The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-08-06
LINCOLN'S CHIDIN0.

His Gentle Rsproof In Reply % General
Hunters Ugly Letter.
Another remarkable evidence OF the
great kindliness of heart of Abraham
Lincoln has been brought to light In
the form of long lost letter which the
martyred president wrote TO General
Daniel Hunter In 1851.
General Hunter was In command OF
the department Of Kansas at the time
this particular letter was written. 1t
seems he considered himself dishonored
by an appointment to the rather OBJ
scure military post, and he wrote to the
president protesting against 1t. Lin
coins characteristic reply was az fol-
lows:
EXECUTIVE MArsIon, |
WAsHIN0roN, Dec. u, 1861.
Major General Hunter:
DEAR SIR--Yours Of the 28d IL received, and
am constrained to say IL In difficult to answer
20 ugly letter In good temper. am, as you
intimate, losing much Of the great confidence
placed In you, not from any act or commis-
sion Of yours touching the public service up to
the time you were sent TO Leavenworth, but
from the flood Of grumbling dispatches and let
ters have seen from you since. i knew you
were being ordered to Leevcnworth at tho
time 1t was done, and / aver that, with as ten
der regard for your honor and your sensi-
bilities as had for my own, IL never occurred
suited and disgraced," nor have up to this
day heard any intimation that you have been
wronged coming from any ono but yourself
No ono has blamed you for the retrograde
movement from Springfield, nor for the infor-
nation you gave General Cameron, and this
you could readily understand II II were not
for your unwarranted assumption that the or
dering to Leavenworth must necessarily have
been done az q punishment for some fault
thought then, and ! think yet, the position as
signed to you il ss responsible and as honor
able as that assigned to BUELL. know that
General Mcclellan expected more important
results from 1t. Ny impression is that at the
time you were assigned to the new western
department 1t had not been determined to re-
place General Sherman In Kentucky, but Of
this am not certain, because the idea that q
command In Kentucky was very desirable, and
one in the farther west undesirable, had never
occurred to me. You constantly speak Of be-
ing placed in command Of only 5000. Now, tell
me, is not this mere impetiencef HnV6 you
not known all tho while that you are to COM
mand four or five times that manyf
Ihave been and am sincerely Your friend,
and II as such dare to make suggestion
WOuM s<y you u1oP0Aii8 tuo pcsV pS'ooipAo
way to ruin yourself "Act well your part.
There all the honor lies." He who docs some
thing at the head of one regiment will eclipse
him who does nothing at the head Of 100. Your
friend as ever, A. LINCOLN.
Nothing could have been better cal
culated to allay the feelings Of personal
wrong which must have possessed
Hunter at the time That he thought SO
himself is shown by the following
words, written by the dissatisfied gen.
eral ON the big yellow envelope in
which the letter had been sent:
1.-THE presidents reply to my ugly
letter. This lay on his table month
after it was written, and when finally
sent was by special conveyance, with
the direction that it was only to be
given to me when I was in good hu-
NOR. "--New York Sun.