heretofore submitted, while it is confidently expected that, at the close of the year, both disbursements and debt will
be found very considerably less than has been anticipated.
The report of the Secretary of War is a document of great interest.
It consists of:
First.-The military operations of the year detailed in the report of
the General-in-Chief.
Second.-The organization of colored persons into the war service.
Third.-The exchange of prisoners fully set forth in the letter of
General Hitchcock.
Fourth.-The operations under the act for enrolling and calling out the
National forces, detailed in the report of the Provost-Marshal General.
Fifth.-The organization of the Invalid Corps. AndSixth.-The operations of the several departments of the Quartermaster-General, Commissary-General, Paymaster-General, Chief of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance, and Surgeon-General. It has appeared impossible to make a valuable summary of this report, except such as
would be too extended for this place, and hence I content myself by
asking your careful attention to the report itself. The duties devolving
on the naval branch of the service during the year, and throughout the
whole of this unhappy contest, have been discharged with fidelity and
eminent success. The extensive blockade has been constantly increasing in efficiency, as the navy has expanded, yet on so long a line it
has, so far, been impossible entirely to suppress illicit trade. From
1




ï~~422       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
returns received at the Navy Department, it appears that more than
one thousand vessels have been captured since the blockade was instituted, and that the value of prizes already sent in for adjudication, amount to over thirteen millions of dollars.
The naval force of the United States consists at this time of five hundred and eighty-eight vessels completed and in the course of completion, and of these seventy-five are iron-elad or armored steamers. The
events of the war give an increased interest and importance to the
navy, which will probably extend beyond the war itself. The armored
vessels in our navy, completed and in service, or which are under contract and approaching completion, are believed to exceed in number
those of any other Power; but while these may be relied upon for harbor defence and coast service, others of greater strength and capacity
will be necessary for cruising purposes, and to maintain our rightful
position on the ocean.
The change that has taken place in naval vessels and naval warfare
since the introduction of steam as a motive power for ships of war, demands either a corresponding change in some of our existing Navyyards, or the establishment of new ones, for the construction and
necessary repair of modern naval vessels. No inconsiderable embarrassment, delay, and public injury, have been experienced from the
want of such governmental establishments.
The necessity of such a Navy-yard, so furnished, at some suitable
place upon the Atlantic seaboard, has, on repeated occasions, been
brought to the attention of Congress by the Navy Department, and is
again presented in the report of the Secretary, which accompanies this
communication. I think it my duty to invite your special attention to
this subject, and also to that of establishing a yard and dep6t for naval
purposes upon one of the Western rivers. A naval force has been
created on these interior waters, and under many disadvantages, within
a little more than two years, exceeding in number the whole naval force
of the country at the commencement of the present Administration.
Satisfactory and important as have been the performances of the
heroic men of the navy at this interesting period, they are scarcely
more wonderful than the success of our mechanics and artisans in
the production of war-vessels, which has created a new form of naval
power.
Our country has advantages superior to any other nation in our resources of iron and timber, with inexhaustible quantities of fuel in the immediate vicinity of both, and all available and in close proximity to navi



ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

423

gable waters. Without the advantage of public works, the resources of
the nation have been developed, and its power displayed, in the construction of a navy of such magnitude, which has at the very period of its creation rendered signal service to the Union.
The increase of the number of seamen in the public service from
7,500 men in the Spring of 1861, to about 34,000 at the present time,
has been accomplished without special legislation or extraordinary
bounties to promote that increase. It has been found, however, that the
operation of the draft, with the high bounties paid for army recruits, is
beginning to affect injuriously the naval service, and will, if not corrected, be likely to impair its efficiency by detaching seamen from their
proper vocation, and inducing them to enter the army. I therefore respectfully suggest that Congress might aid both the army and naval
service by a definite provision on this subject, which would at the same
time be equitable to the communities more especially interested.
I commend to your consideration the suggestions of the Secretary of
the Navy, in regard to the policy of fostering and training seamen, and
also the education of officers and engineers for the naval service. The
Naval Academy is rendering signal service in preparing Midshipmen for
the highly responsible duties which in after life they will be required to
perform. In order that the country should not be deprived of the
proper quota of educated officers, for which legal provision has been
made at the naval school, the vacancies caused by the neglect or
omission to make nominations from the States in insurrection, have been
filled by the Secretary of the Navy. The school is now more full and
eomplete than at any former period, and in every respect entitled to the
favorable consideration of Congress.
During the last fiscal year the financial condition of the Post-office
Department has been one of increasing prosperity, and I am gratified in
being able to state that the actual postal revenue has nearly equalled
the entire expenditures, the latter amounting to $11,314,206 84, and
the former to $11,163,789 59, leaving a deficiency of bit $150,417 25.'
In 1860, the year immediately preceding the rebellion, the deficiency
amounted to $5,656,705 49, the postal receipts for that year being
$2,647,225 19 less than those of 1863. The decrease since 1860 in the
annual amount of transportation has been only about 25 per cent.; but
the annual expenditure on account of the same has been reduced 35 per
cent. It is manifest, therefore, that the Post-office Department may
become self-sustaining in a few years, even with the restoration of the
whole service.




ï~~424     PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMNISTRATION.

The international conference of postal delegates from the principal
countries of Europe and America, which was called at the suggestion of
the Postmaster-General, met at Paris on the 11th of May last, and concluded its deliberations on the 8th of June. The principles established
by the conference as best adapted to facilitate postal intercourse between
nations, and as the basis of future postal conventions, inaugurates a
general system of uniform internatiofal charges at reduced rates of
postage, and cannot fail to produce beneficial results. I refer you to
the Report of the Secretary of the Interior, which is herewith laid
before you, for useful and varied inforniation in relation to Public
Lands, Indian Affairs, Patents, Pensions, and other matters of the public
concern pertaining to his department.
The quantity of land disposed of during the last and the first quarter
of the present fiscal years, was three millions, eight hundred and fortyone thousand, five hundred and forty-nine acres, of which one hundred
and sixty-one thousand, nine hundred and eleven acres were sold for
cash. One million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, five hundred
and fourteen acres, were taken up under the Homestead Law, and the
residue disposed of under laws granting lands for military bounties, for
railroad and other purposes. It also appears that the sale of public
lands is largely on the increase.
It has long been a cherished opinion of some of our wisest statesmen
that the people of the United States had a.higher and more enduring
interest in the early settlement and substantial cultivation of the public
lands than in the amount of direct revenue to be derived from the sale
of them. This opinion has had a controlling influence in shaping
legislation upon the subject of our national domain. I may cite, as
evidence of this, the liberal measures adopted in reference to actual
settlers, the grant to the States of the overflowed lands within their
limits, in order to their being reclaimed and rendered fit for cultivation,
the grants to railway companies of alternate sections of land upon the
contemplated lines of their roads, which, when completed, will so
largely multiply the facilities for reaching our distant possessions. This
policy has received its most signal and beneficent illustration in the
recent enactment granting homesteads to actual settlers. Since the
first day of January last the before mentioned quantity of one million
four hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred and fourteen acres
of land have been taken up under its provisions. This fact, and the
amount of sales, furnish gratifying evidence of increasing settlement
upon the public lands, notwithstanding the great struggle in which the




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

425

energies of the nation have been engaged, and which has required so
large a withdrawal of our citizens from their accustomed pursuits. I
cordially concur in the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior,
suggesting a modification of the act in favor of those engaged in the
military and naval service of the United States.
I doubt not that Congress will cheerfully adopt such measures as
will, without essentially changing the general features of the system,
secure to the greatest practical extent its benefits to those who have
left their homes in defence of the country in this arduous crisis.
I invite your attention to the views of the Secretary as to the propriety
of raising, by appropriate legislation, a revenue from the mineral lands
of the United States. The measures provided at your last session for
the removal of certain Indian tribes have been carried into effect.
Sundry treaties have been negotiated, which will, in due time, be submitted for the constitutional action of the Senate. They contain stipulations for extinguishing the possessory rights of the Indians to large
and valuable tracts of lands. It is hoped that the effect of these
treaties will result in the establishment of permanent friendly relations
with such of these tribes as have been brought into frequent and
bloody collision with our outlying settlements and emigrants. Sound
policy, and our imperative duty to these wards of the Government,
demand our anxious and constant attention to their material well-being,
to their progress in the arts of civilization, and, above all, to that moral
training which, under the blessing of Divine Providence, will confer
upon them the elevated and sanctifying influences, the hopes and consolations of the Christian faith. I suggested in my last Annual Message
the propriety of remodelling our Indian system. Subsequent events
have satisfied me of its necessity. The details set forth in the report
of the Secretary evince the urgent need for immediate legislative action.
I commend the benevolent institutions, established or patronized by
the government in this District, to your generous and fostering care.
The attention of Congress, during the last session, was engaged to
some extent with a proposition for enlarging the water communication
botween the Mississippi River and the northeastern seaboard, which
proposition, however, failed for the time. Since then, upon a call of the
greatest respectability, a Convention has been held at Chicago upon
the same subject, a summary of whose views is contained in a Memorial
Address to the President and Congress, and which I now have the
honor to lay before you. That the interest is one which will ere long
force its own way I do not entertain a doubt, while it is submi:tted




ï~~426        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
entirely to your wisdom as to what can be done now. Augmented
interest is given to this subject by the actual commencement of work
upon the Pacific railroad, under auspices so favorable to rapid progress
and completion. The enlarged navigation becomes a palpable need to
the great road.
I transmit the second annual report of the Commissioners of the
Department of Agriculture, asking ytur attention to the developments
in that vital interest of the nation.
When Congress assembled a year ago, the war had already lasted
nearly twenty months, and there had been many conflicts on both land
and sea, with varying results; the rebellion had been pressed back
into reduced limits; yet the tone of public feeling and opinion, at home
and abroad, was not satisfactory. With other signs, the popular elections then just past indicated uneasiness among ourselves, while, amid
much that was cold and menacing, the kindest words coming from
Europe were uttered in accents of pity that we were too blind to surrender a hopeless cause. Our commerce was suffering greatly by a few
vessels built upon and furnished from foreign shores, and we were
threatened with such additions from the same quarters as would sweep
our trade from the seas and raise our blockade. We had failed to
elicit from European governments any thing hopeful upon this subject.
The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation issued in September, was
running its assigned period to the beginning of the new year. A month
later, the final proclamation came, including the announcement that colored men of suitable condition would be received in the war service.
The policy of emancipation and of employing black soldiers gave to the
future a new aspect, about which hope and fear and doubt contended in
uncertain conflict. According to our political system, as a matter of
civil administration the Government had no lawful power to effect
emancipation in any State, and for a long time it had been hoped that
the rebellion could be suppressed without resorting to it as a military
measure. It was all the while deemed possible that the necessity for it
might come, and that if it should, the crisis of the contest would then
be presented. It came, and, as was anticipated, was followed by dark
and doubtful days.
Eleven months having now passed, we are permitted to take another review. The rebel borders are pressed still further back, and by
the complete opening of the Mississippi, the country dominated by the
rebellion is divided into distinct parts with,no practical communication
between them.   Tennessee and Arkansas have been substantially




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

427

cleared of insurgent control, and influential citizens in each-owners of
slaves and advocates of slavery at the beginning of the rebellion-now
declare openly for emancipation in their respective States. Of those
States not included in the Emancipation Proclamation, Maryland and
Missouri, neither of which three years ago would tolerate any restraint
upon the extension of slavery into new Territories, only dispute now as
to the best mode of removing it within their d~vn limits.
Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the rebellion, full one
hundred thousand are now in the United States military service, about
one-half of which number actually bear arms in the ranks-thus giving
the double advantage of taking so much labor from the insurgent cause
and supplying the places which otherwise must be filled with so many
white men. So far as tested, it is difficult to say they are not as good
soldiers as any. No servile insurrection or tendency to violence or
cruelty has marked the measures of emancipation and arming the blacks.
These measures have been much discussed in foreign countries, and,
cotemporary with such discussion, the tone of public sentiment there is
much improved. At home the same measures have been fully discussed, supported, criticisdd and denounced, and the annual elections following are highly encouraging to those whose official duty it is to bear the
country through this great trial. Thus we have the new reckoning.
The crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is past.
Looking now to the present and future, and with a reference to a
resumption of the National authority, in the States wherein that authority has been suspended, I have thought fit to issue a proclamation-a
copy of which is herewith transmitted. On examination of this proclamation, it will appear, as is believed, that nothing is attempted beyond
what is amply justified by the Constitution. True, the form of an oath
is given, but no man is coerced to take it. The man is only promised a
pardon in case he voluntarily takes the oath. The Constitution authorizes the Executive to grant or withdraw the pardon at his own absolute discretion, and this includes the power to grant on terms, as is fully
established by judicial and other authorities. It is also proffered that
if in any of the States named a State Government shall be in the mode
prescribed set up, such government shall be recognized and guaranteed
by the United States, and that under it the State shall, on the constitutional conditions, be protected against invasion and domestic violence.
The constitutional obligation of the United States to guarantee to
every State in the Union a Republican form of Government, and to
protect the State in the cases stated, is explicit and full. But why ten0




ï~~428        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
der the benefits of this provision only to a State Government set up in
this particular way? This section of the Constitution contemplates a
case wherein the element within a State favorable to Republican government in the Union may be too feeble for an opposite and hostile element external to or even within the State, and such are precisely the
cases with which we are now dealing.
An attempt to guarantee and protect a revived State Government,
constructed in whole or in preponderating part from the very element
against whose hostility and violence it is to be protected, is simply absurd. There must be a test by which to separate the opposing elements,
so as to build only from the sound; and that test is a sufficiently liberal
one which accepts as sound whoever will make a sworn recantation of
his former unsoundness.
Buit if it be proper to require, as a test of admission to the political body,
an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and to the
Union under it, why also to the laws and proclamations in regard to
slavery?
Those laws and proclamations were enacted and put forth for the
pu'pose of aiding in the suppression of the rebellion. To give them
their fullest effect there had to be a pledge for their maintenance. In
my judgment they have aided and will further aid the cause for which
they were intended.
To now abandon them would be not only to relinquish a lever of
power, but would also be a cruel and an astounding breach of faith.
I may add, at this point, that while I remain in my present position, I
shall not attempt to retract or modify the Emancipation Proclamation,
nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of
that proclamation, or by any of the acts of Congress.
For these and other reasons, it is thought best that support of these
measures shall be included in the oath, and it is believed that the Exec.
utive may lawfully claim it in return for pardon and restoration of forfeited rights, which he has a clear constitutional power to withhold altogether or grant upon the terms which he shall deem wisest for the
public interest. It should be observed, also, that this part of the oath
is subject to the modifying and abrogating power of legislation and
supreme judicial decision.
The proposed acquiescence of the National Executive in any reasonable temporary State arrangement for the freed people, is made with
the view of possibly modifying the confusion and destitution which
must at best attend all classes by a total revolution of labor throughout




ï~~THE PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY.

