The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln — Volume 7: 1863-1865

TELEGRAM TO GOVERNOR BROUGH. EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 15,

1864.

GOVERNOR BROUGH, Columbus, Ohio:

If Private William G. Toles, of Fifty-ninth Ohio Volunteers, returns to his regiment and faithfully serves out his term, he is fully pardoned for all military offenses prior to this.

A. LINCOLN.

TO CROSBY AND NICHOLS

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 16, 1864

MESSRS. CROSBY AND NICHOLS.

GENTLEMEN: The number for this month and year of the North American Review was duly received, and for which please accept my thanks. Of course I am not the most impartial judge; yet, with due allowance for this, I venture to hope that the article entitled "The President's Policy" will be of value to the country. I fear I am not worthy of all which is therein kindly said of me personally.

The sentence of twelve lines, commencing at the top of page 252, I could wish to be not exactly what it is. In what is there expressed, the writer has not correctly understood me. I have never had a theory that secession could absolve States or people from their obligations. Precisely the contrary is asserted in the inaugural address; and it was because of my belief in the continuation of those obligations that I was puzzled, for a time, as to denying the legal rights of those citizens who remained individually innocent of treason or rebellion. But I mean no more now than to merely call attention to this point.

Yours respectfully,

A. LINCOLN.

TO GENERAL P. STEELE

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 20, 1864

MAJOR-GENERAL STEELE:

Sundry citizens of the State of Arkansas petition me that an election may be held in that State, at which to elect a Governor; that it be assumed at that election, and thenceforward, that the constitution and laws of the State, as before the rebellion, are in full force, except that the constitution is so modified as to declare that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted; that the General Assembly may make such provisions for the freed people as shall recognize and declare their permanent freedom, and provide for their education, and which may yet be construed as a temporary arrangement suitable to their condition as a laboring, landless, and homeless class; that said election shall be held on the 28th of March, 1864, at all the usual places of the State, or all such as voters may attend for that purpose, that the voters attending at eight o'clock in the morning of said day may choose judges and clerks of election for such purpose; that all persons qualified by said constitution and laws, and taking the oath presented in the President's proclamation of December 8, 1863, either before or at the election, and none others, may be voters; that each set of judges and clerks may make returns directly to you on or before the — th day of — next; that in all other respects said election may be conducted according to said constitution and laws: that on receipt of said returns, when five thousand four hundred and six votes shall have been cast, you can receive said votes, and ascertain all who shall thereby appear to have been elected; that on the — th day of — next, all persons so appearing to have been elected, who shall appear before you at Little Rock, and take the oath, to be by you severally administered, to support the Constitution of the United States and said modified Constitution of the State of Arkansas, may be declared by you qualified and empowered to enter immediately upon the duties of the offices to which they shall have been respectively elected.

You will please order an election to take place on the 28th of March, 1864, and returns to be made in fifteen days thereafter.

A. LINCOLN.

MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, JANUARY 20, 1864

GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

In accordance with a letter addressed by the Secretary of State, with my approval, to the Hon. Joseph A. Wright, of Indiana, that patriotic and distinguished gentleman repaired to Europe and attended the International Agricultural Exhibition, held at Hamburg last year, and has since his return made a report to me, which, it is believed, can not fail to be of general interest, and especially so to the agricultural community. I transmit for your consideration copies of the letters and report. While it appears by the letter that no reimbursement of expenses or compensation was promised him, I submit whether reasonable allowance should not be made him for them.

A. LINCOLN.

ORDER APPROVING TRADE REGULATIONS

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 26, 1864

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States having seen and considered the additional regulations of trade prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and numbered LI, LII, LIII, LIV, LV, and LVI, do hereby approve the same; and I further declare and order that all property brought in for sale, in good faith, and actually sold in pursuance of said Regulations LII, LIII, LIV, LV, and LVI, after the same shall have taken effect and come in force as provided in Regulation LVI, shall be exempt from confiscation or forfeiture to the United States.

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO GENERAL FOSTER

WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C., January 27, 1864

MAJOR-GENERAL FOSTER, Knoxville, Tenn.:

Is a supposed correspondence between General Longstreet and yourself about the amnesty proclamation, which is now in the newspapers, genuine?

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO E. STANLEY

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 28, 1864

HON. EDWARD STANLEY, San Francisco, Cal.:

Yours of yesterday received. We have rumors similar to the dispatch received by you, but nothing very definite from North Carolina. Knowing Mr. Stanley to be an able man, and not doubting that he is a patriot, I should be glad for him to be with his old acquaintances south of Virginia, but I am unable to suggest anything definite upon the subject.

A. LINCOLN.

TO GENERAL H. W. HALLECK

EXECUTIVE MANSION

WASHINGTON, January 28, 1864.

