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I
THE LINCOLN FAMILY
From
a:i Engraving by A.
B. Walar
li'ccr the Painting by
F.
Schell
THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS MESSAGES TO CONGRESS MILITARY ORDERS MEMORANDA, Etc. Introductions and Special Articles by TuHeopore RoosevELtT Witutiam H. Tarr Cuarces E. Hucues JosepH H. Cuoate Henry Watterson Rosert G. INcerRsoLy And Others Managing Editors JOHN H. CLIFFORD MARION M. MILLER Votume VIII THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC. NEW YORK
Copyright,
1907
By Current Literature Publishing Company
Copyright,
1908
By The University Society Inc.
CONTENTS
Letters, Telegrams,
etc.
Adams, Green,
page
218.
Andrews, —,
326.
Andrews,
Israel
D.,
265.
Armstrong,
Mrs.
Hannah, 304.
Army of the Potomac, 201.
Ar-
nold,
I. N., 349.
Ashmun, George, 376.
Astor,
John Jacob,
Jr., and Others, 316.
Baldwin,
D.
S.
D.,
358.
Banks,
Nathaniel
P.,
112.
Baptist Home
Mission
Society,
349.
Bates,
Edward,
194.
Belmont,
August,
147.
Bennett, James Gordon, 373.
Birchard, M., and
Others,
267.
Bixby,
Mrs.,
362.
Blair,
Francis
P.,
Sr.,
288.
Blair,
Montgomery,
285.
Blow,
H.
T.,
and
Others,
249.
Blunt,
J.
G.,
296.
Boker,
George
H.,
312.
Bouligny,
J.
E.,
240.
Boyle, J. T.,
143.
Bradford, A. W., 314.
Bram-
lette, Thomas
E.,
324.
Brown,
B.
Gratz,
218.
Bryant, J. H., 351.
Bryant, William Cullen, 248.
Buell, Don
Carlos,
64.
Bullitt,
Cuthbert,
144.
Burbridge,
S.
G.,
357.
Burnside, Ambrose
E.,
130-
Campbell,
William
B.,
and
Others,
360.
Canby, Edward R.
S.,
365.
Capen,
F.
L.,
241.
Carney,
Thomas,
283.
Chandler,
Zachariah,
318.
Choate, Joseph H., 367.
Clay, Clement C,
and
Others,
354.
Clay,
John
M.,
150.
Clay,
Thomas H.,
171.
Conkling,
F.
A., and Others,
351.
Conkling,
James
C,
298.
Cooper
Insti-
tute
Committee,
319.
Corning,
Erastus,
and
Others,
252.
Cottman,
Thomas,
320.
Craw-
ford,
S. W., 304.
Creswell,
J. A.
J., 335.
Cris-
field,
J.
W.,
130.
Curtin,
Andrew
G.,
151.
Gushing, William
B.,
364.
Davis, Henry Winter, 236.
Democratic Meet-
ing
at
Albany,
251.
Dennison,
William,
341.
Dix, John A., 138.
Dodge, G. M., 369.
Drake,
vi
CONTENTS
Charles D.. and Others.
305.
Dubois, Jesse K,
161.
Diipont,
Samuel
F.,
88.
East.
E.
H..
335.
Eckert, Thomas
T.,
370.
Employment
Application
Indorsement,
357.
Evans,
E.
P.,
318.
Everett, Edward.
162.
Farragut, David
G.,
103.
Filley,
O.
D.,
322.
Fishback. W.
M., 334.
Fisher, George
P.,
154.
Flanders,
B.
F.,
317.
Fleming,
J.
M.,
and
Morrow,
R.,
294.
Fletcher.
Thomas
C.,
372.
Foote,
Andrew
H.,
142.
Foster.
J.
G.,
293.
Franklin.
W.
B.,
and
Smith,
W.
F.,
202.
French, B.
B..
338.
Garrison,
William
Lloyd.
370.
Gasparin,
Count,
148.
Gentry,
Meredith
P.,
337.
Gill-
more, Quincy A., 326.
Glenn, Lieutenant-Colo-
nel,
371.
Goldsborough.
Louis
M.,
90.
Gor-
don, Nathaniel,
88.
Governors of Maine. New
Hampshire,
etc.,
140.
Grant,
Ulysses
S..
171.
Greeley. Horace,
155.
Gurney,
Eliza
P.,
169.
Hackett, James H., 295.
Hahn, Michael,
337.
Halleck, Henry W.,
i.
Hamlin, Hannibal,
168.
Hay, John, 352.
Henry, Alexander,
160.
Her-
ron,
F.
J.,
250.
Hicks,
G.
Montague,
no.
Hodges,
A.
G.,
338.
Hoffman,
H.
W.,
360.
Hooker, Joseph,
222.
Howard, Oliver
O.,
285.
Hunt, W.,
357.
Hunter,
David,
59.
Hurlbut,
Stephen A.,
290.
Jameson,
E. H. and E., 318.
Jayne, William,
335-
Johnson, Andrew, 95.
Kelley,
William
D.,
353.
Kellogg,
William,
274.
Key, John
J.,
165.
Lee,
S.
P.,
278.
Lewis,
Alpheus,
328.
Lin-
coln, Mrs. Abraham,
197.
McCall, G. A., 124.
McClellan, George
B., 23.
McClure,
Alexander
Kelly,
278.
McCullough,
Fanny,
202.
McDougall,
James
A.,
93.
Mc-
Dowell,
Irvin,
105.
Mackay,
Alfred,
348.
IMaclean,
John,
368.
McMichael,
Morton,
356.
]\IcPheeters,
Samuel
S.,
323.
Malhiot,
E.
E.,
and
Others,
266.
Mann,
Mrs.
Horace,
341.
Marcy,
R.
B.,
124.
Maynard,
Horace,
332.
Meade, George G., 279.
Meconkey, Mrs. Sarah
B.,
347.
Memorandum
on
reelection,
358.
Methodist Conference, Members of,
104.
Miles,
D.
S.,
112.
Milroy, Robert
H.,
276.
Morris,
CONTENTS
vii
George U.,
195.
Morrison,
William
R.,
190.
Moulton, — ,
289.
Murphy,
Isaac,
343.
Naval
Officers,
142.
New York Alass-meet-
ing.
351.
North American Review,
2)^7.
Ohio Democratic State Convention, 267.
Op-
dyke, George, and Others, 319.
Parker, Joel, 278.
Phillips, John, 363.
Pom-
eroy,
Samuel C,
348.
Pope, John,
191.
Por-
ter,
Fitz-John,
219.
Ramsey,
Alexander,
159.
Raymond, Henry
J.,
92.
Reed,
Alexander,
235.
Reynolds, J. J.,
328.
Robertson,
George,
193.
Rogers,
John,
320.
Rosecrans, W.
S.,
203.
Ross,
John,
164.
Russell,
Caleb, and Fenton,
Sallie A., 217.
Sailors'
Fair
at
Boston,
362.
Sanitary
Fair
at
Chicago,
311.
Saxton,
Rufus,
no.
Scher-
merhorn,
I.
M.,
358.
Schofield, John M.,
241.
Schurz,
Carl,
126.
Seymour,
Horatio,
237.
Shepley,
G.
F.,
192.
Sheridan,
Philip
H.,
359.
Sherman, William
T.,
343.
Sickles, Daniel
E.,
2,2,?)-
Sigel,
Franz,
125.
Smith,
Benjamin
G.
and
Franklin
W.,
373.
Speed,
James,
363.
Speed, Mrs. Joshua
F..
304.
Stanley,
Edward,
170.
Stanton, Edwin M., 69.
Steele, Frederick,
330.
Stephens,
Alexander
H.,
371.
Stone,
Charles P.,
102.
Sumner, Charles, 250.
Swann,
Thomas,
313.
Talcott, Washington, 159.
Thayer, J. M., 332.
Thomas,
George
H.,
367.
Thomas,
Lorenzo,
281.
Thomas,
William
B.,
311.
Tobey,
Sam-
uel Boyd, 94,
Tod, David, 266.
Trumbull, Ly-
man,
369.
Usher, John P.,
297.
Vanderbilt,
Cornelius,
144.
Wadsworth, James,
331.
Wakeman, Abram,
354.
Washburn,
Israel, and
Other
Governors,
141.
Washburne,
Elihu
B.,
313.
Watson,
Gillet
F.,
155.
Webster, Thomas,
160.
Weed,
Thurlow, 233.
Weitzel, Godfrey, 374.
Welling,
J-
C., 355.
Williams, John, and Taylor, N.
G.,
311.
Winslow, John A., 364.
Wood, Fernando,
196.
Worden, John
L.,
195.
Working-men of
London, England,
234.
Working-men of Man-
chester,
England,
220.
Yates, Richard, and Butler, William, 95.
THE CORRESPONDENCE OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
(After March
4,
1861)
\_Continned]
CORRESPONDENCE
(After March
4,
1861)
[Contimied.~\
Henry W. Halleck.^
On December
2,
1861,
the President authorized Gen-
eral
Halleck,
of
the
Department
of
Missouri,
to
sus-
pend
therein the writ of habeas corpus and
to exercise
martial law
in
his
discretion.
\_TcIcgrain,]
Washington, D. C, December 31, 1861.
General H. W. Halleck,
St. Louis, Missouri.
General IMcClellan
is
sick.
Are General Buell
and
yourself
in
concert?
When he moves on
Bowling Green, what hinders
it being reinforced
from Columbus ? A simultaneous movement by
you on Columbus might prevent
it.
A.
Lincoln.
[Similar despatch to Buell same date.]
Executive Mansion, January
i,
1862.
My dear General Halleck
: General McClellan
is not dangerously
ill, as I hope, but would better
not be disturbed with business.
I am very anx-
^At
the
outbreak
of
the war
General
Halleck
rivalled
General George
B.
McClellan
in
reputation
as
a
military-
authority. A graduate of West Point in 1839, he published
in 1846 a book, The Elements of Military Art and Science,
which was
regarded
as
a
classic.
He was
prominent
in
military and
political movements
in
California from
1S46
to
1854.
The
President appointed him commander of
the
Department of Missouri in November,
1861.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
ious that,
in case of General
Buell's moving to-
ward
Nashville, the enemy
shall not be greatly
reinforced, and
I
think
there
is danger he
will
be from Columbus.
It seems
to me that a
real
or feigned attack on Columbus from up-river at
the same time would either prevent this or com-
pensate
for
it by throwing Columbus
into our
hands.
I wrote General Buell a letter similar to
this, meaning that he and you shall communicate
and
act
in
concert,
unless
it be your judgment
and
his
that
there
is no necessity
for
it.
You
and he will understand much better than
I how
to do
it.
Please do not lose time in this matter.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
See
letter to Don
Carlos
Buell, on January
i,
1862
;
on January 7,
1862
; on January
13, 1862
; and on March
8.
1862.
On January
6,
1862, General Halleck wrote the Presi-
dent,
describing
the
helpless
condition
of
his
depart-
ment, and
stating the
impossibility of
his
aiding Buell
in Kentucky.
He said
:
Some
of
the
brigadier-generals
assigned
to
this
de-
partment are entirely ignorant of their duties and unfit
for any command.
I
assure
you, Mr.
President,
it
is
very
difficult
to accomplish much with such
means.
I
am
in
the condition
of a
carpenter who
is required
to
build a bridge with a dull
ax, a broken saw, and rotten
timber.
It
is
true
that
I
have some very good green
timber, which will answer the purpose as soon as
I can
get
it
into
shape and
season
it
a
little.
.
.
.
General
Buell's army and
the .forces
at Paducah
oc-
cupy
precisely
the
same
position
in
relation
to
each
other and
to the enemy as did the armies of McDowell
and
Patterson
before
the
battle
of
Bull
Run.
Very
respectfully, your obedient
servant,
H. W. Halleck, Major-General.
On
this
letter the
President wrote
the
following in-
dorsement
:
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Indorsement.']
The within
is a copy of a
letter just received
from
General
Halleck.
It
is
exceedingly
dis-
couraging.
As everywhere
else, nothing can be
done.
A. Lincoln.
January
lo,
1862.
Washington, D. C, January
15, 1862.
Major-General Halleck.
My dear Sir
: This will introduce Governor G.
Koerner, of
Illinois, who
is my personal
friend,
and who
calls on you at my particular
request.
Please open the
sealed
letter he
will hand you
before he leaves you and confer with him as to
its contents.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
\_Inelosiire.'\
Executive Mansion, January
15,
1862.
Major-General Halleck.
My dear Sir
: The Germans are true and patri-
otic, and so
far as they have got cross
in Mis-
souri
it
is upon mistake and misunderstanding.
Without a knowledge of
its
contents, Governor
Koerner,
of
Illinois,
will
hand you
this
letter.
He
is an educated and talented German gentle-
man, as true a man as
lives.
With his assistance
you can
set everything right with the Germans.
i write
this without
his knowledge, asking him
at the same time, by letter, to deliver
it.
My clear
judgment
is
that,
with reference to the German
element in your command, you should have Gov-
ernor Koerner with you
; and
if agreeable to you
and him,
I will make him a brigadier-general, so
that he can afford to so give his time.
He does
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
not wish to command in the
field, though he has
more miHtary knowledge than many who do.
If
he goes
into the place he will simply be an
effi-
cient,
zealous, and
unselfish assistant to you.
I
say
all
this upon intimate personal acquaintance
with Governor Koerner.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive
]\Iansion, February
i6,
1862.
]\Iajor-General Halleck,
St.
Louis,
Missouri.
You
have
Fort Donelson
safe,
unless
Grant
shall
be overwhelmed from
outside
;
to prevent
which latter will, I think, require all the vigilance,
energy, and skill of yourself and Buell, acting in
full cooperation.
Columbus will not get at Grant,
but
the
force from Bowling Green
will.
They
hold the railroad from Bowling Green to within
a few miles
of Fort Donelson, with the bridge
at
Clarksville undisturbed.
It
is unsafe
to
rely
that
they
will not dare
to expose
Nashville
to
Buell.
A
small
part
of
their
force
can
retire
slowly toward
Nashville, breaking up
the
rail-
road as they go, and keep Buell out of that city
twenty days.
Meanwhile Nashville will be abun-
dantly
defended by
forces
from
all
South and
perhaps
from
here
at
Manassas.
Could
not
a
cavalry force from General Thomas on the Up-
per Cumberland dash
across, almost
unresisted,
and cut the railroad at or near Knoxville, Ten-
nessee?
In the midst of a bombardment at Fort
Donelson, why could not a gunboat run up and
destroy the bridge
at
Clarksville?
Our success
or
failure
at Fort Donelson
is vastly important,
and
I beg you to put your soul
in the effort.
I
send a copy of this to Buell.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
War Department, April
23,
1862.
Major-General
Halleck,
Pittsburg Landing.
The President desires
to know why you have
made no official report to this department respect-
ing
the
late
battle
at
Pittsburg
Landing,
and
whether any
neglect
or misconduct
of
General
Grant
or
any
other
officer
contributed
to
the
sad casualties that befell our forces on Sunday.^
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May
I,
1862.
Major-General Halleck,
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee.
I am
pressed
by
the
Missouri
members
of
Congress
to
give General
Schofield independent
command in Missouri.
They insist that for want
of this their local troubles gradually grow worse.
I have
forborne,
so
far,
for
fear
of interfering
with and embarrassing your operations.
Please
answer,
telling me
w^hether anything, and what,
I can do for them without injuriously interfering
with you.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May
24,
1862.
Major-General
Halleck,
Near Corinth,
Alississippi.
Several
despatches
from
Assistant
Secretary
Scott
and
one
from
Governor Morton
asking
^ April
6,
1862.
It was
unofficially charged
that Grant
was drunk during the
battle.
Lincoln replied to the charge
by inquiring the name of the brand of Grant's whiskey, say-
ing he should like to send some of
it to certain other gen-
erals.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
reinforcements
for you
have been
received.
I
beg you
to be assured we do
the best we
can.
I mean to cast no blame when
I tell you each of
our commanders along our
line from Richmond
to Corinth supposes himself to be confronted by
numbers superior
to his own.
Under
this
pres-
sure we thinned the
line on the upper Potomac,
until yesterday
it was broken at heavy loss to us,
and
General Banks ^
put
in
great
peril,
out
of
which he
is not yet extricated, and may be actu-
ally
captured.
We
need men
to
repair
this
breach, and have them
not
at hand.
My
dear
general,
I
feel justified to rely very much on you.
I believe you and the brave officers and men with
you can and will get the victory at Corinth.
A.
Lincoln.
\Telegram.']
Washington, June
8,
1862.
jMajor-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
We are changing one of the departmental lines,
so as to give you
all of Kentucky and Tennessee.
In your movement upon Chattanooga
I think
it
probable
that you
include some combination
of
the
force near Cumberland Gap under General
Morgan.
Do you?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Washington, June
18,
1862.
]\Iajor-General Halleck, Corinth,
Mississippi.
It would be of both
interest and value
to us
here
to know how
the
expedition toward
East
Tennessee
is
progressing,
if
in your judgment
you can give us the information with safety.
A.
Lincoln.
^ See correspondence with N.
P. Banks and with John C.
Fremont.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
War Department, June 28,
1862.
Major-General Halleck.
The enemy have concentrated in such force at
Richmond as to render
it absolutely necessary, in
the opinion of the President, for you immediately
to detach 25,000
of your
force and forward
it
by the nearest and quickest route by way of Bal-
timore and Washington to Richmond.
It
is be-
lieved that the quickest route would be by way
of Columbus, Ky., and up the Ohio River.
But
in detaching your force the President directs that
it be done in such a way as to enable you to hold
your ground and
not
interfere with
the move-
ment
against Chattanooga and East
Tennessee.
This condition being observed, the
forces
to be
detached and the routes they are
to be
sent are
left to your own judgment.
The direction to send these forces immediately
is rendered imperative by a serious reverse suf-
fered by
General
McClellan
before Richmond
yesterday.
.
.
.
Edwin ^I. Stanton, Secretary of War.
Washington, D. C, June
30,
1862.
!Major-General Halleck, Corinth,
Mississippi.
Would be very glad of 25,000 infantry; no ar-
tillery or cavalry
; but please do not send a man
if
it endangers any place you deem important to
hold, or
if
it forces you to give up or weaken or
delay
the
expedition
against
Chattanooga.
To
take and hold the railroad
at or
east of Cleve-
land, in East Tennessee,
I think
fully as impor-
tant as the taking and holding of Richmond.
A. Lincoln.
S
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.]
War Department, June 30, 1862.
3 p. m.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth.
Your telegram of this date just received.
The
Chattanooga expedition must not on any account
be
given
up.
The
President
regards
that and
the movement against East Tennessee as one of
the most important movements of the war, and
its occupation nearly as important as the capture
of Richmond.
He
is not pleased with the tardi-
ness of the movement toward Chattanooga, and
directs that no force be sent here
if you cannot
do
it without breaking up the operations against
that point and East
Tennessee.
Infantry
only
are needed
; our cavalry and artillery are strong
enough.
The first reports from Richmond were
more discouraging than the truth warranted.
If
the advantage
is not on our
side,
it
is balanced.
General McClellan has moved his whole force on
the
line
of
the James
River, and
is
supported
there by our gunboats
; but he must be largely
strengthened
before
advancing,
and
hence
the
call on you, which
I am glad you answered
so
promptly.
Let me know
to what point on the
river you will send your forces, so as to provide
immediately
for transportation.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegrani.l
Washington, D. C, July
2,
1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth,
Mississippi.
Your several despatches of yesterday to Sec-
retary of War and myself received.
I did
say,
and now repeat, I would be exceedingly glad for
some reinforcements from you.
Still do not send
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
a man
If in your judgment
it will endanger any
point you deem important to hold, or will force
you to give up or weaken or delay the Chatta-
nooga expedition.
Please tell me could you not make me a flying
visit
for
consultation
without
endangering
the
service in your department.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, July
4,
1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth, Mississippi.
You do not know how much you would oblige
us
if, without abandoning any of your positions
or plans, you could promptly send us even 10,000
infantry.
Can you not?
Some part of the Cor-
inth army is certainly fighting McClellan in front
of Richmond.
Prisoners are in our hands from
the late Corinth army.
A. Lincoln.
War Department, July 6,
1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth,
INIississippi.
Aly dear
Sir
: This introduces Governor Wil-
liam Sprague, of Rhode Island.
He
is now gov-
ernor for the third time, and senator-elect of the
United
States.
I know the object of his visit to you.
He has
my cheerful consent to go, but not my direction.
He wishes
to
get you and part of your
force,
one or both, to come here.
You already know I
should be
exceedingly
glad
of
this
if,
in your
judgment,
it could be without endangering posi-
tions and operations in the southwest
; and
I now
repeat wdiat
I have more than once said by tele-
graph, ''Do not come or send a man
if, in your
judgment,
it
will endanger any point you deem
lo
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
important
to
hold,
or
endangers
or
delays
the
Chattanooga
expedition."
Still, please give my friend, Governor Spragne,
a
full and fair hearing.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
lOrdcr.]
Executive Mansion, July
ii,
1862.
Ordered, That Major-General Henry W, Hal-
leck
be
assigned
to command
the
whole
land
forces
of the United
States,
as
general-in-chief,
and that he repair to
this capital
so soon
as he
can with
safety
to
the
positions and
operations
within the department now under
his charge.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, July
1 1,
1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth.
Governor
Johnson,
at
Nashville,
is
in
great
trouble and anxiety about a raid into Kentucky.
The Governor
is a true and a valuable man—in-
dispensable to us in Tennessee.
Will you please
get
in communication with him, and have a
full
conference with him before you leave for here?
I have telegraphed him on the
subject.
A. Lincoln.
[TelegramJ]
War Department, July
13,
1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth,
Mississippi.
They
are
having
a
stampede
in
Kentucky.
Please look to
it.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
ii
[Telegram.']
War Department,
July
14,
1862.
Major-General Halleck, Corinth,
Mississippi.
I am very anxious—almost impatient—to have
you
here.
Have due regard to what you
leave
behind.
When can you reach here?
A. Lincoln.
[ Order.']
Washington, D. C, September
3,
1862,
Ordered,
That
the
general-in-chief,
jNIajor-
General
Halleck,
immediately
commence,
and
proceed
with
all
possible
despatch,
to
organize
an army, for active operations, from
all the ma-
terial
within
and
coming
within
his
control,
independent of the forces he may deem necessary
for the defense of Washington when such active
army shall take the field.
By order
of
the
President
:
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
McClellan's Headquarters, October 3,
1862.
^Major-General Halleck.
General Stuart, of the rebel army, has sent in
a few
of our
prisoners
under
a
flag
of
truce,
paroled with terms to prevent their fighting the
Indians, and
evidently seeking to commit us to
their
right
to parole our prisoners
in that way.
My inclination
is to send the prisoners back with
a distinct notice that we will recognize no paroles
given
to
our
prisoners
by
rebels
as
extending
beyond the prohibition against fighting them, yet
I wish your opinion upon
it based both upon the
general law and our cartel.
I wish to avoid vio-
lations of law and bad
faith.
Answer as quickly
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
as possible, as the thing
if done at
all should be
done
at once.
A.
Lincoln,
President.
Steamer Baltimore,- off Aqiiia Creek,
Virginia, November 27,
1862.
Major-General Halleck.
Sir:
I have
just had
a long conference with
General
Burnside.
He
believes
that
General
Lee's whole army,
or nearly the w^iole
of
it,
is
in
front
of
him,
at
and
near
Fredericksburg.