429

whole States. It is hoped that the already deeply afflicted people
in those States may be somewhat more ready to give up the cause of
their affliction, if, to this extent, this vital matter be left to themselves,
while no power of the National Executive to prevent an abuse is
abridged by the proposition
The suggestion in the proclamation as to maintaining the political
frame work of the States on what is called ifconstruction, is made in
the hope that it may do good, without danger of harm. It will save labor, and avoid great confusion. But why any proclamation now upon
this subject? This question is beset with the conflicting views that the
step might be delayed too long, or be taken too soon. In some States
the elements for resumption seem ready for action but remain inactive,
apparently for want of a rallying point-a plan of action. Why shall
A adopt the plan of B, rather than B that of A? And if A and B should
agree, how can they know but that the General Government here will
reject their plan? By the proclamation a plan is presented which may
be accepted by them as a rallying point-and which they are assured
in advance will not be rejected here. This may bring them to act
sooner than they otherwise would.
The objection to a premature presentation of a plan by the National
Executive consists in the danger of committals on points which could
be more safely left to further developments. Care has been taken to so
shape the document as to avoid embarrassments from this source.
Saying that on certain terms certain classes will be pardoned with rights
restored, it is not said that other classes or other terms will never be
included. Saying that reconstruction will be accepted if presented in a
specified way, it is not said it will never be accepted in any other way.
The movements by State action for emancipation in several of the States
not included in the Emancipation Proclamation are matters of profound
gratulation. And while I do not repeat in detail what I have heretofore
so earnestly urged upon this subject, my general views and feelings remain unchanged; and I trust that Congress will omit no fair opportunity of aiding these important steps to the great consummation.
In the midst of other cares, however important, we must not lose sight
of the fact that the war power is still our main reliance  To that power
alone can we look for a time, to give confidence to the people in the contested regions, that the insurgent power will not again overrun them.
Until that confidence shall be established, little can be done anywhere
for what is called reconstruction. Hence our chiefeat care must still be
directed to the army and navy, who have thus far borne their harder
0




ï~~430        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
part so nobly and well. And it may be esteemed fortunate that in giving the greatest efficiercy to these indispensable arms, we do also honorably recognize the gallant men, from commander to sentinel, who compose them, and to whom, more than to others, the world must stand indebted for the home of freedom, disenthglled, regenerated, enlarged
and perpetuated.
(Signed)           ABRAHAM LINcoLN.
December 8, 1863.
The following proclamation is appended to the message:
PROCLAMATION
Whereas, In and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided that the President shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment---and, whereas, a rebellion now exists, whereby the loyal State
Governments of several States have for a long time been subverted,
and many persons have committed and are now guilty of treason against
the United States; and
Whereas, With reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have
been enacted by Congress, declaring forfeitures and confiscation of
property and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and conditions
therein stated, and also declaring that the President was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons
who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any State or part
thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such times
and on such conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare; and
Whereas, The Congressional declaration for limited and conditional
pardon accords with the well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and
Whereas, With reference to the said rebellion, the President of the
United States has issued several proclamations with provisions in regard to the liberation of slaves; and
Whereas, It is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in
said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United States, and
to reinaugurate loyal State Governments within and for their respective States; therefore




ï~~THE PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY.

431

I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare and make known to all persons who have directly or by implication
participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that
a full pardon is hereby granted to them and each of them, with restoration
of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and in property cases where
rights of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that
every such person shall take and subscribe an dath and thenceforward
keep and maintain said oath inviolate, an oath which shall be registered
for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit:
"I,, do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God,
that I will henceforth faithfiully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder: and
that I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support all acts of
Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves,
so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress
or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will in like manner
abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made
during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so
far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court.
So help me God."
The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing provisions
are: All who are, or shall have been civil or diplomatic officers or agents
of the so-called Confederate Government; all who have left judicial
stations under the United States to aid the rebellion; all who are, or
shall have been military or naval officers of said so-called Confederate
Government, above the rank of Colonel in the army, or of Lieutenant in
the navy; all who left seats in the United States Congress to aid the
rebellion; all who resigned commissions in the army or navy of the
United States, and afterward aided the rebellion; and all who have engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in
charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and which
persons may have been found in the United States service as soldiers,
seamen, or any other capacity; and I do further proclaim, declare and
make known that, whenever, in any of the States of Arkansas, Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South
Carolina, and North Carolina, a number of persons not less than onetenth in number of the votes cast in such States at the Presidential elec.
tion of the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundre4 and sixty, each
having taken the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it,




ï~~432        PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
and being a qualified voter by the election law of the State existing immediately before the so-called act of Secession, and excluding all others,
shall re-establish a State Government which shall be Republican, and
in no wise contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true
government of the State, and the State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision, which declares that
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
Republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against
invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or the Executive, when
the Legislature cannot be convened, against domestic violence."
And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known, that any provision which may be adopted by such State Government in relation to
the freed people of such State, which shall recognize and declare their
permanent freedom, provide for their education, and which may yet be
consistent, as a temporary arrangement, with their present condition as
a laboring, landless, and homeless class, will not be objected to by the
National Executive.
And it is suggested as not improper that, in constructing a loyal State
Government in any State, the name of the State, the boundary, the
subdivisions, the Constitution, and the general code of laws, as before
the rebellion, be maintained, subject only to the modifications made
necessary by the conditions herein before stated, and such others, if
any, not contravening said conditions, and which may be deemed expedient by those framing the new State Government. To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this proclamation, so far as it
relates to State Governments, has no reference to States wherein loyal
State Governments have all the while been maintained; and for the
same reason it may be proper to further say, that whether members
sent to Congress from any State shall be admitted to seats, constitutionally rests exclusively with the respective Houses, and not to any extent
with the Executive.   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 which the national authority and loyal
State Governments may be re-established within said States, or in any
of them. And, while the mode presented is the best the Executive can
suggest with his present impressions, it mus; not be understood that no
other possible mode would be acceptable.




ï~~EXPLANATORY PROCLAMATION.

433

Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the eighth day of December, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the
independence of the United States of America the Eighty-eighth.
By the President:                            ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
In further prosecution of the object sought by this measure
of amnesty, the President subsequently issued the following
additional explanatory PROCLAMATION:
By the President of the United States of America:
Whereas, it has become necessary to define the cases in which insurgent enemies are entitled to the benefits of the Proclamation of the
President of the United States, which was made on the 8th day of December, 1863, and the manner in which they shall proceed to avail
themselves of these benefits; and whereas the objects of that proclamation were to suppress the insurrection and to restore the authority of
the United States; and whereas the amnesty therein proposed by the
President was offered with reference to these objects alone;
Now, therefore, I, ABRAHAM LrNCOLN, President of the United States,
do hereby proclaim and declare that the said proclamation does not
apply to the cases of persons who, at the time when they seek to obtain
the benefits thereof by taking the oath thereby prescribed, are in military, naval or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds, or on parole
of the civil, military or naval authorities, or agents of the United States,
as prisoners of war, or persons detained for offences of any kind, either
before or after conviction; and that on the contrary it does apply only
to those persons who, being yet at large, and free from any arrest, confinement, or duress, shall voluntarily come forward and take the said
oath, with the purpose of restoring peace and establishing the national
authority.
Persons excluded from the amnesty offered in the said proclamation
may apply to the President for clemency, like all other offenders, and
their application will receive due consideration.
I do further declare and proclaim that the oath presented in the
aforesaid proclamation of the 8th of December, 1863, may be taken and
subscribed before any commissioned officer, civil, military, or naval, in
the service of the United States, or any civil or military officer of a
State or Territory not in insurrection, who, by the laws, thereof, may be
qualified for administering oaths.
19




ï~~434       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
All officers who receive such oaths are hereby authorized to give
certificates thereof to the persons respectively by whom they are made,
and such officers are hereby required to transmit the original records of
such oaths at as early a day as may be convenient, to the Department
of State, where they will be deposited, and remain in the archives of
the Government.
The Secretary of State will keep 'a registry thereof, and will, on
application, in proper cases, issue certificates of such records in the
customary form of official certificates.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Wash.
[L. s.] ington, the 26th day of March. in the year of our Lord 1864,
and of the independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President:                        ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
The action of Congress at this session has not been of special
interest or importance.  Public attention continued to be absorbed by military operations, and Congress, at its previous
session, had so fully provided for the emergencies, present and
prospective, of the war, that little in this direction remained
to be done. Resolutions were introduced by members of the
opposing parties, some approving and others condemning the
policy of the Administration. Attempts were made to amend
the conscription bill, but the two houses failing to agree on
some of the more important changes proposed, the bill, as
finally passed, did not vary essentially from the original law.
The leading topic of discussion in this connection was the employment of colored men, free and slave, as soldiers: The
policy of thus employing them had been previously established
by the action of the Government in all departments; and all
that remained was to regulate the mode of their enlistment.
A proviso was finally adopted by both houses that colored
troops, "while they shall be credited in the quotas of the several States or subdivisions of States wherein they are respectiveiy drafted, enlisted, or shall volunteer, shall not be assigned




ï~~DEBATE ON SLAVERY.

435

as State troops, but shall be mustered into regiments or companies as ' United States Colored Volunteers.'"
The general tone of the debates in Congress indicates the
growing conviction on the part of the people of the whole
country, without regard to party distinctions, that the destruction of slavery is inseparable from the victorious prosecution
of the war. Men of all parties have acquiesced in the position
that the days of slavery are numbered,-that the rebellion, organized for the purpose of strengthening it, has placed it at the
mercy of the national force, and compelled the Government to
assail its existence as the only means of subduing the rebellion
and preserving the Union. The certainty that the prosecution
of the war must result in the emancipation of the slaves, has
led to the proposal of measures suited to this emergency. On
the 6th of February, a bill was reported in the House for the
establishment of a Bureau of Freedmen's Affairs, which should
determine all questions relating to persons of African descent,
and make regulations for their employment and proper treatment on abandoned plantations; and after a sharp and discursive debate, it was passed by a vote of 69 to 67. A resolution has also been adopted to submit to the action of
the several States, an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, prohibiting the existence of slavery within the States and Territories of the Union forever. This proposition has encountered but little opposition. The experience
of the last three years has left but little inclination in any
quarter to prolong the existence of slavery, and the political
necessities which formerly gave it strength and protection, have
ceased to exist. At the commencement of the session resolutions were offered by several members in both Houses, aiming
at its prohibition by such an amendment of the Constitution.
This mode of accomplishing the object sought was held to be
free from the objections to which every other is exposed, as it
is unquestionably competent for the people to amend the Con*




ï~~436     PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.

stitution, in accordance with the forms prescribed by its own
provisions. One or two Southern senators, Mr. Saulsbury, of
Delaware, and Mr. Powell, of Kentucky, being prominent, have
urged that it is a palpable violation of State rights for the
people thus to interfere with any thing which State laws declare to be property; but they were answered by Reverdy
Johnson, of Maryland, who urged that when the Constitution
was originally framed this prohibition of slavery might unquestionably have been embodied in it, and that it was competent
for the people to do now whatever they might have done then.
A bill was passed in both Houses restoring the grade of
Lieutenant-General, and, on the nomination of the President,
General Grant was appointed by the Senate to that office, and
invested with the command of the armies of the United States.
Toward the close of the year, as the terms of service of
many of the volunteer forces were about to expire, the President issued a proclamation for 300,000 volunteers. The military successes of the season had raised the public courage and
inspired new confidence in the final issue of the contest for the
preservation of the Union; it was believed, therefore, that an
appeal for volunteers would be responded to with alacrity, and
save the necessity for a resort to another draft. The proclamation was as follows:
A PROCLAMATION
By the President of the United States.
Whereas, the term of service of part of the volunteer forces of the
United States will expire during the coming year; and, whereas, in addition to the men raised by the present draft, it is deemed expedient to
call out three hundred thousand volunteers to serve for three years or
during the war, not, however, exceeding three years; Now, therefore,
I, ABRAHnAM LiNCOLn, President of the United States and Commanderin-Chief of the army and navy thereof, and of the militia of the several
States when called into actual service, do issue this my proclamation,
calling upon the Governors of the different States to raise, and have
0




ï~~CALL FOR TROOPS.

437

enlisted into the United States service, for the various companies and
regiments in the field from their respective States, the quotas of three
hundred thousand men.
I further proclaim that all the volunteers thus called out and duly
enlisted shall receive advance pay, premium, and bounty, as heretofore
communicated to the Governors of States by the War Department
through the Provost-Marshal General's office, by special letters.
I further proclaim that all volunteers received under this call, as well
as all others not heretofore credited, shall be duly credited and deducted
from the quotas established for the next draft.
I further proclaim that if any State shall fail to raise the quota assigned to it by the War Department under this call, then a draft -for the
deficiency in said quota shall be made in said State, or on the districts
of said State for their due proportion of said quota, and the said draft
shall commence on the 5th day of January, 1864.
And I further proclaim that nothing in this proclamation shall interfere with existing orders, or with those which may be issued for the
present draft in the States where it is now in progress, or where it has
not yet been commenced.
The quotas of the States and districts will be assigned by the War
Department through the Provost-Marshal General's office, due regard
being had for the men heretofore furnished, whether by volunteering or
drafting; and the recruiting will be conducted in accordance with such
instructions as have been or may be issued by that Department.
In issuing this proclamation, I address myself not only to the Governors of the several States, but also to the good and loyal people thereof,
invoking them to lend their cheerful, willing, and effective aid to the
measures thus adopted, with a view to re-enforce our victorious army
now in the field, and bring our needful military operations to a prosperous end, thus closing forever the fountains of sedition and civil war.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the.
seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of October,
[L. s.] 1863, and of the independence of the United States the eightyeighth.
By the President:                         ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
By the act of 1861 for raising troops, a government bounty
of one hundred dollars was paid to each volunteer; and this




ï~~438        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
amount had been increased from time to time until each soldier
who had already filled his term of service was entitled to receive four hundred dollars on re-enlisting, and each new volunteer three hundred. After the President's proclamation was
issued, enlistments, especially of men already in the service,
proceeded with great rapidity, aid the amount to be paid for
bounties threatened to be very large. Under these circumstances, Congress adopted an amendment to th6 enrolment
act, by which the payment of all bounties except those authorized by the act of 1861, was to cease after the 5th day of January. Both the Secretary of War and the Provost-Marshal
General feared that the effect of this, when it came to be generally understood, would be to check the volunteering which
was then proceeding in a very satisfactory manner; and on
the 5th of January, the day when the prohibition was to take
effect, the President sent to Congress the following communication:
WASHINGTON, January 5, 1864.
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
By a joint resolution of your honorable bodies, approved December
23, 1863, the paying of bounties to veteran volunteers, as now practised
by the War Department, is, to the extent of three hundred dollars in
each case, prohibited after the fifth day of the present month. I transmit for your consideration a communication from the Secretary of War,
accompanied by one from the Provost-Marshal General to him, both
relating to the subject above mentioned. I earnestly recommend that
this law be so modified as to allow bounties to be paid as they nov are,
at least to the ensuing 1st day of February. I am not without anxiety
lest I appear to be importunate in thus recalling your attention to a subject upon which you have so recently acted, and nothing but a deep
conviction that the public interest demands it could induce me to incur
the hazard of being misunderstood on this point. The executive approval was given by me to the resolution mentioned, and it is now by
a closer attention and a fuller knowledge of facts that I feel constrained
to recommend a reconsideration of the subject..
A. LiNcoLN.




ï~~GEN. BLAIR'S RESIGNATION.

439

A resolution extending the payment of bounties, in accordance with this recommendation, to the 1st of April, was at
once reported by the Military Committee of the Senate, and.passed by both Houses of Congress.
The action of Congress thus far during the session has related mainly to questions connected with taxation and the currency, and does not call for detailed mention in this connection. Considerable time has been consumed, and a good deal
of ill-feeling created, by a controversy between General F. P.
Blair, junior, of Missouri, whose seat in Congress is contested,
and other members of the Missouri delegation.   General Blair
was accused by one of his colleagues of very discreditable
transactions in granting permits to trade within the limits of
his department, from which he was, however, completely exonerated by the investigations of a Committee of the House.
After this matter was closed, General Blair resigned his seat in
the House and returned to his post in the army. The House,
by resolution, called upon the President for information as to
the circumstances of his restoration to command, and received
on the 28th of April the following in reply:
To the House of Representatives:In obedience to the resolution of your honorable body, a copy of which
is herewith returned, I have the honor to make the following brief statement, which is believed to contain the information sought.
Prior to and at the meeting of the present Congress, Robert C.
Schenck, of Ohio, and Frank P. Blair, Jr., of Missouri, members elect
thereto, by and with the consent of the Senate, held commissions from
the Executive as Major-Generals in the volunteer army. General.
Schenck tendered the resignation of his said commission, and took
his seat in the House of Representatives, at the assembling thereof,
upon the distinct verbal understanding with the Secretary of War and
the Executive that he might at any time during the session, at his own
pleasure, withdraw said resignation and return to the field.
General Blair was, by temporary agreement of General Sherman,
in command of a corps through the battles in front of Chattanooga,
and in marching to the relief of Knoxville, which occurred in the




ï~~4 40      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
latter days of December last, and of course was not present at the assembling of Congress. When he subsequently arrived here he sought
and was allowed by the Secretary of War and the Executive the same
conditions and promise as was allowed and made to General Schenck.
General Schenck has not applied to withdraw his resignation; but
when General Grant was made Lieutenant-General, producing some
changes of commanders, General Blafb sought to be assigned to the
command of a corps. This was made known to General Grant and
General Sherman, and assented to by them, and the particular corps for
him was designated. This was all arranged and understood, as now remembered, so much as a month ago; but the formal withdrawal of
General Blair's resignation, and the reissuing of the order assigning him
to the command of a corps, were not consummated at the War Department until last week, perhaps on the 23d of April instant. As a summary of the whole it may be stated that General Blair holds no military
commission or appointment other than as herein stated, and that it is
believed he is now acting as Major-General upon the assumed validity
of the commission herein stated and not otherwise.
There are some letters, notes, telegrams, orders, entries, and perhaps
other documents, in connection with this subject, which it is believed
would throw no additional light upon it, but which will be cheerfully
furnished if desired.                        ABRAHAM LINcoLN.
April 28, 1864.
On the same day the President sent to Congress the following Message, which sufficiently explains itself:
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives:I have the honor to transmit herewith an address to the President of
the United States, and through him to both Houses of Congress, on the
condition of the people of East Tennessee, and asking their attention to
the necessity for some action on the part of the government for their relief, and which address is presented by the Committee or Organization,
called "The East Tennessee Relief Association."  Deeply commiserating the condition of those most loyal people, I am unprepared to make
any specific recommendation for their relief. The military is doing, and
will continue to do, the best for them within its power. Their address
represents that the construction of a direct railroad communication
between Knoxville and Cincinnati, by way of Central Kentucky. would
be of great consequence in the present emergency. It may be remembered that in my annual Message of December, 1861, such railroad con



ï~~DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE.