MAJOR-GENERAL HALLECK:

Some citizens of Missouri, vicinity of Kansas City, are apprehensive that there is special danger of renewed troubles in that neighborhood, and thence on the route toward New Mexico. I am not impressed that the danger is very great or imminent, but I will thank you to give Generals Rosecrans and Curtis, respectively, such orders as may turn their attention thereto and prevent as far as possible the apprehended disturbance.

Yours truly,

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO GENERAL SICKLES

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, January 29, 1864

MAJOR-GENERAL SICKLES, New York:

Could you, without it being inconvenient or disagreeable to yourself, immediately take a trip to Arkansas for me?

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO GOVERNOR BRAMLETTE

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., January 31, 1864

GOVERNOR BRAMLETTE, Frankfort, Ky.:

General Boyle's resignation is accepted, so that your Excellency can give him the appointment proposed.

A. LINCOLN.

COLONIZATION EXPERIMENT

ORDER TO SECRETARY STANTON

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 1, 1864

HON. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.

SIR: — You are directed to have a transport (either a steam or sailing vessel, as may be deemed proper by the Quartermaster-General) sent to the colored colony established by the United States at the island of Vache, on the coast of San Domingo, to bring back to this country such of the colonists there as desire to return. You will have the transport furnished with suitable supplies for that purpose, and detail an officer of the Quartermaster's Department, who, under special instructions to be given, shall have charge of the business. The colonists will be brought to Washington, unless otherwise hereafter directed, and be employed and provided for at the camps for colored persons around that city. Those only will be brought from the island who desire to return, and their effects will be brought with them.

A. LINCOLN.

ORDER FOR A DRAFT OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND MEN

EXECUTIVE MANSION, February 1, 1864

Ordered, That a draft of five hundred thousand (500,000) men, to serve for three years or during the war, be made on the tenth (10th) day of March next, for the military service of the United States, crediting and deducting therefrom so many as may have been enlisted or drafted into the service prior to the first (1st) day of March, and not before credited.

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO GOVERNOR YATES

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 3, 1864

GOVERNOR YATES, Springfield, Ill.:

The United States Government lot in Springfield can be used for a soldiers' home, with the understanding that the Government does not incur any expense in the case.

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO GOVERNOR MURPHY

WASHINGTON, February 6, 1864

GOVERNOR J. MURPHY:

My order to General Steele about an election was made in ignorance of the action your convention had taken or would take. A subsequent letter directs General Steele to aid you on your own plan, and not to thwart or hinder you. Show this to him.

A. LINCOLN.

THE STORY OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

TOLD BY THE PRESIDENT, TO THE ARTIST F. B. CARPENTER,

FEBRUARY 6, 1864.

"It had got to be," said Mr. Lincoln, "midsummer, 1862. Things had gone on from bad to worse, until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope on the plan of operations we had been pursuing; that we had about played our last card, and must change our tactics, or lose the game. I now determined upon the adoption of the emancipation policy; and without consultation with, or the knowledge of, the Cabinet, I prepared the original draft of the proclamation, and, after much anxious thought, called a Cabinet meeting upon the subject. This was the last of July or the first part of the month of August, 1862. [The exact date was July 22, 1862.]... All were present excepting Mr. Blair, the Postmaster-General, who was absent at the opening of the discussion, but came in subsequently. I said to the Cabinet that I had resolved upon this step, and had not called them together to ask their advice, but to lay the subject-matter of a proclamation before them, suggestions as to which would be in order after they had heard it read. Mr. Lovejoy was in error when he informed you that it excited no comment excepting on the part of Secretary Seward. Various suggestions were offered. Secretary Chase wished the language stronger in reference to the arming of the blacks.

"Mr. Blair, after he came in, deprecated the policy on the ground that it would cost the administration the fall elections. Nothing, however, was offered that I had not already fully anticipated and settled in my mind, until Secretary Seward spoke. He said in substance, 'Mr. President, I approve of the proclamation, but I question the expediency of its issue at this juncture. The depression of the public mind, consequent upon our repeated reverses, is so great that I fear the effect of so important a step. It may be viewed as the last measure of an exhausted government, a cry for help; the government stretching forth its hands to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching forth her hands to the government.' His idea," said the President, "was that it would be considered our last shriek on the retreat." [This was his precise expression.] 'Now,' continued Mr. Seward, 'while I approve the measure, I suggest, sir, that you postpone its issue until you can give it to the country supported by military success, instead of issuing it, as would be the case now, upon the greatest disasters of the war.' Mr. Lincoln continued "The wisdom of the view of the Secretary of State struck me with very great force. It was an aspect of the case that, in all my thought upon the subject, I had entirely overlooked. The result was that I put the draft of the proclamation aside, as you do your sketch for a picture, waiting for a victory.