General Burnside says he could take into battle
now any day about
110,000 men; that his army
is
in good
spirit, good
condition, good morale,
and
that
in
all "respects he
is
satisfied with
offi-
cers and men
; that he does not want more men
with him, because he could not handle them to
advantage
; that he thinks he can cross the river
in
face
of the enemy and
drive him away
; but
that,
to use
his own expression,
it
is somewhat
risky.
I wish the case to stand more favorably
than this in two respects
: First,
I wish his cross-
ing of the river to be nearly free from risk
; and,
secondly,
I wush the enemy to be prevented from
falling back, accumulating strength
as he
goes,
into his intrenchments at Richmond.
I therefore
propose
that
General
Burnside
shall
not move
immediately
; that we accumulate a force on the
south bank of the Rappahannock—at,
say. Port
Royal—under protection of one or two gunboats,
as nearly up to 25,000 strong as we can
;
at the
same
time
another
force
of
about
the
same
strength
as
high
up
the Pamunkey
as
can be
protected by
gunboats.
These being
ready,
let
all
three
forces move
simultaneously:
General
Burnside's force in
its attempt to cross the river,
the Rappahannock
force moving directly up the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
south
side
of
the
river
to
his
assistance,
and
ready,
if found admissible,
to
deflect
off
to the
zurnpike bridge over the Mattapony in the direc-
tion of Richmond
; the Pamunkey force to move
as
rapidly
as
possible up the north
side of the
Pamunkey,
holding
all
the
bridges,
and
espe-
cially the turnpike
bridge immediately north
of
Hanover
Court House
;
hurry
north
and
seize
and
hold
the
Mattapony
bridge
before
men-
tioned, and
also,
if possible, press higher up the
streams and destroy the railroad bridges.
Then
if General Burnside succeeds in driving the ene-
my
from
Fredericksburg,
he
(the
enemy)
no
longer has the road
to Richmond, but we have
it, and can march
into the
city.
Or,
possibly,
having forced the enemy from his
line, we could
move
upon
and
destroy
his
army.
General
Burnside's main army would have the same line
of supply and
retreat
as he has now
provided.
The Rappahannock force would have that river
for supply, and gunboats to
fall back upon; and
the Pamunkey
force would have
that
river
for
supply, and
a
line between the two
rivers—Pa-
munkey and Mattapony—along which to fall back
upon
its
gunboats.
I
think the
plan promises
the
best
results,
with
the
least hazard,
of any
now
conceivable.
Note.—The above
plan proposed by me was
rejected by General Halleck and General Burn-
side on the ground that we could not raise and
put in position the Pamunkey force without too
much waste of time.
A. L.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
Executive IMansion, January
i,
1863.
Alajor-General
Halleck.
My dear Sir
: General Bumside wishes to cross
the Rappahannock with his army, but his granc
division commanders
all oppose
the movement
If
in such a
difficulty as
this you do not
help,
you
fail me
precisely
in the
point
for which
sought your
assistance.
You' know what Gen-
eral
Burnside's plan
is, and
it
is my wish that
you go with him
to
the ground, examine
it
as
far
as practicable, confer with the
officers,
get-
ting their judgment and ascertaining their tem-
per—in a word, gather all the elements for form-
ing a judgment of your own, and then
tell Gen-
eral Burn side that you do approve or that you
do not approve his plan.
Your military
skill
is
useless to me
if you will not do
this.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.^
January
i,
1863.
Withdrawn, because considered harsh by Gen-
eral Halleck.
A. Lincoln.
Headquarters of the Army,
January
i,
1863.
Hon.
E. M.
Stanton,
Secretary of War,
Washington,
D.
C.
Sir: From my
recent
interview
with
the
President
and
yourself,
and
from
the
President's
letter
of
this
morning, which you
delivered
to me
at your reception,
I am
led
to believe that
there
is
a very important
dif-
ference
of
opinion
in
regard
to my
relations toward
generals commanding
armies
in
the
field,
and
that
I
cannot
perform
the
duties
of my
present
office
satis-
factorily at the same time
to the President and to my-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
self.
I therefore respectfully request that
I may be
re-
lieved from
further
duties
as
general-in-chief/
Very
respectfully your obedient
servant,
H. W. Halleck.
See
letter
to
Ambrose
E.
Burnside
of
January
5,
1863.
Executive ^Mansion, January
7,
1863.
Major-General Halleck.
]\Iy dear
Sir
: What think you
of forming a
reserve
cavalry
corps
of,
say,
6,000,
for
the
Army of the Potomac?
Might not such a corps
be
constituted from
the
cavalry
of
Sigel's and
Slocum's
corps
with
scraps we
could
pick up
here and there?
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Soldiers' Home,
Washington, July
6,
1863.
p. m.
Major-General Halleck.
I
left the telegraph
office
a good
deal
dissat-
isfied. You know
I
did not
like
the phrase—in
Orders, No.
68,-
I believe—"Drive the invaders
from
our
soil."
Since
that,
I
see
a
despatch
from General French, saying the enemy
is cross-
ing his wounded over the river
in
flats, without
saying why he does not stop
it, or even intimat-
ing a thought that
it ought to be stopped.
Still
later, another despatch from General Pleasonton,
by
direction
of
General
Meade,
to
General
French, stating that the main army
is halted be-
cause
it
is believed the
rebels are concentrating
"on the road toward Hagerstown, beyond
Fair-
field," and
is not to move until
it
is ascertained
^ This application was withdrawn upon the withdrawal of
the
President's
letter.
- Issued by Meade on July
4,
after his defeat of Lee
at
Gettysburg,
Pa.
i6
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
i
that
the
rebels
intend
to
evacuate Cumberland
\^alley.
These things
all appear to me to be connected
with
a purpose
to cover
Baltimore and Wash-
ington,
and
to
get
the enemy
across
the
river
again without a further collision, and they do not
appear connected with
a purpose to prevent his
crossing and to destroy him.
.
I do fear the for-
mer
purpose
is
acted
upon
and
the
latter
is
rejected.
If you are satisfied the latter purpose
is enter-
tained, and
is judiciously pursued,
I am content.
If you are not so
satisfied, please look to
it.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July
29,
1863.
Major-General Halleck.
Seeing General Meade's despatch of yesterday
to yourself causes me
to fear
that he supposes
the Government
here
is demanding of him
to
bring on a general engagement with Lee as soon
as possible.
I am claiming no such thing of him.
In
fact, my judgment
is against
it; which judg-
ment,
of
course,
I
will
yield
if yours and
his
are the contrary.
If he could not safely engage
Lee at Williamsport,
it seems absurd to suppose
he
can
safely
engage
him now when
he
has
scarcely more
than two
thirds
of
the
force he
had
at Williamsport, while
it must be
that Lee
has
been
reinforced.
True,
I
desired
General
Meade
to pursue Lee across the Potomac, hop-
ing,
as
has proved
true,
that he would thereby
clear the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and get
some
advantages
by
harassing him
on
his
re-
treat.
These
being
past,
I am
unwilling
he
should now
get
into
a
general engagement on
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the
impression
that we
here
are
pressing him,
and
I
shall be glad
for you
to
so inform him,
unless your own judgment
is
against
it.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Note.']
August 31, 1863.
It
is
not
improbable
that
retaliation
for
the
recent
great
outrage
at
Lawrence,
in Kansas/
may
extend
to
indiscriminate
slaughter on
the
Missouri
border,
unless
averted
by
very
judi-
cious
action.
I
shall be obliged
if the general-
in-chief
can make
any
suggestions
to
General
Schofield upon the subject.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Alansion, September
15, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
If
I
did not misunderstand General Meade's
last despatch, he posts you on facts as well as he
can, and
desires
your views
and
those
of
the
Government as to what he shall do.
i\Iy opin-
ion
is that he should move upon Lee at once in
manner
of
general
attack,
leaving
to
develop-
ments whether he will make
it a
real
attack.
I
think this would develop Lee's real condition and
purposes
better than
the
cavalry
alone can
do.
Of course my opinion
is not to control you and
General Meade.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
,
y
Executive ^Mansion, September 19, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
By General Meade's
despatch
to you
of yes-
terday
it appears that he desires your views and
those of the Government as to whether he shall
advance upon the enemy.
I am not prepared to
^ Quantrell's massacre
of August
21,
1863.
iS
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
order,
or even
advise,
an advance
in
this
case,
wherein
I
know
so
Httle
of
particulars,
and
wherein
he,
in
the
field,
thinks
the
risk
is
so
great, and the promise of advantage so small.
And yet the case presents matter for very seri-
ous consideration
in another aspect.
These two
armies confront each other across a small
river,
substantially midway between
the two
capitals,
each defending its own capital, and menacing the
other.*
General IMeade estimates the enemy's in-
fantry
in
front
of him
at not
less
than 40,000.
Suppose we add
fifty per
cent,
to
this
for cav-
alry,
artillery, and extra-duty men stretching as
far as Richmond, making the whole force of the
enemy 60,000.
General ^leade, as shown by the returns, has
with him, and between him and Washington, of
the
same
classes
of
well
men,
over
90,000.
Neither can bring the whole
of
his men
into a
battle
; but each can bring as large a percentage
in
as
the
other.
For
a
battle,
then,
General
Meade has three men to General Lee's two.
Yet,
it having been determined that choosing ground
and standing on the defensive gives so great ad-
vantage
that the
three cannot
safely attack the
two,
the
three
are
left simply
standing on
the
defensive
also.
If
the
enemy's
60.000
are
sufficient
to
keep
our 90,000 away from Richmond, why, by the
same
rule, may
not
40,000
of
ours
keep
their
60,000 away from Washington,
leaving us
50.-
000
to put
to some other use?
Having practi-
cally come to the mere defensive,
it seems to be
no economy at
all to employ twice as many men
for that object as are needed.
With no
object,
certainly,
to mislead
myself,
I can
perceive no
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
fault
in
this statement,
unless we admit we are
not the equal of the enemy, man for man.
I hope
you will consider
it.
To avoid misunderstanding,
let me say that to
attempt
to
fight the enemy slowly back
into
his
intrenchments
at Richmond, and then to capture
him,
is an idea
I have been trying to repudiate
for quite a year.
My
judgment
is
so
clear
against
it
that
I
would scarcely allow the attempt
to be made
if
the general
in command should
desire
to make
it.
]\Iy
last attempt upon Richmond was to get
McClellan, when he was
nearer there than
the
enemy was, to run in ahead of him.^
Since then
I have constantly desired the Army of the Poto-
mac to make Lee's army, and not Richmond,
its
objective
point.
If our army cannot
fall upon
the enemy and hurt him where he
is,
it
is plain
to me
it can gain nothing by attempting to
fol-
low him
over
a
succession
of
intrenched
lines
into a
fortified
city.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Alansion, September 21,
1863.
Major-General Halleck.
I
think
it very
important
for General
Rose-
crans
to hold
his
position
at
or
about
Chatta-
nooga, because
if held from that place to Cleve-
land, both inclusive,
it keeps
all Tennessee clear
of the enemy, and
also breaks one of
his most
important railroad
lines.
To prevent these con-
sequences
is so
vital to his cause that he cannot
give up the
efifort
to dislodge us from the posi-
tion, thus bringing him to us and saving us the
labor,
expense, and hazard
of going
farther to
.
^ See
letter
to George
B. McClellan of October
13, 1862.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
find
him, and
also -giving
us
the advantage
of
choosing our own ground and
preparing
it
to
fight him upon.
The details must, of course, be
left
to
General Rosecrans,
while
w^e must
fur-
nish him the means to the utmost of our
ability.
If you
concur,
I
think he would
better be
in-
formed that we are not pushing him beyond this
position;
and
that,
in
fact,
our
judgment
is
rather
against
his going beyond
it.
If he can
only maintain
this
position,
without more,
this
rebellion
can
only
eke
out
a
short and
feeble
existence,
as an
animal sometimes may with
a
thorn in its vitals.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, October i6, 1863.
!Major-General Halleck.
I
do
not
believe Lee
can have
over
60,000
effective men.
Longstreet's corps would not be sent away to
bring an equal force back upon the same road;
and there
is no other direction for them to have
come from.
Doubtless,
in making
the
present movement,
Lee gathered
in
all available
scraps, and added
them to
Hill's and Ewell's corps
; but that
is
all,
and he made the movement in the belief that four
corps
had
left
General
Aleade
;
and
General
Meade's
apparently
avoiding
a
collision
with
him has confirmed him in that belief.
If General
Meade can now attack him on a
field no worse
than
equal
for
us, and
will do
so with
all the
skill and courage which he, his officers, and men
possess, the honor will be his
if he succeeds, and
the blame may be mine
if he
fails.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, October 24, 1863.
Major-General Halleck.
Taking all our information together,
I think
it
probable that Ewell's corps has started
for East
Tennessee by way
of Abingdon, marching
last
Monday, say, from Meade's front directly to the
railroad
at
Charlottesville.
First,
the
object
of
Lee's
recent movement
against Meade;
his
destruction
of
the Alexan-
dria and Orange Railroad, and subsequent with-
drawal, without more motive, not otherwise ap-
parent, would be explained by this hypothesis.
Secondly, the direct statement of Sharpe's men
that Ewell has gone
to Tennessee.
Thirdly, the Irishman's statement that he has
not
gone
through
Richmond
and
his
further
statement
of
an
appeal made
to
the
people
at
Richmond
to go
and
protect
their
salt,
which
could only refer to the works near Abingdon.
Fourthly,
Graham's
statement from
Martins-
burg
that Imboden
is
in
retreat
for Harrison-
burg.
This
last matches with the idea that Lee
has
retained
his
cavalry,
sending Imboden and
perhaps
other scraps to
join Ewell.
Upon this
probability what
is to be done?
If you have a plan matured,
I have nothing to
say.
If you have not, then
I suggest that, with
all possible expedition, the Army of the Potomac
get ready
to
attack
Lee, and
that
in
the mean
time a raid
shall,
at
all hazards, break the
rail-
road at or near Lynchburg.
Yours
truly,
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive ^lansion, January 28, 1864.
Major-General Halleck.
Some citizens of Missouri,
vicinity of Kansas
City, are apprehensive that there
is
special dan-
ger
of
renewed
troubles
in
that
neighborhood,
and thence on the route toward New Mexico.
I
am not impressed that the danger
is very great
or imminent, but
I
will thank you to give Gen-
erals Rosecrans and Curtis, respectively, such or-
ders
as may
turn
their
attention
thereto
and
prevent
as
far
as possible the apprehended
dis-
turbance.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Washington
City,
July
2y,
1864.
Major-General Halleck.
General
:
Lieutenant-General
Grant
having
signified that, owing to the
difficulties and delay
of communication between his headquarters and
Washington,
it
is necessary
that
in the
present
emergency
military
orders
must
be
issued
di-
rectly
from
Washington,
the
President
directs
me to instruct you that all the military operations
for
the
defense
of the Middle Department,
the
Department
of
the
Susquehanna,
the
Depart-
ment
of
Washington,
and
the
Department
of
West
Virginia, and
all
the
forces
in
those
de-
partments,
are
placed under your general com-
mand, and that you
will be expected to take
all
military measures
necessary
for defense against
any attack of the enemy and for his capture and
destruction.
You
will
issue from time
to time
such orders to the commanders of the respective
departments and to the military authorities there-
in as may be proper.
Your obedient servant,
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
George B. McClellan.^
See
letter
to Winjfield
Scott of November
i,
1861.
Executive Mansion, December
6,
1861.
Major-General McClellan.
My
dear
Sir
: Captain
Francis
G. Young,
of
the California regiment
(Colonel Baker's),
is in
some
difficulty—I
do
not
precisely
understand
what.
I
believe you know
I was
unfavorably
impressed toward him because of apparently con-
tradictory accounts he gave me of some matters
at the
battle of
Ball's
Bluff.
At length he has
brought me
the
paper which accompanies
this,
showing,
I think, that he
is entitled to respectful
consideration.
As you see,
-it is signed by several
senators
and
representatives
as
well
as
other
well-known and respectable gentlemen.
I attach
considerable consequence
to
the name
of
Lieu-
tenant-Colonel
Shaler,
late Major
Shaler, of the
New York Seventh.
These things, and his
late
connection with Colonel Baker, induce me to ask
3'ou
if,
consistently with
the
public
service,
the
past,
whatever
it
is,
cannot be
waived, and he
placed
in service and given another chance?
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
^ McClellan was considered the leading military engineer
of the country.
At West Point he
led
his class
in mathe-
matics, and he served with credit in the only United States
corps of engineers in the Mexican War.
He visited Europe
in
1855
to
report
on
foreign army
organization
and
the
Crimean
War.
His
report
was
published
in
1861
as
a
book entitled The Armies of Europe, and brought him great
praise.
At
the outbreak
of the
Civil War he was
a
rail-
road
president.
On
April
23,
1861,
he
was
appointed
major-general of Ohio volunteers.
He invaded West Vir-
ginia and captured
it
for the Union.
For his
success he
was
called
to Washington
to
organize
the Army
of
the
Potomac,
of which he was made commander August
20,
1861.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Washington, December
lo,
1861.
Your
Excellency
:
I
inclose
the
paper you
left
with
me,
filled
as
requested/
In
arriving
at
the
numbers
given,
I have
left the minimum number in garrison and
observation.
Information received recently leads me to believe that
the enemy
could
meet
us
in
front
with
equal
forces
nearly, and
I have now my mind actively turned toward
another
plan
of campaign
that
I
do
not
think
at
all
anticipated
by
the enemy
nor
by many
of
our own
people.
Very
respectfully, your obedient
servant,
George
B.
McClellan, Major-General.
[Inclosure.'l
If
it
were
determined
to
make
a
forward
movement of the Army of the Potomac without
awaiting
further
increase
of numbers
or
better
drill and
discipline, how
long would
it
require
to actually get in motion?
// bridge trains ready by December
15, prob-
ably 2^th.
After leaving all that would be necessary, how
many
troops
could
join
the
movement
from
southwest of the river?
Seventy-one thousand.
How many from northeast of it?
Thu'ty-three tliousand.
Suppose, then, that of those southwest of the
river
fifty thousand move forward and menace
the enemy
at
Centreville
; the remainder of the
movable
force on that
side move rapidly to the
crossing
of
the
Occoquan
by
the
road
from
Alexandria to Richmond, there
to be joined by
the whole movable
force from northeast
of the
river,
having
landed
from
the
Potomac,
just
^ McClellan's notes are written in pencil.
They are here
printed in italics.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
below
the mouth
of
the
Cccoquan, moved
by
land
up
the
south
side
of
that
stream
to
the
crossing point named, then the whole move
to-
gether
by
the
road
thence
to
Brentsville
and
beyond to the railroad just south of
its crossing
of Broad Run,
a strong detachment
of cavalry
having gone
rapidly ahead
to
destroy
the
rail-
road bridges south and north of the point.
If
the
crossing
of
the
Occoquan
by
those
from above be
resisted, those landing from the
Potomac below to take the resisting force of the
enemy in rear; or,
if the landing from the Poto-
mac
be
resisted,
those
crossing
the
Occoquan
from above
to
take
that
resisting
force
in
the
rear.
Both points will probably not be success-
fully resisted
at the same time.
The
force
in
front
of
Centreville,
if
pressed
too hardly, should fight back slowly into the
in-
trenchments behind them.
Armed
vessels and
transportation
should
re-
main at the Potomac landing to cover a possible
retreat.
Executive Mansion, February
3,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My
dear
Sir: You and
I
have
distinct and
different plans
for a movement of the Army of
the Potomac—yours to be down the Chesapeake,
up
the
Rappahannock
to
Urbana,
and
across
land to the terminus of the railroad on the York
River
; mine to move
directly to a point on the
railroad southwest of Manassas.
If you
will
give me
satisfactory
answers
to
the following questions,
I
shall gladly yield my
plan to yours.
First. Does
not your
plan
involve
a
greatly
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
larger
expenditure
of
time
and
money
than
mine ?
Second. Wherein
is a victory more certain by
your plan than mine?
Third. Wherein
is a victory more valuable by
your plan than mine?
Fourtli.
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?
Fiffli.
In case of disaster, would not a retreat
be more difficult by your plan than mine ?
Yours
truly,
Abraham Lincoln.
•
[Memorandum.']
First. Suppose the enemy should attack us in
force before we reach the Occoquan, what?
Second. Suppose the enemy in force shall dis-
pute
the
crossing
of
the Occoquan, what?
In
view of this, might
it not be safest for us to cross
the Occoquan
at
Colchester,
rather than
at the
village of Occoquan?
This would cost the ene-
my two
miles more
of
travel
to
meet
us,
but
would, on the contrary,
leave us two miles
far-
ther from our ultimate
destination.
Third.
Suppose we reach Maple Valley with-
out an
attack,
will we not be
attacked
there
in
force
by
the
enemy
marching by
the
several
roads from Manassas
; and
if
so, what ?
Executive Mansion, March
31,
1862.
]\Iajor-General McCIellan.
My dear Sir: This morning
I
felt constrained
to
order
Blenker's
division
to
Fremont,
and
I
write this to assure you
I did so with great pain,
understanding that you would wish
it otherwise.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
If you could know the
full pressure of the case,
I am confident that you would justify
it, even be-
yond
a
mere
acknowledgment
that
the
com-
mander-in-chief may order what he
pleases.
Yours very truly,
Abraham Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Washington, April 6, 1862.
p. m.
General G.
B.
]\IcClellan.
Yours of
II
a. m. to-day received.
Secretary
of War
informs me
that
the
forwarding
of
transportation,
ammunition,
and
Woodbury's
brigade, under your orders,
is
not, and
will not
be,
interfered
with.
You now
have
over
one
hundred thousand troops with you, independent
of General W^ool's command.
I think you better
break the enemy's
line from Yorktown to War-
wick River at once.
This will probably use time
as advantageously as you can.
A. Lincoln, President.
Washington, April
9,
1862.
JMajor-General McClellan.
My
dear
Sir
: Your
despatches,
complaining
that you
are not properly
sustained, while
they
do not offend me, do pain me very much.
Blenker's
division
was withdrawn
from
you
before you
left here, and you knew the pressure
under which
I
did
it, and,
as
I thought,
acqui-
esced in
it—certainly not without reluctance.
After you left
I ascertained that less than 20,-
000
unorganized
men,
without
a
single
field-
battery, were
all you designed to be
left for the
defense of Washington and Manassas Junction,
and
part
of
this
even was
to
go
to
General
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Hooker's
old
position
;
General
Banks's
corps,
once
designed
for
JManassas
Junction, was
di-
vided and tied up on the
line of Winchester and
Strasburg, and could not leave
it without again
exposing the upper Potomac and
the Baltimore
and Ohio
Railroad.
This presented
(or would
present, when AIcDowell and Sumner ^ should be
gone)
a great temptation to .the enemy to turn
back from
the Rappahannock and
sack Wash-
ington.
]\Iy
explicit
order
that
Washington
should, by the judgment of
all the commanders
of
corps, be
left
entirely
secure, had been neg-
lected.
It was
precisely
this
that drove me
to
detain McDowell.
I do not forget that
I was
satisfied with your
arrangements
to leave Banks
at Manassas Junc-
tion
; but when that arrangement was broken up
and nothing was substituted
for
it, of course
I
was not
satisfied.
I was constrained
to
substi-
tute something for
it myself.
And now allow me to ask, do you really think
I
should
permit
the
line
from
Richmond
via
Manassas
Junction
to
this
city
to
be
entirely
open, except what resistance could be presented
by
less than 20,000 unorganized troops?
This
is
a question which
the country
will not allow
me to evade.
There
is a curious mystery about the number
of
the
troops now
with
you.
When
I
tele-
graphed you on
the
6th,
saying you had
over
100,000 with you,
I had just obtained from the
Secretary of War a
statement, taken
as he
said
from
your own
returns, making
108,000
then
with you and
e]i route to you.