441

struction was recommended. I now add that, with the hearty concurrence of Congress, I would yet be pleased to construct the road, both
for the relief of those people and for its continuing military importance.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The diplomatic correspondence of the year 1863, which was
transmitted to Congress with the President's Message, was
voluminous and interesting. But it touched few points of
general interest, relating mainly to matters of detail in the
relations between the United States and foreign powers. One
point of importance was gained in the course of our correspondence with Great Britain,-the issuing of an order by that
Government forbidding the departure of formidable rams
which were building in English ports unquestionably for the
Rebel service. Our minister in London had been unwearied
in collecting evidence of the purpose and destination of these
vessels and in pressing upon the British Government the absolute necessity, if they wished to preserve peaceful relations
with the United States, of not permitting their professedly
neutral ports to be used as naval d6pots and dock-yards for
the service of the rebels. On the 5th of September, 1863,
Mr. Adams had written to Lord Russell, acknowledging the
receipt of a letter from him in which the deliberate purpose of
the British Government to take no action in regard to these
rams was announced. Mr. Adams had expressed his regret at
such a decision, which he said he could regard as no otherwise than as practically opening to the insurgents free liberty
in Great Britain to prepare for entering and destroying any of
the Atlantic seaports of the United States. " It would be
superfluous in me," added Mr. Adams, " to point out to your
lordship that this is war. No matter what may be the theory
adopted of neutrality in a struggle, when this process is carried
on in the manner indicated, from a territory and with the aid
of the subjects of a third party, that third pairty to all intents
and purposes ceases to be neutral. Neither is it necessary to
"




ï~~442      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
show, that any Government which suffers it to be done, fails
in enforcing the essential conditions of international amity towards the country against whom the hostility is directed. In
my belief it is impossible that any nation, retaining a proper
degree of self-respect, could tamely submit to a continuance
of relations so utterly deficient in reciprocity. I have no idea
that Great Britain would do so for a moment." On the 8th
of September Earl Russell wrote to Mr. Adams, to inform him
that "instructions had been issued which would prevent the
departure of the two iron-clad vessels from Liverpool." The
Earl afterwards explained in Parliament, however, when charged
with having taken this action under an implied menace of
war conveyed in the letter of Mr. Adams, that it was taken in
pursuance of a decision which had been made previous to the
receipt of that letter and in ignorance of its existence.
On the 1 ith of July Mr. Seward forwarded a dispatch to
Mr. Adams, elicited by the decision of the British Court in
the case of the Alexandra, which had been seized on suspicion
of having been fitted out in violation of the laws of Great Britain against the enlistment of troops to serve against nations
with which that government was at peace. The decision was
a virtual repeal of the enlistment act as a penal measure of
prevention, and actually left the agents of the Rebels at full
liberty to prepare ships of war in English ports to cruise
against the commerce of the United States. Mr. Seward conveyed to Mr. Adams the President's views on the extraordinary
state of affairs which this decision revealed. Assuming that
the British Government had acted throughout in perfect good
faith and that the action of its judicial tribunals was not to be
impeached, this dispatch stated that "if the rulings of the
Chief Baron of the Exchequer in the case of the Alexandra
should be affirmed by the Court of last resort, so as to regulate the action of Her Majesty's Governament, the President
would be left to understand that there is no law in Great




ï~~OUR RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND.

443

Britain which will be effective to preserve mutual relations of
forbearance between the subjects of her Majesty and the Government and people of the United States in the only point
where they are exposed to infraction. And the United States
will be without any guarantee whatever against the indiscriminate and unlawful employment of cal tal, industry and skill
by British subjects, in building, arming, equipping, and sending forth ships-of-war from British ports to make war against
the United States." The suggestion was made whether it
would not be wise for Parliament to amend a law thus proved
to be inadequate to the purpose for which it was intended. If
the law must be left without amendment and be construed by
the Government in conformity with the rulings in this case
then, said Mr. Seward, "there will be left for the United States
no alternative but to protect themselves and their commerce
against armed cruisers proceeding from British ports as against
the naval forces of a public enemy; and also to claim and insist upon indemnities for the injuries which all such expeditions
have hitherto committed or shall hereafter commit against
this Government and the citizens of the United States." "Can
it be an occasion for either surprise or complaint," asked Mr.
Seward, "that if this condition of things is to remain and receive the deliberate sanction of the British Government, the
navy of the United States will receive instructions to pursue
these enemies into the ports which thus, in violation of the
law of nations and the obligations of neutrality, become harbors for the pirates?"  Before the receipt of this dispatch, Mr:
Adams had so clearly presented the same views, of the inevitable results of the policy the British Government seemed to
be pursuing, to Lord Russell, as to render its transmission to
him unneeessary,-Mr. Seward, on the 13th of August, informing Mr. Adams that he regarded his " previous communications to Earl Russell on the subject as an execution of his
instructions by way of anticipation."




ï~~444      PRESIDENT LINCOLN 'S ADMINISTRATION.
Our relations with France continued to be friendly; but
the proceedings of the French in Mexico gave rise to representations on both sides which may have permanent importance for the welfare of both countries. Rumors were circulated from time to time in France that the government of the
United States had protested, or was about to protest, against
the introduction into Mexico of a monarchical form of government, under a European prince, to be established and supported by French arms; and these reports derived a good
deal of plausibility firom the language of the American press,
representing the undoubted sentiment of a very large portion
of the American people. Various incidental conversations
were had on this subject during the summer of 1863 between
Mr. Dayton, our Minister in Paris, and the French Minister of
Foreign Affairs, in which the latter uniformly assured Mr.
Dayton that France had no thought of conquering Mexico or
establishing there a dominant and permanent power. She
desired simply to enforce the payment of just claims and to
vindicate her honor.  In a conversation reported by Mr.
Dayton in a letter dated August 21, M. Drouyn de l'HIuys
"took occasion again to say that France had no purpose in
Mexico other than heretofore stated,-that she did not mean
to appropriate permanently any part of that country, and that
she should leave it as soon as her griefs were satisfied, and she
could do so with honor."  "In the abandon of a conversation
somewhat familiar," adds Mr. Dayton, "I took occasion to
say that in quitting "Mexico she might leave a puppet behind
her. He said no; the strings would be too long to work. iHe
added that they had had enough of colonial experience in
Algeria: that the strength of France was in her compact body
and well-defined boundary. In that condition she had her
resources always at command."
In a dispatch dated September 14, Mr. Dayton reports a
conversation in which the French Minister referred to the




ï~~FRANCE AND MEXICO.

445

"almost universal report that our government only awaits the
termination of our domestic troubles to drive the French out
of Mexico." He said that the French naturally conclude that,
if they are to have trouble with us, it would be safest to take
their own time; and he assured M. Drouyn de l'Huys that
"relying on the constant assurances 'of France as to its purposes in Mexico, and its determination to leave the people
free as to their form of government, and not to hold or colonize any portion of their territories," our government had indicated no purpose to interfere in the quarrel, not concealing at
the same time our earnest solicitude for the well-being of that
country, and an especial sensitiveness as to any forcible interference in the form of its government.
On the 21st of September Mr. Seward instructed Mr. Dayton to call the attention of the French Minister to the apparent deviations of. the French in Mexico from the tenor of the
assurances uniformly given by the French government that
they did not intend permanent occupation of that country,
or any violence to the sovereignty of its people. And on the
26th of the same month Mr. Seward set forth at some length
the position of our government upon this question, which is
mainly embodied in the following extract:The United States hold, in regard to Mexico, the same principles
that they hold in regard to all other nations. They have neither a
right nor a disposition to intervene by force in the internal affairs of
Mexico, whether to establish and maintain a republic or even a domestic government there, or to overthrow an imperial or a foreign one, if
Mexico chooses to establish or accept it. The United States have
neither the right nor the disposition to intervene by force on either side
in the lamentable war which is going on between France and Mexico.
On the contrary, they practise in regard to Mexico, in every phase of
that war, the non-intervention which they require all foreign powers to
observe in regard to the United States. But notwithstanding this selfrestraint, this government knows full well that the inherent normal
opinion of Mexico favors a government there republican in form and




ï~~446        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
domestic in its organization in preference to any monarchical institutions
to be imposed from abroad. This government knows also that this normal opinion of the people of Mexico resulted largely from the influence
of popular opinion in this country, and is continually invigorated by it.
The President believes, moreover, that this popular opinion of the
United States is just in itself and eminently essential to the progress of
civilization on the American continent, which civilization, it believes,
can and will, if left free from European resistance, work harmoniously
together with advancing refinement on the other continents. This government believes that foreign resistance, or attempts to control American civilization, must and will fail before the ceaseless and ever increasing activity of material, moral, and political forces, which peculiarly
belong to the American continent. Nor do the United States deny
that, in their opinion, their own safety and the cheerful destiny to
which they aspire are intimately dependent on the continuance of free
republican institutions throughout America.  They have submitted
these opinions to the Emperor of France, on proper occasions, as worthy of his serious consideration, in determining how he would conduct
and close what might prove a successful war in Mexico. Nor is it
necessary to practise reserve upon the point that if France should,
upon due consideration, determine to adopt a policy in Mexico adverse
to the American opinion and sentiments which I have described, that
policy would probably scatter seeds which would be fruitful of jealousies
which might ultimately ripen into collision between France and the
United States and other American republics.... The statements
made to you by M. Drouyn de l'Huys concerning the Emperor's intentions are entirely satisfactory, if we are permitted to assume them as
having been authorized to be made by the Emperor in view of the
present condition of affairs in Mexico.
The French Minister, in a conversation on the 8th of October, stated to Mr. Dayton that the vote of the entire population of Mexico, Spanish and Indian, would be taken as to the
form of government to be established, and he had no doubt a
large majority of that vote would be in favor of the Archduke
Maximilian.   He also expressed a desire that the United
States would express its acquiescence in such a result, and its
readiness to enter into peaceful relations with such a govern



ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE MONROE DOCTRINE. 447
ment, by acknowledging it as speedily as possible,-inasmuch
as such a course would enable France the sooner to leave
Mexico and the new government to take care of itself. 'In
replying to this request, on the 23d of October Mr. Seward
repeated the determination of our government to maintain a
position of complete neutrality in the war between France and
Mexico, and declared that while they could not anticipate the
action of the people of Mexico, they had not "the least purpose or desire to interfere with their proceedings, or control
or interfere with their free choice, or disturb them in the
exercise of whatever institutions of government they may, in
the exercise of an absolute freedom, establish." As we did
not consider the war yet closed, however, we were not at
liberty to consider the question of recognizing the government which, in the further chances of that war, might take
the place of the one now existing in Mexico, with which our
relations were those of peace and friendship.
The policy of the President, therefore, in regard to the war
in Mexico has been that of neutrality; and, although this
policy has in some respects contravened the traditional purposes and principles of the government and people of the
United States, it is not easy to see what other could have been
adopted without inviting hazards which no responsible statesman has a right to incur. The war against Mexico was undertaken ostensibly for objects and purposes which we were compelled to regard as legitimate, and we could not ourselves depart
from a strict neutrality without virtually conceding the right,
not only of France but of every other nation interested in our
downfall, to become party to the war against us. While
we have to a certain extent pledged ourselves to hold the
whole continent open to republican institutions, our first duty
is clearly to preserve the existewe of our own Republic, not
only for ourselves, bult as the only condition on which republicanism anywhere is possible. The President, therefore, in




ï~~448       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
holding this country wholly aloof from the war with France, has
consulted the ultimate and permanent interests of Democratic
institutions not less than the safety and welfare of the United
States, and has pursued the only policy at all compatible with
the preservation of our Union and the final establishment of
the Monroe doctrine. Neither tlhe President nor the people,
however, have indicated any purpose to acquiesce in the imposition of a foreign prince upon the Mexican people by foreign armies; and on the 3d of April, 1864, the House of Representatives adopted the following resolution upon the subject,
which embodies, beyond all doubt, the settled sentiment of
the people of this country.
THE MEXICAN MONARCHY.
Resolved, That the Congress of the United States are unwilling by
silence to leave the nations of the world under the impression that
they are indiffdrent spectators of the deplorable events now transpiring in the Republic of Mexico; therefore, they think it fit to declare
that it does not accord with the sentiment of the people of the United
States to acknowledge a monarchical government erected on the ruins
of any republican government in America, under the auspices of any
European Power.
No action up to the present time (May 5) has been taken
upon this resolution in the Senate.




ï~~THE QUESTION OF RECONSTRUCTION.       4

449

CHAPTER XII.
MOVEMENTS TOWARDS RECONSTRUCTION.---THE REBELLION AND
LABOR.-THE PRESIDENT ON BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATIONS.ADVANCING ACTION CONCERNING THE NEGRO RACE.
THE Proclamation, which accompanied the Annual Message
of the President, embodied the first suggestions of the administration on the important subject of reconstructing the
governments of those States, which had joined in the secession movement. The matter had been canvassed somewhat
extensively by the public press, and by prominent politicians,
in anticipation of the overthrow of the rebellion, and the view
taken of the subject had been determined, to a very considerable extent, by the sentiments and opinions of the different
parties as to the object and purpose of the war. The supporters of the administration did not all hold precisely the same
ground on this subject. As has already been seen, in the de
bates of the Congress of 1862-3, a considerable number of
the friends of the government, in both houses, maintained
that, by the act of secession, the revolted States had put themselves outside the pale of the Constitution, and were henceforth to be regarded and treated, not as members of the Union,
but as alien enemies:*-that their State organizations and
* President Lincoln's view of this position is stated in the following
note addressed by him to the publishers of the North American Review,
which contained an article upon his policy of administration:
" EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 16, 1864.
"Messrs. CRosnY & 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




ï~~450        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
State boundaries had been expunged by their own act; and that
they were to be re-admitted to the jurisdiction of the Constitution, and to the privileges of the Union, only upon such
terms and conditions as the Federal government of the loyal
States might prescribe. On the other hand it was held that
the acts of secession, passed by the several State governments,
were absolutely null and void, and that while the persons who
passed them, and those who aided in giving them effect, by
taking up arms against the United States, had rendered themselves liable individually to the penalties of treason, they
had not, in any respect, changed the relations of their States,
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
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 td be not exactly what it is. In what is there expressed,
the writer has not correctly understood me. I have never had a theory
that secession could absolve States or people from their obligations. Precisely the contrary is asserted in the inaugural address; and it was
because of my belief in the continuation of those obligations that I was
puzzled, for a time, as to denying the legal rights of those citizens who
remained individually innocent of treason or rebellion. But I mean no
more now than to merely call attention to this point.
"Yours respectfully,
"A. L coL."
The sentence referred to by Mr. Lincoln is as follows:
"Even so long ago as when Mr. Lincoln, not yet convinced of
the danger and magnitude of the crisis, was endeavoring to persuade
himself of Union majorities at the South, and carry on a war that was
half peace, in the hope of a peace that would have be:n all war, while
he was still enforcing the Fugitive Slave law, under some theory that
secession, however it might absolve States from their obligations, could
not escheat them of their claims under the Constitution, and that slaveholders in rebellion had alone among mortals, the privilege of having
their cake and eating it at the same time,-the enemies of free governmeat were striving to persuade the people that the war was an abolition
crusade. To rebel without reason was proclaimed as one of the rights
of man, while it was carefully kept out of sight that to suppress rebellion is the first duty of government."
"




ï~~THE PRESIDENT S VIEWS OF RECONSTRUCTION. 451
as such, to the federal government. The governments of those
States had been for a time subverted:-but they might at any
time be re-established upon a republican basis, under the authority and protection of the United States. The Proclamation proceeded, in the main, upon the latter theory. The
President had the power, under the Constitution, and by specific legislation of Congress, to grant pardons upon such conditions as he might deem expedient. In the exercise of this
power, President LINCOLN released from legal penalties, and
restored to the rights of citizenship all, in each State, with
certain specified exceptions, who should take and abide by a
prescribed oath; and then he proclaimed his purpose to recognize them as the citizens of such State, and as alone competent to organize and carry on the local government; and
he pledged the power of the general government to protect
such republican State governments as they might establish,
"against invasion, and   against domestic violence."   By
way of precaution against a usurpation of power by strangers,
he insisted on the same qualifications for voting as had been
required by the Constitution and laws of the State previous
to secession:-and to provide against usurpation of power
by an insignificant minority, he also required that the new
government should be elected by at least one tenth as many
voters as had voted in the State at the Presidential election
of 1860. In the oath, which he imposed as essential to citizenship, the President required a pledge to sustain the Constitution of the United States, the laws of Congress and the
Executive Proclamations and acts on the subject of slavery, so
long and so far as the same should not be declared invalid and
of no binding obligation, by the Supreme Court of the United
States. These were the foundations of the broad and substantial basis laid by the President for the restoration of the Union,
and the re-establishment of loyal republican governments in
the several seceded States.