"From time to time I added or changed a line, touching it up here and there, anxiously watching the process of events. Well, the next news we had was of Pope's disaster at Bull Run. Things looked darker than ever. Finally came the week of the battle of Antietam. I determined to wait no longer. The news came, I think, on Wednesday, that the advantage was on our side. I was then staying at the Soldiers' Home [three miles out of Washington]. Here I finished writing the second draft of the preliminary proclamation; came up on Saturday; called the Cabinet together to hear it, and it was published on the following Monday."

TELEGRAM TO GENERAL SEDGWICK

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 11, 1864

MAJOR-GENERAL SEDGWICK, Army of Potomac:

Unless there be some strong reason to the contrary, please send General Kilpatrick to us here, for two or three days.

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO HORACE MAYNARD

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 13, 1864

HON. HORACE MAYNARD, Nashville, Tenn.:

Your letter of [the] second received. Of course Governor Johnson will proceed with reorganization as the exigencies of the case appear to him to require. I do not apprehend he will think it necessary to deviate from my views to any ruinous extent. On one hasty reading I see no such deviation in his program, which you send.

A. LINCOLN.

TO W. M. FISHBACK

WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, February 17, 1864

WILLIAM M. FISHBACK, Little Rock, Arkansas:

When I fixed a plan for an election in Arkansas I did it in ignorance that your convention was doing the same work. Since I learned the latter fact I have been constantly trying to yield my plan to them. I have sent two letters to General Steele, and three or four despatches to you and others, saying that he, General Steele, must be master, but that it will probably be best for him to merely help the convention on its own plan. Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything, and General Steele, commanding the military and being on the ground, is the best man to be that master. Even now citizens are telegraphing me to postpone the election to a later day than either that fixed by the convention or by me. This discord must be silenced.

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO GENERAL STEELE

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 17, 1864

MAJOR-GENERAL STEELE, Little Rock, Arkansas:

The day fixed by the convention for the election is probably the best, but you on the ground, and in consultation with gentlemen there, are to decide. I should have fixed no day for an election, presented no plan for reconstruction, had I known the convention was doing the same things. It is probably best that you merely assist the convention on their own plan, as to election day and all other matters I have already written and telegraphed this half a dozen times.

A. LINCOLN.

TELEGRAM TO A. ROBINSON

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, February 18, 1864

A. ROBINSON, Leroy, N. Y.:

The law only obliges us to keep accounts with States, or at most Congressional Districts, and it would overwhelm us to attempt in counties, cities and towns. Nevertheless we do what we can to oblige in particular cases. In this view I send your dispatch to the Provost-Marshal General, asking him to do the best he can for you.

A. LINCOLN.

PROCLAMATION CONCERNING BLOCKADE, FEBRUARY 18, 1864

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

A Proclamation.

Whereas, by my proclamation of the nineteenth of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, the ports of the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were, for reasons therein set forth, placed under blockade; and whereas, the port of Brownsville, in the district of Brazos Santiago, in the State of Texas, has since been blockaded, but as the blockade of said port may now be safely relaxed with advantage to the interests of commerce:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July, 1861, entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of the said port of Brownsville shall so far cease and determine from and after this date, that commercial intercourse with said port, except as to persons, things, and information hereinafter specified, may, from this date, be carried on, subject to the laws of the United States, to the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and, until the rebellion shall have been suppressed, to such orders as may be promulgated by the general commanding the department, or by an officer duly authorized by him and commanding at said port. This proclamation does not authorize or allow the shipment or conveyance of persons in, or intending to enter, the service of the insurgents, or of things or information intended for their use, or for their aid or comfort, nor, except upon the permission of the Secretary of War, or of some officer duly authorized by him, of the following prohibited articles, namely: cannon, mortars, firearms, pistols, bombs, grenades, powder, saltpeter, sulphur, balls, bullets, pikes, swords, boarding-caps (always excepting the quantity of the said articles which may be necessary for the defense of the ship and those who compose the crew), saddles, bridles, cartridge-bag material, percussion and other caps, clothing adapted for uniforms; sail-cloth of all kinds, hemp and cordage, intoxicating drinks other than beer and light native wines.

To vessels clearing from foreign ports and destined to the port of Brownsville, opened by this proclamation, licenses will be granted by consuls of the United States upon satisfactory evidence that the vessel so licensed will convey no persons, property, or information excepted or prohibited above, either to or from the said port; which licenses shall be exhibited to the collector of said port immediately on arrival, and, if required, to any officer in charge of the blockade, and on leaving said port every vessel will be required to have a clearance from the collector of the customs, according to law, showing no violation of the conditions of the license. Any violations of said conditions will involve the forfeiture and condemnation of the vessel and cargo, and the exclusion of all parties concerned from any further privilege of entering the United States during the war for any purpose whatever.

In all respects, except as herein specified, the existing blockade remains in full force and effect as hitherto established and maintained, nor is it relaxed by this proclamation except in regard to the port to which relaxation is or has been expressly applied.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this eighteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

A. LINCOLN.

By the President WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.