You now say you
will have
but 85,000 when
all
route to you
^ General Edwin V. Sumner.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
shall have reached you.
How can this discrep-
ancy of 23,000 be accounted for?
As to General Wool's command,
I understand
it
is doing for you precisely what a like number
of your own would have to do
if that command
was away.
I suppose the whole force which has
gone forward to you
is with you by
this time;
and
if
so,
I think
it
is the precise time for you
to strike a blow.
By delay the enemy will rela-
tively gain upon you—that
is, he will gain faster
by
fortifications
and
reinforcements
than
you
can by reinforcements alone.
And once more
let me
tell you
it
is indispen-
sable
to
you
that
you
strike
a
blow.
I am
powerless to help
this.
You will do me the jus-
tice
to remember
I
always
insisted
that going
down
the bay
in
search
of
a
field,
instead
of
fighting at or near Manassas, was only shifting
and not surmounting a difficulty
; that we would
find the same enemy and the same or equal
in-
trenchments
at
either
place.
The country
will
not
fail to note—is noting now—that the present
hesitation to move upon an intrenched enemy
is
but the story of Manassas repeated.
I beg to assure you that
I have never written
you or spoken to you in greater kindness of feel-
ing than now, nor with a
fuller purpose to sus-
tain you, so far as in my most anxious judgment
I consistently can
; but you must
act.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, April 21, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch
of the
19th was
received that
day.
Fredericksburg is evacuated and the bridges
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
destroyed by the enemy, and a small part of Mc-
Dowell's command occupies this side of the Rap-
pahannock,
opposite
the
town.
He
purposes
moving his whole force to that point.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, May
i,
1862.
^lajor-General McClellan,
Your call for Parrott guns ^ from Washington
alarms
me,
chiefly
because
it
argues
indefinite
procrastination.
Is anything
to be done?
A. Lincoln.
Fort Monroe, Virginia, May
9,
1862.
IMajor-General
jNIcClellan.
My dear
Sir:
I have just
assisted the
Secre-
tary of \\'ar in framing part of a despatch to you
relating to army corps, which despatch of course
will have reached you long before
this
will.
I wish to say a few words to you privately on
this subject.
I ordered the army corps organiza-
tion
not only on the unanimous opinion
of the
twelve generals whom you had
selected and
as-
signed
as
generals
of
division, but
also on
the
unanimous opinion of every military man
I could
get an opinion from (and every modern military
book), yourself only excepted.
Of course
I did
not on my own judgment pretend to understand
the subject.
I now think
it indispensable for you
to know how your struggle against
it
is received
in quarters which we cannot
entirely disregard.
It
is looked upon as merely an effort to pamper
^ Rifled cannon
of long range and great endurance,
in-
vented by
Robert
P.
Parrott.
superintendent
of
the West
Point cannon foundry
at Cold
Spring, N. Y.
He refused
to enrich himself from the Government by his invention.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
one
or two
pets and
to
persecute and degrade
their supposed rivals.
I have had no word from
Sumner,
Heintzelman,
or
Keyes.
The
com-
manders of these corps are of course
the three
highest
officers
with
you,
but
I am
constantly
told that you have no consultation or communi-
cation
with them
;
that you
consult
and
com-
municate
with
nobody
but
General
Fitz-John
Porter and perhaps General Franklin.
I do not
say these complaints are true or
just, but
at
all
events
it
is
proper you
should know
of
their
existence.^
Do the commanders of corps disobey
your orders in anything?
When you
relieved
General Hamilton
of
his
command the other day, you thereby lost the con-
fidence
of
at
least one
of your best
friends
in
the Senate.
And here
let me say, not as applica-
ble
to you
personally,
that
senators and
repre-
sentatives
speak
of me
in
their
places
as
they
please without question, and that
officers
of the
army must
cease addressing insulting
letters
to
them for taking no greater liberty with them.
But
to
return.
Are you
strong enough—are
you
strong enough,
even with my
help—to
set
your
foot upon the necks of Sumner, Heintzel-
man, and Keyes
all at once?
This
is a practical
and very serious question for you.
The success of your army and the cause of the
country are the same, and of course
I only
de-
sire the good of the cause.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
* This charge
of favoritism soon
received substantiation
by McClellan dividing the army into two provisional army
corps commanded one by Porter and one by Franklin.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
\
[Telegram.]
Washington
City, May
15,
1862.
!Major-General
AlcClellan,
Cumberland, Virginia.
Your long
despatch
of
yesterday
is
just
re-
ceived.
I will answer more fully soon.
Will say
now
that
all your
despatches
to
the
Secretary
of War have been promptly shown to me.
Have
done and shall do all
I could and can to sustain
you.
Hoped
that
the opening
of James
River
and putting Wool and Burnside
in communica-
tion, with an open road to Richmond, or to you,
had
effected something
in that
direction.
I am
still unwilling to take
all our force off the direct
line between Richmond and here.
A. Lincoln.
Washington, May
18,
1862.
p. m.
Major-General George B.
INIcClellan, Command-
ing Army of the Potomac, before Richmond.
General
: Your despatch to the President, ask-
ing reinforcements, has been received and care-
fully considered.
The
President
is not
willing
to
uncover
the
capital
entirely
; and
it
is
believed
that even
if
this were
prudent,
it would
require more
time
to effect a junction between your army and that
of the Rappahannock by the way of the Potomac
and York Rivers than by a land march.
In order,
therefore,
to
increase the strength
of the attack
upon Richmond at the
earliest moment. General
McDowell has been ordered to march upon that
city by the shortest route.
He
is ordered, keep-
ing himself always in position to save the capital
from
all possible attack,
so to operate as to put
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ZZ
his
left wing
in communication with your
right
wing, and you are instructed to cooperate so as
to estabhsh
this communication as soon
as
pos-
sible by extending your right wing to the north
of Richmond.
It
is believed that
this communication can be
safely
established
either
north
or
south
of
the
Pamunkey River.
In
any
event,
you
will
be
able
to
prevent
the
main
body
of
the
enemy's
forces
from
leaving Richmond and
falling
in overwhelming
force upon
General McDowell.
He
will move
Avith
between
thirty-five
and
forty
thousand
men.
A
copy
of
the
instructions
to
General Mc-
Dowell are with
this.
The specific task assigned
to his command has been to provide against any
danger to the capital of the nation.
At your earnest
call
for reinforcements, he
is
sent forward
to
cooperate
in
the
reduction
of
Richmond, but charged,
in attempting
this,
not
to uncover the city of Washington
; and you will
give no order, either before or after your junc-
tion, which can put him out of position to cover
this
city.
You and
he
will communicate
with
each
other
by
telegraph
or
otherwise
as
fre-
quently
as may
be
necessary
for
efficient
co-
operation.
When General McDowell
is
in posi-
tion on your
right,
his
supplies must be drawn
from West
Point,^ and you
will
instruct your
staff-officers
to
be
prepared
to
supply him by
that route.
The President desires that General McDowell
retain
the command
of
the Department
of
the
^ In King William
Co., Va.,
at the head of York
River,
an arm of Chesapeake
Bay.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Rappahannock and of the
forces with which he
moves forward.
By
order
of the
President
:
Edwin
AI. Stanton, Secretary of War.
{Telegram.^
Washington, May 21,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I have just been waited on by a large commit-
tee wdio present a petition signed by twenty-three
senators and
eighty-four
representatives
asking
me
to
restore General Hamilton
to his
division.
I wish
to do
this, and yet
I do not wish
to be
understood
as rebuking you.
Please answer
at
once.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Washington
City, May 22,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your long despatch of yesterday just received.
You will have just such control of General Mc-
Dowell and
his
forces
as you
therein
indicate.
^McDowell
can
reach you by
land
sooner
than
he could get aboard of boats,
if the boats were
ready at Fredericksburg, unless
his march
shall
be resisted, in which case the force resisting him
will
certainly not
be
confronting you
at
Rich-
mond.
By land he can reach you
in
five days
after
starting, whereas by water
he would not
reach you
in two weeks, judging by past expe-
rience.
Franklin's
single division did not reach
you in ten days after
I ordered
it.
A. Lincoln, President United
States.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 24,
1862.
Major-General George B. AlcClellan.
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 bridges
across
the two forks of the Pamunkey, and intercept the
enemy's
retreat, you
will prevent
the army now
opposed
to you from
receiving an
accession
of
numbers
of nearly
15,000 men; and
if you suc-
ceed in saving the bridges you will secure a line
of
railroad
for
supplies
in
addition
to
the
one
you now have.
Can you not do
this almost
as
well
as not
while you
are building the Chicka-
hominy bridges ? McDowell and Shields both say
they can, and positively will, move Monday morn-
ing.
I wish you to move cautiously and safely.
You
will have command
of McDowell,
after
he joins you,
precisely as you indicated
in your
long despatch to us of the 21st.
A.
Lincoln.
^ Richard H. Anderson.
o 6
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 24, 1862.
4 p. m.
]\Iajor-General George B. McClellan.
In consequence of General Banks's critical po-
sition,
I have been compelled to suspend General
JNIcDowell's movements
to
join you.
The
ene-
my
^ are making a desperate push upon Harper's
Ferry, and we are trying to throw General Fre-
mont's force and part of General McDowell's in
their
rear.
A.
Lincoln,
President.
[Telegram.~\
Washington, May 25, 1862.
2 p. m.
]\Iajor-General
JMcClellan.
The enemy
is moving north
in
sufficient force
to drive General Banks before him—precisely in
what force
w^e cannot
tell.
He
is also threaten-
ing Leesburg and Geary, on the Manassas Gap
Railroad,
from
both
north
and
south—in
pre-
cisely what
force we
cannot
tell.
I
think
the
movement
is a general and concerted one, such
as would not be
if he was acting upon the pur-
pose
of a very desperate defense
of Richmond.
I
think
the time
is near when you must
either
attack Richmond or
give up
the job and come
to the defense of Washington.
Let me hear from
you instantly.
A. Lincoln, President.
[Telegram in
Cipher.']
War Department, May 25, 1862.
8.30 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
Your despatch
received.
General Banks was
at Strasburg, with about 6,000 men, Shields hav-
^ Under "Stonewall" Jackson
(see Fremont
correspond-
ence).
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ing been taken from him
to swell a column for
McDowell to aid you at Richmond, and the rest
of his force scattered at various places.
On the
23d
a
rebel
force
of 7,000
to
10,000
fell upon
one regiment and two companies guarding
the
bridge
at
Front
Royal,
destroying
it
entirely
;
crossed the Shenandoah, and on the 24th
(yes-
terday)
pushed
to
get north
of Banks, on the
road to Winchester.
Banks ran a race with them,
beating them into Winchester yesterday evening.
This morning a
battle ensued between
the two
forces, in which Banks was beaten back into
full
retreat
toward
jMartinsburg,
and
probably
is
broken up into a total rout.
Geary, on the Ma-
nassas Gap Railroad, just now reports that Jack-
son
is now near Front Royal, with
10,000,
fol-
lowing up and supporting, as
I understand,
the
force now
pursuing
Banks
;
also
that
another
force of 10,000
is near Orleans, following on in
the
same
direction.
Stripped
bare,
as we
are
here,
it
will be
all we can do
to prevent them
crossing
the
Potomac
at
Harper's
Ferry
or
above.
We have
about
20,000
of McDowell's
force moving back to the vicinity of Front Royal,
and General Fremont, who was
at
Franklin,
is
moving to Harrisonburg; both these movements
intended to get in the enemy's rear.
One more of
INIcDowell's brigades
is ordered
through here to Harper's Ferry
; the
rest of his
force remains for the present at Fredericksburg.
We are sending such regiments and
dribs from
here and Baltimore as we can spare to Harper's
Ferry,
supplying
their
places
in some
sort by
calling in militia from the adjacent States. We
also have eighteen cannon on
the road
to Har-
per's
Ferry,
of which arm
there
is
not
a
sin-
o S
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
gle
one
yet
at
that
point.
This
Is now
our
situation.
If
^McDowell's
force
was now
beyond
our
reach,
we
should
be
utterly
helpless.
Appre-
hension of something like this, and no unwilling-
ness
to sustain you, has always been my reason
for
withholding
IMcDowell's
force
from
you.
Please understand
this, and do the best you can
with the
force you have.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Washington, May 26, 1862.
12.40 p. m.
]\Iajor-General
jMcClellan.
\Ve have General Banks's
official
report.
He
has saved his army and baggage, and has made
a safe
retreat
to
the
river, and
is probably
safe
at Williamsport.
He reports the attacking force
at
15,000.
A.
Lincoln,
President.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 26,
1862.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
Can you
not cut
the Aquia Creek Railroad?
Also, what impression have you as to intrenched
works for you to contend with
In front of Rich-
niond ?
Can you get near enough to throw shells
into the city?
A. Lincoln, President.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 28,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
What
of
F.
J.
Porter's
expedition?
Please
answer.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.^
Washington, May 28, 1862.
8.40 p. m.
Major-General
]\IcClellan.
I am very glad of General F.
J. Porter's vic-
tory.^
Still,
if
it was a total rout of the enemy,
I am puzzled
to know why the Richmond and
Fredericksburg
Railroad was
not
seized
again,
as you
say you have
all
the
railroads
but
the
Richmond and Fredericksburg.
I am puzzled to
see how, lacking that, you can have any, except
the scrap from Richmond to West
Point.
The
scrap of the Virginia Central from Richmond to
Hanover Junction, without more,
is simply noth-
ing.
That
the whole
of
the enemy
is
concen-
trating on Richmond,
I think cannot be certainly
known to you or me.
Saxton, at Harper's Ferry,
informs
us
that
large
forces,
supposed
to
be
Jackson's and
Ewell's, forced
his advance from
Charlestown
to-day.
General
King
telegraphs
us
from
Fredericksburg
that
contrabands
give
certain
information
that
15,000
left
Hanover
Junction Monday morning to reinforce Jackson.
I am painfully impressed with the importance of
the struggle before you, and
shall aid you
all
I
can consistently with my view of due regard to
all points.
A. Lincoln.
\Telegram.']
W^ar Department, May 29, 1862.
10.30 a. m.
Major-General
AlcClellan.
I
think we
shall be able within three days
to
tell you certainly whether any considerable force
^ On May
Porter
defeated
General
Branch.
There
was
no
practical
result
of
the
victory.
Porter marched
back to camp.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
of the enemy—Jackson or any one else—is mov-
ing on to Harper's Ferry or vicinity.
Take this
expected development
into your
calculations.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 31,
1862.
10.20 p. m.
]\Iajor-General
JNIcClellan.
A circle whose circumference shall pass through
Harper's Ferry, Front Royal, and Strasburg, and
whose center
shall be a
little northeast of Win-
chester, almost certainly has within
it this morn-
ing
the
forces
of
Jackson,
Ewell, and Edward
Johnson.
Quite
certainly
they
were
within
it
two
days
ago.
Some
part
of
their
forces
at-
tacked Harper's Ferry at dark last evening, and
are
still
in
sight
this
morning.
Shields,
with
IMcDowell's advance,
retook Front Royal
at
a. m. yesterday, with a dozen of our own prison-
ers taken
there a week ago,
150 of the enemy,
two
locomotives,
and
eleven
cars,
some
other
property and
stores, and saved the bridge.
General Fremont, from the direction of Moore-
field, promises
to be
at or near
Strasburg
at
p. m.
to-day.
General Banks
at
Williamsport,
with his old force and his new force at Harper's
Ferry,
is directed to cooperate.^
Shields at Front
Royal reports a rumor of still an additional force
of the enemy, supposed to be Anderson's, having
entered
the
valley
of
Virginia.
This
last may
or may not be
true.
Corinth
is certainly
in the
hands
of General
Halleck.
A.
Lincoln.
^ See Fremont correspondence.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington City, D.C., June i, 1862.
9.30.
Major-General
AlcClellan.
You are probably engaged with the enemy.
I
suppose he made the attack.
Stand well on your
guard, hold
all your ground, or
yield any only
inch by inch and
in good order.
This morning
we merge General Wool's department into yours,
giving you command of the whole, and sending
General Dix to Fort Monroe and General Wool
to Fort McHenry.
We also send General Sigel
to report to you for duty.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, June
i, 1862.
5 p. m.
]\Iajor-General
uMcClellan.
Thanks
for what
3'ou
could and
did
say
in
your
despatch
of noon to-day
to
the
Secretary
of War.
If the enemy
shall not have renewed
the attack this afternoon,
I think the hardest of
your w^ork is done.
Shields's advance came
in
collision with part
of the enemy yesterday evening, six miles from
Front Royal,
in a direction between Winchester
and
Strasburg,
driving them
back,
capturing a
few prisoners and one
rifled cannon.
Firing in
that direction to-day, heard both from Harper's
Ferry and Front Royal,
indicates a
probability
that Fremont has met the enemy.
We have concluded
to
send General
Sigel
to
Harper's Ferry, so that what
I telegraphed you
about him
this morning
is
revoked.
Dix goes
to Fort jNIonroe to-night.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
\^TcIcgra}]i.~\
Washington, June
3,
1862.
[Major-General McClellan.
With
these continuous
rains
I am very anx-
ious about
the Chickahominy—so
close
in your
rear and
crossing your
line
of
communication.
Please look to
it.
A. Lincoln, President.
War Department, June
15,
1862.
]\Iajor-General
JMcClellan.
My dear Sir
: The night between your two late
battles of Saturday and Sunday
I went earnestly
to work to find a way of putting General Wool's
force under your control without wounding any
one's
feelings.
But,
after
all, General Dix was
a
little hurt
at being taken from an independent
command and put
in
a dependent one.
I could
not help this w^ithout giving up the principal ob-
ject of
the move.
So soon
as you can
(which
I do not expect
is
yet),
I wish you
to give me
the benefit of your suggestions as to how an
in-
dependent command
can be given him
without
detriment.
The Secretary of War has turned over to me
your despatch
about sending McDowell
to you
by water, instead of by land.
I now fear he can-
not get to you either way in time.
Shields's divi-
sion
has
got
so
terribly
out
of
shape,
out
at
elbows, and out at toes, that
it will require a long
time to get
it in again.
I expect to see McDowell
within a day or two, when
I will again talk with
him about the mode of moving.
McCall's
divi-
sion
has
nearly
or
quite
reached you by now.
This,
with what you
get from
General Wool's
old command, and
the new regiments
sent you,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
must give you an increase
since the
late
battles
of over twenty thousand.
Doubtless the battles
and
other
causes
have
decreased
you
half
as
much
in the same time
; but then the enemy have
lost as many in the same way.
I believe
I would
come and see you were
it not that I fear my pres-
ence might
divert you and the army from more
important
matters.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, June
i8,
1862.
Major-General
AlcClellan.
Yours of to-day, making
it probable that Jack-
son
has been
reinforced by
about
10,000 from
Richmond,
is
corroborated by
a despatch from
General
King
at
Fredericksburg,
saying
a
Frenchman, just arrived from Richmond by way
of
Gordonsville,
met
10,000
to
15,000
passing
through
the
latter
place
to
join Jackson.
If this
is true,
it
is as good as a reinforcem.ent
to you of an equal force.
I could better dispose
of things
if
I could know about what day you
can
attack Richmond, and would be glad to be
informed,
if you think you can infonii me with
safety.
A. Lincoln.
\_TeIegrarn.~\
Washington, June
19,
1862.
Major-General
]\IcClellan,
Yours
of
last
night
just
received,
and
for
which
I thank you.
If large reinforcements are going from Rich-
mond
to Jackson,
it proves one of two things
;
either that they are very strong at Richmond, or
do not mean to defend the place desperately.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
On reflection,
I do not see how reinforcements
from Richmond to Jackson could be in Gordons-
ville,
as
reported by
the Frenchman and your
deserters.
Have not
all been sent to deceive?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington
City, June
20,
1862.
^Major-General
]\IcClellan.
\Ve have this morning sent you a despatch of
General
Sigel
corroborative
of
the
proposition
that Jackson
is being reinforced from Richmond.
This may be
reality, and
yet may only be con-
trivance for deception, and to determine which is
perplexing.
If we knew
it was
not
true, we
could send you some more force
; but as the case
stands we do not think we safely can.
Still, we
will watch the signs and do so
if possible.
.
.
.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June 21,
1862.
6 p. m.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
Your despatch of yesterday
(2 p. m.) was re-
ceived 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 tele-
graph, because
of the
better chance
of
' secrecy.
As
to the numbers and
positions
of the troops
not under your command
in Virginia and
else-
where, even if
I could do
it with accuracy, which
I
cannot,
I would rather not transmit
either by
telegraph or
letter because of the chances of
its
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
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.
Washington, June 26,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your three despatches of yesterday in relation
to the affair, ending with the statement that you
completely succeeded
in making your point,
are
very gratifying.
The
latter one
of 6.15
p.
m.,
suggesting the
probability of your being overwhelmed by 200,-
000, and talking of where 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
and
shall omit no opportunity
to send you rein-
forcements whenever
I possibly can.
A. Lincoln.
P. S.
General Pope thinks if you
fall back
it
would be much better toward York River than
toward the James.
As Pope now has charge of
the
capital, please confer with him through the
telegraph.
[Telegram.']
^
War Department, June
28,
1862.
IMajor-General McClellan.
Save your army,
at
all
events. Will send
re-
inforcements as fast as we can.
Of course they
cannot
reach
you
to-day,
to-morrow,
or
next
^ Sent in reply to a despairing despatch of McClellan after
Porter's defeat at Gaines's
Mill on June 27th.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
day.
I have not said you were ungenerous
for
saying you
needed
reinforcements.
I
thought
you were ungenerous
in assuming that
I did not
send them
as
fast
as
I
could.
I
feel any mis-
fortune to you and your army quite as keenly as
you
feel
it yourself.
If you have had a drawn
battle, or a repulse,
it
is the price we pay for the
enemy not being in Washington.
We protected
\\^ashington and the enemy concentrated on you.
Had we
stripped
Washington,
he
would
have
been upon us before the troops could have gotten
to you.
Less than a week ago you
notified us
that
reinforcements
were
leaving Richmond
to
come in front of us.
It
is the nature of the case,
and neither you nor the Government
is to blame.
Please
tell
at
once
the
present
condition
and
aspect of things.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, July
i,
1862.
3.30 p. m.
Major-General George B. McClellan.
It
is impossible to reinforce you for your pres-
ent emergency.
If we had a million of men, we
could
not
get them
to you
in
time.
We have
not
the men
to
send.
If you
are
not
strong
enough to face the enemy, you must find a place
of security, and wait,
rest, and repair.
Maintain
your ground
if you can, but save the army at all
events, even
if you
fall back
to
Fort Monroe.
We
still have
strength enough
in
the
country,
and will bring
it out.
A Lincoln.
War Department, July
2,
1862.
]\Iajor-General McClellan.
Your
despatch
of Tuesday morning
induces
me to hope your army
is having some
rest.
In
this hope
allow me
to
reason
with you
a mo-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ment.
When
you
ask
for
50,000 men
to
be
promptly sent you, you surely labor under some
gross mistake of
fact.
Recently you sent papers
showing your disposal of forces made last spring
for the defense
of Washington, and advising a
return
to
that
plan.
I
find
it
included
in and
about Washington 75,000 men.
Now, please be
assured
I have not men enough to
fill that very
plan by
15,000.
All of Fremont's
in the valley,
all of Banks's,
all of jMcDowell's not with you,
and
all
in Washington,
taken together,
do
not
exceed,
if they reach,
60,000.
\^^ith Wool and
Dix added to those mentioned,
I have
not, out-
side of your army, 75,000 men east of the moun-
tains.