0




ï~~452       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Various indications in the Southern States, had satisfied
the President that the time had come when the work of reconstruction might safely and wisely be thus commenced. In
Tennessee, where the rebels had never maintained any permanent foothold, but where the government at Washington had
found it necessary to commit then local authority to Andrew
Johnson, as Provisional Governor, there had been a very
strong party in favor of restoring the State to its former position as a member of the Federal Union. But in Louisiana,
the movements in the same direction had been earlier and
more decided than in any other Southern State. The occupation of New Orleans by the national forces, and the advent
of General Butler as Commander of that Military Department,
on the 1st of May, 1862, speedily satisfied a very considerable portion of the inhabitants, who had property at stake in
the City and.State, that the rebel authority could never be
restored; and preparations were accordingly made to hold an
election in the fall of that year for Members of the Congress
of the United States. General Shepley had been appointed
Military Governor of the State, and to him the President, in
November, addressed the following letter on that subject:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, November 21, 1862.
DEAR SIR:-Dr. Kennedy, bearer of this, has some apprehension that
Federal officers, not citizens of Louisiana, may be set up as candidates
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 Congress
from those States to enable us to get along with legislation here. What
we do want is the conclusive evidence that respectable citizens of Louisiana 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 parcel of Northern men here as representatives, elected as would be understood (and perhaps really so), at
the point of the bayonet, would be disgraceful and outrageous; and were
I a member of Congress here, I would vote against admitting any such
man to a seat.            Yours, very truly,
A. LINCOLN.
Hon. G. F. SHEPLEY.




ï~~INITIAL MOVEMENTS IN LOUISIANA.

453

The election was held, and Messrs. Flanders and Hahn
were chosen and admitted to their seats at the ensuing session, as has been already seen.
On the 23d of May, 1863, the various Union associations
of New Orleans applied to the Military Governor of the State
for authority to call a Convention vf the loyal citizens of
Louisiana, for the purpose of framing a new State Constitution,
and of re-establishing civil government under the Constitution
of the United States. What they especially desired of him
was that he should order a registration of the loyal voters of
the State, and appoint commissioners of registration in each
parish to register the names of all citizens who should take
the oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States,
and repudiate allegiance to the Rebel Confederacy.  General
Shepley, in reply, recognized fully the great importance of
the proposed movement, but thought it of the utmost consequence that it should proceed as the spontaneous act of the
people of the State, without the slightest appearance or
suspicion of having been in any degree the result of military
dictation. He consented to provide for the registration of
such voters as might voluntarily come forward for the purpose
of being enrolled, but deferred action upon the other points
submitted to him until he could receive definite instructions
on the subject from the Government at Washington.
In June, a Committee of Planters, recognizing the propriety
of some movement for the re-establishment of civil authority
in the State, and not concurring in the policy of those who
proposed to form a new Constitution, applied to the President,
asking him to grant a full recognition of the rights of the State
as they existed before the act of secession, so that they might
return to their allegiance under the old Constitution of the
State, and that he would order an election for State officers,
to be held on the 1st Monday of November.




ï~~454       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
To this application the President made the following reply:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, June 19, 1863.
GENTLEMEN:-Since receiving your letter, reliable information has
reached me that a respectable portion of the Louisiana people desire to
amend their State Constitution, and contemplate holding a Convention
for that object. This fact alone, it seems to me, is a sufficient reason
why the General Government should not give the committee the authority
you seek to act under the existing State Constitution. I may add, that
while I do not perceive how such a committee 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 in November, there is abundant time without any order or proclamation from me just now. The people of Louisiana shall not lack an opportunity for a fair election for both Federal and
State officers by want of any thing within my power to give them.
Your obedient servant,                 A. LINcoLN.
After the appearance of the President's proclamation, the
movement towards reconstruction in Louisiana assumed greater
consistency, and was carried forward with greater steadiness
and strength. On the 8th of January a very large Free State
convention was held at New Orleans, at which resolutions
were adopted indorsing all the acts and proclamations of the
President, and urging the immediate adoption of measures for
the restoration of the State to its old place in the Union. On
the 11th, General Banks issued a proclamation, appointing an
election for State officers on the 22d of February, who were
to be installed on the 4th of March, and another election for
delegates to a convention to revise the Constitution of the
State on the first Monday in April. The old Constitution and
laws of Louisiana were to be observed, except so far as they
relate to Slavery, "which," said General Banks, "being inconsistent with the present condition of public affairs, and plainly
inapplicable to any class of persons within the limits of the
State, must be suspended, and they are now declared inoperative and void." The oath of allegiance required by the President in his proclamation, with the condition affixed to the




ï~~ELECTIONS IN LOUISIANA AND ARKANSAS

455

elective franchise by the Constitution of Louisiana, was prescribed as constituting the qualification of voters.
Under this order, parties were organized for the election of
State officers. The friends of the national government were
divided, and two candidates were put in nomination for governer, Hon. Michael Hahn being the regular nominee, and
representing the supporters of the policy of the President, and
Hon. B. F. Flanders being put in nomination by those who
desired a more radical policy than the President had proposed.
Both took very decided ground against the continued existence
of slavery within the State. Hon. C. Roselius was nominated
by that portion of the people who concurred in the wish for
the return of Louisiana to the Union, and were willing to take
the oath of allegiance prescribed by the President, but who
nevertheless disapproved of the general policy of the Administration, especially.on the subject of slavery. The election resulted in the election of Mr. Hahn.
In Arkansas, where a decided Union feeling has existed
from the outbreak of the rebellion, the appearance of the
proclamation was the signal for a movement to bring the State
back into the Union. On the 20th of January, a delegation
of citizens from that State had an interview with the President, in which they urged the adoption of certain measures
for the re-establishment of a legal State government, and
especially the ordering of an election for governor. In consequence of this application, and in substantial compliance
with their request, the President wrote the following letter
to General Steele, who commanded in that Department:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 1864.
Major-General STEELE:
Sundry citizens of the State of Arkansas petition me that an election
may be held in that State, at which to elect a governor; that it be assumed at that election and thenceforward, that the Constitution and laws
of the State, as before the rebellion, are in full force, except that the Constitution is so modified as to declare that there shall be neither slavery




ï~~456       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
nor involuntary servitude, except in the punishment of crimes whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted; that the Gencral Assembly may
make such provisions for the freed people as shall recognize and declare
their permanent freedom, and provide for their education, and which may
yet be construed as a temporary arrangement suitable to their condition
as a laboring, landless, and homeless class; that said election shall be
held on the 28th of March, 1864, at all the usual places of the State, or all
such as voters may attend for that purptfse; that the voters attending at
8 o'clock in the morning of said day may choose judges and clerks of
election for such purpose; that all persons qualified by said Constitution
and laws, and taking the oath presented in the President's proclamation
of December 8, 1863, either before or at the election, and none others,
may be voters; that each set of judges and clerks may make returns directly to you on or before the -th day of   next; that in all other
respects said election may be conducted according to said Constitution
and laws; that on receipt of said returns, when 5,406 votes shall have
been cast, you can receive said votes and ascertain all who shall thereby
appear to have been elected; that on the -th day of     next, all
persons so appearing to have been elected, who shall appear before you
at Little Rock, and take the oath, to be by you severally administered,
to support the Constitution of the United States, and said modified Constitution of the State of Arkansas, may be declared by you qualified and
empowered to immediately enter upon the duties of the offices to which
they shall have been respectively elected.
You will please order an election to take place on the 28th of March,
1864, and returns to be made in fifteen days thereafter.
A. LINCOLN.
Upon the return of the delegation to Arkansas, they issued
an address to the people of the State, urging them to avail
themselves of the opportunity thus afforded for restoring their
State to its old prosperity, and assuring them, from personal
observation, that the people of the Northern States would
most cordially welcome their return to the Union. Meantime
a convention had assembled at Little Rock, composed of
delegates elected without any formality, and not under the
authority of the General Government, and proceeded to form
a new State Constitution. Upon learning this fact, the President wrote the following letter to one of the most prominent
mumbers:




ï~~THE EXPEDITION TO FLORIDA..

457

To WILLIAM FISIBACK:
When I fixed a plan for an election in Arkansas, I did it in ignorance
that your convention was at the same work. Since I learned the latter
fact, I have been constantly trying to yield my plan to theirs. 1 have
sent two letters to General Steele, and three or four dispatches to you and
others, saying that he (General Steele) must be master, but that it will
probably be best for him to keep the convention on its own plan. Some
single mind must be master, else there will be-no agreement on any thing;
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 day than either fixed by the convention or me. This discord must be silenced.    A. LINCOLN.
The Convention framed a Constitution abolishing Slavery,
which was subsequently adopted by a large majority of the
people.
The military movements of the year 1864 thus far call for no
special notice in this place. Three enterprises of considerable magnitude have been undertaken, but neither of them was
attended with results of any great importance.
As early as the 15th of December, 1863, Gen. Gillmore,
commanding the Department of the South, applied to the
Government for permission to send an expedition into Florida, for the purpose of cutting off supplies of the enemy;
and in January, in urging the matter still further upon the
attention of Gen. Halleck, he suggested that measures might
be also inaugurated for restoring the State of Florida to her
allegiance under the terms of the President's Proclamation.
Gen. Gillmore was authorized to take such action in the matter as he should deem proper,-and he accordingly organized
an expedition, which left Port Royal on the 5th of February,
under General Seymour, and was followed soon afterwards by
General Gillmore himself-to whom, on the 13th of January,
the President had addressed the following letter:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 1864.
Major-General GILLMOIRE E:
I understand an effort is being made by some worthy gentlemen to
20




ï~~458       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
reconstruct a legal State government in Florida. Florida is in your
department, and it is not unlikely you may be there in person. I have
given Mr. Hay a commission of Major, and sent him to you, with some
blank books and other blanks, to aid in the reconstruction. He will explain as to the manner of using the blanks, and also my general views on
the subject. It is desirable for all to co-operate, but if irreconcilable
differences of opinion shall arise, you areomaster. I wish the thing done
in the most speedy way, so that when done it be within the range of the
late proclamation on the subject. The detail labor will, of course, have
to be done by others; but I will be greatly obliged if you will give it
such general supervision as you can find consistent with your more
strictly military duties.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The advance portion of the expedition reached Jacksonville
on the 8th of February. Gen. Gillmore returned to Port Royal
on the 16th, leaving the command of the expedition to Gen.
Seymour.    The   first operations were successful.    Near
Jacksonville one hundred prisoners, with eight pieces of serviceable artillery, fell into our hands, and expeditions were
pushed forward into the interior, by which large amounts
of stores and supplies were destroyed. On the 17th General
Seymour, with 5,000 men, was on the Florida Central Railroad, about forty-five miles from  Jacksonville. Here they
remained until the 20th, when the preparations for a movement toward Lake City were completed. The enemy was
found in force, a little before reaching Lake City, at Olustee,
a small station on the railroad. The engagement was commenced between the enemy's skirmishers and our advance.
The fire directed against our men was so hot that they were
compelled to fall back; then we brought two batteries to bear
on the enemy, and our whole force became engaged with more
than twice their number of the enemy, who occupied a strong
position, flanked by a marsh. Again we retreated, taking
another position; but it was impossible to contend with a
force so greatly superior, and, after a battle of three hours
and a half, General Seymour retreated, leaving his dead and




ï~~THE EXPEDITIONS OF SHERMAN AND KILPATRICK. 459
severely wounded on the field. Five guns were lost, and
about a thousand men killed, wounded, and missing.
On the 3d of February, General Sherman, with a strong
force, set out from Vicksburg, in light marching order, and
moved eastward. Shortly after, a cavalry expedition, under
General Smith, set out from Memphis, to work its way southeastward, and join Sherman somewhere on the borders of
Mississippi and Alabama. By the 18th Smith had accomplished nearly one-half of his proposed march, but soon after
found the enemy concentrated in superior force in his way.
Finding it impossible to proceed, he fell back, destroying the
bridges on the Memphis and Ohio Railroad in his retreat.
There was continual skirmishing, but no decisive battle during
the retreat, which lasted until the 25th, when the expedition
accomplished its return to Memphis. Much damage was done
to the enemy by the destruction of property, but the main
object of making a junction with Sherman failed. Sherman
went as far east as Meridian, almost on the borders of Mississippi and Alabama, and after destroying large quantities of
the rebel stores, and breaking their means of communication,
he returned to Vicksburg.
The other enterprise to which reference is made above, was
a raid upon Richmond, made by a large cavalry force under
General Kilpatrick. Leaving his camp on the 28th of February, he crossed the Rapidan, gained the rear of Lee's army
without being discovered, and pushed rapidly on in the direc-.
tion of Richmond. A detachment under Colonel Dahlgren
was sent from the main body to Frederick's Hall, on the
Virginia Central Railroad. The road was torn up for some
distance, and then the James River Canal was struck, and six
grist-mills destroyed, which formed one of the main sources
of supply for the Confederate army. Several locks on the
canal were destroyed, and other damage done. Dahlgren's
main body then pressed onward toward Richmond, and came




ï~~460       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
within three miles of the city, when, encountering a Confederate force, it was compelled to withdraw, Dahlgren himself
being killed, and a large part of his force captured. Kilpatrick, meanwhile, pressed onward to Spottsylvania CourtHouse, and thence to Beaver Dam, near where the two lines
of railway from Richmond, those running to Gordonsville and
Fredericksburg, cross. Here the railway was torn up, and the
telegraphic line cut, and the cavalry pushed straight on toward
Richmond. They reached the outer line of fortifications at
a little past ten on the morning of the 1st of March, about
three and a half miles from the city. These were fairly
passed, and the second line, a mile nearer, was reached, and
a desultory fire was kept up for some hours. Toward evening
Kilpatrick withdrew, and encamped six miles from the city.
In the night an artillery attack was made upon the camp, and
our troops retired still farther, and on the following morning
took up their line of march down the Peninsula toward Williamsburg. Several miles of railway connection of great
importance to the enemy were interrupted, stores to the
value of several millions of dollars were destroyed, and some
hundreds of prisoners were captured, as the result of this
expedition.
The relations of the war which is carried on to maintain
the Republican Government of the United States, against the
efforts of the slave-holding oligarchy for its overthrow, to the
general interests of labor, have from time to time enlisted a
good deal of the thoughts of the President, and elicited from
him expressions of his own sentiments on the subject. On
the 31st of December, 1863, a very large meeting of workingmen was held at Manchester, England, to express their opinion in regard to the war in the United States. At that meeting an address to President LINCOLN was adopted, expressing
the kindest sentiments towards this country, and declaring that,
since it had become evident that the destruction of Slavery




