Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-09-10

August 18th, 1868.
To Hon. James e. Conk{ia:
Nj DEAR S1R-Your letter inviting me to
attend mass meeting of Union men, to be
held at the Capital of Illinois, on the third
day of September, has been received. 1t
would be very agreeable to me thus to meet
my old friends, at my own home, but I can
not just now be absent from this CITY so long
as visit there would require.
The meeting is to be of those who maintain
unconditional devotion to the Union, and
am sure that my old political friends will
thank me for rendering, as | do the Nations
gratitude to those other noble men, whom no
partizan malice or partizan hopes make false
to the Nations life.
There are those who are dissatisfied with
me. To such l would say you desire peace,
and you blame me that we do not have it ::
but how can We attain it? There are but
three conceivable ways:
First. 10 suppress the rebellion by force
OF arms. This [ am trying to do. Are YOU
for 1t? If you are, so far we are agreed
ii you are not for it, a second way is TO
give up the Union. l am against this If
you are, you should say so plainly. If YOU
are not for force nor yet for dissolution, there
only remains some imaginable compromise.
cling the maintenance Of the Union is now posi-
BILE. All that | learn, tends directly to the
opposite belef-that the strength of the re-
bellion is in its military-its army; and that
the army dominates all the country and all
the people within its range. ANY offers, if
made by any man or men within that range,
in opposition to that, are simply nothing, for
the present, because such man or men have
no power whatever to enforce their side of
compromise if one be made with them.
10 illustrate: Suppose refugees from the
South and peace men from the North should
meet in Convention and frame proclamation
or compromise embracing restoration of the
Union, in what way can that compromise be
used to keep Gen. Lees army out of Pennsyl
vania? Gen. Meade's army can keep Gen.
Lees army out of Pennsylvania, and, think,
ultimately drive it out of existence But no
paper compromise, to which the controllers
OF Lees army are not agreed, can at all affect
that army In an effort at such compromise
we would waste time which the enemy would
improve to our disadvantage, and that would
be all. 4 compromise to be effective must
be made either with those who control the
rebel army or with the people first liberated
from the dominion of that army by the sue
cess of our army.
or intimation from the rebel army or from
any of the men controlling it, in relation to
any peace compromise has ever come to my
knowledge or belief All charges or intima-
tons to the contrary are deceptive and
groundless, and [ promise you that if any
such proposition shall hereafter come, it shall
not be rejected and kept secret from you.
| freely acknowledge myself to be the SER
want of the people according to the bond of
the service, the United States Constitution,
and as such [ am responsible to them But,
to be plain, you are dissatisfied with me about
the negro. Quite likely. There is differ
ence between you and myself upon the sub
ject. | certainly wish all men could be free,
while you, I suppose, do not. Yet have
neither adopted or proposed any measure
which is not consistent with even your view,
provided you are for the Union.
| suggested compensated emancipation,
to which you replied that you wished not to
be taxed to buy negroes, but l had not asked
you to be taxed to buy negroes except in
such way as to save you from greater taxa
ton, in order to save the Union exclu-
sively by other means. You dislike the
proclamation and perhaps would have it re
tracted. You say it is unconstitutional |
think differently. / think the constitution
vests its Commander-in-Chief with the law
OF war IN time Of war. The most that can
be said, if so much is that slaves are prop
erty. Has there ever been any question that
by the laws of war property, both enemies
and friends, may be taken when needed, and
is it not needed whenever the taking of it
helps us or hurts the enemy? Armies, the
world over, destroy the enemiy's property
when they cannot use it, and even DESTROY
their own to keep it from the enemy. Civil
lied belligerents do all in their power to help
themselves or hurt the enemy, except in
few things regarded as barbarous and cruel
Among the exceptions are the massacre of
vanquished foes and non-combattants, male
and female. But the proclamation as a law
is valid or not valid. If it is not valid it
wants no retraction. If it is valid it cannot
be retractcd any more than the lead can be
brought to life.
Some of you profess to think that retrac-
ton would operate favorably to the Union.
Why better after the retraction than before
the Issue There was more than a year and
half OF trial to suppress the rebellion before
the proclamation was issued, the last one
hundred days of which passed under an ex-
pllclt notice that it was coming unless averted
by those in revolt returning to their allie
glance.
The war has certainly progressed as favor
ably to Us since the issue of the proclamation
as before. | know, as fully as one can know
the opinions of others, that some of the com
manders Of our armies in the field who have
given US our most important victories, be-
lieve the emancipation policy and the aid Of
colored troops constitute the heaviest blows
yet dealt to the rebellion, and that at least
one of those successes could not have been
achieved where it was, but for the aid of
black soldiers.
Among the commanders holding these
views are some who have never had any affin
ity with what is called abolitionism, or the
Republican party politics, but who hold them
purely as military opinions | submit their
opinions, as being entitled to some weight
against the objections often urged that eman-
cipatiOn and arming blacks are unwise as
military measures, and were not adopted as
such in good faith.
You say that you will not fight to free ne
groes some Of them seem to be willing
enough to fight for you, but no matter Fight
you then exclusively to save the Union |
issued the proclamation and propose to aid
you in saving the Union. Whenever you
shall have conquered all resistance to the
Union, if [ shall urge you to continue fight
ing, it will be an apt tine then for you to
declare that you will not fight to free ne
groes. thought that in your struggle for
the Union, to whatever extent the negroes
should cease helping the enemy, to that ex-
tent it weakens the enemy in his resistance
to you. You think differently.
thought that whatever negroes can be
got to do as soldiers, leaves so much less for
white soldiers to do in saving the Union
Does it appear otherwise to you? But ne
groes, like other people, act upon motive
Why should they do anything for us if we