Thus the idea of sending you
50,000, or
any other considerable force, promptly,
is simply
absurd.
If,
in your frequent mention of respon-
sibility, you
have
the
impression
that
I blame
you
for not doing more than you can, please be
relieved of such impression.
I only beg that in
like manner you
will
not
ask
impossibilities
of
me.
If you think you are not strong enough to
take Richmond
just now,
I do not ask you
to
try just now.
Save the army, material and per-
sonal, and
I
will strengthen
it for the offensive
again
as
fast
as
I
can.
The
governors
of
eighteen States offer me a new levy of 300,000,
which
I accept.
A. Lincoln.
War Department, July
3,
1862.
Major-General George B. iMcClellan.
Yours
of
5.30
yesterday
is
just
received.
I
am satisfied that yourself, officers, and men have
done the best you could.
All accounts say better
fighting was never
done.
Ten thousand thanks
for
it.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
On the 28th we sent General Burnside an or-
der to send
all the force he could spare to you.
We then learned that you had requested hhn to
go to Goldsborough
; upon which we said to him
our order was intended for your benefit, and we
did not wish to be
in conflict with your views.
We hope you
will have
help from him
soon.
To-day we have ordered General Hunter to send
vou
all
he can
spare.
At
last advices
General
Halleck
thinks
he
cannot
send
reinforcements
without endangering
all he has gained.
A. Lincoln,
President.
War Department,
Washington City, D. C., July 4, 1862.
]\Iajor-General
jMcClellan.
I understand your
position
as
stated
in your
letter and by General Marcy.
To reinforce you
so as to enable you to resume the offensive with-
in a month, or even six weeks,
is impossible.
In
addition to that arrived and now arriving from
the Potomac
(about 10,000 men,
I suppose, and
about
10,000
I hope you
will have from Burn-
side very soon, and about 5,000 from Hunter a
little
later),
I do not
see how
I can send you
another man within a month.
Under these
cir-
cumstances
the
defensive
for
the
present must
be your only care.
Save the army—first, where
you
are,
if you
can
;
secondly,
by
removal,
if
3-0U
must.
You,
on
the
ground, must
be
the
judge
as to which you
will attempt, and of the
means
for
effecting
it.
I
but
give
it
as my
opinion
that
with
the
aid
of
the gunboats and
the
reinforcements
mentioned
above,
you
can
hold
your
present
position—provided,
and
so
long as, you can keep the James River open be-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
low you.
If you are not tolerably confident you
can keep the James River open, you had better
remove as soon as possible.
I do not remember
that you have expressed any apprehension as to
the danger of having your communication cut on
the river below you, yet
I do not suppose
it can
have escaped your
attention.
Yours very
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
P.
S.
If at any time you feel able to take the
offensive, you are not restrained from doing
so.
A. L.
Washington, July 5, 1862.
a. m.
IMajor-General George B. AlcClellan.
A thousand thanks for the relief your two de-
spatches
of
12 and
I
p. m. yesterday gave me.
Be assured the heroism and
skill of yourself and
officers and men
is^ and
forever
will
be, appre-
ciated.
If you can hold your present position, we shall
have the enemy yet.
A. Lincoln.
On July
9,
1862, the President had an interview with
General
McClellan
and
other
officers
at
^IcClellan's
headquarters
at
Harrison's Landing,
Virginia.
In
this
the
President
inquired
categorically
about
number
of
troops,
their
health,
the
location,
strength,
and
condi-
tion of enemy,
possibility
of easy withdrawal of Union,
troops, and their security in present position.
Executive
Mansion,
Washington, July
13,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: I am told that over 160,000 men
have
gone
into
your
armj
on
the
Peninsula.
When
I was with you the other day we made
out
86,500 remaining,
leaving 73,500
to be
ac-
so
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
counted
for.
I believe 23,500 will cover
all the
killed, wounded, and missing in
all your battles
and
skirmishes,
leaving
50,000 who
have
left
otherwise.
Not more than 5,000
of these have
died, leaving 45,000 of your army
still alive and
not with
it.
I believe half or two thirds of them
are
fit for duty to-day.
Have you any more per-
fect knowledge
of
this than
I have?
If
I am
right,
and
you
had
these men
with
you,
you
could go
into Richmond
in the next three days.
How can they be got to you, and how can they
be
prevented
from
getting away
in such num-
bers for the future?
A. Lincoln.
On August
3,
1862,
General
McClellan was
ordered
to move
his army
to Aquia
Creek, an arm of the Po-
tomac
in
Stafford County, northern
Virginia.
He was
three
weeks
in
doing
so.
On
the
2gth
and
30th
of
August Pope was defeated by
Longstreet and Jackson
in the second battle of Bull Run.
[Telegram.']
Washington, August 29,
1862.
4.10 p. m.
]\Iajor-General McClellan.
Yours
of to-day
just
received.
I
think your
first
alternative—to
wit,
"to concentrate
all our
available
forces
to
open
communication
with
Pope"—is the right one, but
I wish not to con-
trol.
That
I
now
leave
to
General
Halleck,
aided by your counsels.
A. Lincoln.
Halleck, in despair over Pope's
defeat,
called McClel-
lan
to Washington
for
counsel.
On September 2d
the
President placed the defense of Washington
in McClel-
lan's
hands.
In
five
days
McClellan
had
reorganized
the
demoralized
defense.
On
September
7th
Lee had
crossed the Potomac. into Maryland, and McClellan
set
out
to meet him.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C,
September 8,
1862.
p. m.
Major-General
]\IcClellan, Rockville, Md.
How does
it look now?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
September
11, 1862.
6 p. m.
Major-General McClellan.
This
is explanatory.
If
Porter, Heintzelman,
and
Sigel were sent you,
it would sweep
everv'-
thing from
the other
side
of
the
river, because
the
new
troops
have
been
distributed
among
them,
as
I
understand.
Porter
reports
himself
21,000 strong, which can only be by the addition
of new troops.
He
is ordered to-night
to
join
you as quickly as possible.
I am for sending you
all that can be spared, and I hope others can fol-
low Porter verv soon.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
W^ashington City, D. C,
September
12,
1862.
5.45
p. m.
Major-General
]\IcClellan.
Governor Curtin telegraphs me
:
I
have
advices
that Jackson
is crossing the Potomac
at Williamsport, and probably the whole rebel army will
be drawn from iMaryland.
Receiving
nothing
from
Harper's
Ferry
or
Martinsburg
to-day,
and
positive
information
from Wheeling that the
line
is
cut, corroborates
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the idea that the enemy
is recrossing the Poto-
mac.
Please do not let him get off without being
hurt.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, Washington,
September
15,
1862. 2.45
p. m.
Major-General
jMcClellan.
Your despatch of to-day
received.
God bless
you, and
all with you.
Destroy the rebel army
if possible.
A. Lincoln.
McClellan
defeated Lee
at Antietam
Creek, Md., on
September
17th.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C., October 6, 1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I am instructed
to telegraph you
as
follows
:
The
President
directs
that you
cross
the
Poto-
mac and give battle
to the enemy, or drive him
south.
Your army must move now, while
the
roads are good.
If you cross the river between
the enemy and Washington, and cover the latter
by your
operation, you can be
reinforced
with
30,000 men.
If you move up the valley of the
Shenandoah, not more than 12,000 or 15,000 can
be
sent
to you.
The President
advises
the
in-
terior
line between Washington and the enemy,
but does not order
it.
He
is very desirous that
your army move
as soon as possible.
You
will
immediately
report
what
line
you
adopt,
and
W'hen you intend to cross the river; also to what
point
the
reinforcements
are
to
be
sent.
It
is
necessary
that
the
plan
of your
operations
be
positively determined on before orders are given
for building bridges and repairing
railroads.
I
am
directed
to add
that
the
Secretary
of War
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
$$
and
the
general-in-chief
fully
concur
with
the
President in these instructions.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
Executive Mansion, October
13, 1862.
JNIajor-General McClellan.
My dear Sir: You remember my speaking to
you
of
what
I
called
your
over-cautiousness.
Are you not over-cautious when you assume that
you cannot do what the enemy
is constantly do-
ing?
Should you
not
claim
to be
at
least
his
equal in prowess, and act upon the claim?
As
I
understand,
you
telegraphed
General
Halleck
that you cannot subsist your army at Winchester
unless the railroad from Harper's Ferry to that
point be put in 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
Culpeper Court House, which
is just about twice
as
far as you would have to do from Harper's
Ferry.
He
is
certainly not more than
half
as
w^ell provided with wagons
as you
are.
I
cer-
tainly
should
be
pleased
for you
to
have
the
advantage
of the
railroad from Harper's Ferry
to Winchester, but
it wastes
all the remainder of
autumn
to
give
it
to
you, and
in
fact
ignores
the question of time, which cannot and must not
be ignored.
Again, one of the standard maxims
of
war,
as you know,
is
to
^'operate upon
the
enemy's
communications
as
much
as
possible
without exposing your own."
You seem
to act
as
if
this
applies against you, but cannot apply
in your favor.
Change positions with the enemy,
and
think you
not
he would break your com-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
miinications
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 com-
munications,
which
I would
seize
if
he would
permit.
If he should move northward,
I would follow
him
closely, holding his communications.
If he
should
prevent
our
seizing
his communications
and
move
toward
Richmond,
I
would
press
closely
to him,
fight him
if a
favorable oppor-
tunity should present, and at least try to beat him
to Richmond on the
inside track.
I say
*'try"
;
if we never
try, we
shall never succeed.
If he
makes
a
stand
at
Winchester, moving
neither
north nor south,
I would fight him there, on the
idea that
if we cannot beat him when he bears
the wastage of coming to us, we never can when
we
bear
the
wastage
of
going
to
him.
This
proposition
is a simple
truth, and
is too impor-
tant to be lost sight of for a moment.
In coming
to
us
he
tenders
us
an
advantage
which we
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
should not waive.
We should not so operate as
to merely drive him away.
As we must beat him
somewhere or
fail finally, we can do
it,
if at
all,
easier nearer to us than far away.
If we cannot
beat the enemy where he now
is, we never can,
he again being within the intrenchments of Rich-
mond.
Recurring
to the idea of going to Richmond
on the inside track, the facility of supplying from
the side away from the enemy
is remarkable,
as
it were, by the
different spokes
of a wheel ex-
tending from the hub toward the
rim, and this
whether you move
directly by the chord
or on
the
inside
arc,
hugging
the
Blue
Ridge more
closely. The
chord-line,
as you
see,
carries you
by Aldie, Hay Market, and Fredericksburg; and
you see how turnpikes, railroads, and
finally the
Potomac, by Aquia Creek, meet you at
all points
from
Washington
;
the
same,
only
the
lines
lengthened a
little,
if you press closer to the Blue
Ridge part of the way.
The
gaps through
the
Blue Ridge
I
imder-
stand
to be about the following
distances from
Harper's Ferry, to wit
: Vestal's,
5 miles
; Greg-
ory's,
13; Snicker's,
18; Ashby's, 28; Manassas,
;
Chester, 45
; and Thornton's,
53.
I
should
think
it preferable to take the route nearest the
enemy,
disabling
him
to
make
an
important
move
without your knowledge,
and
compelling
him to keep his forces together for dread of you.
The
gaps
would
enable
you
to
attack
if
you
should wish.
For
a great part of the way you
would be practically between the enemy and both
Washington and Richmond, enabling us to spare
you
the
greatest number
of
troops
from
here.
When at length running for Richmond ahead of
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
him enables him to move this way,
if he does so,
turn
and
attack him
in
rear.
But
I
think
he
should
be
engaged
long
before
such
point
is
reached.
It
is
all easy
if our troops march
as
well as the enemy, and
it
is unmanly to say they
cannot do
it.
This letter
is in no sense an order.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, October 21, 1862.
3 p. m.
Major-General George
B.
AlcClellan.
Your telegram of 12 m. has been submitted to
the President.
He directs me to say that he has
no change to make
in
his
order
of the 6th
in-
stant.
If you have not been and are not now in
condition
to obey
it, you
will
be
able to show
such want of ability.
The President does not ex-
pect
impossibilities, but he
is very anxious that
all
this good weather
should
not be
w^asted
in
inactivity.
Telegraph when you
will move, and
on what lines you propose to march.
H. W. Halleck, General-in-chief.
[Telegram.']
War Department, October 24,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
I
have
just
read
your
despatch
about
sore-
tongued and
fatigued
horses.
Will you pardon
me for asking what the horses of your army have
done
since the
battle of Antietam that
fatigues
anything?
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.^
Executive Mansion,
October 26,
1862.
11.30
a, m.
Major-General
IMcClellan.
Yours, in reply to mine about horses, received.
Of
course you know
tiie
facts
better
than
I
;
still,
two
considerations
remain.
Stuart's
cav-
alry
outmarched
ours,
having
certainly
done
more marked service on the Peninsula and every-
where
since.
Secondly,
will not a movement of
our army be a
relief to the
cavalry, compelling
the enemy
to concent;-ate instead of foraging in
squads everywhere?
But
I am
so
rejoiced
to
learn
from
your
despatch
to
General
Halleck
that you begin crossing the
river
this morning.
A. Lincoln.
\TelegraniJ\
Executive Mansion,
October 2^,
1862.
12.10
p. m.
Major-General
IMcClellan.
Yours of yesterday
received.
Most
certainly
I intend no injustice to any, and
if
I have done
any
I
deeply regret
it.
To be
told,
after more
than
five weeks'
total inaction of the army, and
during which period we have
sent
to the army
every
fresh horse we possibly could, amounting
in
the whole
to
7,918,
that
the
cavalry
horses
were too much fatigued to move, presents a very
cheerless,
almost
hopeless,
prospect
for
the
fu-
ture, and
it may have forced something of impa-
tience in my despatch.
If not recruited and rested
then, when could they ever be ?
I
suppose
the
river
is rising, and
I am glad to believe you are
crossing.
A. Lincoln.
S8
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.]
Executive
]\Iansion,
October 2y, 1862. 3.25 p. m.
Major-General
]\IcClellan.
Your despatch of 3
p. m. to-day,
in regard to
filling up old regiments with drafted men,
is
re-
ceived, and the request therein shall be complied
with as far as practicable.
_ And now
I ask a
distinct answer
to the ques-
tion.
Is
it your
purpose
not
to go
into
action
again
until
the men now being
drafted
in
the
States
are incorporated
into
the
old regiments?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.J
Executive Mansion, October 29,
1862.
Major-General McClellan.
Your
despatches
of night before
last,
yester-
day,
and
last
night
all
received.
I
am"^ much
pleased with the movement of the army.
When
you get
entirely
across
the
river
let me know.
What do you know of the enemy?
A.
Lincoln.
[Order.']
Executive Mansion, November
5,
1862.
By
direction
of
the
President,
it
is
ordered
that Major-General McClellan be relieved from
the command of the Army of the Potomac, and
that Alajor-General Burnside take the command
of that army.
Also that Major-General Hunter
take command of the corps
in
said army which
is now commanded by General Burnside.
That
Major-General Fitz-John Porter be relieved from
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
command of the corps he now commands in said
army, and that IMajor-General Hooker take com-
mand of
said
corps.
The
general-in-chief
is
authorized,
in
\Jiis^
discretion,
to
issue an order
substantially as the
above,
forthwith,
or
so
soon
as
he may deem
proper.
A. Lincoln.
David Hunter.
Executive Mansion, December
31,
1861.
Major-General Hunter.
Dear
Sir
: Yours
of
the 23d
is
received, and
I am constrained to say
it
is
difficult to answer
so ugly a
letter
in good temper.
I am,
as you
intimate,
losing much of
the great confidence
I
placed
in you, not from any
act or omission of
yours touching the public service, up to the time
you
were
sent
to
Leavenworth,
but
from
the
flood of grumbling despatches and letters
I have
seen from you
since.
I knew you were being
ordered to Leavenworth at the time
it was done
;
and
I aver that with as tender a regard for your
honor and vour sensibilities as I had for my own,
it
never
occurred
to me
that you
were
being
''humiliated,
insulted and
disgraced"
; nor have
I, up
to
this
day, heard an intimation that you
have been wronged, coming from any one
but
yourself— No one has blamed you for the retro-
grade movement
from
Springfield,
nor
for
the
information you gave General Cameron
; and this
you could readily understand,
if
it were not for
your unwarranted assumption that the ordering
you
to Leavenworth must necessarily have been
done as a punishment for some fault.
I thought
then, and think yet, the position assigned to you
is
as
responsible, and
as
honorable,
as
that
as-
6o
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
signed to Buell—I know that General McClellan
expected more
important
results
from
it.
My
impression
is that at the time you were assigned
to the new Western Department,
it had not been
determined to replace General Sherman in Ken-
tucky
; but of this
I am not certain, because the
idea that a command in Kentucky was very de-
sirable, and one in the farther West undesirable,
had never occurred to me.
You constantly speak
of being placed in command of only 3,000.
Now
tell me,
is this not mere impatience?
Have you
not known all the while that you are to command
four or five times that many?
I
have
been,
and am
sincerely your
friend
;
and
if,
as
such,
I dare to make a suggestion,
I
would
say you
are
adopting
the
best
possible
way to ruin yourself.
*'Act well your part, there
all the honor
lies."
He who does something at
the head of one regiment,
will
eclipse him who
does notliing at the head of a hundred.
Your friend, as ever,
A. Lincoln.
On
the
outside
of
the
envelope
in which
this
letter
was found. General Hunter had written
:
"The
President's
reply
to my 'ugly
letter,'
This lay
on
his
table
a month
after
it was
written,
and when
finally sent was by a special conveyance, with the direc-
tion that
it was only to be given to me when I was in a
good humor."
In
March,
1862,
General Hunter was
transferred
to
the Department of the South with headquarters
at Port
Royal,
S.
C.
On April
12th he issued an order freeing
the slaves of enemies of the United
States.
This com-
ing
to
the
attention
of
the
President, on May
17th he
indorsed on the order
:
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
6r
May
17,
1862.
No commanding general shall do such a thing
upon my
responsibility without consulting me.
A.
Lincoln.
See
letter
to George
B.
McClellan
of November
5,
1862.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, April
i,
1863.
Major-General Hunter.
My dear Sir
:
I am glad to see the accounts of
your
colored
force
at
Jacksonville,
Florida.
I
see the enemy are driving at them
fiercely, as
is
to
be
expected.
It
is
important
to
the enemy
that such a force shall not take shape and grow
and
thrive
in
the
South,
and
in
precisely
the
same proportion
it is important to us that
it shall.
Hence the utmost caution and vigilance
is neces-
sary on our
part.
The enemy
will make extra
efforts
to
destroy
them, and we should
do
the
same to preserve and increase them.
Yours truly,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April
14,
1863.
General Hunter and Admiral Dupont.
This
is intended to clear up an apparent incon-
sistency
between
the
recent
order
to
continue
operations before Charleston and the former one
to remove
to another point
in a
certain contin-
gency.
No censure upon you, or either of you,
is
intended.
We
still hope that by
cordial and
judicious cooperation you can take the batteries
on
]\Iorris Island and Sullivan's Island and Fort
Sumter.
But whether you can or
not, we wish
the demonstration kept up for a time,
for a col-
lateral and very important object.
We wish the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
attempt to be a
real one, though not a desperate
one,
if
it affords any considerable chance of suc-
cess.
But
if prosecuted as a demonstration only,
this must not become public, or the whole effect
will be
lost.
Once again before Charleston, do
not leave
till further orders from here. Of course
this
is not intended to force you to leave unduly
exposed Hilton Head or other. near points in your
charge.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
P.
S.—Whoever receives this
first, please send
a copy to the other immediately
A. L.
[Private.']
Executive Mansion, April
30,
1863.
!Major-General Hunter.
]\Iy dear
Sir
: This morning
I was
presented
an order of yours, dismissing from the
service,
subject
to my
approval,
a
Captain
Schaadt,
of
one
of the Pennsylvania regiments.
Disloyalty,
without any statement of the evidence supposed
to have proved
it,
is
assigned
as
the
cause
of
the
dismissal
; and he
represents
at home—as
I
am
told—that the
sole evidence was
his refusal
to sanction a resolution
(indorsing the Emanci-
pation Proclamation,
I believe)
; and our friends
assure me that this statement
is doing the Union
cause great harm in his neighborhood and coun-
ty,
especially
as he
is a man
of
character,
did
good service in raising troops for us last
fall, and
still declares for the Union and his wish to fight
for
it.
On this state of the case
I wrote a special
in-
dorsement on the order, which
I suppose he
will
present to you
; and
I write this merely to assure
you that no censure
is
intended upon you
; but
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
that
it is hoped that you will inquire into the case
more minutely, and that
if there be no evidence
but
his
refusal
to
sanction
the
resolution,
you
will restore him.
Yours as ever,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive
IMansion, June
30,
1863.
INIajor-General Hunter.
Aly
dear
General
:
I have
just
received your
letter of the 25th of June.
I assure you, and you may
feel authorized in
stating,
that
the
recent change of commanders
in the Department of the South was made for no
reasons which convey any imputation upon your
known energy, efficiency, and patriotism
; but for
causes which seemed
sufficient,
while they were
in no degree incompatible with
the respect and
esteem in which I have always held you as a man
and an
officer.
I
cannot, by giving my consent
to a publica-
tion of whose details I know nothing, assume the
responsibility
of
whatever you may
write.
In
this matter your own sense of military propriety
must be»your guide, and the regulations
of the
service your rule of conduct.
I am very truly your friend,
A. Lincoln.
In
]May,
1864,
General
Hunter was
placed
in
com-
mand
of
the Department
of West
Virginia.
[Telegram.^
[Washington], July
17,
1864.
Major-General Hunter,
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.
Yours
of
this morning
received.
You
mis-
conceive.
The order you complain of was only
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
nominally mine, and was framed by those who
really made
it with no thought of making you a
scapegoat.
It
seemed
to
be
General
Grant's
wish that the
forces under General Wright and
those
under you
should
join and
drive
at
the
enemy under General Wright.
Wright had the
larger part of the
force, but you had the
rank.
It was
thought
that you would
prefer
Crook's
commanding your part to your serving in person
under Wright.
That
is
all of
it.
General Grant
wishes you to remain in command of the depart-
ment, and
I do not wish to order otherwise.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram in
Cipher.']
War Department, July 23,
1864.
jMajor-General
Hunter,
Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.
Are you able to take care of the enemy, when
he turns back upon you, as he probably
will on
finding that Wright has
left?
A.
Lincoln.
Don Carlos Buell.^
[Telegram.]
Washington City, January
i, 1862.
Brigadier-General Buell, Louisville.
General McClellan should not yet be disturbed
with business.
I think you better get
in concert
with General Halleck
at once.
I
write you
to-
night.
I also telegraph and write Halleck.
A.
Lincoln.
Mn
November,
1861,
General
Buell
succeeded
General
\V. T. Sherman in command
in Kentucky.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, January
6,
1862.
Brigadier-General Buell.
Aly dear Sir
: Your despatch of yesterday has
been
received, and
it
disappoints and
distresses
me.
I have shown
it to General McClellan, who
says he
will write you to-day.
I am not com-
petent to criticise your views, and therefore what
I offer
is in justification of myself.
Of the two,
I would rather have a point on the railroad south
of Cumberland Gap than
Nashville.
First,
be-
cause
it cuts a great artery of the enemy's com-
munication, which Nashville does not; and sec-
ondly, because
it
is
in the midst of loyal people
who would
rally around
it,
while
Nashville
is
not.
Again,
I cannot see why the movement in
East Tennessee would not be a diversion in your
favor rather than a disadvantage, assuming that
a movement toward Nashville
is the main object.