ï~~THE PRESIDENT TO THE WORKINGMEN OF ENGLAND. 461
was involved in the overthrow of the rebellion, their sympathies had been thoroughly and heartily with the Government
of the United States in the prosecution of the war. This
address was forwarded to the President through the American
Minister in London, and elicited the following reply:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 19, 1863.
To the Workingmen of Manchester:
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the address 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
whosesoever 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 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 people. 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
country is engaged. A fair examination of history has served to authorize a belief that the past actions and influences of the United States, were
generally regarded as having been beneficial toward mankind. I have,
therefore, reckoned upon the forbearance of nations. Circumstancesto some of which you kindly allude-induced me especially to expect that
if justice and good faith should be practised by the United States, they
would encounter no hostile influence on the part of Great Britain. It is
now a pleasant duty to acknowledge the demonstration you have give
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 dountry 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 workingmen 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




ï~~462        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
human slavery, was likely to obtain the favor of Europe. Through the
action of our disloyal citizens, the workingmen of Europe have been
subjected to severe trials, for the purpose of forcing their sanction to
that attempt. Under the circumstances, I cannot but regard your decisive utterances upon the question as an instance of sublime Christian
heroism, 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 whatever else may happen, whatever misfortune may befall your country or my
own, the peace and friendship which now exist between the two nations
will be, as it shall be my desire to make them, perpetual.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The workingmen of London held a similar meeting at about
the same time, and took substantially the same action. The
President made the following response to their address:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Feb. 2, 1863.
To the Workingmen of London:
I have received the New Year's Address which you have sent me, with
a sincere appreciation of the exalted and humane sentiments by which
it was inspired.
As these sentiments are manifestly the enduring 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 responsibilities. It seems to have devolved upon them to test whether a government established on the principles of human freedom, can be maintained against an effort to build one upon the exclusive foundatipn of
human bondage. They will rejoice 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.
On the 21st of March, 1864, a committee from the Workingmen's Association of the city of New York waited upon the




ï~~THE PRESIDENT TO THE WORKINGMEN OF NEW YORK. 463
President and delivered an address, stating the general objects
and purposes of the Association, and requesting that he would
allow his name to be enrolled among its honorary members.
To this address the President made the following reply:
GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMITTEE:-The honorary membership in your
association, as generously tendered, is gratefully accepted.
You comprehend, as your address shows, that the existing rebellion
means more and tends to do more than the perpetuation of African slavery-that it is, in fact, a war upon the rights of all working people. Partly
to show that this view has not escaped my attention, and partly that I
cannot better express myself, I read a passage from the message to Congress in December, 1861:
"It continues to develop that the insurrection is largely, if not exclusively, a war upon the first principle of popular government, the rights
of the people. Conclusive evidence of this is found in the most grave
and maturely considered public documents, as well as in the general tone
of the insurgents. In those documents we find the abridgement of the
existing riglit of suffrage, and the denial to the people of all right to participate in the selection of public officers, except the legislative, boldly
advocated, with labored argument to prove that large control of the
people in government is the source of all political evil. Monarchy itself
is sometimes hinted at as a possible refuge from the power of the people.
"In my present position I could scarcely be justified were I to omit
raising a warning voice against this approach of returning despotism.
"It is not needed, nor fitting here, that a general argument should be
made in favor of popular institutions; but there is one point with its
connections, not so hackneyed as most others, to which I ask a brief attention. It is the effort to place capital on an equal footing, if not above
labor, in the structure of government. It is assumed that labor is available only in connecTion with capital; that nobody labors unldss somebody else, owning capital, somehow by the use of it induces him to labor.
This assumed, it is next considered whether it is best that capital shall
hire laborers, and thus induce them to work by their own consent, or buy
them, and drive them to it without their consent. Having proceeded so
far, it is naturally concluded that all laborers are either hired laborers, or
what we call slaves. And, further, it is assumed that whoever is once a
hired laborer, - fixed in that condition for life. Now there is no such
ielation between capital and labor as assumed, nor is there any such thing
as a free man being fixed for life in the condition of a hired laborer. Bdth
these assumptions are false, and all inferences from them are groundless.
"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the
fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed.
Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any
other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be,
a relation between capital and labor, producing mutual benefits. The
error is in assuming that the whole labor of a community exists within
that relation. A few men own capital, and that few avoid labor themselves, and, with their capital, hire or buy another Tcw to labor for them.
A large majority belong to neither class--neither work for others, nor




ï~~464        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
have others working for them. In most of the Southern States a majority of the whole people of all colors, are neither slaves nor masters; while
in the Northern, a large majority are neither hirers nor hired. Men with
their families-wives, sons, and daughters-work for themselves, on their
farms, in their houses, and in their shops, taking the whole product to
themselves, and asking no favors of capital on the one hand nor of hired
laborers or slaves on the other. It is not forgotten that a considerable
number of persons mingle their own labor with capital; that is, they
labor with their own hands, and also buyor hire others to labor for them,
but this is only a mixed and not a disticpet class. No principle stated is
disturbed by the existence of this mixed class.
"Again, as has already been said, there is not, of necessity, any such
thing as the free hired laborer being fixed to that condition for life.
Many independent men everywhere in these States, a few years back in
their lives were hired laborers. The prudent penniless beginner in the
world labors for wages a while, saves a surplus with which to buy tools
or land for himself, then labors on his own account another while, and at
length hires another new beginner to help him. This is the just and
generous and prosperous system which opens the way to all-gives hope
to all, and consequent energy and progress, and improvement of condition to all. No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who
toil up from poverty-none less inclined to touch or take aught which
they have not honestly earned. Let them beware of surrendering a political power they already possess, and which, if surrendered, will surely be
used to close the door of advancement against such as they, and to fix
new disabilities and burdens upon them, till all of liberty shall be lost."
The views then expressed remain unchanged, nor have I much to add.
None are so deeply interested to resist the present rebellion as the working people. Let them beware of prejudices, working division and hostility among themselves. The most notable feature of a disturbance in
your city last summer was the hanging of some working people by other
working people. It should never be so. The strongest bond of human
sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be one uniting all working people, of all nations, and tongues, and kindreds. Nor should this
lead to a war upon property or the owners of property. Property is the
fruit of labor; property is desirable; is a positive good in the world. That
some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and, hence, is
just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is
houseless pull down the house of another, but let him labor diligently and
build one for himself, thus by exanple assuring that his own shall be safe
from violence when built.
The President had always taken a deep interest in the volunteer movements of benevolent people throughout the country, for relieving the sufferings of the sick and wounded
among our soldiers.    A meeting of one of these organizations,
the Christian Commission, was held at Washington, on the
22d of February, 1863, to which President LINcoLN, unable
to attend and preside, addressed the following letter:




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND THE CHRISTIAN COMMISSION. 465
EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 22, 1863.
Rev. ALEXANDER REED:
MY DEAR SIR:-Your note, by which you, as General Superintendent
of the U. S. 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 soldiers and seamen in their hard spheres of duty, can scarcely
fail to be blessed. 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 on the
vast and long-enduring consequences, 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 triumph of the right, cannot but be
well for us all
The birthday of Washington and the Christian Sabbath coinciding
this year, and suggesting together the highest interests of this life and
of that to come, is most propitious for the meeting proposed.
Your obedient servant,                 A. LINCOLN.
On the 16th of March, 1864, at the close of a fair in
Washington, given at the Patent Office, for the benefit of the
sick and wounded soldiers of the army, President LINCOLN
happening to be present, in response to loud and continuous
calls, made the following remarks:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:-I appear to say but a word. This extraordinary war in which we are engaged falls heavily upon all classes of people, but the most heavily upon the soldier. For it has been said, all that
a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their
substance, the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in hlis
country's cause. The highest merit, then, is due to the soldier.
In this extraordinary war, extraordinary developments have manifested
themselves, such as have not been seen in former wars; and among these
manifestations nothing has been more remarkable than these fairs for the
relief of suffering soldiers and their families. And the chief agents in
these fairs are the women of America.
I am not accustomed to the use of language of eulogy; I have never
studied the art of paying compliments to women but I must say, that
if all that has been said by orators and poets since the creation of the
20*




ï~~466       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
world in praise of women were applied to the women of America, it
would not do them justice for their conduct during this war. I will
close by saying, God bless the women of America!
Still another occasion of a similar character occurred at
Baltimore on the 18th of April, at the opening of a Fair for
the benefit of the Sanitary Commission. The President accepted an invitation to attend the opening exercises, and made
the following remarks:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:-Calling to mind that we are in Baltimore.
we cannot fail to note that the world moves. Looking upon these many
people assembled here to serve, as they best may, the soldiers of the
Union, it occurs at once that three years ago the same soldiers could
not so much as pass through Baltimore. The change from then till now
is both great and gratifying. Blessings on the brave men who have
wrought the change, and the fair women who strive to reward them
for it.
But Baltimore suggests more than could happen within Baltimore.
The change within Baltimore is part only of a far wider change. When
the war began, three years ago, neither party, nor any man, expected it
would last till now. Each looked for the end, in some way, long ere today. Neither did any anticipate that domestic slavery would be much
affected by the war. But here we are; the war has not ended, and
slavery has been much affected--how much needs not now to be recounted. So true is it that man proposes and God disposes.
But we can see the past, though we may not claim to have directed
it; and seeing it, in this case, we feel more hopeful and confident for the
future.
The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and
the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the
same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do
as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with
others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with
other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not
only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name, liberty.
And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called
by two different and incompatible names-liberty and tyranny.




ï~~THE PRESIDENT 'S SPEECH AT BALTIMORE.              467
The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the
sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him
for the same act, as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep was
a black one. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a
definition of the word liberty; and precisely the same difference prevails
to-day among us human creatures, even in the North, and all professing
to love liberty. Hence we beholc. the process by which thousands are
daily passing from under the y'.ce of bondage hailed by some as the
advance of liberty, and bewa ed by others as the destruction of all
liberty. Recently, as it seen-s, the people of Maryland have been doing
something to define liberty, and thanks to them that, in what they
have done, the wolf's dictionary has been repudiated.
It is not very becoming for one in my position to make speeches at
great length; but there is another subject upon which I feel that I
ought to say a word. A painful rumor, true I fear, has reached us of
the massacre, by the rebel forces at Fort Pillow, in the west end of
Tentiessee, on the Mississippi River, of some three hundred colored
soldiers and white officers, who had just been overpowered by their
assailants. There seems to be some anxiety in the public mind whether
the Government is doing its duty to the colored soldier, and to the service, at this point. At the beginning of the war, and for some time,
the use of colored troops was not contemplated; and how the change
of purpose was wrought, I will not now take time to explain. Upon a
clear conviction of duty, I resolved to turn that element of strength to
account; and I am responsible for it to the American people, to the
Christian world, to history, and on my final account to God. Having
determinod to use the negro as a soldier, there is no way but to give
him all the protection given to any other soldier. The difficulty is not
in stating the principle, but in practically applying it. It is a mistake
to suppose the Government is indifferent to this matter, or is not doing
the best it can in regard to it. We do not to-day know that a colored
soldier, or white officer commanding colored soldiers, has been massacred by the rebels when made a prisoner. We fear it, believe it, I may
say, but we do not know it. To take the life of one of their prisoners
on the assumption that they murder ours, when it is short of certainty
that they do murder ours, might be too serious, too cruel a mistake.
We are having the Fort Pillow affair thoroughly investigated; and
such investigation will probably show conclusively how the truth is.
If, after all that has been said, it shall turn,mt that, there has been no
massacre at Fort Pillow, it will be almost safe to say there has been




ï~~468       PRESIDENT LINCOLN S ADMNISTRATION.
none, and will be none elsewhere. If there has been the massacre
of three hundred there, or even the tenth part of three hundred, it will
be conclusively proven; and being so proven, the retribution shall as
surely come. It will be matter of grave consideration in what exact course to apply the retribution; but in the supposed case, it must
come.
It became manifest, soon after 'the commencement of the
war, that its progress would inevitably have the effect of freeing very many, if not all, the slaves of the Southern States.
The President's attention was therefore directed at an early
day to the proper disposition of those who should thus be
freed. As his Messages show, he was strongly in favor of
colonizing them, with their own consent, in some country
'here they could be relieved from the embarrassments occasioned by the hostile prejudices of the whites, and enter
upon a career of their own. In consequence of his urgent
representations upon this subject, Congress at its session of
1862 passed an act placing at his disposal the sum of $600,000
to be expended, in his discretion, in removing, with their own
consent, free persons of African descent to some country
which they might select as adapted to their condition and
necessities.
On the 14th of August, 1862, the President received a
deputation of colored persons, with whom he had an interview on the subject, of which one of the parties interested has
made the following record:
WASHINGTON, Thursday, August 14, 1862.
This afternoon the President of the United States gave an audience
to a Committee of colored men at the White House. They were introduced by Rev. J. Mitchell, Commissioner of Emigration. E.M. Thomas,
the Chairman, remarked that they were there by invitation to hear
what the Executive had to say to them'.
Having all been seated, the President, after a few preliminary observations, informed them that a sum of money had been appropriated by
Congress, and placed at his disposition, for the purpose of aiding the
1




ï~~THE PRESIDENT ON COLONIZATION.

469

colonization in some country of the people, or a portion of them, of
African descent, thereby making it his duty, as it had for a long time
been his inclination, to favor that cause; and why, he asked, should
the people of your race be colonized, and where? Why should they
leave this country? This is, perhaps, the first question for proper consideration. You and we are different races. We have between us a
broader difference than exists between akmost any other two races.
Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss; but this physical
difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think. Your race
suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer
from your presence. In a word we suffer on each side. If this is admitted, it affords a reason, at least, why we should be separated. You
here are freemen, I suppose.
A voice-Yes, Sir.
The President-Perhaps you have long been free, or all your lives.
Your race are suffering, in my judgment, the greatest wrong inflicted
on any people. But even when you cease to be slaves, you are yet far
removed from being placed on an equality with the white race. You
are cut off from many of the advantages which the other race enjoys.
The aspiration of men is to enjoy equality with the best when free, but
on this broad continent not a single man of your race is made the
equal of a single man of ours. Go where you are treated the best,
and the ban is still upon you. I do not propose to discuss this, but to
present it as a fact, with which we have to deal. I cannot alter it if I
would. It is a fact about which we all think and feel alike, I and you.
We look to our condition. Owing to the existence of the two races on
this continent, I need not recount to you the effects upon white men,
growing out of the institution of Slavery. I believe in its general evil
effects on the white race. See our present condition-the country
engaged in war! our white men cutting one another's throats-none
knowing how far it will extend-and then consider what we know to
be the truth. But for your race among us there could not be war,
although many men engaged on either side do not care for you one
way or the other. Nevertheless, I repeat, without the institution of
Slavery, and the colored race as a basis, the war could not have an
existence. It is better for us both, therefore, to be separated. I know
that there are free men among you who, even if they could better their
condition, are not as much inclined to go out of the country as those
who, being slaves, could obtain their freed-,\m on this condition. I suppose one of the principal difficulties in the way of colonization is that




ï~~470        PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION
the free colored man cannot see that his comfort would be advanced by
it. You may believe that you can live in Washington, or elsewhere in
the United States, the remainder of your life; perhaps more so than
you can in any foreign country, and hence you may come to the conclusion that you have nothing to do with the idea of going to a foreign
country. This is (I speak in no unkind sense) an extremely selfish
view of the case. But you ought to 4e something to help those who
are not so fortunate as yourselves. There is an unwillingness on the
part of our people, harsh as it may be, for you free colored people to
remain with us. Now if you could give a start to the white people
you would open a wide door for many to be made free. If we deal
with those who are not free at the beginning, and whose intellects are
clouded by Slavery, we have very poor material to start with. If intelligent colored men, such as are before me, would move in this matter,
much might be accomplished. It is exceedingly important that we have
men at the beginning capable of thinking as white men, and not
those who have been systematically oppressed. There is much to
encourage you. For the sake of your race you should sacrifice something of your present comfort for the purpose of being as grand in that
respect as the white people. It is a cheering thought throughout life,
that something can be done to ameliorate the condition of those who
have been subject to the hard usages of the world. It is difficult to
make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims
kindred to the great God who made him. In the American Revolutionary War sacrifices were made by men engaged in it, but they were
cheered by the future. General Washington himself endured greater
physical hardships than if he had remained a British subject, yet he
was a happy man, because he was engaged in benefiting his race;
in doing something for the children of his neighbors, having none of his
own.
The colony of Liberia has been in existence a long time. In a certain sense, it is a success. The old President of Liberia, Roberts, has
just been with me the first time I ever saw him. He says they have
within the bounds of that colony between three and four hundred
thousand people, or more than in some of our old States, such as Rhode
Island or Delaware, or in some of ou,-ewer States, and less than in
some of our larger ones. They are not all American colonists or their
descendants. Something less than 12,000 have been sent thither from
this country. Many of the original settlers hayo died, yet, like people
elsewhere, their offspring outnumber those deceased. The question is,




ï~~THE PRESIDENT ON COLONIZATION.

