New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-14
LINCOLN'S LETTERS.
A MAN OF HONlELY WISDOM.

Colonel Van Buren, has, as his title page lndi-
Gates, made collection Of Abraham Lincolns
letters, speeches, public and official documents
and has put them together with as little edl'lhs
as possible. No doubt the most Of them speak
for themselves, but the value and also the
significance Of the military letters. and even some
Of the political ones, would haze been increased
BY notes and brief introducrions Neverthe-
less the compilation is full of interest. and with
this volume in hand it is easy enough to relive
the rebellion. period, and to recall the various
changes OF public opinion that marked the critical
points of the war; A perusal of Lincoln's speeches
and messages will make it clear that no man ever
more faithfully waited upon TIE Will OF the
people. His personal views on slavery had FOR
years been strong. but as public representative
he voiced the opinions Of his constituents ana
vigorously repre- scd whatever ideas tended toward
extremes. 1t is difficult for those who only
look back upon the great struggle to realize the
attitude of the men who in 1860 shrank with
almost invincible repugnance from the admission
Of the harsh facts which were day by day be-
coming more apparent. Abraham Lincoln was
among the last to perceive that the time for
compromises had passed, and that the Southern
States had proceeded too far to be pecaled or
turned from their disloyal programme by any
amount Of reasonableness and appeals to logic
Q: law.
All this Is shown very plainly in the short
speeches made in the spring of 1861 by the
President-elect. The keynote Of these remarks
is Cancellation. He is careful to assure the South
crn sympathizers that there is to be no invasion
of the South. Sometimes he almost apologies
for the necessity which compels him to defend or
attempt to retake the Federal property, buildings,
arsanals forts, etc, which had been held by tho
seeding States And when the impossibility OF
q peaceful solution was forced upon the Admins
tration it is plain that the recourse to force was
had with great reluctance. For considerable
time it is the lawyer and the student of the Con-
stitution who speaks through Lincoln. He is
slow to adapt himself to the new environment.
The weight Of his responsibility presses upon him
terribly. He is determined to save the Union If
it be possible but it takes him many months, nay,
even a year or two, to realize that there is no
longer any way but by the arbtrament of war.
This was a common state Of mind. Long aft'r
the armies were in the field even generals on SER
vice thought it within their functions to write
long Constitutional arguments. Sometimes they
went so far as to publish these as kind of
military proclamation. Lincoln had vast
amount of trouble with the generals. some of
whom seemed to think they were Roman Pro-
consuls. These officers sometimes undertook to
initiate new governmental policies concerning
the status Of the negro or the right TO vote OF
inhabitants of disloyal districts Missouri was
perfect hotbed Of political and semi-political
troubles, and when the attempt to take the State
out Of the Union had been frustrated the Union
men managed to get up feuds among themselves
which caused no end OF embarrassment ana
anxiety.
Then there was the aggravatng naction Of Nc
Clellau. Perhaps two-thirds Of Lincoln's military
letters are addressed to the commander OF the
Army of the Potomac urging him to do something:
trying to convince him that he has the
means to do something; arguing with him
about the forces at his command; disputing
his representations of the weakness of his
force; and occasionally manifesting lit
tie Of the impotence to which almost any
other man than Lincoln would have given
way long before. Once or twice the President is
driven to tell Mcclellan plainly that he is losing
the confidence Of the people. Once he points OUT
the certainty that the enemy, with much less than
his force, would have undertaken important opera
tons But it is all in vain. Protest, remonstrance,
goading even direct orders, fail to overcome Nc
Clelan's inertia, and at last come the inevitable
executive orders supersedng the little General and
putting Burnside in his place. Lincoln did not
often speak plainly about the hard time he had
with his generals, but once in while he did, and
Colonel Van Buren, gives the instance. 1t was
aprop0s of Grant the President was speaking, IN
the early part of 1854, and his remarks are thus
recorded: Grant is the first general I've had
He's general: I'll tell you what mean. You
know how it's been with all the rest. As soon as
put man in command Of the army, he'd come "
me with plan of campaign, and about as much as
TO say Now, don't believe / can do it, but il
you say SO, I'll try it on and put the response
bility Of success or failure me. They all
cd IN no Oonpra1 Noxy isn't So
Grant. He hasn't told me what his plans
don't know, and don't want to know. I'm glad
to find q man that can 90 ahead without me- You
see when any of the rest set out on a campaign
they'd look over matters and pick out some
thing they were short of, and they knew couldn't
give 'em, and tell me they couldn't hope to win
unless they had it; and it was most generally
cavalry. Now, when Grant took hold, / was
waiting to see what his pet impossibility would
be- and reckoned il would he cavalry, as matter
Of course, for We hadEe't horses enough to mount
what men we had. There were $1,000, or there
abouts, up near lIarpers Ferry, and no horses u
put them on. Well, the other day Grant sends to
me about those very men, just as expected: but
what he wanted to know was whether he should
make infantry of 'em discharge 'em. He
doesn't ask impossibities of me- and he's the first
general I've had that didn't
What Colonel Van Buren, styles the Prcs-
dents last shortest. and best speech in 1864"
may be added TO the above as a characteristic
example. Two Tennessee women had been seek
ing the release of their husbands. who were held
as prisoners of war at JohnSons Island. They
were put off till Friday. when they came again.
and were again put off to Saturday. At each of
the interviews one Of the women urged that her
husband was a religious man. On Saturday the
President ordered dhe release Of the prisoners, and
then said to this lady: You say your husband
Is a religious man. Tell him when you meet
him that l say i am not much of a judge of
religion. but that in my opinion, the religion that
sets men to rebel and light against the Govern
ment, because, as they think. that Government
does not sufficiently help some men to eat their
bread on the sweat OF other mems faces. is not