But my distress
is that our friends in East Ten-
nessee are being hanged and driven
to
despair,
and even now, I fear, are thinking of taking rebel
arms for the sake of personal protection.
In this
we
lose the most valuable stake we have
in the
South.
My
despatch,
to which yours
is an an-
swer, was
sent with the knowledge
of
Senator
Johnson
and
Representative Maynard
of
East
Tennessee, and they
will be upon me
to know
the answer,
which
I cannot
safely show
them.
They would
despair,
possibly resign
to go and
save
their
families somehow, or
die with them.
I do not intend this to be an order in any sense,
but
merely,
as
intimated
before,
to
show
you
the grounds of my anxiety.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Washington, January
7,
1862.
Brigadier-General D.
C.
Biiell,
Louisville.
Please name as early a day as you safely can
on
or before which you can be ready
to move
southward
in concert with ^lajor-General
Hal-
leck.
Delay
is ruining us, and
it
is indispensable
for me to have something definite.
I send a like
despatch
to
IMajor-General
Halleck.
A.
Lincoln.
Executive ]\Iansion, January
13, 1862.
Brigadier-General Buell.
My
dear
Sir
: Your
despatch
of yesterday
is
received, in which you say
: "I have received your
letter and General McClellan's, and will at once
devote
all my
efforts
to
your
views and
his."
In the midst of my many cares,
I have not seen
or
asked
to
see
General
McClellan's
letter
to
vou.
For my own
views,
I
have
not
offered
and do not now offer them as orders
; and while
I am glad
to have them respectfully considered,
I would blame you
to
follow them contrary
to
your own
clear
judgment,
unless
I
should
put
them
in
the
form
of
orders.
As
to
General
McClellan's views, you understand your duty
in
regard
to
them
better
than
I
do.
With
this
preliminary,
I
state my general idea of this war
to be that we have the greater numbers, and the
enemy has the
greater
facility
of concentrating
forces upon
points
of
collision
;
that we
must
fail unless we can find some way of making our
advantage an
overmatch
for
his
; and
that
this
can only be done by menacing him with superior
forces at different points at the same time, so that
we can safely attack one or both
if he makes no
change; and
if he weakens one to strengthen the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
other, forbear to attack the strengthened one, but
seize
and
hold
the
weakened
one,
gaining
so
much.
To
illustrate
:
Suppose,
last
summer,
when Winchester ran away to reinforce Manas-
sas, we had
forborne
to
attack
Manassas,
but
had seized and held Winchester.
I mention this
to
illustrate and not to
criticise.
I
did not
lose
confidence in AIcDowell, and
I think less harshly
of Patterson than some others seem
to.
In ap-
plication
of
the
general
rule
I am
suggesting,
every particular case will have
its modifying cir-
cumstances, among
which
the
most
constantly
present and most difficult to meet will be the want
of perfect knowledge of the enemy's movements.
This
had
its
part
in
the
Bull Run
case
;
but
worse
in
that
case was
the
expiration
of
the
terms of the three months' men.
Applying the
principle
to your
case, my
idea
is
that Halleck
shall menace Columbus and "down
river" gen-
erally,
while
3^ou
menace
Bowling
Green
and
East Tennessee.
If the enemy shall concentrate
at Bowling Green, do not
retire from
his
front,
yet do not
fight him there
either, but
seize Co-
lumbus and
East
Tennessee,
one
or
both,
left
exposed by the concentration at Bowling Green.
It
is
a
matter
of no small
anxiety
to
me, and
one which
I am sure you will not overlook,
that
the East Tennessee
line
is
so long and over
so
bad a road.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[^Indorseinent.']
January
13,
1862.
Having to-day written General Buell a
letter,
it occurs
to me
to send General Halleck a copy
of
it.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Washington, March
lo,
1862.
General D.
C.
Buell.
The evidence
is very strong that the enemy in
front of
lis here
is breaking up and moving
off.
General IMcClellan
is
after him.
Some part of
the
force may
be
destined
to meet you.
Look
out
and
be
prepared.
I
telegraphed
Halleck,
asking him to assist you
if needed.
A.
Lincoln.
\Telegram.'\
War Department,
September
8,
1862.
7.20
p. m.
General Buell.
What degree of certainty have you that Bragg,
with his command,
is not now
in
the
valley of
the Shenandoah, Virginia?
A.
Lincoln.
War Department,
October
19,
1862.
1.33
p. m.
Major-General Buell, Mount Vernon, Kentucky.
Your telegram
of the
17th was
received
this
morning, and has been laid before the President,
who concurs
in the views expressed in my
tele-
gram
to
you
yesterday.
The
capture
of
East
Tennessee
should
be
the main
object
of
your
campaign.
You
say
it
is
the heart of the ene-
my's resources
; make it the heart of yours.
Your
army can
live
there
if
the
enemy's
can.
You
must
in a great measure
live upon the country,
paying for your supplies where proper, and levy-
ing contributions v/here necessary.
I am directed
by the President to
say
to you
that your army
must enter East Tennessee
this
fall, and
that
it
ought to move there while the roads are passable.
Once
between
the enemy and
Nashville,
there
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
will
be no
serious
difficulty
in
reopening your
communications
with
that
place.
He
does
not
understand why we cannot march as the enemy
marches,
live as he
lives, and fight as he
fights,
unless we admit the inferiority of our troops and
of
our
generals.
Once
hold
the
valley
of
the
upper Tennessee, and the operations of guerrillas
in that State and Kentucky will soon cease.
H. W. Hallcck, General-in-chief.
Edwin M. Stanton.^
Executive Mansion, January 22, 1862.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir
: On reflection
I think
it will not
do, as a rule, for the adjutant-general to attend
me wherever
I
go: not that
I have any
objec-
tion to his presence, but that
it would be an un-
compensating encumbrance both to him and me.
When
it
shall
occur
to me
to go anywhere,
I
wish to be free to go at once, and not to have to
notify the adjutant-general and wait
till he can
get ready.
It
is better, too, for the public service that he
shall give his time to the business of
his
office,
and not to personal attendance on me.
While
I thank you
for
the kindness
of
the
suggestion, my view of the matter
is as
I have
stated.
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
^ When, on the
15th of January, 1862, the President was
able
to remove
his incompetent
Secretary
of War,
Simon
Cameron, he appointed
to
the
place Mr.
Stanton, an
able
lawyer, and
a
patriot,
as he had proved himself as Attor-
ney-General
in
Buchanan's
Cabinet
in
1860-1861.
While
of an
irritable temper,
that
in
petty matters brought him
into clashes with the President, he was Lincoln's mainstay.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, January
31,
1862.
Hon. Secretary of War.
]\Iy dear
Sir
:
It
is my wish that the expedi-
tion
commonly
called
the
"Lane
Expedition"
shall
be,
as much
as has been promised
at the
adjutant-general's office, under the supervision of
General
]McClellan, and not any more.
I have
not intended, and do not now intend, that
it shall
be a
great, exhausting
affair, but a snug, sober
column of
10,000 or
15,000.
General Lane has
been told by me many times that he
is under the
command of General Hunter, and assented to
it
as often
as
told.
It was the
distinct agreement
between him and me, when I appointed him, that
he was to be under Hunter.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
On
March
15,
1862,
the
President
wrote
Secretary
Stanton
in
reference
to arms
delivered
by
the manu-
facturers
after time
set
in contract.
He said
:
If
.
.
.
these men acted in good
faith,
I think
they should not be ruined by the transaction, but
that the guns should be accepted and paid
for.
Of
course,
I understand
the
principle of
strict
law would not
oblige
the Government
to
take
them, even
if
it were an individual.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April
3,
1862.
The Secretary of War
will order that one or
the other of the corps of General McDowell and
General Sumner remain
in
front of Washington
until
further
orders
from
the
department,
to
operate at or in the direction of Manassas Junc-
tion, or otherwise, as occasion may require
; that
the other corps not so ordered to remain go for-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ward
to General McClellan
as
speedily
as pos-
sible
; that General McClellan commence his for-
ward movements
from
his new
base
at
once,
and
that
such
incidental
modifications
as
the
foregoing may render proper be also made.
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 22,
1862.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir
:
I think
it will be better to do nothing now
which can be construed into a demand for troops
in
addition
to
the
three hundred thousand
for
which we have recently called. We do not need
more, nor, indeed, so many, if we could have the
smaller number very
soon.
It
is a very impor-
tant
consideration,
too,
that one
recruited
into
an old regiment
is nearly or quite equal in value
to two in a new one.
We can scarcely afford to
forego any plan
within our power which may
facilitate the filling of the old regiments with re-
cruits.
If, on consideration, you are of opinion
that
this object can be advanced by causing the
militia of the several States to be enrolled, and
by drafts therefrom, you are
at liberty
to take
the proper
steps and do
so, provided
that any
number of
recruits
so obtained from any State
within the next three months shall,
if practicable,
be an abatement of the quota of volunteers from
such State under the recent
call.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
On
August
12,
1862,
the
President
wrote
Secretary
Stanton about a soldier who was with his brother
(also
in the army), the support of their widowed mother.
He
had been a deserter, but had reenlisted in another com-
pany
:
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
Let him be discharged from arrest and go to
duty.
I
think,
too, he should have his pay for
duty
actually performed.
Loss of pay
falls
so
hard upon poor families.
Yours
truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January
i, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear Sir
: Yesterday a piteous appeal was made
to me by an old lady of genteel appearance, say-
ing she had, with what she thought sufficient as-
surance that she would not be disturbed by the
Government, fitted up the two south divisions of
the old "Duff Green" building in order to take
boarders,
and
has
boarders
already
in
it,
and
others, including members of Congress, engaged
;
and that now she
is ordered to be out of
it by
Saturday, the 3d instant; and that independently
of the ruin
it brings on her by her
lost outlay,
she neither has nor can find another shelter for
her own head.
I know nothing about
it myself,
but promised to bring
it to your notice.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January 23, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir
:
I think General Butler should go to New
Orleans again.
He
is unwilling to go unless he
is
restored to the command of the department.
He should
start by
the
first
of
February, and
should
take some
force
with
him.
The whole
must be so managed as to not wrong or wound
the feelings of General Banks.
His original wish
was to go to Texas
; and
it must be arranged for
him to do this now with a substantial force
; and
yet he must not go to the endangering the open-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ing of the Mississippi.
I hope this may be done
by the time
General
Butler
shall
arrive there;
but whether or
not,
I
think we
cannot longer
dispense with General
Butler's
services.
Yours
truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, May
ii, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear
Sir
:
I have again concluded
to
relieve
General
Curtis.
I
see no
other way
to
avoid
the worst consequences there.
I think of Gen-
eral Schofield as his sticcessor, but I do not wish
to take the matter of a successor out of the hands
of yourself and General Halleck.
Yours
truly,
'A. Lincoln.
General Schofield was appointed.
Executive Mansion, July 21,
1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir
: I desire that a renewed and vig-
orous
effort
be made
to
raise
colored
forces
along the shores of the Mississippi.
Please con-
sult
the
general-in-chief, and
if
it
is
perceived
that any
acceleration of
the matter can be
ef-
fected,
let
it be
done.
I think the evidence
is
nearly
conclusive
that
General Thomas
is
one
of the best
(if not the very best) instruments for
this service.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
General
Lorenzo Thomas, who had
been
Adjutant-
General, was
sent on this
service.
Executive Mansion, July 28,
1863.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: A young son of Senator Brown
of Mississippi, not yet twenty, as
I understand,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
was wounded and made a prisoner at Gettysburg.
His mother
is
sister of Mrs.
P. R.
Fendall, of
this city.
Mr. Fendall, on behalf of himself and
family, asks that he and they may have charge
of the boy to cure him up, being responsible for
his person and good behavior.
Would
it not be
rather a grateful and graceful thing to
let them
have him?
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July 29, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir: Can we not renew the effort to organize
a force to go to Western Texas ? ^
Please consult with the general-in-chief on the
subject.
H the Governor of New Jersey
shall
furnish
any new
regiments, might not they be put
into
such an expedition?
Please think of
it.
I believe no local object is now more desirable.
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August 21,
1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir: In the autumn of
1861, certain
persons
in armed
rebellion
against
the
United
States,
within
the
counties
of
Accomac
and
Northampton, laid down their arms upon certain
terms then proposed to them by General Dix, in
and by a
certain proclamation.
It
is now
said
that these persons, or some of them, are about
to be forced into the military lines of the existing
rebellion, unless they will take an oath prescribed
to them since, and not included
in General Dix's
^ This was
to prevent
the
establishment
of
a
Mexican
monarchy under
Maximilian.
General
N.
P.
Banks was
sent on the expedition.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
proclamation
referred
to.
Now, my judgment
is
that no one
of
these men
should
be
forced
from his home, who has not broken
faith with
the
Government,
according
to
the
terms
fixed
by General Dix and these men.
It is bad faith in the Government to force new
terms upon such
as have kept
faith with
it—at
least so
it seems to me.
A. Lincoln.
On August
26,
1863,
the
President gave
instructions
about the conduct of the draft, with particular reference
to New York
State.
He closed his
letter as follows
:
I
wish
that
also
to go
forward, and
I wish
Governor Seymour notified of
it
;
so that
if he
choose, he can place agents of his with ours to
see the work fairly done.
Yours
truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive ^Mansion, September
i,
1863.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
My dear Sir
:
I am now informed, contrary to
my impression when
I last talked with you, that
the
order
compelling
the
four hundred on
the
eastern shore of Virginia to take the oath or be
sent away
is about being carried into execution.
As this, and also the assessment for damage done
to and
at the lighthouse, are very strong meas-
ures, and as
I have to bear the responsibility of
them,
I wish them suspended until
I can at least
be better
satisfied of
their propriety than
I am
now.
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
The
orders were
suspended.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, November
ii, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Dear Sir:
I personally wish Jacob Freese, of
New Jersey,
to be appointed
colonel
for a
col-
ored
regiment,
and
this
regardless
of whether
he can tell the exact shade of Julius Caesar's hair.
Yours, etc.,
A. Lincoln.
On November
17,
1863,
Secretary
Stanton
sent
the
President
a
schedule
of
close
train
arrangements
to
go to Gettysburg,
Pa.,
for the dedication ceremonies of
the
National
Cemeterj^, and
to return
within one
day.
On this the President made
the following indorsement:
[Indorsement.]
I do not like this arrangement.
I do not wish
to
so go
that by
the
slightest
accident we
fail
entirely,
and,
at the
best,
the whole be a mere
breathless
running
of
the
gauntlet.
But,
any
way.
A. Lincoln.
November
17, 1863.
Executive IMansion, December 18, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Aly dear Sir
: I believe General Schofield must
be
relieved
from command
of
the
department
of
]\Iissouri
; otherwise
a
question
of
veracity,
in relation to his declarations as to his interfer-
ing,
or
not, with
the
Missouri
legislature,
will
be made with
him, which
will
create an
addi-
tional amount
of
trouble,
not
to be overcome
by even a correct decision of the question.
The
question
itself must be
avoided.
Now
for the
mode.
Senator Henderson, his friend, thinks he
can be induced to ask to be relieved,
if he shall
understand he
will be generously
treated;
and,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
on
this
latter
point, Gratz Brown
will help
his
nomination as a major-general through the Sen-
ate.
In no other way can he be confirmed
; and
upon his rejection alone
it would be
difficult for
me to sustain him as commander of the depart-
riient.
Besides, his being relieved from command
of
the
department, and
at the same
time
con-
firmed as a major-general, will be the means of
Henderson and Brown
leading
off
together
as
friends, and will go far to heal the Missouri dif-
ficulty.
Another point.
I find
it
is scarcely less
than indispensable
for me to do something
for
General
Rosecrans
; and
I
find Henderson and
Brown will agree to him for the commander of
their department.
Again,
I have received such evidence and ex-
planations, in regard to the supposed cotton trans-
actions
of
General
Curtis,
as
fully
restore
in
my mind the fair presumption of his innocence;
and,
as he
is my
friend, and what
is more,
as
I think, the country's friend,
I would be glad to
relieve him from the impression that I think him
dishonest by giving him a command.
Most of
the Iowa and Kansas
delegations,
a
large
part
of that of Missouri, and the delegates from Ne-
braska and Colorado, ask this in behalf of Gen-
eral C, and suggest Kansas and other contigu-
ous territory west of Missouri
as a department
for him.
In a purely military point of view
it
may be that none of these things are indispen-
sable, or perhaps advantageous
; but
in another
aspect, scarcely
less important, they would give
great
relief
;
while,
at
the
worst,
I
think they
could not
injure
the
military
service much.
I
therefore shall be greatly obliged
if yourself and
General
Halleck
can
give me your
hearty
co-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
operation
in making the arrangement.
Perhaps
the
first thing would be to send General Scho-
field's nomination to me.
Let me hear from you
before you take any actual step in the matter.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Private.]
Executive Mansion, December 21, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
]\Iy
dear
Sir:
Sending
a
note
to
the
Secre-
tary of the Navy, as
I promised, he called over
and
said
that the
strikes
in
the
ship-yards had
thrown the completion of vessels back so much
that
he
thought
General
Gillmore's
proposition
entirely proper.
He only wishes
(and
in which
I
concur)
that
General
Gillmore
will
cour-
teously
confer
with,
and
explain
to,
Admiral
Dahlgren.
In regard to the Western matter,
I believe the
program
will have
to
stand
substantially
as
I
first put
it.
Henderson, and
especially Brown,
believe
that
the
social
influence
of
St.
Louis
would
inevitably
tell
injuriously
upon
General
Pope
in
the
particular
difficulty
existing
there,
and
I think there
is some force in that view.
As to retaining General Schofield temporarily,
if this should be done, I believe
I should scarcely
be able to get his nomination through the Senate.
Send me over
his nomination,
which, however,
I am not quite ready to send to the Senate.
Yours as ever,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 31, 1863.
Hon. Secretary of War.
Sir:
Please
fix up
the
department
to which
Curtis
is to go, without waiting to wind up the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
IMissouri matter.
Lane
is very anxious to have
Fort Smith
in
it, and
I am wilhng, unless there
be
decided mihtary
reasons
to
the
contrary,
in
which
case of
course,
I am not
for
it.
It
will
oblige me to have the Curtis department fixed at
once.
Yours
truly,
A. Lincoln.
On the next day General Curtis was appointed to the
department
of
Kansas.
Executive Mansion, February
i,
1864.
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
Sir
:
You
are
directed
to
have
a
transport
(either
a
steam
or
sailing
vessel,
as may
be
deemed
proper by
the
Quartermaster-General)
sent
to
the
colored
colony
established
by
the
United
States
at
the
Island
of Vache,
on
the
coast
of
San
Domingo,
to
bring back
to
this
country such of the
colonists there as desire to
return.
You
will have the transport furnished
with suitable supplies for that purpose, and detail
an
officer
of
the
Quartermaster's
department,
who, under
special intructions to be given,
shall
have charge of the business.
The colonists will
be brought to Washington unless otherwise here-
after directed, and be employed and provided for
at
the camps
for
colored
persons
around
that
city.
Those
only
will
be brought from
the
island
who
desire
to
return, and
their
effects
will be
brought with them.
Abraham Lincoln.
[Indorsement upon a form of oath.]
Submitted to the Secretary of War.
On prin-
ciple
I
dislike an oath which
requires a man to
swear he has
not done
wrong.
It
rejects
the
8o
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
Christian
principle
of
forgiveness on terms
of
repentance.
I think
it is enough
if the man does
no wrong hereafter.
A. Lincohi.
February 5, 1864.
Executive Mansion, February
11,
1864.
Hon. Secretary of \\^ar.
^ly dear Sir: In January, 1863, The Provost-
]\Iarshal
at
St.
Louis, having taken
the control
of
a
certain church
from one
set
of men and
given
it' to another, I wrote General Curtis on the
subject as follows:
The United
States Government must
not,
as by
this
order,
undertake
to
run
the churches.
When an
indi-
vidual
in
a church
or
out
of
it becomes dangerous
to
the
public
interest,
he
must
be
checked
;
but
the
churches,
as
such,
must
take
care
of
themselves.
It
will
not
do
for
the United
States
to
appoint
trustees,
supervisors, or other agents
for
the
churches.
Some trouble remaining in this same case,
I,
on
the twenty-second
of December,
1863,
in
a
letter
to Mr. O.
D.
Filley,
repeated
the above
language, and among other things added
:
I
have
never
interfered
nor
thought
of
interfering
as
to who
shall or
shall not preach
in any church
; nor
have
I knowingly or believingly
tolerated any one
else
to so
interfere by my authority.
If any one
is
so inter-
fering by color of my authority,
I would like to have
it
specitically
made
known
to
me. ...
I
will
not
have
control of any church on any
side.
After having made these declarations
in good
faith, and
in
writing, you
can
conceive
of my
embarrassment
at now
having
brought
to me
what purports to be a formal order of the War
Department,
bearing
date November
30,
1863,
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
8i
giving Bishop Ames control and possession of all
the Methodist churches in certain Southern mili-
tary
departments, whose
pastors have
not been
appointed by a
loyal bishop or bishops, and
or-
dering the military to aid him against any resis-
tance which may
be made
to
his
taking
such
possession
and
control.
What
is
to
be
done
about it?
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Stanton
modified
the
objectionable
features
of
his
order.
On
February
27,
1864,
the
President wrote
to
Sec-
retary Stanton upon
a report of
special commissioners
on
the
draft
in New York.
Referring
to
his
instruc-
tions of August 26,
1863, he
said
:
My idea was to do the work over according to
the
law,
in
presence
of the complaining
party,
and thereby to correct anything which might be
found
amiss.
The
commission,
wdiose work
I
am considering, seem to have proceeded upon a
totally
different
idea.
Not going
forth to
find
men at
all, they have proceeded altogether upon
paper examinations and mental processes.
One
of their conclusions, as
I understand,
is that, as
the law
stands, and attempting to follow
it, the
enrolling officers could not have made the enrol-
ments much more accurately than they did.
.
.
.
[Yet] the commission conclude [admit?] that the
quotas
for
the
draft should be based upon en-
tire
population, and
they
.
.
.
give
a
table
for
the State of New York,
in which some
districts
are reduced and some
increased.
For the now
ensuing
draft,
let the quotas
stand
as made by
the
enrolling
officers,
in
the
districts
wherein
this table requires them to be increased
; and
let
them be
reduced
according
to
the
table
in the
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
others
:
this
to
be no precedent
for
the
subse-
quent action.
.
.
.
Yours
truly,
A. Lincohi.
Executive Mansion, March
i,
1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear Sir
: A poor widow, by the name of
Baird, has a son in the army, that for some of-
fense
has been
sentenced
to
serve
a
long time
without pay,
or
at most with very
little pay.
I
do not
like
this punishment of withholding pay
—it falls so verv' hard upon poor families.
After
he
had
been
serving
in
this way
for
several
months, at the tearful appeal of the poor mother,
I made a
direction that he be allowed
to
enlist
for a new term, on the same conditions as others.
She now comes and says she cannot get
it acted
upon.
Please do
it.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
{Memorandum. ]
I think the Amsterdam projectile
is too good
a thing to be
lost
to the
service, and
if offered
at
the
Hotchkiss
prices,
and
not
in
excessive
quantities,
nor
unreasonable terms
in
other
re-
spects, by
either
or
both
parties
to
the
patent
controversy,
take
it,
so
that
the
test
be
fully
made.
I am for the Government having the best
articles in
spite of patent controversies.
A.
Lincoln.
March
10,
1864.