471

if the colored people are persuaded to go anywhere, why not there?
One reason for unwillingness to do so is, that some of you would rather
remain within reach of the country of your nativity. I do not know
how much attachment you may have toward our race. It does not
strike me that you have the greatest reason to love them. But still you
are attached to them at all events. The place I am thinking about
having for a colony, is in Central American It is nearer to us than
Liberia-not much more than one-fourth as 'far as Liberia, and within
seven days' run by steamers. Unlike Liberia, it is a great line of
travel-it is a highway. The country is a very excellent one for any
people, and with great natural resources and advantages, and especially because of the similarity of climate with your native soil, thus
being suited to your physical condition. The particular place I have in
view, is to be a great highway from the Atlantic or Caribbean Sea to
the Pacific Ocean, and this particular place has all the advantages for a
colony. On both sides there are harbors among the finest in the world.
Again, there is evidence of very rich coal mines. A certain amount of
coal is valuable in any country, and there may be more than enough for
the wants of any country. Why I attach so much importance to coal
is, it will afford an opportunity to the inhabitants for immediate employment till they get ready to settle permanently in their homes. If you
take colonists where there is no good landing, there is a bad show; and
so where there is nothing to cultivate, and of which to make a farm.
But if something is started so that you can get your daily bread as soon
as you reach there, it is a great advantage. Coal land is the best thing
I know of with which to commence an enterprise.   To return-you
have been talked to upon this subject, and told that a speculation is intended by gentlemen who have an interest in the country, including the
coal mines. We have been mistaken all our lives if we do not know
whites, as well as blacks, look to their self-interest. Unless among
those deficient of intellect, everybody you trade with makes something.
You meet with these things here and everywhere. If such persons
have what will be an advantage to them, the question is, whether it
cannot be made of advantage to you? You.e intelligent and know
that success does not as much depend on external help as on self reliance. Much, therefore, depends upon yourselves.   As to the coal
mines, I think I see the means available for your self-reliance. I shall,
if I get a sufficient number of you engaged, have provision made that
you shall not be wronged.  If you will engage in the enterprise, I will
spend some of the money intrusted to me. I am not sure you will sue



ï~~472        PRESIDENT LINCOLN S ADMINISTRATION.
ceed. The Government may lose the money, but we cannot succeed
unless we try; but we think with care we can succeed. The political
affairs in Central America are not in quite as satisfactory condition as I
wish. There are contending factions in that quarter; but it is'true, all
the factions are agreed alike on the subject of colonization, and want it,
and are more generous than we are here. To your colored race they
have no objection. Besides, I would endeavor to have you made equals,
and have the best assurance that you should be the equals of the best.
The practical thing I want to ascertain is, whether I can get a number
of able-bodied men, with their wives and children, who are willing to
go, when I present evidence of encouragement and protection. Could
I get a hundred tolerably intelligent men, with their wives and children, and able to "cut their own fodder," so to speak? Can I have fifty?
If I could find twenty-five able-bodied men, with a mixture of women and
children-good things in the family relation, I think-I could make a
successful commencement. I want you to let me know whether this
can be done or not. This is the practical part of my wish to see you.
These are subjects of very great importance-worthy of a month's
study, of a speech delivered in an hour. I ask you, then, to consider
seriously, not pertaining to yourselves merely, nor for your race and ours
for the present time, but as one of the things, if successfully managed,
for the good of mankind-not confined to the present generation, but as
"From age to age descends the lay
To millions yet to be,
Till far its echoes roll away
Into eternity."
The above is merely given as the substance of the President's remarks.
The chairman of the delegation briefly replied, that "they would hold
a consultation, and in a short time give an answer." The President
said, " Take your fulll time-no hurry at all."
The delegation then withdrew.
In pursuance of his plans of Colonization, an agreement was
entered into, by the President, September 12, 1862, with
A. W. Thompson, for the settlement, by free colored emigrants from the United States, of a tract of country within
the republic of New Grenada-the region referred to by the
*




ï~~EFFORTS AT NEGRO COLONIZATION.

473

President in his remarks quoted above; and the Hon. S. E.
Pomeroy, a senator from Kansas, proposed to accompany and
superintend the expedition. The sum of $25,000 was advanced to him from the colonization fund, but it was soon
after discovered that the Government of New Grenada objected
to the landing of these emigrants upon its territory, and the
project was abandoned.
In April, 1863, an agreement was made with responsible and
highly respectable parties in New York for the colonization
of Ile a Vache, within the Republic of Hayti, of which a
favorable grant had been made by the Government-and
which was represented in the published report of the Commissioner of Emigration in the Department of the Interior, as
being in every way adapted to the culture of cotton and other
tropical products, and as eminently favorable for such an experiment. The Government agreed to pay fifty dollars each
for the removal of the consenting emigrants thither-payment to be made on official certificate of their arrival. The
contractors fulfilled their portion of the agreement with
fidelity, and to the utmost extent of their ability; but after an
expenditure of about eighty thousand dollars, it was discovered
that the representations of the fertility of the island had been
utterly unfounded, and that the enterprise was hopeless. The
agent of the Company, moreover, through whom the Government hal made the original contract, proved to be utterly untrustworthy and incapable, and was removed. The Government at last brought the negroes back to the United States
but incurred no additional expense, as it declined to pay the
contractors the stipulated sum for the removal of the emigrants, or to reimburse them any portion of the moneys expended in the enterprise.
No further experiments have been made in the matter of
colonization; but the disposition and employment of the
negroes has engaged a good deal of the attention and solici



ï~~474  -    PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
tude of the Government. When the rebellion first broke out
there were many persons who insisted upon the instant emancipation of the slaves, and their employment in arms against
the rebels of the Southern States. Public sentiment, however,
was by no means prepared for the adoption of such a measure.
The Administration, upon its advent to power, was compelled to
encounter a wide-spread distrust of its general purposes in regard to slavery, and special pains were taken by the agents
and allies of the rebellion to alarm the sensitive apprehensions
of the Border States upon this subject. The President,
therefore, deemed it necessary, in order to secure that unity
of sentiment without which united and effective action against
the rebellion was felt to be impossible, to exclude from the
contest all issues of a secondary nature, and to fasten the
attention and thought of the whole country upon the paramount end and aim of the war-the restoration of the Union
and the authority of the Constitution of the United States.
How steadily and carefully this policy was pursued, the preceding pages of this record will show.
But as the war went on, and the desperate tenacity of the
rebel resistance became more manifest-as the field of oferations, both military and political, became enlarged, and the
elements of the rebel strength were better understood, the
necessity of dealing with the question of Slavery forced itself
upon the people and the Government. The legislation of
Congress, from time to time, represented and embodied these
advancing phases of public opinion. At the extra session of
1861 a law was passed, discharging from slavery every slave
who should be required or permitted by his master to take up
arms against the United States, or to be employed in any
military capacity in the rebel service. At the next session
the President was authorized to employ persons of African
descent in the suppression of the rebellion, "in such manner
as he should judge best for the public welfare," and also to
"




ï~~EMPLOYMENT OF NEGRO TROOPS.

475

issue a proclamation commanding all persons in rebellion
against the United States to lay down their arms and return
to their allegiance; and if any persons so warned should be
found in rebellion thirty days after the date of such proclamation, the President was authlcized to set free their slaves.
Under these comprehensive acts the President took such steps
on the subject as hlie believed the necessities of the country required, and as the public sentiment of the country would sustain.
The Emancipation proclamation was issued on the 1st of January, 1863, and measures were adopted soon afterwards to
provide for the changes which it made inevitable. On the
20th of January, the Secretary of War authorized Governor
Andrew, of Massachusetts, to enlist volunteers for three
years, and to include persons of African descent, organized
into a separate corps. In April negro troops were enlisted by
Adjutant-General Thomas for service in Arkansas, and on the
15th of that month he issued an order appointing commissioners to superintend the execution of a policy which the Government had adopted for committing the protection of the
banks of the Mississippi to a negro force. On the 22d of
May, orders were issued by the Secretary of War creating a
Bureau of the War Department for all matters relating to the
organization of colored troops, and establishing rules for their
enlistment, and for the appointment of officers to command
them. And, on the 20th of August, Hon. J. Holt, JudgeAdvocate General, sent to the President an official opinion,
to the effect that, under the laws of Congress on the subject;
he had full authority to enlist slaves for service in the army
precisely as he might enlist any other persons-providing for
compensation to loyal owners whose property might thus be
taken for the public service.
These were the initial steps of a movement for the employment of negro troops, which has gone forward steadily ever
since, until, as has been seen from the President's Message,




ï~~476      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
over 100,000 negro soldiers are now in the army of the United
States, contributing largely, by their courage and good conduct,
to the suppression of the rebellion which seeks the perpetual
enslavement of their race.  The popular prejudice against
their employment in the army, which was so potent at the
beginning, has gradually given way, even in the slaveholding
States, to a more just estimate of' the necessities of the emergency and the capacities of the negro race. And what is
of still more importance to the welfare of the country, the
people of the slaveholding States have taken up the question
of slavery for discussion and practical action, as one in which
their own well-being, present and prospective, is deeply involved. The Union party in every Southern State favors the
abolition of slavery, and in Missouri, Maryland, Louisiana, and
Arkansas, measures are already far advanced which will inevitably lead to. the speedy overthrow of an institution which has
proved so detrimental to their interests, and so menacing to the
unity of the nation and the stability of republican institutions.
It formed no part of the object of this work to deal in
eulogy or in criticism of President LINCOLN and his administration. Its purpose will have been attained if it places his
acts and words in such a form that those who read them may
judge for themselves of the merits and defects of the policy
he has pursued. It has been his destiny to guide the nation
through the stormiest period of its existence. No one of his
predecessors, not even Washington, encountered difficulties
of equal magnitude, or was called to perform duties of equal
responsibility. He was elected by a minority of the popular
vote, and his election was regarded by a majority of the
people as the immediate occasion, if not the cause, of civil
war; yet upon him devolved the necessity of carrying on that




ï~~THE PRESIDENTS RELIANCE ON THE PEOPLE.         477
war, and of combining and wielding the energies of the
nation for its successful prosecution. The task, under all the
circumstances of the case, was one of the most gigantic that
ever fell to the lot of the head of any nation.
From the outset, Mr. LINCOLN'S reliance was upon the spirit
and patriotism of the people. He hid no overweening estimate of his own sagacity; he was quite sensible of his lack
of that practical knowledge of men and affairs which experience of both alone can give; but he had faith in the devotion
of the people to the principles of Republican government, in
their attachment to the Constitution and the Union, and in
that intuitive sagacity "of a great community which always
transcends the most cunning devices of individual men, and,
in'a great and perilous crisis, more resembles inspiration than
the mere deductions of the human intellect. At the very outset
of his administration, President LINCOLN cast himse- without
reserve and without fear, upon this reliance. It has ever
been urged against him as a reproach that he has not assumed
to lead and control public sentiment, but has been content to
be the exponent and the executor of its will. Possibly an
opposite course might have succeeded, but possibly, also, it
might have ended in disastrous and fatal failure. One thing
is certain: the policy which he did pursue has not failed.
The rebellion has not succeeded; the authority of the Government has not been overthrown; no new government, resting on slavery as its corner-stone, has yet been established
upon this continent, nor has any foreign nation been provoked
or permitted to throw its sword into the scale against us. A
different policy might have done better, but it might also
have done worse. A wise and intelligent people will hesitate
long before they condemn an administration which has done
well, on the mere hypothesis that another might have done
better.,
In one respect President LINCOLN has achieved a wonderful




ï~~478      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
success. He has maintained, through the terrible trials of his
administration, a reputation, with the great body of the
people, for unsullied integrity, of purpose and of conduct,
which even Washington did not surpass, and which no President since Washington has equalled. He has had command
of an army greater than that of a$y living monarch; he has
wielded authority less restricted than that conferred by any
other constitutional government; he has disbursed sums of
money equal to the exchequer of any nation in the world;
yet no man, of any party, believes him in any instance to
have aimed at his own aggrandizement, to have been actuated
by personal ambition, or to have consulted any other interest
than the welfare of his country, and the perpetuity of its
Republican form of government. This of itself is a success
which may well challenge universal admiration, for it is one
which is the -indispensable condition of all other forms of
success. No man whose public integrity was open to suspicion, no matter what might have been his abilities or his
experience, could possibly have retained enough of public
confidence to carry the country through such a contest as
that in which we are now involved. No President suspected
of seeking his own aggrandizement at the expense of his
country's liberties, could ever have received such enormous
grants of power as were essential to the successful prosecution
of this war. They w re lavishly and eagerly conferred upon
Mr. LINCOLN, because it was known and felt everywhere that
he would not abuse them. Faction has had in him no mark
for its assaults. The weapons of party spirit have recoiled
harmlessly from the shield of his unspotted character.
It was this unanimous confidence in the disinterested purity
of his character, and in the perfect integrity of his public purposes, far more than any commanding intellectual ability, that
enabled Washington to hold the faith and confidence of the
American people steadfast for seven years, while they waged
0




ï~~PRES. LINCOLN'S WAY OF "PUTTING THINGS."       479
the unequal war required to achieve their independence.
And it certainly is something more than a casual coincidence
that this same element, as rare in experience as it is transcendent in importance, should have characterized the President
upon whom devolves the duty of carrying the country through
this second and far more important and' sanguinary struggle.
No one can read Mr. LINCOLN'S state papers without perceiving in them a most remarkable faculty of "putting things"
so as to command the attention and assent of the common
people. His style of thought as well as of expression is thoroughly in harmony with their habitual modes of thinking and
of speaking. His intellect is keen, emphatically logical in its
action, and capable of the closest and most subtle analysis:
and he uses language for the sole purpose of stating, in the
clearest and simplest possible form, the precise idea he wishes
to convey. He has no pride of intellect-not the slightest
desire for display-no thought or purpose but that of making
everybody understand precisely what he believes and means
to utter. And while this sacrifices the graces of style, it gains
immeasurably in practical force and effect. It gives to his
public papers a weight and influence with the mass of the
people, which no public man of this country has ever before
attained. And this is heightened by the atmosphere of honor
which seems to pervade his mind, and which is just as natural
to it and as attractive and softening a portion of it, as the
smoky hues of Indian summer are of the charming season to
which they belong. His nature is eminently genial, and he
seems to be incapable of cherishing an envenomed resentment.
And although he is easily touched by whatever is painful, the
elasticity of his temper and his ready sense of the humorous
break the force of anxieties and responsibilities under which
a man of harder though perhaps a higher nature would sink
and fail.
One of the most perplexing questions with which Mr. LINcOLN has had to deal in carryin on the war, has been that of




ï~~480      PRESIDENT LINCOLN' S ADMINISTRATION.
slavery. There are two classes of persons who cannot, even
now, see that there was any thing perplexing about it, or that
he ought to have had a moment's hesitation how to treat it.
One, is made up of those who regard the law of slavery as
paramount to the Constitution, and the rights of slavery as
the most sacred of all the rights' which are guaranteed by that
instrument: the other, of those who regard the abolition of
slavery as the one thing to be secured, whatever else may be
lost. The former denounce Mr. LINCOLN for having interfered
with slavery in any way, for any purpose, or at any time: the
latter denounce him, with equal bitterness, for not having
swept it out of existence the moment Fort Sumter was attacked. In this matter, as in all others, Mr. LINCOLN has acted
upon a fixed principle of his own, which he has applied to the
practical conduct of affairs just as fast as the necessities of the
case required and as the public sentiment would sustain him
in doing. His policy has been from the outset a tentative
one-as, indeed, all policies of government to be successful
must always be. On the outbreak of the rebellion the first
endeavor of the rebels was to secure the active co-operation of
all the slaveholding States. Mr. LINCOLN'S first action, therefore, was to withhold as many of these States from joining
the rebel confederacy as possible. Every one can see now
that this policy, denounced at the time by his more zealous
anti-slavery supporters as temporizing and inadequate, prevented Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, Missouri, and part of
Virginia from throwing their weight into the rebel scale; and
although it is very easy and very common to undervalue services to a cause after its triumph seems secure, there are few
who will not concede that if these States had been driven or
permitted to drift into the rebel confederacy, a successful termination of the war would have been much farther off than it
seems at present. Mr. LINCOLN did every thing in his power,
consistent with fidelity to the Constitution, to retain the Border Slave States within the Union; and the degree of success




ï~~THE PRESIDENT'S POLICY ON SLAVERY.

