 |
Close of President Lincoln's First Term. —Order to Gen. Grant
in regard to Peace Negotiations. —The Fourth of March. —Inauguration
Ceremonies. —Mr. Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. —Contrasts. —Cabinet
Changes. —Indisposition of the President. —His Speech at the National Hotel
on Negro Soldiers in the Rebel Armies. —He Visits Gen. Grant's Headquarters.
—The Military Situation. —Conference with his Chief Generals. —Movement
of the Forces under Meade and Sheridan. —Fighting near Dinwiddie Court
House. —Sheridan's Victory at the Five Forks. —Attack of Wright and Parke
on the Lines before Petersburg. —The Sixth Corps Carry the Enemy's Works.
—Petersburg Evacuated. —Pursuit of the Enemy. —Richmond Taken. —Dispatches of
Mr. Lincoln. —The Nation's Joy. —Lee's Army Closely Pressed. —Captures at
Sailor's Creek. —Surrender of Lee. —Mr. Lincoln at Richmond. —His Visit to
the City Point Hospital. —His Return to Washington. —Peace Rejoicings.
—Speeches of Mr, Lincoln. —Important Proclamations. —Demand on Great
Britain for Indemnity. —Closing Military Movements. —Reduction of the Army.
—Mr. Lincoln's Last Meeting with His Cabinet. —Celebration at Fort Sumter.
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753 THE morning of the 4th of March, 1865, was dark with clouds and rain. The previous stormy night Mr. Lincoln, with the members of his Cabinet, remained at the President's room, in the north wing of the capitol, until a late hour, considering and signing bills which came thronging upon him, in the usual manner, during the closing hours of a Congress soon to be dissolved. The President had a somewhat care-worn look, but a cheerfulness of manner, manifesting itself in occasional pleasantry, or in the relation of some suggested incident or anecdote, as was his wont in his most seriously earnest moods. He had a genial word for occasional visitors, and a ready ear, as always, for whatever had any fair claim to his attention. Without a word as to the morrow, or as to the momentous hours of an eventful term of service now just754 closing, his furrowed face spoke to the casual observer of sober thoughts, not unmingled with conscious satisfaction, in looking back upon the work of the four years of his unceasing watch-fulness and assiduity in the service to which his country had called him. Some talked hopefully of brighter hours for the intended pageant of the coining day. To him, long used to more real and penetrating storms, the passing shadows and mists of a day seemed of no concern. More inspiring were the thoughts of an abiding calm and of the lasting sunshine of peace. But, again, he knew that with the close of the desolating strife of armed men in the field, a new struggle was to begin —one that must precede and accompany the evolution of order and repose from the chaos existing throughout the rebellious dis-tricts. For had he not clearly enunciated, four years ago, this undeniable truth: "Suppose you go to war, you can not fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical questions as to terms of intercourse are again upon you." In the angry commotion, excited by self-willed agitators, these persuasive words had passed unheeded. Battle had come, and had done its fearful work. The aggressors were about to yield to the national power they had defied. The "questions" at issue were already settled in part, yet much remained for the clear head, kind heart, and strong hand of the re-elected Chief Magistrate of the people.While the President was thus waiting at the capitol, there came to the Secretary of War a telegraphic dispatch from Gen. Grant, announcing that the Rebel Gen. Lee had sought an interview with the Lieutenant-General, for the purpose of arranging terms of peace. It is now known that Lee had for several months despaired of any final success in the unholy work which he had deserted the United States Army to engage in, and that he prudently desired to end the war, accepting the best terms that could be made. This was a proposition to which Davis himself, then, as at the last moment, could only speak of with impatience. From his message to the Rebel Congress, however, it appears that the telegram to Gen. Grant, just mentioned, was sent with Davis' knowledge. He avers 755 that one of his Commissioners at the Hampton Roads Conference, suggested to President Lincoln that his objections to treating with the "Confederate Government," or with any State by itself, might be avoided by adopting the method sometimes employed of a military convention, to be entered into by the commanding generals of the armies of the two belligerents —almost a precise foreshadowing of the mode sub-sequently suggested to Gen. Sherman by Johnston and Breck-inridge. This suggestion, Davis distinctly says, was not accepted by Mr. Lincoln. In the same message, Davis alleges that advances were afterward made by Gen. Ord to Longstreet, intimating the possibility of arriving at a satisfactory adjust-ment by means of a military convention, and that if Lee desired an interview on this subject, it would not be declined, if Lee were clothed with authority to act in the premises. Be further states that Lee wrote to Gen. Grant, on the 2d of March, informing him that he was vested with the requisite authority for such negotiation.It was Lee's letter, thus referred to, that formed the subject of Gen. Grant's dispatch to President Lincoln. This dispatch, Mr. Stanton informs us, "was submitted to Mr. Lincoln, who, after pondering a few minutes, took up his pen and wrote with his own hand the following reply, which he submitted to the Secretary of State and Secretary of War. It was then dated, addressed, and signed by the Secretary of War, and telegraphed to Gen. Grant: " WASHINGTON, March 3, 1865, 12 P. M.
