Daily national Republican. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1862-1866, 1864-04-28
Letter from President Lincoln 10
Governor Bramlette, OF Kentucky,
Upon the Question Of Employing
COIOred TrOOps,

The subjoined letter Of the President TO Gov.
BrAmlette, ex-senator Dixon and A. Hodges,
Of Kentucky, who lately visited Washington to
ask that their State might be excused from the
operation ofthe law for enrolling and organic
ing colored troops, has been printed with seye-
raj important typographical errors. We give
a correct copy from the original OF this i'm
pOrtant document:
EXECUTIVE MANHoS,l
WAsHISOToN, April I, 1854. I
4. e. Hodges, ESq., Frankfort, Ky:
NJ DEAR SIR: You ask me to put in writing
the substance of what verbally said the other
day, in your presence, TO Governor Bramlette
and Senator Dixon. II was about as follows:
"I am naturally antl.slavery. If slavery is
not wrong, nothing is wrong. ! cannot re-
member when / did not so think and feel.
And yet have never understood that the
presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted
right to act officially upon this judgment and
feeling. TWAS in the oath took, that would
TO the best Of my ability preserve, protect, and
defend the Constitution OF the United States.
could not take the office without taking the
oath. Nor was II my view, that might take
an oath to get power, and break the oath, in
using the power. L understood, too, that, in
ordinary civil administration, this oath even
forbade me to practically indulge my primary,
abstract Judgment on the moral question OF
slavery. had publicly declared this many
times, and in many ways. And aver that, to
this day, I have done no Official act in mere
Difference to my abstract judgment and feeling
on slavery.
al did understand, however, that my oath
10 preserve the Constitution 10 the best Of my
ability imposed upon me the duty OF presery-
ing, by every indispensable means, that Gov
ernment-that Nation-of which that Consti.
tuition was the organic law. Was 1t possible
TO lose the Nation, and yet preserve the Con-
stitutioni
"By general law. life and limb must be pro-
tected; yet often limb must be amputated to
cave life; but life is never wisely given to
save a limb. / felt that measures, otherwise
unconstitutional, might become lawful, by be.
coming indispensable TO the preservation OF
the Constitution through the preservation oi
The Nation. Right or wrong, l assumed this
ground, and now avow II. | could not feel
that to the best of my ability, had even tried
TO preserve the Constitution, If to save slavery
or any minor matter, should permit the
wreck OF Government, Country, and Constitu
lion, all together.
"When early in the war, Gen. Fremont at
tempted military emancipation, forbade ii,
because did not then think II an indlspensa
bic necessity. When q little later, General
Cameron, then Secretary Of War, suggested
the arming OF the blacks, objected; because
did not yet think 1t an indispensable necessity
When, still later, Gen. Hunter attempted military
emancipation, ! again forbade Il; because
did not yet think the indispensable necessity
had come.
when, in March, and May, and July, 1862,
l made earnest and successive appeals 10 the
Border States 10 favor compensated emAncipa.
tlon, 1 believed the indispensable necessity for
military emancipation, and arming the blacks
would come, unless averted by that measure
They declined the propositions and was, in
my best Judgment, driven TO the alternative OF
either surendering the Union, and with 1t, tn,
~ ufR
the colored element. l chose the latter. II
choosing 1t, hoped for greater gain than loss
but Of this / was not entirely confident.
"More than q year Of trial now shows nj
loss by 1t, In our foreign relations; none in ou
home popular sentiments none In our whit
military forcei-no loss by Il, anyhow, or any
where. On the contrary, 1t shows gain o
quite hundred and thirty thousand soldiers
seamen, and laborers. These are palpabl
facts, about which, as facts, there can be n,
eaVilng. We have the menj and we could no
nave had them without the measure.
ana now, let any Union man, who com
plains oil the measure, test himself by writing
down In one line, that he is for subduIpg thi
reDellloh Dy force OF arms, and in the next tina
he Is for taking these hundred and thirty thou
sand men from the Union side, and placing
them where they would be, but for the measure
Nc eonueuhh' ii ne cannot face his case &C
stated, It is only because he cannot face tht
truth" N>
l add a word which was not In the yerbsI
conversation. In telling this tale, Iattempt nr
compliment TO my own sagacity. claim moi
10 have controlled events, but confess plainly
that events have controlled me. Now, al th,
end oi three years. struggle, the nations con
ditlon Is not what either party or any man de
xlsed or expected. God alone can claim II
Whlther II Is tending seems plain. II God nov
wills the removal of a great wrong. and will
also that VIC OF the North, as well as Won of th
South, shall pay fairly for our Completely /,
that wrong, Impartial history will and thereI,
new cause to attest and revere the Justice ant
goodness OF God.
Yours truly, A. LINCOLN,