481

which attended his efforts is the best proof of their substantial
wisdom.
His treatment of the slavery question has been marked by
the same experimental policy. The various letters by which
from time to time he has explained the principles on which
he was acting, in any particular emergency, show very clearly
that he has been far more anxious to take action which should
be sanctioned and sustained by the country, and thus be permanently valuable, than to put forth any theory of his own
or carry into effect the dogmas and opinions of any party,
The whole case is stated with great clearness and force in a
letter written by him on the 4th of April to Mr. Hodges,
who, with Governor Bramlette and some other gentlemen of
Kentucky, had called upon him on business relating to the
draft, and with whom he had some conversation in regard to
the misconceptions of his policy that seemed to be current in
their State.  That letter is as follows:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASIIINGTON, April 4th, 1864.
A. G. HoDGEs, Esq., Frankfort, Ky: My dear Slr:-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 is
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 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
understood, too, that in ordinary civil administration this oath even forbade me to practically indulge my primary abstract judgment on the
moral question of slavery. I had publicly declared this many tin3, 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 preserving, by every
21
0




ï~~482       PRESIDENT LINCOLN'IS ADMINISTRATION.
indispensable means, that government-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, altogether. When,
early in the war, General Fremont attempted military emancipation, I
forbade it, because I did not then think it an indispensable necessity.
When a little later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested
the arming of the blacks, I objected, because I did not yet think it an
indispensable necessity. When, still later, General Hunter attempted
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 compensated 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 alternative 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 any how, or anywhere. On the contrary, 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 cavilling. 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 subdui g the rebellion
by force of arms; and min the next, that he is for taking three hundred
and thirty thousand men from the Union side, and placing them where
they would be best for the measure he condemns. If he cannot face his
case so stated, it is only because he cannot face the truth."
I add a word which was not in the verbal conversation. In telling
this tale, I attempt no compliment to my own sagacity. I claim not to




ï~~LETTER TO MR. HODGES.

483

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, impartial history will find therein new causes to attest and revere the
ustice and goodness of God.      Yours, truly,
(Signed.)                     A. LINCOLN.
An impression is quite common that great men, who make
their mark upon the progress of events and the world's history,
do it by impressing their own opinions upon nations and coinmmunities, in disregard of their sentiments and prejudices.
History does not sustain this view of the case. No man ever
moulded the destiny of a nation except by making the sentiment of that nation his ally-by working with it, by shaping
his measures and his policy to its successive developments.
But little more than a year before the Declaration of Independence was issued, Washington wrote to a friend in England
that the idea of separation from Great Britain was not entertained by any considerable number of the inhabitants of the
colonies. If independence had then been proclaimed, it would
not have been supported by public sentiment; and its proclamation would have excited hostilities and promoted divisions
which might have proved fatal to the cause. Time,-the development of events,-the ripening conviction of the necessity
of such a measure, were indispensable as preliminary conditions
of its success. And one of the greatest elements of Washington's strength was the patient sagacity with which he could
watch and. wait until these conditions were fulfilled.  The
position and duty of 1President LINCOLN in regard to Slavery
have been very similar. If he had taken counsel only of his
own abstract opinions and sympathies, and had proclaimed
emancipation at the outset of the war, or had sanctioned the
action of those department commanders who assumed to do it

r




ï~~484      PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.
themselves, the first effect would have been to throw all the
Border Slave States into the bosom of the slaveholding confederacy, and add their formidable force to the armies of the
rebellion: the next result would have been to arouse the
political opposition of the loyal States to fresh activity by
giving them a rallying cry: and the third would have been to
divide the great body of those who agreed in defending the
Union, but who did not then agree in regard to the abolition
of slavery. Candid men, who pay more regard to facts than
to theory, and who can estimate with fairness the results of
public action, will have no difficulty in seeing that the probable result of these combined influences would have been such
a strengthening of the forces of the Confederacy, and such a
weakening of our own, as might have overwhelmed the Ad.
ministration, and given the rebellion a final and a fatal triumph
By awaiting the development of public sentiment, President
Lincoln secured a support absolutely essential to success; and
there are few persons now, whatever may be their private
opinions on slavery, who will not concede that his measures
in regard to that subject have been adopted with sagacity and
crowned with substantial success.
It is too soon, we are aware, to pronounce definitively on
the merits of President LINCOLN'S administration. Its policy
is still in process of development. If it is allowed to go on
without interruption,-if the measures which President LINCOLN has inaugurated for quelling the rebellion and restoring
the Union, are permitted to work out their natural results, unchecked by popular impatience and sustained by public confidence, we believe they will end in re-establishing the authority
of the Constitution, in restoring the integrity of the Union,
in abolishing every vestige of slavery, and in perpetuating the
principles of democratic government upon this continent and
throughout the world.




ï~~APPENDIX.
LIEUT.-GEN. SCOTT AND MAJ.-GEN. McCLELLAN.
Allusion is made on a previous page to a letter of advice
and suggestions addressed by General McClellan to General
Scott, which he afterwards withdrew.
The following correspondence relates to that letter and grew
out of it:
GEN. SCOTT TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 1861.
Sm:-I received yesterday from Major-General McClellan a letter of
that date, to which I design this as my only reply.
Had Major-General McClellan presented the same views in person,
they would have been fully entertained and discussed. All my military
views and opinions had been so presented to him, without eliciting
much remark in our few meetings which I have in vain sought to multiply. He has stood on his guard and now places himself on record.
Let him make the most of his unenvied advantages.
Major-General McClellan has propagated in high quarters the idea expressed in the letter before me, that Washington was not only "insecure," but in "imminent danger."
Relying on our numbers, our forts, and the Potomac river, I am confident in the opposite opinion; and considering the stream of new regiments that is pouring in upon us (before the alarm could have reached
their homes), I have not the slightest apprehension for the safety of the
Government here.
Having now been unable to mount a horse, or to walk more than a
few paces at a time, and consequently being unablde to review troopsmuch less to direct them in battle: in short, broken down by many




ï~~486

APPENDIX.

particular hurts, besides the general infirmities of age-I feel that I have
become an incumbrance to the army as well as to myself, and that I
ought, gvinig way to a younger commander, to seek the palliatives of
physical pain and exhaustion.
Accordingly I must beg the President, at the earliest moment, to
allow me to be placed on the officers' retired list, and then quietly to lay
myself up-probably for ever-somewhere in or about New York. But
wherever I may spend my little remainder of life, my frequent and latest
prayer will be-" God save the Union l"  I have the honor to be, Sir,
with high respect,
Your obedient servant,
WINFIELD SCOTT.
GEN. M CLELLAN TO THE PRESIDENT.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 1861.
The letter addressed by me under date of the 8th inst. to LieutenantGeneral Scott, commanding the United States Army, was designed to
be a plain and respectliul expression of my views of the measures demanded for the safety of the Government in the imminent peril that besets it at the present hour. Every moment's reflection and every fact
transpiring, convinced me of the urgent necessity of the measures there
indicated, and I felt it my duty to him and to the country to communicate them frankly. It is therefore with great pain that I have learned
from you this morning, that my views do not meet with the approbation
of the Lieutenant-General, and that my letter is unfavorably regarded
by him. The command with which I am intrusted was not sought by
me, and has only been accepted from an earnest and humble desire to
serve my country in the moment of the most extreme peril. With these
views I am willing to do and suffer whatever may be required for that
service. Nothing could be farther from my wishes than to seek any
command or urge any measures not required for the exigency of.the
occasion, and above all, I would abstain from any conduct that could
give offence to General Scott or embarrass the President or any Department of the Government.
Influenced by these considerations, I yield to your request and withdraw the letter referred to. The Government and my superior officer
being apprised of what I consider to be necessary and proper for the
defence of the National Capital, I shall strive faithfully and zealously to
employ the means that may be placed in my power for that purpose,
dismissing every personal feeling or consideration, and praying only the
"




ï~~GENERAL SCOTT AND GENERAL M9CLELLAN.                487
blessing of Divine Providence on my efforts. I will only add that. as
you requested my authority to withdraw the letter, that authority is
hereby given, with the most profound assurance for General Scott and
yourself.           Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN.
Â~
GENERAL SCOTT TO THE PRESIDENT.
WASHINGTON. Aug. 12, 1861.
Sm:-On the 10th inst., I was kindly requested by the President to
withdraw my letter to you, of the 9th, in reply to one I had received
from Major-General McClellan of the day before-the President at the
same time showing me a letter to him from Major-General McClellan,
in which, at the instance of the President, he offered to withdraw the
original letter on which I had animadverted.
While the President was yet with me, on that occasion, a servant
handed me a letter, which proved to be an authenticated copy, under a
blank cover, of the same letter from General McClellan to the President.
This slight was not without its influence on my mind.
The President's visit, however, was for the patriotic purpose of healing differences, and so much did I honor his motive that I deemed it due
to him to hold his proposition under consideration for some little time.
I deeply regret that, notwithstanding my respect for the opinions and
wishes of the Presidefit, I cannot withdraw the letter in question, for
these reasons:
1. The original offence given to me by Major-General McClellan (see
his letter of 8th inst.) seems to have been the result of deliberation between him and some of the members of the Cabinet, by whom all the
greater war questions are to be settled-without resort to or consultation with me, the nominal General-in-Chief of the Army. In further
proof of this neglect-although it is unofficially known that in the last
week (six days) many regiments have arrived and others have changed
their position-some to a considerable distance-not one of these
movements has been reported to me (or any thing else) by Major-General
McClellan; while it is believed, and I may add known, that he is in frequent communication with portions of the Cabinet, and on matters appertaining to me. That freedom of access and consultation have, very
naturally, deluded the junior General into a feeling, of indifference towards his senior.
21*




ï~~482.

APPENDIX.

2. With such supports, on his part, it would be as idle for me, as it
would be against the dignity of my years, to be filing daily complaints
against an ambitious junior, who, independent of the extreme advantages alluded to, has, unquestionably, very high qualifications for military
command. I trust they may achieve crowning victories in behalf of the
Union.
3. I have, in my letter to you of the*9th inst., already said enough on
the, to others, disgusting subject of iny many physical infirmities. I
will here only add that, borne down as I am by them, I should unavoidably be in the way, at head-quarters, even if my abilities for war
were now greater than when I was young.
I have the honor to be, Sir, with high respect,
Your obedient servant,
WINFIErLD SCOTT.
A DRAFT URGED BY GENERAL McCLELLAN.
General Scott, very soon after this correspondence, was
allowed to retire from active service, in accordance with his
request, and General McClellan succeeded to the command of
the Army of the Potomac. His attention was first given to
recovering the disaster of Bull Run, and placing the army
again on a footing for the speedy resumption of hostilities.
The defeat of July, and the danger with which that defeat for
the moment seemed to menace the capital, had aroused the
most intense enthusiasm throughout the country, and volunteers were pouring into Washington with great rapidity.
Under these circumstances, General McClellan wrote to the
President as follows:
WASHINGTON, August 20, 1861.
SmI:-I have just received the inclosed dispatch in cipher. Colonel
Marcy knows what he says, and is of the coolest judgment. I recommend that the Secretary of War ascertain at oncp by telegram how the
enrollment proceeds in New York and elsewhere, and that, if it is not




ï~~ON THE ADVANCE OF OUR ARMIES.

489

proceeding with great rapidity, drafts to be made at once. We must
have men without delay.
Respectfully your obedient servant,
GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN, Maj.- Gen. U. S. A.
DISPATCH FROM COL. R. B. MARCY TO GENERAL M'CLELLAN.
y
NEW YORK, August 20, 1861.
I urge upon you to make a positive and unconditional demand for an
immediate draft of the additional troops you require. Men will not volunteer now, and drafting is the only successful plan. The people will
applaud such a course, rely upon it. I will be in Washington to-morrow.
R. B. MARCY.
THE PRESIDENT'S SUGGESTION FOR AN ADVANCE IN
DECEMBER, 1861.
The following.is a copy of a memorandum marked by the
President, as having been made by him about the first of
December, 1861. It was while the army under McClellan was
lying in front of Washington, and while the Government and
the whole country were impatient for an advance upon the
rebel army encamped at Manassas.
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?
[Answer in pencil by McClellan: "If bridge trains ready-by December 15-probably 25th."]
After leaving all that would be necessary, how many troops could
join the movement from southwest of the river?
[Answer in pencil, "71,000."]
How many from northwest of it?
[Answer in pencil, "33,000."]
Suppose, then, that of those southwest of the river [supplied in
pencil "50,000,"] move forward and menace the enemy at Centerville?
The remainder of the movable force on that side move rapidly to
the crossing of the Occoquan by the road from Alexandria towards




ï~~490

APPENDIX.

Richmond; there to be joined by the whole movable force from northeast of the river, having landed from the Potomac just below the mouth
of the Occoquan, move by land up the south side of that stream, to the
crossing point named; then the whole move together, by the road
thence to Brentville, 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 railroad 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 landing from the Potomac be resisted, those
crossing the Occoquan from above to take that resisting force in reat'.
Both points will probably not be successfully resisted at the same time.
The force in front of Centerville, if pressed too hardly, should fight
back into the intrenchments behind them. Armed vessels and transports should remain at the Potomac landing to cover a possible retreat.
The following reply is in General McClellan's handwritingdated Washington, December 10, and marked ' confidential:"
I inclose the paper you left with me-filled as you requested. In
arriving at the numbers given I have left the minimum numbers in
garrison and observation.
Information recently leads me to believe that the enemy would meet
us in front with equal forces nearly--and I have now my mind actually
turned towards another plan of campaign that I do not think at all
anticipated by the enemy, nor by many of our own people.
GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN.
This is doubtless in allusion to his project of transferring
the army to the York River, and advancing upon Richmond
by that line.
THE POSITION OF KENTUCKY.
Reference is made on page 480 to the efforts of the President to prevent Kentucky and other Border Slave States from
joining the Rebel Confederacy. General McClellan, while in
command of the Department of the Ohio, had entered into an
agreement with General Buckner by which the substantial
neutrality of that State was recognized and respected. And




ï~~THE PRESIDENT AND KENTUCKY.                  491
in August, 1861, Governor Magoffin had urged the removal
by the President of the Union troops which had been raised
and were encamped within that State.
To this request he received the following reply:
WASHINGTON, D. C., August 24, 1861.
To His Excellency B. MAGOFFIN, Governor of the State of Kentucky:
SmR:-Your letter of the 19th inst., in which you "urge the removal
from the limits of Kentucky of the military force now organized and in
camp within that State," is received.
I may not possess full and precisely accurate knowledge upon this
subject, but I believe it is true that there is a military force in camp
within Kentucky, acting by authority of the United States, which force
is not very large, and is not now being augmented.
I also believe that some arms have been furnished to this force by
the United States.
I also believe that this force consists exclusively of Kentuckians,
having their camp in the immediate vicinity of their own homes, and
not assailing or menacing any of the good people of Kentucky.
In all I have done in the premises, I have acted upon the urgent
solicitation of many Kentuckians, and in accordance with what I believed, and still believe, to be the wish of a majority of all the Unionloving people of Kentucky.
While I have conversed on the subject with many eminent men of
Kentucky, including a large majority of her members of Congress, I do
not remember that any one of them, or any other person, except your
Excellency and the bearers of your Excellency's letter, has urged me to
remove the military force from Kentucky or to disband it. One other
very worthy citizen of Kentucky did solicit me to have the augmenting
of the force suspended for a time.
Taking all the means within my reach to form a judgment, I do not
believe it is the popular wish of Kentucky that the force shall be removed beyond her limits; and, with this impression, I must respectfully
decline to remove it.
I most cordially sympathize with your Excellency in the wish to
preserve the peace of my own native State, Kentucky, but it is with regret I search for and cannot find, in your not very short letter, any declaration or intimation that you entertain any desire for the preservation
of the Federal Union.
ABRAHARi LINCOLN.