The President directs me to say to you that he wishes you to have no conference with Gen. Lee, unless it be for 'the capitulation of Gen. Lee's army, or on some minor and purely military matter. He instructs me to say that you are not to decide, discuss, or confer upon any political question. Such questions the President holds in his own hands, and will submit them to no military conferences or conventions. Mean-time you are to press to the utmost your military advantages.
756 The morning of Saturday, the 4th of March, found the President again at his post at the capitol, while the world outside was still dismal with the continuing storm. Many thousands had come from far and near to witness the re-inauguration of a loved President. The condition of the skies and the streets was dismal. The procession, which would other-wise, perhaps, have surpassed any previous one in numbers and show, lost much of its attraction. Yet was there never a more numerous and sympathetic turn-out of the people at any like ceremony. A committee to notify Mr. Lincoln, in a formal manner, of his re-election, had waited on him for that purpose, and Mr. Wilson, of Iowa, reported to the House, on the evening of the 1st of March, his response, which was in the following terms: Having served four years in the depths of a great and yet unended national peril, I can view this call to a second term in no wise more flattering to myself than as an expression of the public judgment that I may better finish a difficult work, in which I have labored from the first, than could any one less severely schooled to the task. In this view, and with assured reliance on that Almighty Ruler who has so graciously sustained us thus far, and with increased gratitude to the generous people for their continued confidence, I accept the renewed trust, with its yet onerous and perplexing duties and responsibilities. As the hour of twelve arrived, and the two Houses of Congress were declared finally adjourned, the rain had ceased, and a vast throng of citizens, with battalions of soldiers, white and black, stood in front of the stand erected at the east front of the capitol, awaiting the approach of the procession from the Senate Chamber. Meanwhile, Hon. Andrew Johnson had taken the oath of office as Vice-President, in presence of the compact audience assembled on the floor and in the galleries of the Senate. The new Senate, called by the President to meet in special session for Executive business, had organized. At twenty-five minutes past twelve o'clock, Mr. Lincoln, having now closed the Presidential labors of his first term, entered 757 the Senate Chamber, accompanied by a committee of Senators and Representatives. The procession moved to the eastern portico in the following order: The Marshal of the District of Columbia; the Ex-Vice-President; the Supreme Court of the United States; the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate; the President of the United States, the President elect; the Vice-President and the Secretary of the Senate; the members of the Senate; the Diplomatic Corps; heads of Departments; Governors of States and Territories; the Mayors of Washington and Georgetown, and other persons admitted to the floor of the Senate Chamber.As President Lincoln stepped upon the platform to address the many thousands present, the bright sunlight, hitherto obscured through all the morning, broke from the clouds, as if by miracle, and illuminated his face and form, as he bowed acknowledgment to the boisterous greeting of the people. With wonder and joy, the multitude accepted the omen as something more than unmeaning chance. The long hours of rain and cloud were over. The city roofs and spires, the trees and lawns, the hills and woods farther away, and all the landscape around were gladdened as with the freshness of the first created light. Standing in this presence, with a clear voice, mellowed by the emotion of the hour and by the slightly plaintive tone usually pervading his utterances, Mr. Lincoln delivered the following INAUGURAL ADDRESS.