Executive Mansion, March
18,
1864.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
My
dear
Sir:
I am
so
pressed
in
regard
to
prisoners
of war
in
our
custody, whose homes
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
2,^
are within our lines, and who wish to not be ex-
changed, but to take the oath and be discharged,
that
I hope you will pardon me for again calling
up the
subject.
]\Iy impression
is that we
will
not ever force the exchange of any of this class
;
that, taking the oath and being discharged, none
of them
will again go
to the
rebellion
; but the
rebellion
again coming
to them,
a
considerable
percentage
of
them,
probably
not
a
majority,
would
rejoin
it;
that, by a cautious
discrimina-
tion,
the number
so
discharged
would
not be
large enough to do any considerable mischief in
any
event,
will
relieve
distress
in
at
least some
meritorious
cases, and would give me some
re-
lief
from
an
intolerable
pressure.
I
shall
be
glad,
therefore,
to have your cheerful assent to
the discharge of those whose names
I may send,
which I will only do with circumspection.
.
.
.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March
28,
1864.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
Aly dear
Sir
: The Governor of Kentucky
is
here, and
desires
to
have
the
following
points
definitely fixed
:
First. That
the
quotas
of
troops
furnished,
and
to be
furnished, by Kentucky may be
ad-
justed upon the basis as actually reduced by able-
bodied men
of
hers having gone
into the
rebel
service
; and that she be required
to furnish no
more than her just quotas upon
fair adjustment
upon such basis.
Second.
To whatever extent the enlistment and
drafting, one or both, of colored troops may be
found necessary within the State,
it may be con-
ducted within the law of Congress
;
and,
so far
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
as
practicable,
free
from
collateral
embarrass-
ments,
disorders, and provocations.
I think these requests of the Governor are rea-
sonable
; and
I
shall be obliged
if you
will give
him a
full hearing, and do the best you can to
effect these objects.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, July
14, 1864.
Hon.
Secretary
of War.
Sir
: Your
note
of
to-day
inclosing
General
Halleck's
letter
of
yesterday
relative
to
offen-
sive remarks supposed to have been made by the
Postmaster-General ^ concerning the military of-
ficers
on
duty
about
Washington
is
received.
The General's letter in substance demands of me
that
if
I approve the remarks
I
shall
strike the
names of those
officers from the
rolls
; and that
if
I do not approve them the Postmaster-General
shall be dismissed from the Cabinet.
Whether the remarks were
really made
I do
not know, nor do
I suppose such knowledge
is
necessary
to
a
correct
response.
If they were
made,
I do not approve them
; and yet, under the
circumstances,
I would not dismiss a member of
the
Cabinet
therefor.
I
do
not
consider what
may have been hastily said in a moment of vexa-
tion
at so severe a loss
is
sufficient ground
for
so grave a
step.
Besides this, truth
is generally
the best vindication
against
slander.
I propose
continuing
to be
myself
the judge
as
to when
a member of the Cabinet shall be dismissed.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
^Montgomery
Blair
(see
correspondence
with
him).
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Mansion, August 22,
1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My
dear
Sir
:
I
very much
wish
to
oblige
Henry Ward
Beecher by
releasing Howard
; ^
but
I wish you
to be
satisfied when
it
is
done.
What say you ?
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
I have no objection
If you think
it right—and
this a proper time.
E. M.
S.
Let
Howard,
Imprisoned
in
regard
to
the
bogus proclamation, be discharged.
A.
Lincoln.
August 2^,
1864.
Executive Mansion, August 27,
1864.
Hon. Secretary of War.
My dear
Sir:
If General Sigel has asked for
an inquiry,
let him have
it,
if there
is not some
insurmountable, or at least, very serious obstacle.
He
is
fairly entitled to
this consideration.
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, October 31, 1864.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
Sir
: Herewith
Is a
letter of Governor Curtin,
which speaks for
Itself.
I suggest for your con-
sideration, whether, to the extent
of,
say,
5,000,
we might not exempt from the
draft, upon the
men being put In good shape to defend and give
assurance to
the border.
I have not said even
^Joseph Howard,
a Xew York journalist, forged a proc-
lamation
about
the
draft
for
stock-rigging
purposes.
He
was imprisoned for
the crime
in
Fort
Lafayette, and
the
World and
the Journal
of Commerce,
papers which pub-
lished the proclamation, were temporarily suspended.
S6
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
this much to the bearer. General Todd/ whom I
hope you
will
see and hear.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January
19,
1865.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
Dear
Sir: You remember
that
from time
to
time appeals have been made
to us by persons
claiming to have attempted to come through our
lines with their effects to take the benefit of the
amnesty
proclamation,
and
to
have
been
de-
spoiled
of
their
effects
under
General
Butler's
administration.
Some of these claims have color
of merit, and may be really meritorious.
Please
consider whether we cannot
set on
foot an
in-
vestigation
which may
advance
justice
in
the
premises.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
City Point, Virginia,
Alarch 25,
1865.
8.30
a. m.
Hon. Secretary of W^ar, Washington, D.
C.
.
.
.
General Lee
has
sent
the
Russell
letter
back,
concluding,
as
I
understand from
Grant,
that their dignity docs not admit of their receiv-
ing
the
document
from
us.
Robert
just now
tells me there was a little rumpus up the line this
morning, ending about where
it began.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
City Point, Virginia,
March 2y,
1865.
3.35 p. m.
Hon. Secretary of War, Washington, D.
C.
Yours
inclosing
Fort Sumter
order
received.
^John
B.
S. Todd.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
I think of but one suggestion.
I
feel quiet con-
fident that Sumter
fell on the
13th, and not on
the 14th of April, as you have
it.
It fell on Sat-
urday,
the
13th; the
first
call for troops on our
part was got up on Sunday, the
14th, and given
date and issued on ]\Ionday, the
15th.
Look up
the old almanac and other data, and see
if
I am
not right.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
City Point, Virginia, March 28, 1865.
12 m.
Hon. Secretary of War, Washington, D.
C.
After your explanation,
I think
it
is
little or
no difference whether the Fort Sumter ceremony
takes place on the 13th or
14th.
.
.
.
A.
Lincoln.
City Point, Va., IMarch 30, 1865.
7.30 p. m.
Hon.
Secretary of War.
I begin to feel that
I ought to be at home and
yet
I
dislike
to
leave without
seeing nearer
to
the
end
of
General
Grant's
present movement.
He has now been
out
since
yesterday morning
and althous^h he has not vet been diverted from
his programme
no
considerable
effort
has
yet
been produced
so
far
as we know
here.
Last
night at 10.15
p. m. when
it was dark as a rainy
night without
a moon could
be,
a furious can-
nonade soon joined in by a heavy musketry
fire
opened
near
Petersburg and
lasted
about two
hours.
The sound was very distinct here as also
were the flashes of the guns upon the clouds.
It
seemed to me a great battle, but the older hands
here
scarcely
noticed
it
and
sure
enough
this
morning
it was found that very
little had been
done.
A. Lincoln.
SS
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
{^Cipher Telegram.']
City Point, Va., April 3, 1865.
5 p. m.
Hon. Edwin AI. Stanton^
Secretary of W^ar.
Yours received.
Thanks for your caution, but
I have already been
to Petersburg, stayed with
General Grant an hour and a half and returned
here.
It
is certain now that Richmond
is in our
hands, and
I
think
I
will go
there to-morrow.
I will take care of myself.
A. Lincoln.
Nathaniel Gordon.
On
February
4,
1862,
the
President
having
refused
the petition of "a large number of respectable citizens"
to commute
the
death
sentence
of
Nathaniel
Gordon,
convicted
of
being
a
slave
trader, gave him
a
respite
from
February
7,
1862,
to February
21,
1862,
because
of
the
seeming
probability
that
the
expectation
of
a
commutation
of
sentence may
have
prevented Gordon
"from making
the
necessary preparation
for
the awful
change which
awaits him."
In granting this respite
it becomes my painful
duty to admonish the prisoner that, relinquishing
all expectation of pardon by human authority, he
refer himself alone to the mercy of the common
God and Father of
all men.
In testimony,
etc.
Abraham Lincoln.
By the President
:
William H. Seward, Secretary of
State.
Samuel F. Dufont.
In conformity with an act of Congress approved De-
cember
21,
1861,
"further
to promote
the
efficiency
of
the
navy,"
Carptain Dupont was nominated to the Sen-
ate
to
continue
as
flag-officer
in
command
of
the
squadron
"which
recently
rendered
such
important
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
service to
the Union
in
the expedition
to
the
coast
of
South
Carolina."
On
February
4,
1862,
the
President
sent a Message
to Congress
in which he
said
:
Believing that no
occasion could
arise which
would more
fully correspond with the
intention
of
the
law,
or
be more
pregnant
with happy
influence
as an example,
I
cordially recommend
that
Captain Samuel
F. Dupont
receive
a
vote
of thanks
of Congress
for
his
services and gal-
lantry displayed in the capture of Forts Walker
and
Beauregard, commanding
the
entrance
of
Port
Royal
harbor,
on
the
7th
of
November,
1 86 1.
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, February
4,
1862.
[Message
to
Congress.~\
March
20,
1862.
I cordially recommend that Captain Samuel F.
Dupont
receive
a
vote
of
thanks
of
Congress
for
his
services and
gallantry
displayed
in
the
capture,
since
the
21st
of December,
1861,
of
various
points
on
the
coasts
of
Georgia
and
Florida,
particularly
Brunswick,
Cumberland
Island and Sound, Amelia Island,
the towns of
St. Alary's,
St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Fer-
nandina.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive jMansion, April
13,
1863.
Admiral Dupont.
Hold your position inside the bar near Charles-
ton
; or,
if you shall have left
it, return to
it, and
hold
it
till
further
orders.
Do
not
allow
the
enemy
to
erect new
batteries
or
defenses
on
Morris
Island.
If he
has begun
it,
drive him
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
out.
I
do
not
herein
order you
to renew
the
general attack.
That
is to depend on your own
discretion or a further order.
A.
Lincoln.
See letter to David Hunter of April
14,
1863.
Louis
^L
Goldsborough.
[Message
to
Congress.]
To the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States
:
.
.
.
Believing
that no occasion could
arise which
would more
fully correspond with
the intention
of the law
\_aiitliorizing the President to recom-
mend
to Congress naval
officers
to
receive vote
of thanks for gallant service], or be more preg-
nant with happy influence as an example,
I cor-
dially recommend
that
Louis M.
Goldsborough
receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his ser-
vices
and
gallantry
displayed
in
the
combined
attack
of
the
forces
commanded
by
him
and
Brigadier-General
Burnside
in
the
capture
of
Roanoke Island and the destruction of rebel gun-
boats on the 7th, 8th, and loth of February, 1862,
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, February
15,
1862.
[Telegram.]
Fort Monroe, Virginia, May 7, 1862.
Flag-officer Goldsborough.
Sir
: Major-General McClellan telegraphs that
he has
ascertained by a reconnaissance
that the
battery
at Jamestown has been abandoned, and
he again requests that gunboats may be sent up
the James River.
If you have
tolerable confidence that you can
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
successfully contend with
the Merrimac without
the
help
of
the
Galena and two accompanying
gunboats, send the Galena and two gunboats up
the
James
River
at
once.
Please
report your
action on
this
to me
at once.
I
shall be found
either
at
General
Wool's
headquarters
or
on
board the Miami.
Your obedient servant,
A. Lincoln.
Fort Monroe, Virginia, May
10, 1862.
Flag-officer Goldsborough.
My
dear
Sir
:
I
send you
this copy
of your
report of yesterday for the purpose of saying to
you
in writing that you are
quite right
in sup-
posing
that
the
movement
made
by
you
and
therein
reported was made
in accordance
with
my wishes verbally expressed to you in advance.
I
avail myself of the occasion
to thank you
for
your
courtesy and
all your
conduct,
so
far
as
known to me, during my brief visit here.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, D. C, June
28,
1862.
Flag-officer Goldsborough, Fort Monroe.
Enemy
has
cut
McClellan's
communication
with
W^hite
House,
and
is
driving
Stoneman
back on that
point.
Do what you can
for him
with gunboats at or near your place.
McClellan's
m.ain force
is between the Chickahominy and the
James.
Also do what you can
to communicate
with him and support him there.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Henry
J. Raymond.
[Private.]
Executive
]\Iansion, March
9,
1862.
Hon. Henry
J. Raymond.
IMy dear Sir:
I am grateful to the New York
journals, and
not
less
so
to- the Times than
to
others,
for
the
kind
notices
of
the
late
special
message to Congress.
Your paper, however, intimates that the propo-
sition, though well intentioned, must
fail on the
score of expense.
I do hope you will reconsider
this.
Have you noticed the facts
that
less than
one
half
day's
cost of
this war would pay
for
all the slaves in Delaware at $400 per head—that
eighty-seven days' cost of this war would pay for
all
in Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia,
Kentucky, and Missouri at the same price ? Were
those
States
to take the
step, do you doubt that
it would shorten the war more than eighty-seven
days, and thus be an actual saving of expense?
Please look at these things and consider whether
there should not be another article in the Times,
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August
15,
1864.
Hon. Henry
J. Raymond.
My dear Sir
:
I have proposed to Mr. Greeley
that
the
Niagara
correspondence
be
published,
suppressing
only
the
parts
of
his
letters
over
which the red pencil
is drawn in the copy which
I herewith send.
He declines giving his consent
to the publication of his letters unless these parts
be
published
with
the
rest.
I
have
concluded
that
it
is better for me to submit for the time to
the consequences
of
the
false position
in which
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
I consider he has placed me than to subject the
country
to the consequences
of publishing
their
discouraging and
injurious
parts.
I
send you
this and the accompanying copy, not
for publi-
cation,
but merely
to
explain
to
you, and
that
you may preserve them until the proper time shall
come.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
James A. McDougall.
Executive Mansion, March
14,
1862.
Hon. James A.
jNIcDougall, United
States Sen-
ate.
My dear
Sir
: As
to
the expensiveness of the
plan of gradual emancipation with compensation,
proposed
in
the
late
message,
please
allow me
one or two brief suggestions.
Less than one-half day's cost of this war would
pay for
all the slaves
in Delaware
at four hun-
dred dollars per head.
Thus,
all the slaves in Delaware by
the census
of
i860,
are
1,798
400
Cost of the
slaves
$719,200
One
day's
cost of the war
2,000,000
Again, less than eighty-seven days' cost of this
war would, at the same price, pay for all in Dela-
ware, jMaryland, District of Columbia, Kentucky,
and Missouri.
ThuSj
slaves
in Delaware
1.798
Maryland
87,188
Dist.
of Columbia.
3,181
'*
"
Kentucky
225,490
"
"
Missouri
114,96.=;
432,622
400
Cost of slaves
$173,048,800
Eighty-seven days'
cost of the war
174,000,000
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Do you doubt that taking the
initiatory
steps
on the part of those States and this District would
shorten
the war more
than
eighty-seven
days,
and thus be an actual saving of expense ?
A word
as to
the time and manner of incur-
ring the expense.
Suppose, for instance, a State
devises and adopts a system by which the
insti-
tution absolutely ceases
therein by a named day
—say
January
i,
1882.
Then
let
the sum
to
be paid to such a State by the United States be
ascertained by
taking from
the
census
of
i860
the
number
of
slaves
within
the
State,
and
multiplying
that number by
four hundred—the
United
States to pay such sums to the
State
in
twenty equal annual instalments, in six per cent,
bonds of the United
States.
The sum thus given,
as
to time and manner,
I
think, would not be half as onerous
as would
be an
equal sum
raised now
for
the
indefinite
prosecution of the war
; but of this you can judge
as
well
as
I.
I
inclose
a census
table
for your
convenience.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
Samuel Boyd Tobey.
Executive Mansion, March
19,
1862.
Dr. Samuel Boyd Tobey.
]\Iy dear
Sir
: A domestic
affliction,
of which
doubtless you
are informed, has delayed me
so
long in making acknowledgment of the very kind
and
appropriate
letter
signed
.
.
. by
.
.
.
rep-
resentatives of the Society of Friends
for New
England, held
at Providence, Rhode
Island, the
8th of second month,
1862.
.
.
.
Engaged as
I am in a great war,
I fear
it will
be
difficult
for
the
world
to
understand how
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
fully
I appreciate the
principles
of peace
incul-
cated in this letter and everywhere by the Society
of Friends.
Grateful to the good people you represent for
the prayers in behalf of our common country,
I
look forward hopefully
to an
early end
of war
and return to peace.
Your obliged friend,
A. Lincoln.
Richard Yates and William Butler.
[Telegram.^
Washington, April
lo,
1862.
Hon. R. Yates and William
Butler,
Springfield,
Illinois.
I
fully
appreciate
General
Pope's
splendid
achievements,
with
their
invaluable
results
; but
you must know
that major-generalships
in
the
regular army are not as plenty as blackberries.
A.
Lincoln.
Andrew Johnson.
On
April
27,
1862,
the
President
telegraphed
Gov-
ernor Johnson
in regard
to military operations in Ten-
nessee
:
War Department, April 2^,
1862.
Governor Andrew Johnson,
Nashville, Tennessee.
General
Halleck
understands
better
than we
can here, and he must be allowed
to control
in
that quarter.
If you are not
in communication
with Halleck, telegraph him at once,
freely and
frankly.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram in Cipher.^
Washington, June
4,
1862.
Hon. Andrew Johnson,
Nashville, Tennessee.
Do you really wish to have control of the ques-
tion
of
releasing rebel prisoners
so
far
as they
may be Tennesseeans ?
If you do, please
tell us
so.
Your answer not to be made public.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June
7, 1862.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
The President has received your two despatches
of the
5th
instant.
He approves your proceed-
ings of reprisal against the secessionists.
In regard to the release of the rebel prisoners,
he holds the question as to the time when execu-
tive clemency shall be exercised under considera-
tion.
It has always been the design of the Gov-
ernment
to
leave the
exercise
of that clemency
to your judgment and
discretion whenever
the
period arrives
that
it can properly be exercised.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram in
Cipher,']
Washington, June 9, 1862.
Hon. Andrew Johnson,
Nashville, Tennessee.
Your despatch about seizing seventy rebels to
exchange
for a like number of Union men was
duly received.
I certainly do not disapprove the
proposition.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
\_Telegram.]
War Department, July
ii,
1862.
Hon. Andrew Johnson.
My dear
Sir
: Yours of yesterday
is
received.
Do you not, my good friend, perceive that what
3'Ou ask
is simply to put you in command in the
West?
I do not suppose you desire
this.
You
only wish to control
in your own
localities
; but
this you must know may derange all other posts.
Can you not, and will you not, have a
full con-
ference with General Halleck?
Telegraph him,
and meet him
at such place as he and you can
agree upon.
I
telegraph him
to meet you and
confer fully with you.
A. Lincoln.
See also letter to Henry W. Halleck of July
11,
1862.
[Telegram.]
War Department, October 31, 1862.
Gov.
Andrew
Johnson,
Nashville,
Tenn.,
via
Louisville, Ky.
Yours of the 29th received.
I shall take
it to
General
Halleck, but
I
already know
it
will be
very inconvenient to take General Morgan's com-
mand from where
it now
is.
I am glad to hear
you speak hopefully
for Tennessee.
I
sincerely
hope Rosecrans may find
it possible to do some-
thing for her.
David Nelson, son of the M. C.
of your State, regrets his father's final defection,
and asks me for a situation.
Do you know him?
Could he be of
service
to you or
to Tennessee
in any capacity in which I could send him ?
A.
Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.^
War Department, November 14, 1862.
Gov. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Your
despatch
of
the
4th,
about
returning"
troops
from
western
Virginia
to
Tennessee,
is
just
received, and
I have been
to General Hal-
leck with
it.
He says an order has already been
made by which those troops have already moved,
or soon will move, to Tennessee.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion, January 8,
1863.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
A despatch
of yesterday from Nashville
says
the body
of
Captain
Todd,
of
the
Sixth Ken-
tucky, was brought in to-day.
Please
tell me what was
his
Christian name,
and
whether he was
in our
service
or
that
of
the enemy.
I
shall
also
be glad
to have your
impressions
as
to
the
effect
the
late
operations
about
]\Iurfreesborough
will have on
the
pros-
pects of Tennessee.
A. Lincoln.
ITelegram.l
Executive Mansion, January
10,
1863.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Yours
received.
I
presume
the
remains
of
Captain Todd are in the hands of his family and
friends, and
I wish to give no order on the sub-
ject
; but
I do wish your opinion of the
effects
of the
late
battles about Murfreesborough upon
the prospects of Tennessee.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
\_Priz'ate.']
Executive Mansion, March
26,
1863.
Hon. Andrew Johnson.
My
dear
Sir
:
I am
told you
have
at
least
thought
of
raising
a negro
military
force.
In
my
opinion
the country now
needs no
specific
thing so much as some man of your
ability and
position
to go
to
this work.
When
I speak of
your position,
I mean that of an eminent citizen
of a slave State and himself a slaveholder.
The
colored population
is the great available and yet
unavailed of force for restoring the Union.
The
bare
sight
of
fifty thousand armed and
drilled
black soldiers upon the banks of the Mississippi
would end the rebellion at once
; and who doubts
that we can
present
that
sight
if we
but
take
hold
in earnest?
If vou have been thinking of
it,
please
do
not
dismiss
the thought.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion,
Washington, September 8, 1863.
9-30 3,. m.
Hon. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Despatch of yesterday
just
received.
I
shall
try to
find the paper you mention and carefully
consider
it.
In
the meantime
let me urge that
you do your utmost
to get every man you can,
black and white, under arms at the very earliest
moment,
to guard
roads, bridges and
trains,
al-
lowing
all the
better trained
soldiers
to go
for-
ward
to Rosecrans.
Of course
I mean for you
to act in cooperation with, and not independent-
ly of, the military authorities.
A. Lincoln.
loo
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Executive Alansion, September
ii,
1863.
Hon. Andrew Johnson.
j\Iy
dear
Sir
:
All Tennessee
is now
clear of
armed
insurrectionists.
You need not
to be
re-
minded that
it
is the nick of time for reinaugu-
rating a loyal State government.
Not a moment
should be lost.
You and the cooperating friends
there can
better judge
of
the ways and means
than can be judged by any
here.
I only
offer
a few suggestions.
The reinauguration must not
be such
as
to give control of the
State and
its
representation in Congress to the enemies of the
Union, driving its friends there into political ex-
ile.
The whole struggle for Tennessee will have
been profitless
to both
State and nation
if
it so
ends
that
Governor Johnson
is
put down and
Governor Harris
is put up.
It must not be
so.
You
must
have
it
otherwise.
Let
the
recon-
struction be the work of such men only
as can
be
trusted
for
the Union.
Exclude
all
others,
and trust that your government so organized will
be recognized here as being the one of republican
form
to
be guaranteed
to the
State, and
to be
protected against invasion and domestic violence.
It
is something on
the
question of time
to
re-
member that
it cannot be known who
is next to
occupy the position I now hold, nor what he will
do.
I
see
that you have
declared
in
favor
of
emancipation
in Tennessee,
for which may God
bless you.
Get emancipation into your new State
government—constitution—and there
will be no
such word as
fail for your case.
The raising of
colored
troops,
I
think,
will
greatly help every
way.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
loi
[Inchsure.']
Executive Mansion, September
19,
1863.
Hon.
Andrew
Johnson,
Alilitary
Governor
of
Tennessee.
In
addition
to
the
matters
contained
in
the
orders and instructions given you by the Secre-
tary of War, you are hereby authorized
to ex-
ercise
such
powers
as may
be
necessary
and
proper
to enable
the
loyal people of Tennessee
to present such a republican form of State gov-
ernment as will entitle the State to the guaranty
of
the United
States
therefor, and
to
be
pro-
tected
under
such
State
government
by
the
United States against invasion and domestic vio-
lence,
all according to the fourth
section of the
fourth
article of the Constitution of the United
States.
