The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-02-11
WORDS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

First inaugural: The mystic chords of
memory. stretching from every battlefield
and patriot grave to every loving heart and
hearthstone all over this broad land, will
yet swell the chorus of the Union. when
again touched, as surely they will be, by
the better angels OF our nature"
To a Baltimore committee, April 2s, 1851:
Keep your rowdles In Baltimore and there
will be no bloodshed. Go home and tell
your people that IL they will not attack US,
we will not attack them: but if they do at
tack US, We will return IL, and that Sc
.verely.'
From a letter to General Mcclellan call
Ing attention to reported favoritism: II
now think 1t Is indispensable that you should
know how your struggle against it corps
organization is received In quarters which
we cannot entirely disregard. 1t is looked
upon merely as an effort to pamper one or
two pets and to prosecute and degrade
their supposed rivals. The commanders or
these corps Summer. Heintzelman and
ksyes) are the three highest officers with
you, but l am constantly told that you have
no consultation or communication with
them. Do you think you are strong enough.
even with my help, to set your foot upon
lHe ncChS OI summer, I1cIltZclHldH eil1
Keyes at once?"
In response TO a serenade after the battle
of Gettysburg. Mr.. Lincoln referred 10 the
Fourth Of July as the date of the promul-
CATION OF the Declaration of independence
and the anniversary OF the death Of the two
signers who were Presidents. and of an
other ex-President five years later on that
day, and then proceeded: And now or
this last Fourth of July we have a gil
gantic rebellion, at the bottom of which Is
an effort to overthrow the principle that all
mon are created equal; we have the surren-
der of a most powerful position and army
on that very day. And not only 50. but in
a succession Of battles in Pennsylvania,
through three days. 50 rapidly fought that
they might be called ole great battle on
the 1st. ID and 3d of the month Of July. and
50 on the 4th the cohorts of those who OPP
posed the declaration that all men are Gre
ated equal turned tall and ram"
Opinion of Grant in July, 1863: General
Grant is a copious worker and fighter. but
a very meager writer and telegrapher."
From a letter to a convention of uncondi-
tional Union men in Illinois In August, 1863:
Peace does not appear so distant as 1t did.
I hope IL will come soon, and come to stay,
and so come as TO be worth the keeping in
all future time. Ii will then have been
proved that among free men there can be
no successful appeal from the ballot to the
bullet. And there will be some black men
who can remember that with silent tongue
and clinched teeth. and steady eve and we'll
poised bayopet, they have helped mankind
TO this great -consummation: while L fear
there will be some white men unable to
forget that with malignant and deceitful
speech they have striven to hinder it,"
Closing words Of the third annual mes
sage: I'VE do honorably recognize the
gallant men, from commander to sentinel,
who compose our armies, and to whom,
more than to others, the world must stand
indebted. for the home of freedom disen-
thralled. regenerated. enlarged and perpet-
uated-"
After recognizing the general prosperity
of the industries of the country and the
increase I'm population, in spite of the war,
in his Thanksgiving proclamation of Octo-
Der, 1863. Mr.. Lincoln said: No human
council hath devised nor hath any mortal
hand worked out these great things. They
are the gracious gifts of the most high
God. who. while dealing with us in anger
for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered
mercy"
To Governor Hahn, OF Louisiana, March,
1854: Now you are about to have a con-
vention which. among other things, will de-
fine the elective franchise. / hereby sug-
gest whether some Of the colored people
mag not be let mas, for instance, the
very intelligent, and especially those who
have fought CALAMITY in our ranks They
would probably help in some trying time
TO come to keep the jewel of liberty in the
family of freedom"
Lincoln's opinion of Grant in March, 1864:
Grant makes the least fuss of any man
I ever saw. 1 believe two or three times
he has been In this room a minute or so
before / knew he was here. It's about so
all around. The only evidence you have
that he's in any place is that he makes
things git. Wherever he is things move.
Grant is the first general I've had. He's a
general: I'll tell you what I mean. You
know how it has been with rest. AS soon
as I put a man In command Of the army
he'd come to me with a plan of campaign
and about as much as say, Now, l don't
believe / can do 1t, but If you say so I'll
try ii on and so put the responsibility of
success or failure on me. They all wanted
me to be general. Now, it isn't so with
Grant. He hasn't told me what his plans
are. 1 don't know. and / don't want to
know. / am glad TO find a man who can
go ahead without me-"
Democratic strategy according to Lin
coin: Abandon all the forts now garri-
soned by black men, take 100000 men from
our side and put them on the battlefield or
cornheld against us, and we would be COM
PEELED to abandon the war in three weeks.
We have to hold territory in Indictment and
sickly places. Where are the Democrats TO
do this? 1t was a free fight, and the field
was open to the war Democrats to put
down the rebellion by fighting both the
master and the slave long before the pres
ent policy was inaugurated. There have
been men base enough to propose to me 10
return to slavery our black warriors of
Port Hudson and Olustee, and thus win the
respect Of the masters they fought. Should
/ do so L should deserve to be damned in
time and eternity"
II there had been truly excellent mug
wumps in 1864 how they would have been
grieved at the following letter TO General
Sherman. dated Sept. 10: The State cleo
tion OF Indiana occurs on the 18th of Oc-
tober, and the loss OF II to the friends of
the government would go far toward losing
the whole Union cause. The bad effect upon
the November election. and especially the
giving the State government to those who
will oppose the war in every possible way.
are too much TO risk IL II can be avoided.
The draft proceeds. Notwithstanding it's
strong tendency TO lose us the State. Indi-