At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then, a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. 758 With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.On the occasion corresponding to this tour years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it; all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came. One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offense come ; but woe to that man by whom the offenses cometh." If we shall suppose American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be 759 paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds: to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan; to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. The oath, of office was then administered to the President by Chief Justice Chase. Reverberating cannon, saluting the re-inaugurated Chief Magistrate, and giving voice to the people's joy, announced the close of the brief ceremony. The address, in the grand setting of events before and after, has an imperishable luster, and a priceless worth —to be recognized wherever the tongue in which it is written is known. Compared with that of four years previous, it shows the same kindly forbearance and good-will toward his enemies, the same yearning for restored harmony under the equal laws of a free republic. Yet wide was the contrast between the two addresses, and between the two occasions. He was no longer the comparatively inexperienced statesman, entering upon a position of unexampled trials, undertaking to lead the people, at their command, through a wilderness of untold dangers to the State. He had gained the last ridge, and paused to converse with them on the duties remaining, as they entered the longed- for land. Then, he had been willing, for the sake of peace— although he had ever felt that " if slavery was not wrong, nothing was wrong " —to leave the removal of this evil to the slow processes of time, through the convictions of those sustaining it, and the formalities of legislation; but now he rejoiced in his own decisive act, which had summarily ended this great wrong, striking down at once the cause and the support of the Rebellion. Then, he had taken his official oath before a Chief Justice whose most memorable act was an attempt, by a political decision, to render impregnable the bulwarks of slavery. Now, he was sworn by a Chief Justice who believed that no inherent right of manhood was dependent on the hue of the skin, or on 760 the accident of birth. Before, treason was rampant, and armed Rebels gathering in Charleston, where the germ of secession had been for thirty years developing into sturdy growth. The same Charleston, almost a ruin, was now under the heel of the military power it had insulted, and proud South Carolina was overrun, from border to border, by unsparing Western soldiery. Four years—the most wonderful the nation had ever seen, or, perhaps ever may see —years into which the ordinary history of venerations had been condensed, had made the name of ABRAHAM LINCOLN more famous and enduring than any other American name in his century. As the procession returned from the Capitol to the White House, but little after midday, hundreds of persons were gazing upward at a bright star, visible in the heavens —not less marvelous than the favorable sunlight omen. A phenomenon so rare —to many spectators altogether unknown hitherto— was the subject of universal comment.The public reception at the White House, on Saturday evening, was attended by perhaps greater numbers than ever before. The day had closed without serious accident. Vague rumors had been in the air of a plot of assassination, to culminate on that day; but no disorder of any kind occurred. Political opponents, heretofore the most hostile, now outwardly seemed quietly to assume the attitude of reverent acquiescence in the renewed leadership of the Chosen One of the people, the Elect of Providence. Hon. William P. Fessenden, having been elected a Senator from the State of Maine, for the term of six years, commencing on the 4th of March, 1865, had resigned his office as Secretary of the Treasury, to take his seat in the Senate on that day. Mr. Fessenden had assumed the always responsible and trying position of Finance Minister, at a time of peculiar difficulty, when the country was comparatively depressed, In view of heavy losses in war without decisive victories, and when a heavy conscription impending, with its burdensome demands upon the Treasury, added to the heretofore severe strain upon the financial capabilities of the Government, Despite all the criticism and captiousness incident to such a time, Mr. Fessenden, by the even tenor of his course —avoid- 761 ing hazardous experiments and visionary resorts —passed safely through the ordeal, and left to his successor no harder task than that he had himself assumed when taking the office. President Lincoln selected Hon. Hugh McCulloch, of Indiana, to fill the place made vacant by Senator Fessenden's resignation— an appointment not only promptly confirmed by the Senate, but cordially approved by the people. Judge McCulloch had organized the Currency bureau, and perfected the working of the National Bank system originated by Gov. Chase; and his later labors, as Secretary of the Treasury, have been attended with such marked success as to insure him a reputation in the office scarcely inferior to that of either of his predecessors under Mr. Lincoln's Administration.This appointment of another Cabinet officer from Indiana, led to the resignation of Mr. Usher as Secretary of the