Abraham Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, July 2y,
1864.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
I
also
received
yours
about
General
Carl
Schurz.
I appreciate him certainly, as highly as
you do
; but you can never know until you have
the
trial, how
difficult
it
is
to
find a
place
for
an officer of so high rank when there
is no place
seeking him.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Executive Mansion,
Washington, August 25, 1864.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Thanks
to
General
Gillam
for
making
the
news, and also to you for sending
it.
Does Joe
Heiskell's 'Svalking to meet us" mean any more
102
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
than that
''Joe" was scared and wanted to save
his skin ?
A. Lincoln.
See
letter of October
22,
1864,
to William
B. Camp-
bell.
In
the
fall
election
of
1864
Governor Johnson was
elected Vice-President.
[Telegram.]
Washington, D. C, January
14, 1865.
Governor Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Yours announcing ordinance of emancipation
received.
Thanks to the convention and to you.
AMien do you expect to be here ?
Would be glad
to have your
suggestions
as
to supplying your
place of military governor.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Executive Mansion, January 24,
1865.
Hon. Andrew Johnson, Nashville, Tennessee.
Several members of the Cabinet, with myself,
considered the question to-day as to the time of
your coming on here.
While we fully appreciate
3^our wish to remain in Tennessee until her State
government shall be completely reinaugurated,
it
is our unanimous conclusion that
it is unsafe for
you
to
not be here on
the
4th
of March.
Be
sure to reach here by that time.
A. Lincoln.
Charles
P. Stone.
[Message
to
the Senate.]
To the Senate of the United States
: In answer
to
the
resolution
of
the
Senate
[of
April
22]
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
103
in
relation
to Brigadier-General
Stone,^
I have
the honor to
state that he was arrested and im-
prisoned under my general authority, and upon
evidence which, whether he be guilty or innocent,
required, as appears to me, such proceedings to
be had against him for the public safety.
I deem
it incompatible with the public
interest,
as
also,
perhaps, unjust to General Stone, to make a more
particular statement of the evidence.
He has not been tried because, in the state of
military operations at the time of his arrest and
since,
the
officers
to
constitute
a
court
martial
and for witnesses could not be withdrawn from
duty without serious injury to the
service.
He
W'ill be allowed a
trial without any imnecessary
delay
; the charges and specifications w411 be fur-
nished him in due season, and every
facility for
his
defense
will
be
afforded him by
the War
Department.
Abraham Lincoln.
Washington, May
i, 1862.
David
G. Farragut.-
[^Message to Congress.^
]May
14,
1862.
The
President recommends "that Captain D.
G. Far-
ragut
receive
a
vote
of
thanks
of
Congress
for
his
services
and
gallantry
displayed
in
the
capture,
since
the
2ist
of December,
1861,
of
Forts Jackson and
St.
^ General Charles
P. Stone was arrested after the defeat
of
Ball's
Bluft',
for
conspiracy.
He was
confined
for
six
months
in
Fort
Lafayette. New York
City,
and
then,
no
proof developing, was discharged.
^ Farragut,
the
most
distinguished
naval
officer
of
the
war, was
a
native
of Tennessee,
and,
at
the
outbreak
of
the war, a resident of Norfolk, Va.
He heartily approved
of the
President's call for troops to suppress the
rebellion,
and, when
told
that a person with
such sentiments
could
not
live
in
Norfolk, moved
North.
In
December,
1861,
I04
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Philip,
city
of New
Orleans,
and
the
destruction
of
various
rebel
gun-boats,
rams,
etc."
The
President
names thirty other officers who distinguished themselves
in these
operations, and recommends that they also
re-
ceive the thanks of Congress.
[Inclosure.]
Executive Mansion, November 6,
1864.
Naval officer in command at Mobile Bay.
Do not on any account, or on any showing of
authority whatever, from whomsoever purport-
ing to come, allow the blockade to be violated.
A. Lincoln.
See letter to E.
R.
S. Canby of December
12,
1864.
Members of Methodist Conference.
About the middle of May the President replied as fol-
lows
to
resolutions
of
the
East
Baltimore
Conference
of
the
]\Iethodist
Episcopal
Church
:
These kind words of approval, coming from
so numerous a body of intelligent Christian peo-
ple, and
so
free from
all
suspicion
of
sinister
motives, are indeed encouraging to me.
By the
help of an all-wise Providence,
I
shall endeavor
to do my
duty, and
I
shall expect the continu-
ance of your prayers for a right solution of our
national
difficulties
and
the
restoration
of
our
country to peace and prosperity.
Your obliged and humble servant,
A. Lincoln.
he was ordered to command an expedition to
the
Gulf
of
Mexico.
He
sailed from Hampton Roads,
Va., on
Febru-
ary
2,
1862.
His capture
of New
Orleans was an
heroic
feat,
and
one
of
the
most
important
events
of
the
war,
leading to the conquest of the entire
Mississippi, and caus-
ing Napoleon HI. of France
to al)andon his idea of recog-
nizing the Confederacy
as a nation.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
105
Irvin McDowell.
[Memorandiim. ]
May 17, 1862.
You will retain the separate command of the
forces taken
with you; but
while
co-operating
with General McClellan you will obey his orders,
except that you are to judge, and are not to allow
your force to be disposed otherwise than
so as
to
give
the
greatest
protection
to
this
capital
which may be possible from that
distance.
[Indorsement.']
To the Secretary of War.
The
President
having shown
this
to
me,
I
suggest
that
it
is dangerous to direct a subordinate not to obey
the orders of his superior
in any case, and that to give
instructions to General McClellan to
this same end and
furnish
General
iMcDowell
with
a copy thereof would
effect the
object
desired by the President,
He desired
me
to
say
that
the
sketch
of
instructions
to
General
McClellan herewith he thought made
this addition un-
necessary.
Respectfully,
]\I. C M,
[Quartermaster-General Meigs.]
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 24, 1862.
5 p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Frededricksburg.
General Fremont
has
been
ordered
by
tele-
graph
to move from Franklin on Harrisonburg
to relieve General Banks, and capture or destroy
Jackson's and Ewell's
forces.^
You are instructed, laying aside for the pres-
ent the movement on Richmond,
to put 20,000
men in motion at once for the Shenandoah, mov-
^ See Fremont
correspondence.
io6
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
ing on the
line or in advance of the
line of the
^lanassas Gap
Railroad.
Your
object
will
be
to capture the forces of Jackson and Ewell, either
in co-operation with General Fremont, or, in case
want of supplies or of transportation
interferes
with his movements,
it
is believed that the force
which you move will be
sufficient to accomplish
this object alone.
The information thus far re-
ceived here makes
it probable that
if the enemy
operate actively against General Banks, you will
not be able to count upon much assistance from
him, but may even have to release him.
Reports received this moment are that Banks
is
fighting
with
Ewell
eight
miles
from Win-
chester.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 24,
1862.
Major-General McDowell, Falmouth.
In view of the operations of the enemy on the
line of General Banks, the President thinks the
whole
force you designed
to move from Fred-
ericksburg
should
not
be
taken
away,
and
he
therefore directs that one brigade in addition to
what you
designed
to
leave
at
Fredericksburg
should be left there
:
this brigade to be the least
effective of your command.
Edwin M. Stanton.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 24, 1862.
8 p. m.
Major-General McDowell.
I am highly gratified by your alacrity in obey-
ing my order.
The change was as painful to me
as
it can possibly be to you or to any one.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
107
Everything now depends upon the celerity and
vigor of your movement.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 26, 1862.
i
p. m.
Major-General AIcDowell, Falmouth, Virginia.
.
.
. Should not the remainder of your forces,
except sufficient to hold the point at Fredericks-
burg, move this way—to Manassas Junction or
Alexandria?
As commander of this department,
should you not be here ?
I ask these questions.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 28,
1862.
i
p. m.
General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
...
If
Porter
effects
a
lodgment
on
both
railroads near Hanover Court House,
consider
whether your forces in
front of Fredericksburg
should not push through and join him.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 2^, 1862.
4 p. m.
General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
You
say
General
Geary's
scouts
report
that
they find no enemy this side of the Blue Ridge.
Neither do L
Have they been to the Blue Ridge
looking for them?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May 28,
1862.
5.40 p. m.
General McDowell, IManassas Junction.
think the
evidence now preponderates
that
Ewell and Jackson
are
still about
Winchester.
Assuming this,
it
is for you a question of
legs.
loS
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Put
In
all the speed you can.
I have told Fre-
mont as much, and directed him to drive at them
as
fast as possible.
By the way,
I suppose you
know Fremont has got up to Aloorefield, instead
of going to Harrisonburg.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.].
Washington, May 29,
1862.
12 m.
]\Iajor-General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
General Fremont's force should, and probably
will, be at or near Strasburg by twelve (noon)
to-morrow.
Try to have your force, or the ad-
vance of
it, at Front Royal as soon.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, ]\Iay 30, 1862.
9.30 p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Rectortown, Virginia.
I send you a despatch just received from Sax-
ton at Harper's Ferry
:
.
.
. The enemy appeared
this morning and then
re-
tired, with
the intention of drawing us on.
.
.
.
It seems the game
is before you.
Have sent a
copy to General Fremont.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
Washington, May
30,
1862.
a. m.
!Major-General McDowell, Manassas Junction.
I somewhat apprehend that Fremont's force, in
its
present
condition, may
not be
quite
strong
enough in case
it comes in collision with the ene-
my.
For
this
additional
reason
I
wish you to
push forward your column
as
rapidly as possi-
ble.
Tell me what number your
force reaching
Front Royal will amount to.
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
109
[Telegram.^
Washington, May 30,
1862.
12.40 p. m.
Major-General McDowell, Rectortown.
Your despatch of to-day received and
is
satis-
factory.
Fremont has nominally
22,000,
really
about
17,000.
Blenker's
division
is
part of
it.
I have a despatch from Fremont this morning,
not telling me where he
is
; but he says
:
Scouts and men from Winchester represent Jackson's
force variously at 30,000 to 60,000.
With him Generals
Ewell and Longstreet.
The
high
figures
erroneous,
of
course.
Do
you know where Longstreet is ?
Corinth
is evac-
uated and occupied by us.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.^
Washington,
l\Iay 30,
1862.
2.30 p. m.
Major-General IMcDowell.
Herewith I send a telegram just received from
General Fremont.
The despatch
is dated of last
night, and
the point he
says he
will be
at
five
o'clock Saturday afternoon
is "Strasburg, or as
near
it as
it may be to the enemy at that time."
I direct Fremont to come to time as fixed by
himself, and you will act your discretion, taking
this information
into your
calculation.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.'l
Washington, June
3,
1862.
6.15 p.m.
. Major-General
McDowell,
Front
Royal,
Vir-
ginia.
Anxious to know whether Shields can head or
no
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
flank Jackson.
Please
tell about where
Shields
and
Jackson,
respectively,
are
at
the time
this
reaches you.
A. Lincoln.
\
[Telegram in Cipher.^
\
Washington, June
6,
1862.
!Major-General ^IcDowell.
The
President
directs
that
McCall's
division
be
sent by water
to
General
IMcClellan imme-
diately, and that you place such
force
at Fred-
ericksburg by
the time McCall
leaves there
as
may, in your judgment, be necessary to hold that
place.
In
respect to the operations of the
resi-
due of your
force, the President reserves direc-
tions, to be given as soon as he determines.
Transportation has been ordered up the Rap-
pahannock from here and from Fortress Monroe.
Adjutant-General
shall issue the order.
Edwin M. Stanton.
G. Montague Hicks.
[Indorsement on
Letter.']
This note, as Colonel Hicks did verbally yes-
terday,
attempts
to
excite me
against
the
Sec-
retary of War, and
therein
is
offensive
to me.
!My "order," as he
is pleased to call
it,
is plainly
no order at
all.
A. Lincoln.
Alay 22, 1862.
RuFus Saxton.
[Telegram.']
War Department, May 24, 1862.
i
p. m.
General Saxton.
Geary
reports
Jackson
with
20,000
moving
from Ashby's Gap by the
Little River turnpike.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
iir
through Aldle, toward Centreville.
This, he says,
is reHable.
He
is also informed of large forces
south of him.
We know a force of some 15,000
broke up Saturday night from in front of Fred-
ericksburg and went we know not where.
Please
inform
us,
if
possible, what has become of the
force which pursued Banks yesterday
; also any
other information you have.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
War Department, ^lay 25,
1862.
4.15 p.m.
General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
If Banks reaches
IMartinsburg,
is he any the
better for
it ?
\\^ill not the enemy cut him from
thence to Harper's Ferry?
Have you sent any-
thing to meet him and assist him at Martinsburg ?
This
is an inquiry, not an order.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 25, 1862.
6.50 p. m.
General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
One good six-gun battery, complete in
its men
and appointments, is now on its way to you from
Baltimore.
Eleven other guns, of different sorts,
are on their way to you from here.
Hope they
will all reach you before morning.
As you have
but 2,500 men at Harper's Ferry, where are the
rest which were
in
that
vicinity and which we
have sent forward ?
Have any of them been cut
off?
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, May 25, 1862.
General Saxton, Harper's Ferry.
I fear you have mistaken me.
I did not mean
to question the correctness of your conduct; on
112
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
the contrary, I approve what you have done.
As
the 2,500 reported by you seemed small
to me,
I feared some had got to Banks and been cut off
with him.
Please
tell me the exact number you
now have in hand.
A. Lincoln.
See
also
correspondence
with
Fremont,
McDowell,
and Banks.
D.
S. Miles.
War Department, May 24, 1862.
1.30 p. m.
Colonel Miles, Harper's Ferry, Virginia.
Could you
not send
scouts from Winchester
who
would
tell
whether
enemy
are
north
of
Banks, moving on Winchester ?
What is the lat-
est you have?
A. Lincoln.
Nathaniel
P. Banks.
War Department, May 24, 1862.
Major-General Banks, Winchester.
In your despatch of this evening to the Presi-
dent, you say that you intend to return with your
command
to
Strasburg.
The
question
is
sug-
gested whether you
will not by that movement
expose
your
stores
and
trains
at
Winchester.
The President
desires,
therefore, more
detailed
information than you have yet furnished respect-
ing the force and position of the enemy in your
neighborhood before you make a movement that
will
subject
Winchester
or
Harper's
Ferry
to
danger from sudden attack.
You
will please report fully before moving.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
113
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 29,
1862.
12 m.
Major-General
Banks, Williamsport,
IMaryland.
General McDowell's advance should, and prob-
ably
will, be
at or near Front Royal
at twelve
(noon) to-morrow.
General Fremont will be at
or near
Strasburg
as
soon.
Please
w^atch
the
enemy closely, and follow and harass and detain
him
if he
attempts
to
retire.
I mean
this
for
General
Saxton's
force
as
well
as
that imme-
diately with you.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 30, 1862.
10.15
a. m.
Major-General Banks,
Williamsport, Maryland, via Harper's Ferry.
If the enemy
in force
is
in or about Alartins-
burg,
Charlestown,
and Winchester,
or any
or
all of them, he may come in collision with Fre-
mont,
in
which
case
I am
anxious
that
your
force, with you and
at Harper's
Ferry,
should
so operate
as
to
assist Fremont
if possible
; the
same
if
the
enemy
should
engage
McDowell.
This was the meaning of my despatch yesterday.
A.
Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
On June
i,
1862,
Edwin
M.
Stanton,
Secretary
of
War, telegraphed General Banks at Williamsport of the
addition
to
his
force
of
Major-General
Sigel
with
10,000 men,
adding—"the
President
desires you
to
as-
sume actively the offensive against the retreating enemy
without the loss of an hour."
114
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
[Telegram.]
War Department, June 22,
1862.
^lajor-General Banks, Aliddletown.
I am
very
glad you
are
looking well
to
the
west for a movement of the enemy in that direc-
tion.
You know my anxiety on that point.
All
was
quiet
at
General
McClellan's
headquarters
at two o'clock to-day.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 22, 1862.
My dear General Banks
: Early last week you
left me
in high hope with your assurance that
you would
be
off
with your
expedition
at
the
end
of
that week,
or
early
in
this.
It
is now
the
end
of
this,
and
I
have
just
been
over-
whelmed and
confounded
with
the
sight
of
a
requisition made by you
which,
I am
assured,
cannot be filled and got off within an hour short
of two
months.
I
inclose
you
a
copy
of
the
requisition,
in some hope that
it
is
not genuine
—that you have never
seen
it.
My
dear gen-
eral,
this
expanding and
piling up
of
impedi-
menta
has
been,
so
far,
almost our
ruin, and
will be our final ruin
if
it
is not abandoned.
If
3'Ou had the
articles of this requisition upon the
wharf, with the necessary animals to make them
of any use, and forage for the animals, you could
not
get
vessels together
in two weeks
to carry
the whole,
to say nothing of your twenty thou-
sand men
; and, having the vessels, you could not
put
the
cargoes
aboard
in
two
weeks
more.
And, after
all, where you are going you have no
use
for them.
When you parted with me you
had no such
ideas
in your mind.
I know you
had
not,
or you could
not have expected
to be
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
115
off so soon as you
said.
You must get back to
something
like the plan you had
then,
or your
expedition
is
a
failure
before you
start.
You
must be off before Congress meets.
You would
be better off anywhere, and especially where you
are
going,
for
not having
a thousand wagons
doing
nothing
but
hauling
forage
to
feed
the
animals that draw them, and taking at least two
thousand men
to care
for the wagons and
ani-
mals,
who
otherwise
might
be
two
thousand
good
soldiers.
Now, dear general, do not think
this
is an ill-natured letter
;
it is the very reverse.
The simple publication of this requisition would
ruin you.
Very truly your friend,
A. Lincoln.
The
President's
letter was
effective, and
the expedi-
tion proceeded expeditiously.
Arrived at New Orleans,
General Banks superseded General Benjamin
F.
Butler
in command.
{Private
Letter.']
Executive Mansion, March 29, 1863.
Major-General Banks.
My
dear
Sir
:
Hon.
Daniel
Ullman,
with
a
commission
of
a
brigadier-general
and two
or
three hundred
other gentlemen
as
officers, goes
to your department and reports
to you,
for the
purpose
of
raising a
colored brigade.
To now
avail
ourselves of
this element of
force
is very
important,
if not indispensable.
I therefore will
thank you to help General Ullman forward with
his undertaking as much and as rapidly
as you
can; and also to carry the general object beyond
his particular organization
if you find
it practi-
cable.
The
necessity
of
this
is
palpable
if,
as
I understand, you are now unable to
effect any-
ii6
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
thing with your present force
; and which
force
is soon
to be greatly diminished by the expira-
tion of terms of service, as well as by ordinary
causes.
I shall be very glad
if you will take hold
of the matter in earnest.
You will receive from
the [TFar] Department a regular order upon this
subject.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, August
5,
1863.
My dear General Banks:
Being a poor correspondent
is the only apol-
ogy
I
offer
for not having sooner tendered my
thanks
for your very
successful and very valu-
able
military
operations
this
year.
The
final
stroke
in opening the
Mississippi never
should,
and
I think never
will, be forgotten.
Recent events in Mexico,
I think, render early
action
in Texas more
important than
ever.
I
expect,
however,
the
general-in-chief
will
ad-
dress you more
fully upon this subject.
Governor Boutwell
read me to-day
that part
of your
letter to him which relates to Louisiana
affairs.
While
I very well know what
I would
be glad for Louisiana to do,
it is quite a different
thing for me to assume direction of the matter.
I would be glad
for her to make a new consti-
tution
recognizing
the Emancipation
Proclama-
tion, and
adopting emancipation
in
those
parts
of the State to which the proclamation does not
apply.
And while she
is
at
it,
I think
it would
not be objectionable for her to adopt some prac-
tical
system
by
which
the
two
races
could
gradually
live themselves out of the old relation
to each other, and both come out better prepared
for the new.
Education for young blacks should
be included
in the plan.
After
all, the power or
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
117
element of "contract" may be
sufficient
for
this
probationary period
;
and, by
its
simplicity and
flexibility, may be the
better.
As
an
anti-slavery man,
I have
a motive
to
desire
emancipation
which
pro-slavery men
do
not have
; but even they have strong enough rea-
son
to
thus
place
themselves
again
under
the
shield
of
the
Union
;
and
to
thus
perpetually
hedge
against
the
recurrence
of
the
scenes
through which we are now^ passing.
Governor Shepley has informed me
that Mr.
Durant
is now
taking
a
registry,
with
a view
to the election of a
constitutional convention
in
Louisiana.
This to me appears proper.
If such
convention were to ask my views,
I could
pre-
sent
little
else than what
I now say to you.
I
think
the
thing
should
be
pushed
forward,
so
that,
if possible,
its mature work may reach here
by the meeting of Congress.
For my own
part,
I think
I
shall
not,
in any
event,
retract
the
Emancipation
Proclamation
;
nor, as executive, ever return to slavery any per-
son w^ho
is freed by the terms of that proclama-
tion,
or bv anv of the
acts of
Cong^ress.
If Louisiana shall send members to Congress,
their
admission
to
seats
will
depend,
as
you
know, upon the respective Houses, and not upon
the
President.
If these views can be of any advantage in giv-
ing shape and
impetus
to
action
there,
I
shall
be glad
for you to use them prudently for that
object.
Of course you
will confer with
intelli-
gent
and
trusty
citizens
of
the
State, among
whom
I would suggest Messrs. Flanders, Hahn,
and Durant
; and to each of whom I now think I
may send copies of this letter.
ii8
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Still,
it
is perhaps better to not make the letter
generally
public.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
[Indorsement.~\
Copies
sent
to
Messrs.
Flanders, Hahn, and
Durant, each indorsed as follows
:
The
within
is
a copy
of a
letter
to
General
Banks.
Please observe my directions to him.
Do not
mention
the paragraph about Mexico.
A.
Lincoln.
August
6,
1863.
Executive Mansion, November
5,
1863.
.
.
. Mr.
Flanders ...
is now
here, and he
says nothing has yet been done
[about the reg-
istry
of
voters].
This
disappoints me
bitterly;
yet
I do not throw blame on you or on them.
I
do,
however,
urge
both you
and them
to
lose no more time.
Governor
Shepley
has
special
instructions
from the War Department.
I wish him—those
gentlemen
and
others
cooperating— without
waiting
for more
territory,
to go
to work and
give me a tangible nucleus which the remainder
of the
State may rally around as
fast as
it can,
and which
I can
at once recognize and
sustain
as the true State government.
And in that work
I wish you and
all under your command to give
them a hearty sympathy and support.
The instruction to Governor Shepley bases the
movement
(and
rightfully,
too)
upon
the
loyal
element.
Time
is
important.
There
is danger,
even now, that the adverse element seeks
insidi-
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
119
ously
to preoccupy the ground.
If a few
pro-
fessedly loyal men shall draw the disloyal about
them, and colorably
set up a
State government,
repudiating the Emancipation Proclamation, and
reestablishing slavery, I cannot recognize or sus-
tain
their work.
I should
fall powerless
in the
attempt.
This Government
in such an
attitude
would be a house divided against
itself.
I have said, and say again, that if a new State
government,
acting
in harmony with
this Gov-
ernment, and consistently with general freedom,
shall think best to adopt a reasonable temporary
arrangement
in
relation
to
the
landless
and
homeless
freed people,
I do not object; but my
w^ord
is out to be
for and not against them on
the question of their permanent freedom.
I do
not insist upon such temporary arrangement, but
only say such would not be objectionable to me.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 24,
1863.
