The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-18
A CHAPTER OF WAR HISTORY.

A recent reference in public address
by Mr.. Henry Watterson to alleged
terms Of peace offered the Confederacy
shortly before it's collapse recalls an in
teresting feature of the war period His
tory dwells with glowing emphasis on
the great uprising of the loyal people
of the North in 1861 and the magnificent
support they gave the government in it's
efforts to suppress the rebellion, but to
some extent it charitably forgets that
during the entire period of the war there
was in the North a peace party as well
as a war party. This sentiment was
active and by no means weak. It as
sumed every possible phase from secret
plotting to open and sometimes violent
opposition to the operations of the gov
eminent and endeavored in every posi-
BILE way to hinder the prosecution OF the
war. 1t was the rallying point not only
of all the disloyalty in the North, but
of all the elements of opposition to the
administration and to Mr.. Lincoln him
self. The sentiment was bold enough to
find expression in many ways, notably
by the Democratic national convention
of 1864, which adopted a resolution de-
claring the war failure and demand
ing an immediate cessation of hostilities
and the opening Of negotiations for
peace.
Mr.. Lincoln was too wise to ignore
altogether this persistent demand for
peace. Although the movement was
mainly inspired by disloyalty to the gov
ernment it would not have done for
h <, HOY ,>Jo n p,So in bo at
tude of resisting or rejecting any efforts
at a peace consistent with the honor of
the government and the preservation of
the Union. But there he drew the line.
The truth is, Mr.. Lincoln was always
for peace on those terms. He would
have avoided war in the beginning if he
could have done SO consistently with his
constitutional oath and duty. In his
first inaugural address he said, address
ing himself to the Southern people:
In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow
countrymen, and not in mine is the mo-
ment will not assail you. You can have
no conflict without being yourselves the
aggressors. You can have. no oath regis
tered in heaven to destroy the government;
while 1 shall have the most solemn one to
preserve. protect and defend it."
When Mr.. Lincoln entered Office he
was not an Abolitionist, but he was an
intense Union man. He was not
troubling himself about the abolition of
slavery, but he was determined to pre-
serve the Union at all hazards, without
war if possible. but by war if necessary,
with slavery If need be or without it if
necessary. In letter to Horace Gree
ley in August, 1862, he wrote:
If there be those who would not save the
Union unless they could at the same time
save slavery, l do not agree with them.
If there be those who would not save the
Union unless they could at the same time
destroy slavery, / do not agree with them.
and not either to save or destroy slavery.
If / could save the Union, without freeing
any slave, would do it; If could save it
by freeing all the slaves. l would do It,
From this it is evident that if the
rebels at this time had laid down their
arms and asked for peace on the basis
of restoration of the Union with slav-
cry Mr.. Lincoln would have favored it.
A few weeks later, Sept. 90, 1852, he
issued a proclamation emancipating the
slaves, to take effect Jan. l. 1868. Even
after this, while prosecuting the war
with the utmost vigor, Mr.. Lincoln held
himself always open to Overtures for
peace on the basis of the restoration of
the Union, the abandonment of slavery
and the recognition of the authority of
the government. The preservation of
the Union was the objective point of all
his efforts, the ruling desire of his life.
In the summer of 1864 certain I'M
authorized representatives of the Con-
federacy in Canada having persuaded
Horace Greeley that negotiations for
peace might be opened through them
with the Confederate authorities, Mr.
Lincoln gave Greeley the following,
dated Washington. July IS, 1864:
To whom it may concern:
Any proposition which embraces the res
toration of peace, the integrity of the whole
Union, and the abandonment of slavery,
and which comes by and with authority
that can control the armies now at war
with the United States Will be received and
considered by the executive government of
the United States, and will be met by lib
eral terms other substantial and collat-
eral points, and the bearer or bearers
thereof shall have safe conduct both ways.
This movement came to nothing be-
) cause the parties behind it had no au-