Interior, to take effect on the 15th of May. Mr. Lincoln appointed Hon. James Harlan, a Senator from Iowa, to fill this vacancy, and his nomination, which was eminently satisfactory to the country, was at once confirmed by the Senate, on the 9th of March, in advance of the time at which he was to enter upon his duties at the head of the Department of the Interior. No other changes occurred in the constitution of Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet, at his entrance upon his second term of office. The called session of the Senate terminated on the 11th of March. A large proportion of the nominations sent into that body, during this brief session, were promotions in the army and navy. Few changes were made in civil offices, the Presiident having determined to adopt no general system of "rotation." The Executive Mansion was, however, thronged by unusual numbers, during the first two or three weeks, and his time continually occupied with visitors, on manifold business, the variety and amount of which was such as no President before him ever grappled with, or would have conceived as within the range of possible attention. Much of this tax upon his time and vital energy was levied for the mere personal interests of either the visitor himself, or some importunate friend or constituent. Mr. Lincoln was uniformly indulgent to such appeals, when made in no offensive manner; and a 64 762 positive element of the wasting weariness which these incessant calls occasioned him, was the sympathetic regret he felt for the many whom he was daily compelled to disappoint, whom yet he would gladly have gratified. Much of this "pressure" related to other matters than official appointments. Most of it was, perhaps, as unavoidable by the visitor, as it was deemed to be by the President. But it was not, on this account, any the less exhausting. These, and other cares of graver sort, were manifestly telling upon his physical condition. For some days prior to the 15th of March, he was obliged to deny himself to visitors altogether. To those who had the opportunity of occasionally meeting him, when in his office, this change was doubtless generally apparent. It may be readily seen by all who compare his photographic likenesses, taken in the early part of the year 1864, with those of February and March, 1865. Not a little of this change was probably due to the anxieties he had continuously felt, and to the labors he had undergone, in connection with the great military campaigns of the past twelve-month, which were now near a final consummation.On the 17th of March, Mr. Lincoln was present at the presentation to Gov. Morton, of Indiana, of a flag captured at Fort Anderson, near Wilmington, by Indiana troops. The ceremony occurred at the National Hotel, and the President, responding to the request of those present, made the following memorable speech from the balcony: FELLOW CITIZENS : It will be but a very few words that I shall undertake to say. I was born in Kentucky; raised in Indiana, and live in Illinois [laughter], and I now am here, where it is my business to be, to care equally for the good people of all the States. I am glad to see an Indiana regiment on this day able to present this captured flag to the Governor of the State of Indiana. I am not disposed, in saying this, to make a distinction between the States, for all have done equally well. There are but few views or aspects of this great war upon which I have not said or written something, whereby my own views might be made known. There is one: the recent attempt of our erring brethren, as they are sometimes called [laughter], to employ the negro to fight for them. I have 763 neither written nor made a speech upon that subject, because that was their business and not mine; and if I had a wish upon the subject, I had not the power to introduce it or make it effective. The great question with them was, whether the negro, being put into the army, will fight for them. I do not know, and, therefore can not decide. [Laughter.] Theu ought to know better than we, and do know. I have in my life-time heard many arguments why the negro ought to be a slave; but if they fight for those who would keep them in slavery it will be a better argument than any I have yet heard. He who will fight for that ought to be a slave. [Applause]. They have concluded, at last, to take one out of four of the slaves and put him in the army; and that one out of the four, who will fight to keep the others in slavery, ought to be a slave himself unless he is killed in a fight. While I have often said that all men ought to be free, yet I would allow those colored persons to be slaves who want to be; and, next to them, those white men who argue in favor of making other people slaves. I am in favor of giving an opportunity to such white men to try it for themselves. [Applause.]I will say one thing with regard to the negro being employed to fight for them that I do know. I know he can not fight and stay at home and make bread too. [Laughter and applause.] And as one is about as important as the other to them, I don't care which they do. I am rather in favor of having them try them as soldiers. They lack one vote of doing that, and I wish I could send my vote over the river, so that I might cast it in favor of allowing the negro to fight. [Applause.] But they can not fight and work both. We must now see the bottom of the enemy's resources. They will stand out as long as they can, and if the negro will fight for them, they must allow him to fight. They have drawn upon their last branch of resources, and we can now