ï~~492

APPENDIX.

THE PRESIDENT TO GENERAL McCLELLAN.
President LINCOLN addressed the following letter to General
McClellan after the latter had landed his forces on the Peninsula in the spring of 1862. It relates to several points in
which the General's action had already excited a good deal
of public uneasiness, and been made the subject of public comment, though the letter itself has never before been made
public:
FORTRESS MONROE, May 9, 1862.
MY DEAR SIR:-I have just assisted the Secretary of War in forming
the part of a dispatch to you, relating to army corps, which dispatch,
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
organization not only on the unanimous opinion of the twelve 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 one
or two pets, and to persecute and degrade their supposed rivals. I have
had no word from Sumner, Heintzelman or Keyes. The commanders
of these corps are of course the three highest officers with you, but I
am constantly told that you have no consultation or communication
with them, that you consult and communicate with nobody but 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 any thing?
When you relieved General Hamilton of his command the other day,
you thereby lost the confidence of at least one of your best friends in
the Senate. And here let me say, not as applicable to you personally,
that Senators and Representatives 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, even with my help, to
set your foot upon the neck of Sumner, Heintzelman, and Keyes, all at
once? This is a practical and very serious question for you.
Yours truly,               A. LincoLN.




ï~~INDEX.

Arbitrary Arrests, action of Government, 339; debate in Congress, 327.
Arkansas, President's letter to General
Steele, 455; President's letter about
Convention, 456; election and adoption of a Free State Constitution, 457.
Banks, takes Port Hudson, 382; proclamation for an election in Louisiana, 454.
Battle of Bull Run,'61,154; of Williamsburg, 235; of Seven Pines and Fair
Oaks, 244; of Fredericksburg, 876; of
Gettysburg. 379; pf Vicksburg, 382;
of Tullahoma, 388; of Chattanooga,
3S9; defeat at Olustee, 458.
Blair, F. P. Jr., reappointment as MajorGeneral, 439.
Border States, reply of the members to
President's address, 192; Hon. Mr.
Maynard's reply, 194.
Buchanan, official action on Secession,
56; last message, 63; dissolution of
his Cabinet, 64; message on Secession,
65.
Burnside, General, succeeds McClellan
in Army of Potomac, 281; battle of
Fredericksburg, 376; arrests Vallandigham, 351; second attempt on Fredericksburg, 377; relieved from command, 377; defence of Knoxville, 390.
Cabinet, dissolution of Buchanan's, 64;
organization of Lincoln's, 121; resignation of Secretary Cameron, 205.
Cameron. resignation of, as Secretary of
War, 205: President's message concerning, 205.
Colonization, President's views on, 184;
President's interview  with  colored
men on, 468; attempts to colonize New
Grenada, 472; colony to Isle a Vache,
473.
Colfax, elected Speaker of House of Representatives, 416.
Compromise, Crittenden's, 66; special
committee of Congress on, 68; report
of resolutions by committee, 68; adoption of the resolutions, 70.

Confederacy-organization of the Rebel
Government, 59; objects of the Confederacy stated by Mr. Stephens, 62.
Confiscation Bill, 153; debate in Congress on, 196; its provisions, 199;
supplementary resolution, 200; message approving, 201.
Congress, appoints committee on Compromise, 68; adoption of Compromise
resolution, 70; action on amendment
of Constitution, 70; action on Crittenden resolution and Peace Conference,
76; meeting in extra Session, July 4,
1861, 138; adoption of resolution on
the objects of the War, 152; bills on
confiscation-employment of slaves,
153; meeting in December, 1861, 162;
effect of Bull Run defeat on legislative
action of, 181; abolishes slavery in
Territories, 183; abolishes slavery in
District Columbia, 183; approves compensated emancipation, 186; debate on
Confiscation Bill, 196; the Currency
Bill, 195; meeting, December, 1862,
308; debate on arbitrary arrests, 327;
admission of members from Louisiana,
336; meeting, December, 1863, 416;
debates of, 1863, 434; action on slavery,
435,; passage of Conscription Bill, 331.
Constitution, amendment forbidding interference with slavery, 70; amendment abolishing slavery, 435.
Crittenden Compromise, 66; resolution
declaring the objects of the War. 152.
Curtis, General, appointed to command
in Missouri, 398; his removal, 399.
Democratic Party, its position at time of
election, 1860, 54; success in State elections of 1862, defeat in 1863, 414.
England, instructions to our Minister at
outbreak of the Rebellion, 133; protest
against her recognition of the Rebels
as belligerents, 135; the Trent affair,
162; stoppage df rebel rams, 441.
Emancipation, President's reply to Chicago Cmmittee on, 212; Proclamation




ï~~494

INDEX.

of September, 1362, 215; Proclamation
of January, 1863, 218; in Missouri,
397.
Election of President, 53; State elections of 1862, State elections of 1863,
414.
Fremont, appointed to Department of
the West, order of emancipation, 393;
President's revocation of order, 161;
removal from  command of Western
Department, 394; agreement with
Price, 394; popular demonstrations in
favor of, 396; asks to be relieved, 263.
France, offer of mediation, 297; reply of
Mr. Seward, 298; our relations with,
444.
Florida, expedition of General Gillmore,
457; defeat at Olustee, 458.
Greeley, President Lincoln's letter to,
210.
Gettysburg, battle of, 379; President's
proclamation of victory, 381; dedication of Cemetery, 381.
Grant, General, siege and capture of
Vicksburg, 362; appointment as Lieutenant-General, 4 6.
Hunter, General, his order abolisihing
slavery in South Carolina, 1SS; Lincoln's letter to, in Missouri, 394.
Halleck, letter to McClellan on the necessity of aiding Pope, 260; letter about
his leaving thie Peninsula, 260; orders
McClellan to advance after Antietam,
260; letter about fugitive slaves, 292.
Habeas Corpus, first instance of suspension, 341; action of the Government,
339; proclamation suspending, 348;
proclamation on subject, 367.
Hooker, General, succeeds General Burnside in Army of Potomac, 377; is relieved from command, 379.
Invasion-proposed rebel invasion of the
North, 129; invasion of Pennsylvania
by General Lee, 378.
Kilpatrick-raid to Richmond, 459.
Knoxville, siege of, raised, 390.
Lincoln, Abraham, life and career, 18;
nomination at Chicago, 45; election to
the Presidency, 53; speech at Springfield, 7S; at Tolono, 79; at Indianapolls, 79; before Legislature of Indiana, SO; at Cincinnati, 81; at Columbus,
88; at Steubenville, 84; at Pittsburg, 84;
before Common Council of Pittsburg,

85; at Cleveland, 88; at Buffalo, 89; at
Rochester, 91; at Utica, 92; at Albany,
92; at Troy, 94; at Hudson, 95; at
Poughkeepsie, 95; at Peckskill, 96; at
Astor House, New York, 96; to lepublican Association, 97; at City hall,
99; at Jersey City, 100; at Newark,
100); at Trenton, 101; at Philadelphia,
103; at Independence Hall, 104; at
Lapcaster, 106; at Harrisburg, 106;
at Washington, 109; at Washington.
abbut McClellan, 286; at serenade in
Washington, Sept. 24. 1,62, 306; at fair
in Washington, 465; at fair in Baltimore, 466; to workingmen of New
York, 463; at Gettysburg. 381; at
Washington, on victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, 3S5; departure
for Washington. 108; inauguration, 111;
inaugural address, 112; message, extra
session, July, 1861, 1385; First Annual
Message, Dec., 1861, 165; message recommending aid to States emancipating
slaves, 184; message approving bill
to abolish slavery in District of Columbia, 184; message approving confiscation bill, 201; message on blockade
of Southern ports, 208; second annual
message, 1862, 308; message recommending aid for emancipation, 319;
message on the currency, 332; third annual message, 1863, 416; proclamation
for 75,000 troops, 12:3; of blockade, 128;
revoking Gen. Hunter's order, 188; of
emancipation, September, 1862, 215; of
emancipation, January, 1863, 218; for
Thanksgiving, April 10, 1862, 289; to
the rebels, 294; concerning the Sabbath, 306; suspending habeas corpus,
348, 367; about national forces bill,
869; of victory at Gettysburg, 31;
for Thanksgiving, July, 1863, 3,6;
Thanksgiving for victories in East
Tennessee, 39); Thanksgiving, Oct. 3,
1863, 390;,roclamation of amnesty,
430; explanatory proelamation of amnesty, 433; for 300,000 volunteers, 436;
letter to Gov. Hicks, of Md., 125; lo
Gov. Bradforo, ol' Md., 126; to Gen.
Fremont revoking his order, 161; to
H. Greeley, 210; to McClellan concerning an advance on Richmond, 224; to
McClellan about retaining Blenker,
229; to McClellan about strength of his
army, 232; to McClellan about McDowell, 237; to McClellan about withholding McDowell, 240; to McClellan about
Jackson, 241; to McClellan about Hlanover Junction, 243; in reply to McClellan, 250; about re-enforcements after
seven days' battles, 253; on the strength
of McClellan's army, 257; to McClellan
after Antietam, 279; to McClellan about
horses, 283; to Fernando Wood, 305; to
committee of Albany meeting, 354; to
committee of Ohio Convention, 862; to




ï~~INDEX.

495

Gov. Seymour on the draft, 372; second  Meade, Gen., succeeds Hooker, 379; fights
letter on same subject, 374; dispatches  at Gettysburg, 380.
to Chicago, 375; letter of thanks to  Mexico, the new empire, 444; Mr. SewGen. Grant, 386; to Gen. Hunter on     ard's letter on, 445; President declines
taking command in Missouri. 394; to    to recognize, 447; resolution of House
Gen. Schofield, 399; to committee from  of Representatives, 448.
Missouri, 403; on church quarrels in  McClellan,  appointed  commander-inMissouri, 409; to ULnion convention in  chief, 222; report of rebel strength at
Illinois, 411; on payment of bounties,  Yorktown, 230; movement to the
438; to House of Representatives on    Chickahominy, 236; reports of WilGen. Blair, 439; on aiding people of   liamsbufg, 235; wants McDowell to
East Tennessee. 440; to editor of N. A.  join him by water, 238: letter of adReview, 449; to Gov. Shepley on elect-  vice to the President, 256; ordered to
ing members of Congress in La., 452;   withdraw from the Peninsula, 259; orto Gen. Steele. of Arkansas, 455; about  dered to superintend forwarding of reArkansas Convention, 456; to Gen.      enforcements to Pope, 263; his failure
Gillmore about Florida, 457; to work-  to aid Pope, 264; suggests that Pope
ingmen of Manchester,-461; to work-    be left to -get out of his scrape," 271"
ingmen of London, 462; to working-     stops Franklin's advance, 272; failure
men of N. Y., 463; to Christian Comn-  to pursue Lee after Antietam, 279 -mission. 465; to Mr. Hodge, of Ken-    ordered to advance, 280; letter to Prestucky, 481; to Gov. Magolttin. of Ky.  ident about Gen. Scott, 488; advises a
(App ). 492; to Gen. McClellan on the  draft in 1S61, 490.
formation of army corps (App.), 494; Missouri, condition of the State at outinterview with authorities of Md., 127;  break of the rebellion, 392; emancipaaddress to members of Congress from    tion in, 397; appointment of Gen. CurBorder States. 190; reply to Commis-   tis, 398; President's dispatch about,
sioners of Virginia, 131; remarks on ar-  389S; Gen. Schofleld's appointment, 399;
rest of Md. Legislature, 344; draft of a  President's instructions to, 407; his
bill to aid emancipation, 194: reply to  removal, 408; President's interview
Chicago committee on cmancilpation of  with radicals of,401; abolition of slaveslaves. 212; interview with radicals of  ry in, 401; mass convention, 402; PresMissouri, 400; reappointment of Gen.   ident's letter to Mo. committee, 403;
Blair, 439; declines to recognize Em-  President's letter on church contests,
pire of Mexico, 447; theory of recon-  404; President's letter to Gen. Hunter,
struction, 449; reply to application of  394.
Louisiana planters, 454; interview with
colored men at Washington, 46S; memoranda concerning an advance of the National Miltia----passage of the conarmies in 1S61, (App.) 491: order for  scription bill, 331; its provisions, 368;
advance of U. S. armies, 223; for ad-  President's proclamation concerning,
vance of Army of Potomac, 224; to      369; draft and riots in N. Y., 371; Gov.
leave Washington properly defended,    Seymour's correspondence with the
226; authorized to issue letters of    President, 872; President's dispatches
marque, 337; general estimate of his  to Chicago, 375.
policy, 476.
Louisiana. admission of members of Congress,:36; movements for reorganiza- Ohio-nomination of Vallandigham for
tion, 452; President's letter to Gov.  Governor, 362; his defeat, 414.
Shepley, 452; application for authority
to call a Convention, 453; application
of planters to the President, 453; Pres- Peace Conference, its action, 71; action
ident's reply, 454; Gen. Banks's pro-  of Congress on it, 76.
clamation ordering an election, 454; Presidential Election, popular and elecelection of Gov. Hahn, 455.            toral vote, 55.
Magruder the rebel general's report of Reconstruction, President's movements
rebel strength at Yorktown, 23:.       towards and message on, 416; letter
Maryland, passage of troops through Bal-  to N. A. ieview, 449; proclamation
timore, 125; President's correspond-   for,451; movements towards, in Louisience with Gov. Hicks, 125; President's  ana, 452; movements in Arkansas, 457.
interview with authorities. 127; arrest Riots in N. Y., 371.
of members of the Legislature, 344.
Maynard, Hon. Horace, reply to President's address on emancipation, 194.  Scott, retrement of  neral, 1561 letter to
4)                '1




ï~~496

INDEX.

Secretary  of War about McClellan       to, 345; order releasing, 850; appoint(App.), 487; second letter on same sub-  ment of a commission on, 847; case of
ject, 489.                              Vallandigham, 351.
Schofield, appointment to Western De- Stephens, A. H., speech against secespartment, 399; President's instructions  sion, 60; statement of objects of the
to, 407; removal from command, 408.    Confederacy, 62.
Secession conspiracy at Washington, 58; Sumter, bombardment of Fort, 122.
Mr. Stephens's speech against it, 60.
Secession of South Carolina, 57.
Secession of Virginia, 182.            Tvussig, James, his account of an interSeward, instructions to our minister in  view with the President, 401.
England, 133; reply to French offer of
mediation. 298; diplomacy of 1863,441;
letter to Mr. Adams on danger of war Vallandigham, his arrest, trial, and senwith England, 442; letter on the Mex-  tence, 351; President's letter to Albaican question, 445.                    ny meeting concerning, 354; PresiSeymour, Gov. of N. Y., correspondence   dent's letter to Ohio meeting concernwith President on the draft, 372.      ing, 362; nominated for Governor of
Sherman, General, expedition    from     Ohio, 862; is defeated, 414.
Vicksburg, 459.                      Vicksburg-siege and surrender, 882.
Slavery and Slaves-relations of slavery  Virginia, secession oA  132; Lincoln's
to the rebellion, 151; employment of   reply to commissioners, 131; admisslaves, bill in regard to, 153; President's  sion of Western Virginia, 334.
views regarding fugitive slaves, 158;
abolition in Territories, 183; abolition
in District of Columbia, 183; resolution  War-Crittenden resolution declaring its
approving President's policy of aiding  objects, 152.
emancipation in States, 186; adoption  War Department-order for protection
in both Houses, 187; negroes author-   of Washington, 228; order for seizure
ized to be empJoyed in army, 204; ac-  of rebel property, 294.
tion of military commanders concerning, 291; Halleck's letter about slaves,
292.                                 Yorktown-McClellan's report of rebel
States, relation of rebel States to the strength, 230; Magruder's report, 23388;
general government, 329.               evacuation of, 234.
State Prisoners, executive order relative
66 46e A                          a )o