Major-General Banks.
Yours
of
the
sixth
instant has been
received
and
fully
considered.
I
deeply
regret
to have
said or done anything which could give you pain
or
uneasiness.
I
have
all
the
while
intended
you to be master, as well
in regard to reorgan-
izing a
State government
for
Louisiana,
as
in
regard
to
the
military
matters
of
the
depart-
ment
;
and
hence my
letters
on
reconstruction
have
nearly,
if not
quite,
all been addressed
to
you.
My
error has been
that
it
did
not
occur
to me
that
Governor
Shepley
or
any
one
else
would
set up
a
claim
to
act
independently
of
you
; and hence
I
said nothing
expressly upon
the point.
120
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Language
has
not
been
guarded
at
a
point
where no danger was thought of.
I now tell you
that
in every dispute with whomsoever, you are
master.
Governor Shepley was appointed to
assist the
commander of the department, and not to thwart
him
or
act
independently
of
him.
Instructions
have been given
directly to him merely to spare
you
detail labor, and not
to supersede your au-
thority.
This, in
its
liability to be misconstrued,
it now seems was an error in us.
But
it
is past.
I now
distinctly
tell you that you are master of
all, and that
I wish you to take the case as you
find
it, and
give us a
free
State reorganization
of Louisiana in the shortest possible time.
What
I say here
is
to have a reasonable construction.
I do not mean that you are to withdraw from
Texas,
or abandon any
other
military measure
which you may deem important.
Nor do
I mean
that you
are
to throw away
available work
al-
ready done
for reconstruction
; nor that war
is
to be made upon Governor Shepley, or upon any
one
else,
unless
it be found
that they
will not
cooperate
with
you,
in which
case,
and
in
all
cases you are master while you remain
in com-
mand of the department.
My thanks
for your
successful and
valuable
operations in Texas.
Yours as ever,
A. Lincoln.
On December
29,
1863, the
President wrote General
Banks
a
letter
in which he said
:
^ During
the
preceding month
General
Banks
had
cap-
tured
Brownsville,
Tex.,
and commanded
the
coast
be-
tween
it and Galveston.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
121
I intend you to be master in every controversy
made with you.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, January
13, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I have
received two
letters from
you, which
are duplicates each of the other, except that one
bears
date
the 27th and the
other the 30th
of
December.
Your confidence in the practicability
of constructing a free-State government speedily
for Louisiana, and your zeal to accomplish
it are
very
gratifying.
It
is
a
connection
than
in
which
the words
''can" and
"will" were never
more precious.
I am much
in hope that on the
authority of my letter of December 24, you have
already begun
the
work.
Whether
you
shall
have done
so or
not,
please, on
receiving
this,
proceed
with
all
possible
despatch,
using your
own absolute discretion in
all matters which may
not carry you away from the
conditions
stated
in your letters to me, nor from those of the mes-
sage and proclamation
of December
8.
Frame
orders, and fix times and places for this ^nd that,
according
to your own judgment.
I am much
gratified
to know
that Mr.
Dennison,
the
Col-
lector at New Orleans, and who bears you
this,
understands
your views and
will
give you
his
full and zealous cooperation.
It
is my wish and
purpose
that
all
others holding
authority from
me shall do the like
; and, to spare me writing, I
will thank you to make
this known to them.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
122
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
Executive Alansion, January 31,
1864.
^lajor-General Banks.
Yours of the
226.
instant
is just received.
In
the proclamation of December
8, which contains
the oath that you say some loyal people wish to
avoid taking,
I said
: "And
still further, that this
proclamation
is
intended
to
present
the
people
of the States wherein the national authority has
been
suspended,
and
loyal
State
governments
have been
subverted,
a mode
in and by which
the
national
authority and
loyal
State
govern-
ments may be
reestablished
within
said
States,
or
in
any
of them
;
and
while
the mode
pre-
sented
is the best the executive can suggest with
his
present
impressions,
it must
not be
under-
stood that no other possible mode would be ac-
ceptable."
And speaking of this
in the message
[of De-
cember 8, 186^^
I said: ''Saying that reconstruc-
tion
will be accepted
if presented
in a
specified
way,
it
is not said
it
will never be accepted
in
any other way."
These
things were put
into
these documents
on
purpose
that
some
conformity
to
circum-
stances should be admissible
; and when
I have,
more than
once,
said
to you
in my
letters
that
available
labor
already
done
should
not
be
thrown away,
I had
in my mind the very class
of cases you now mention.
So you see
it
is not
even
a modification
of anything
I have hereto-
fore said, when
I
tell you that you are at liberty
to adopt any rule which shall admit to vote any
unquestionably
loyal
free-State men
and
none
others.
And
yet
I
do wish
they would
all
take
the
oath.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
123
Executive Mansion, August 9, 1864.
Major-General
Banks.
I have just seen the new constitution adopted
by the convention of Louisiana
; and
I am anx-
ious that
it shall be ratified by the people.
I will
thank you
to
let the
civil
officers
in Louisiana,
holding under me, know
that
this
is my
wish,
and
let me know
at once who
of them openly
declare
for the
constitution, and who
of them,
if any,
decline
to
so
declare.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 26, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I had a
full conference this morning with the
Secretary
of War
in
relation
to
yourself.
The
conclusion
is
that
it
will be
best
for
all
if you
proceed
to New Orleans and
act there
in obe-
dience to your order
; and,
in doing which, hav-
ing continued,
say,
one month,
if
it
shall then,
as now, be your wish to resign, your resignation
will be accepted.
Please take this course.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, December 2, 1864.
Major-General Banks.
I know you
are
dissatisfied, which
pains me
very much,
but
I wish
not
to be argued
with
further.
I entertain no abatement of confidence
or
friendship
for you.
I have
told you why
I
cannot
order
General Canby from
the
Depart-
ment
of
the
Gulf—that he whom
I must hold
responsible
for
military
results
is
not
agreed.
Yet
I do believe that you,
of
all men, can best
perform
the
part
of
advancing
the new
State
government
of Louisiana, and therefore
I have
124
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
wished you to go and try, leaving
it to yourself
to give up the trial at the end of a month
if you
find
it impracticable,
or personally too disagree-
able.
This
is certainly meant
in no unkindness, but
I wish to avoid further struggle about
it.
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln.
R.
B. Marcy.
[Telegram.']
^^^ashington, May 29, 1862.
1.20 p. m.
General R.
B. Marcy.
Your
despatch
as
to
the
South Anna
and
Ashland being seized by our
forces
this morn-
ing
is
received.
Understanding these
points
to
be on
the Richmond and
Fredericksburg
Rail-
road,
I
heartily
congratulate
the
country,
and
thank General McClellan and his army for their
seizure.
A. Lincoln.
G. A. McCall.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May
31,
1862.
General McCall.
The
President
directs me to say
to you that
there can be nothing to justify a panic at Fred-
ericksburg.
He
expects you
to
maintain your
position there as becomes a soldier and a general.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
125
Franz
Sigel.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June
12,
1862.
Major-General
Sigel, Winchester.
Your despatches of yesterday and to-day were
received.
It cannot be possible that Jackson has
any such
reinforcement
as
thirty
or
thirty-five
thousand.
McClellan
telegraphs
that two
regiments
of
reinforcements
were
sent
from
Richmond
to
Jackson.
What
necessity
can
there
be
for
General
Banks
to
fall back from
Front Royal and
his
positions until Fremont comes up ?
Does
it not
leave a gap
for Jackson
to pass
through Front Royal as before?
The
President
directs
that
your
forces
and
Banks's
shall
not
fall back from
Front Royal
and their present positions until further develop-
ments.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
[Telegram.']
Washington, June
17,
1862.
General
Sigel, Winchester.
The forces at Front Royal are there by order
of the
President.
When he desires their position to be changed,
the order
will be given by him.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
See
also
letter
to William Cullen Bryant of May
14,
1863,
and
letter
to Edwin M.
Stanton
of August
27,
1864.
126
LETTERS AXD TELEGRAMS
Carl Schurz.
See
letter
to Simon Cameron of May
13,
1861.
Washington, June
16,
1862.
Brigadier-General Schurz, Mount Jackson, Vir-
ginia.
Your long letter
is received.
The information
YOU
give
is
valuable.
You
say
it
is
fortunate
that
Fremont
did
not
intercept
Jackson
;
that
Jackson had the superior force, and would have
overwhelmed him.
If this
is
so, how happened
it that Fremont fairly fought and routed him on
the 8th ?
Or
is the account that he did fight and
rout him
false and
fabricated?
Both
General
Fremont and you speak of Jackson having beaten
Shields.
By our accounts he did not beat Shields.
He had no engagement with
Shields.
He
did
meet and
drive back
with
disaster about 2,000
of
Shields's
advance
till
they were met by an
additional
brigade
of
Shields's,
when
Jackson
himself
turned
and
retreated.
Shields
himself
and more than
half
his
force were
not
nearer
than twenty miles to any of
it.
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, November 24,
1862.
General Carl Schurz.
My
dear
Sir:
I have
just
received and
read
your
letter
of
the
20th.
The purport
of
it
is
that we
lost the
late elections and the Adminis-
tration
is failing because the war
is unsuccessful,
and that
I must not flatter myself that I am not
justly
to blame for
it.
I
certainly know
that
if
the war
fails, the Administration
fails, and that
I
will be blamed for
it, whether
I deserve
it or
not.
And
I ought
to be blamed
if
I could do
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
127
better.
You think
I could do better
;
therefore,
you blame me
already.
I think
I could not do
better
; therefore
I blame you for blaming me.
I
tmderstand you now to be willing to accept the
help of men who are not Republicans, provided
they
have
''heart
in
it."
Agreed.
I want no
others.
But who
is
to be
the judge
of
hearts,
or of "heart in it"?
If
I must discard my own
judgment and take yours,
I must also take that
of others
; and by the time
I should reject
all
I
should be advised to
reject,
I should have none
left,
Republicans
or
others—not even
yourself.
For be assured, my dear
sir, there are men who
have ''heart in it" that think you are performing
your part as poorly as you think
I am perform-
ing mine.
I certainly have been dissatisfied with
the slowness of Buell and McClellan
; but before
I
relieved them
I had
great
fears
I
should not
find successors to them who would do better
; and
I am sorry to add that
I have seen
little since to
relieve those
fears.
I do not clearly see the prospect of any more
rapid movements.
I
fear we
shall
at
last
find
out that the
difficulty
is in our case rather than
in
particular generals.
I wish
to disparage no
one—certainly
not
those who
sympathize
with
me; but
I must say
I need success more than
I
need sympathy, and that
I have not seen the so
much
greater evidence of
getting
success from
my sympathizers than from those who are
de-
nounced
as
the
contrary.
It does seem
to me
that
in the
field the two classes have been very
much
alike
in what they have done and what
they have
failed
to
do.
In
sealing
their
faith
with
their
blood, Baker and Lyon and
Bohlen
and Richardson,
Republicans,
did
all
that men
128
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
could do
: but did they any more than Kearny
and
Stevens and Reno and
Mansfield, none of
whom were
Republicans, and some
at
least of
whom
have
been
bitterly
and
repeatedly
de-
nounced to me as secession sympathizers ?
I will
not perform
the
tuigrateful
task
of comparing
cases of
failure.
In answer to your question, "Has
it not been
publicly stated in the newspapers, and apparently
proved as a
fact, that from the commencement
of the war the enemy was
continually
supplied
with information by some of the confidential sub-
ordinates of as important an officer as Adjutant-
General Thomas?"
I must say **No," as far as
my knowledge extends.
And
I add that
if you
can give any tangible evidence upon the subject,
I will thank you to come to this city and do so.
Very truly your friend,
A. Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, April
ii, 1863.
Major-General
Schurz.
My dear Sir:
I cannot comply with your
re-
quest to take your division away from the Army
of the Potomac.
General Hooker does not wish
it done.
I do not myself see a good reason why
it
should be
done.
The
division
will do
itself
and its officers more honor and the country more
service where
it
is.
Besides these general
rea-
sons, as
I understand, the Army of the Potomac
will move before these proposed changes could
be conveniently made.
I always wish to oblige
you, but
I cannot
in
this case.
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
129
[Private. ]
Washington, March
13,
1864.
Major-General
Schiirz.
My
dear
Sir
:
Yours
of
February
reached me
only
four
days
ago
;
but
the
delay was
of
little
con-
sequence
because
I
found,
on
feeling
around,
I
could
not
invite you here without
a
difficulty which
at
least
would be unpleasant, and perhaps would be detrimental
to the public
service.
Allow me
to suggest that
if you
wish
to remain
in the
military
service,
it
is very dan-
gerous
for you
to
get
temporarily
out
of
it
;
because,
with a major-general once
out,
it
is next
to impossible
for even
the
President
to
get him
in again.
With my
appreciation
of
your
ability
and
correct
principle,
of
course
I would be very glad
to have your
service
for
the
country
in
the
approaching
political
canvass
;
but
I
fear we
cannot properly have
it
without
separating
you from the
military.
Yours
truly,
A.
Lincoln.
Executive Mansion, March
23,
1864.
Major-General
Schurz.
My dear Sir
: The
letter, of which the above
is a copy, was sent to you before Mr. Willman
saw me, and now yours of the 19th tells me you
did not receive
it.
I do not wish to be more spe-
cific about the difficulty of your coming to Wash-
ington.
I think you can easily conjecture
it.
I perceive no objection to your making a politi-
cal
speech when you
are
where
one
is
to
be
made
;
but
quite
surely
speaking
in
the North
and fighting
in the South
at the same time are
not
possible; nor
could
I be
justified
to
detail
any
officer
to
the
political campaign during
its
continuance and then return him to the army.
Yours truly,
A.
Lincoln.
See also letter to Andrew Johnson of July 27,
1864.
13©
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
J. W.
Crisfield.
Executive T^Iansion, June 26, 1862.
Hon. John
\\'.
Crisfield.
]\Iy dear Sir
:
I have been considering the ap-
peal made by
yourself and
Senator
Pearce
in
behalf of Judge Carmichael.
His charge to the
Grand Jury was left with me by the senator, and
on reading
it
I must confess
I was not very
fa-
vorably impressed toward the judge.
The object
of
the
charge,
I
understand,
was
to
procure
prosecution and punishment
of some men
for
arresting or doing violence to some secessionists
•—that
is, the judge was trying to help a little by
giving the protection of law to those who were
endeavoring to overthrow the supreme law—try-
ing if he could find a safe place for certain men
to stand on the Constitution, whilst they should
stab
it in another place.
But possibly
I am mistaken.
The Secretary of War and
I have agreed that
if the judge will take the oath of allegiance usu-
ally taken
in such
cases, he may be discharged.
Please ascertain and inform me whether he will
do
it.
Yours very truly,
A. Lincoln.
Ambrose E. Burnside.
Ambrose
E,
Burnside,
a* West
Point
graduate, was
treasurer
of
the
Illinois
Central
Railroad
at
the
out-
break of the war.
He commanded
the
first troops
sent
out
by
Rhode
Island,
and
at
the
battle
of
Bull Run
acted
with
notable
bravery.
Early
in
1862
he
cap-
tured the North Carolina
coast, and was about to take
Goldsboro,
an
important
railroad
center,
when
he
re-
ceived
the following
telegram:
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
131
War Department, June 28, 1862.
Major-General
Burnside, Newbern.
We have
intelligence that General
McClellan
has been attacked
in
large
force and compelled
to
fall back toward the James River.
We are
not advised of his exact condition, but the Presi-
dent directs that you shall send him
all the rein-
forcements from your command
to
the James
River that you can safely do without abandoning
your own
position.
Let
it be infantry
entirely,
as he said yesterday that he had cavalry enough.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
ITelcgram.l
Washington, June 28,
1862.
General Burnside.
I think you had better go, with any reinforce-
ments you can spare, to General McClellan.
A. Lincoln.
See
letter
to George
B.
McClellan
of November
5,
1862.
On November
5,
1862,
General
Burnside
succeeded
General
McClellan
in command
of
the Army
of
the
Potomac.
{^Telegram.]
Executive Mansion,
November 25, 1862.
11.30
a. m.
Major-General Burnside, Falmouth, Virginia.
If
I should be in boat off Aquia Creek at dark
to-morrow
(Wednesday)
evening,
could
you,
without
inconvenience,
meet me
and pass
an
hour or two with me?
A. Lincoln.
On
November
General
Burnside
held
this
inter-
view with the President.
It was decided that he should
132
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
cross
the Rappahannock and attack Lee
In Fredericks-
burg.
He
did
so,
and
was
disastrously
defeated
on
December
13,
being
compelled
to
withdraw
over
the
Rappahannock.
[Telegram.']
War Department,
December 30, 1862.
3.30 p. m.
]\Iajor-General Burnside.
I have good reason
for saying you must not
make a general movement of the army without
letting me know.
A.
Lincoln.
On January
5,
1863,
General Burnside wrote
to
the
President that the general officers of his command were
opposed
to
another
crossing
of
the Rappahannock
to
attack
Fredericksburg,
but
that
he
had
issued
orders
to
the engineers and
artillery to prepare
for
it.
Real-
izing that this determination might run counter to other
plans of the President of which he was ignorant, Burn-
side
offered
his
resignation
to
relieve
Lincoln
of em-
barrassment.
General
Halleck replied to
this
letter on
the
7th,
endorsing
the
idea
of
the
movement,
if
a
crossing could be
effected on favorable or equal terms
with
the
enemy.
"It
will
not do
to
keep
your army
inactive.
As
you
yourself
admit,
it
devolves on you
to
decide
upon
the
time,
place,
and
character
of
the
crossing. ...
I
can
only
advise
that
the
attempt
be
made, and
as early
as
possible."
On
this
letter the President made
the
following
in-
dorsement:
[Indorsement.]
January
8, 1863.
General Burnside.
I
understand
General
Halleck
has
sent you
a letter of which this
is a copy.
I approve this
letter.
I deplore the want of concurrence with
you in opinion by your general of^cers, but
I do
not
see
the
remedy.
Be
cautious, and do not
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
133
understand
that
the Government
or
country
is
driving you.
I do not yet see how I could profit
by changing the command of
the Army of the
Potomac; and
if
I
did,
I should not wish to do
it by accepting the resignation of your commis-
sion.
A. Lincoln.
[Order Relieving
General A.
E. Burnside and
Making Other Changes.]
(General Orders No. 20.)
War Department, Adjutant-General's Office,
Washington, D.
C., January 25,
1863.
I. The
President
of
the
United
States
has
directed
:
I St. That Major-General
A.
E.
Burnside,
at
his own request, be relieved from the command
of the Army of the Potomac.
2d. That Major-General E. V. Sumner, at his
own request, be relieved from duty in the Army
of the Potomac.
3d. That
Major-General W.
B.
Franklin
be
relieved from duty in the Army of the Potomac.
4th. That
Major-General
J.
Hooker
be
as-
signed
to
the command
of
the Army
of
the
Potomac.
II. The
officers
relieved as above
will
report
in person to the adjutant-general of the army.
By order of the Secretary of War
:
E. D. Townsend,
Assistant Adjutant-General.
On March
25,
1863,
General Burnside was placed
in
command
of
the Department
of
the
Ohio,
with head-
quarters
at
Cincinnati.
On
April
13,
1863,
General
Burnside
issued "Order
No. 38"
that "all persons
.
.
. who commit acts for the
134
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
benefit of the enemies of our country
will be tried [by
martial law]
as
spies or
traitors, and
if convicted,
will
suffer
death."
and
that
"persons
declaring
sympathy
with
such
offenses
will
be
.
.
.
sent beyond
our
lines
into
the
lines
of
their
friends
[the
Rebels]."
Under
this order he arrested and convicted a prominent Demo-
cratic ex-Congressman
of Ohio, Clement
L. Vallandig-
ham, for inciting his auditors
to resist the
draft.
War Department, April 29, 1863.
Major-General Ambrose E.
Burnside,
Commanding Department
of
the
Ohio,
Cin-
cinnati.
A telegram from
Louisville, published
in the
National Intelligencer of
this morning, contains
the following paragraph
:
During the sale of a lot of negroes at the court-house
this morning,
the
provost-marshal
notified
the owners
that four were
free under the President's proclamation.
They nevertheless went on, when the matter of the four
contrabands was turned over to the
district judge, who
will take measures
to annul
the
sale.
The President
directs me
to say
to you
that
he
is much
surprised
to
find
that persons who
are
free under
his proclamation have been
suf-
fered
to be
sold under any pretense whatever;
and also desires me to remind you of the terms
of
the
acts
of Congress by which
the
fugitive
negroes
of
rebel owners
taking
refuge
within
our
lines are declared
to be "captives of war."
He
desires you
to take immediate measures
to
prevent any persons who, by act of Congress, are
entitled
to
protection
from
the Government
as
"captives of war" from being returned to bond-
age
or
suffering any wrong prohibited by
that
act.
A detailed despatch, with
instructions,
will
be sent to you to-day.
Your vigilant and earnest
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
135
attention to this subject within your department
is specially requested.
Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War.
War Department, May 20,
1863.
Major-General A. E. Burnside,
Commanding Department of the Ohio, Cincin-
nati, Ohio.
Your despatch of three o'clock this afternoon
to the Secretary of War has been received and
shown to the President.
He thinks the best dis-
position
to be made of Vallandigham
is
to put
him beyond
the
lines,
as
directed
in
the order
transmitted to you last evening, and directs that
you execute that order by sending him forward
under
secure
guard
without
delay
to
General
Rosecrans.
By order of the President
:
Ed. R.
S. Canby, Brigadier-General.
[Telegram.']
Washington, May 29, 1863.
Major-General Burnside,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Your
despatch
of to-day
received.
When
I
shall w^ish to supersede you
I will
let you know.
All the Cabinet regretted the necessity of arrest-
ing,
for
instance,
Vallandigham, some
perhaps
doubting there was a
real necessity
for
it
; but,
being
done,
all
were
for
seeing you
through
with
it.
A. Lincoln.
[Telegram.]
War Department, July 2y,
1863.
Major-General
Burnside,
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Let me explain.
In General Grant's
first de-
spatch after the fall of Vicksburg, he said, among
136
LETTERS AND TELEGRAMS
Other things, he would send the Ninth Corps to
you.
Thinking
it would be
pleasant
to you,
I
asked the Secretary of War to telegraph you the
news.
For some reasons never mentioned to us
by
General
Grant,
they
have
not
been
sent,
though we
have
seen
outside
intimations
that
they took
part
in
the
expedition
against Jack-
son.
General
Grant
is
a
copious
worker
and
fighter, but a very meager writer or telegrapher.
No doubt he changed
his purpose
in
regard to
the Ninth Corps
for some
sufficient reason, but
has forgotten to notify us of
it.
A. Lincoln.
On August
16,
1863, Burnside
started
for the
seat of
war
at Chattanooga, Tenn.
By rapid marches over the
mountains he eluded Buckner, waiting for him at Cum-
berland Gap, and entered Knoxville on September
4.
[^Telegram.]
Washington, September
1 1
,
1 863.
1 1 .30 a. m.
Major-General
Burnside, Cumberland Gap.
Yours
received.
A thousand thanks
for the
late successes you have given us.
We cannot al-
low you
to
resign
until
things
shall be
a
little
more settled in East Tennessee.
If then, purely
on your own
account, you
wish
to
resign, we
will not further refuse you.
A. Lincoln.
\_Telegrain.]
War Department,
September 21, 1863.
11 a.m.
General Burnside, Greenville, Tennessee.
If you are to do any ^ood to Rosecrans
it will
not do
to waste time with Jonesboro.
It
is
al-
ready too
late
to do the most good
that might