see the bottom. [Applause]. I am glad to see the end so near at hand. [Applause.] I have said now more than I intended to, and will therefore bid you good-by. Partly to break away from the throngs at the White House, and to recuperate his strength, but perhaps still more from the impulse which had several times before induced him to visit the army at important crises, Mr. Lincoln determined to pass some time at the headquarters of Gen. Grant, at Petersburg. It is scarcely necessary to say that his presence with the army in the field, was not, in this or any other instance, 764 for the purpose of assuming any supervision of military affairs. He found a relief in an interchange of views with the commanding general, perhaps often not without profit to the latter, and a satisfaction in gaining such an exact knowledge of affairs as could only be obtained on the ground. More hopeful of an early consummation of decisive results than at any previous hour, his mind was now, in spite of all distracting influences, intently fixed on the chief work of disarming treason and ending the deplorable work of war.It was a period of joyous hope to the whole country, now eagerly watching the culmination of a series of widely-extended, but harmonious movements. From New Orleans, and from points above, on the Mississippi river, expeditions were penetrating the Gulf States eastward —partly cavalry raids, and partly detachments for the occupation of State capitals or other prominent towns in the great cotton region. Sherman, having already overrun Georgia and the Carolinas, was uniting with the armies of Schofield and Terry, at Goldsboro, N. C., and preparing to occupy Raleigh, as well as to envelop and crush the army of Johnston. Sheridan's cavalry force was sweeping down from the Shenandoah Valley, by Charlottsville, thoroughly breaking the Virginia Central Railroad, destroying the James river canal, isolating Lynchburg, and cutting off all communications further west, as, while moving down upon Richmond, creating universal panic there, as he passed around to join Grant and Meade. Ord's army was holding its advance line, in the positions so gallantly carried at Fort Harrison and Chapin's Farm, months before. The army under Gen. Meade, which had constantly occupied Lee, giving his forces no release through the winter, while all the remoter and more active operations were going forward, and while events were rapidly sweeping on to a central consummation, was now ready to strike the final blows for which it had awaited the fitting time. From the moment that Grant assumed the general control, the enemy had had no moment's respite. Neither summer's heat, nor winter's cold; neither drenching rains, nor "horrible" roads; neither insufficiency of supplies, nor the want of re-enforcements; neither heavy losses, 765 nor temporary disappointments; no difficulty, no hazard, no subterfuge had prevented the irresistible onward tread and ceaseless pressure of our glorious legions upon the chief armies and the vital centers of the rebellion. For once, Mr. Lincoln's purpose had been fairly carried out. The Rebels had been given no coveted season for recuperation. The damage inflicted, they were allowed no leisure to repair. And thus the end was at hand.President Lincoln was present at the memorable interview at Gen. Grant's Headquarters, at City Point, on the evening of the 27th of March, when the final movements in Virginia and North Carolina were arranged. Generals Meade, Sherman, Sheridan and Ord were among the leading commanders who participated in this conference. The terms to be made with the enemy, when decisively conquered, were, it may be presumed, incidentally considered, and Mr. Lincoln's policy, as definitely announced in the dispatch of Gen. Grant, of the 3d of March, already given, was left in full force. The military commanders were given no authority in making peace or establishing a basis of State re-organization, beyond the mere act of disarming and disbanding the Rebel forces. In regard to the conditions of surrender, a liberal course was deemed advisable, as may be inferred from the subsequent action of Gen. Grant. It is not even alleged by Gen. Sherman, whose subsequent action was inconsistent with that of Gen. Grant, and with Mr. Lincoln's order of March 3d, that any authority was delegated to the military commanders, at this interview, or any other time, to enter into negotiations for peace. When examined before the Committee on the Conduct of the War, he explains his action in at first recognizing the Rebel State government of North Carolina, by stating that President Lincoln encouraged him to a similar course with, the Governor of Georgia, when he (Sherman) was at Atlanta. He says he had "never received one word of instruction, advice or counsel, as to the plan or policy of the Government, looking to a restoration of peace on the part of the Rebel States of the South." In another part of his testimony, however, while still conceding that, at the time of his armistice with Johnston, he "did not 766 know what the views of the Administration were" in regard to "reconstruction," he says: " Mr. Lincoln, up to that time, in letters and by telegrams to me, encouraged me, by all the words which could be used in general terms, to believe, not only in his willingness, but in his desire that I should make terms with civil authorities, Governors and Legislatures, even an far back as 1863." It is, therefore, plainly inferable that this subject was not formally discussed at the conference of the 27th of March. That no authority on these matters was delegated by the President to the military commanders, is thus apparent from Gen. Sherman's testimony. It is obvious that the views which might have been entertained by Mr. Lincoln in regard to the terms to be made with Gov. Brown, of Georgia, in order to detach him from the Rebellion, at the particular juncture named, might well be different from those he would contemplate after another long period of active warfare, and the Rebel armies were surrendered from necessity, and not by voluntary submission. But from what is otherwise known of Mr. Lincoln's policy on this subject, it may be fairly presumed that Gen. Sherman was under a misapprehension, in supposing that under any circumstances the Rebel State government of Georgia would have been recognized as legitimate.This conference with the Generals was not a protracted one, for they had important work in hand. Sherman was back at Goldsboro on the 30th, and the combined forces under his command were soon in readiness to move against Johnston, whose army, much inferior in numbers, was concentrated about Smithfield, on the Neuse river, nearly half way to Raleigh. Sherman, however, awaited the result of the impending movement of Meade's forces against Lee. Gen. Sheridan's cavalry, consisting of the First and Third Divisions, under the immediate command of Gen. Merritt, having marched from Winchester, cut all Lee's communications westward, effectually destroying his most important medium for transporting supplies—the James Rivcr Canal— crossed the James at Jones' Landing, on the 26th of March, and went into camp at Hancock's Station, near Petersburg, on the 27th. The Second Cavalry Division, under Gen. Crook, 767 now reported to Sheridan, who was under the immediate command of Grant, increasing his force to an aggregate of 9,000. McKenzie's division of the Army of the James, 1,000 strong, reported to him on the 1st of April. On the 29th, Sheridan moved out by way of Reams' Station, and thence across Rowanty Creek, to Dinwiddie Court House, where his main force encamped for the night. On the morning of the 30th, the First Division, under Gen. Devin, was sent to gain possession of the Five Forks, on the White Oak road. The enemy was discovered, by reconnoissance, to be in strong force near this vicinity, and heavy skirmishing occurred before nightfall. On the 31st, the advance of the First Division reached the Five Forks, after serious opposition. In the mean time, the Second and Fifth Corps (respectively commanded by Generals Humphreys and Warren), by direction of Gen. Grant, crossed Hatcher's Run on the 29th. On the 30th, both corps further advanced, with some unimportant fighting, pressing the enemy's lines. On the 31st, Gen. Ayres' Division was sent by Warren to dislodge the enemy on the White Oak road. Ayres was repulsed and driven back upon Crawford, whose division in turn broke, and both retreated in some confusion to the position occupied by Griffin. The enemy then ceased pursuit, and rapidly turned upon Sheridan at Five Forks and Dinwiddie Court House, and threatened a movement in flank and rear upon the lines of Humphreys and Warren. A severe battle followed, in which the enemy's entire cavalry force and two divisions of infantry were kept in check by Sheridan's cavalry. During the night, Warren's corps was ordered by Gen. Grant to report to Sheridan, whose headquarters were now at Dinwiddie Court House. On the 1st of April occurred the brilliant action at the Five Forks, in which the cavalry and the Fifth Corps, Sheridan commanding the combined forces, achieved an important victory. The enemy was driven back by the cavalry to the Five Forks, and forced within his works, while a feint was made of turning his right —the real purpose being to get between this force and Petersburg, and to cut off retreat, The design was well carried out, infantry and cavalry moving vigorously to 768 their work, and fighting with valor, under the inspiring presence of a popular commander. The enemy at length fled in disorder, his artillery was captured, and over 5,000 prisoners were taken. The fugitives were pursued for six miles by cavalry, being driven westward.Meanwhile, the Sixth and Ninth Corps, under Generals Wright and Parke, had remained in front of Petersburg. After consultation with Gen. Grant, on the 1st of April, Gen. Meade, believing that the enemy's forces before Petersburg had been much reduced to meet the operations on the left, ordered an attack by the Sixth and Ninth Corps on the lines in their front, at four o'clock the following morning. Meanwhile the soldiers were jubilant over the news received the same evening, of the victory at the Five Forks. The Sixth Corps attacked at the hour appointed, driving the enemy at all points, and capturing his strong works, with many guns and prisoners. After reaching the Boydton plank road, Gen. Wright turned to the left, sweeping down the Rebel line of intrenchrnents nearly to Hatcher's Run, where he met the Twenty-fourth Corps (two divisions), under Gen. Gibbon, which had come in on the left. Wright then returned by the plank road toward Petersburg, where he met the enemy in an inner line of works immediately around the city. He deployed his corps in front of these works, and was joined by the Twenty-fourth and part of the Second Corps. Gen. Parke also attacked the works in his front, at four o'clock on the same Sunday morning, and carried the first line, capturing guns and prisoners; but was unable to carry the remaining works. At three o'clock, the enemy had disappeared from the front of Wright and Parke, and, on advancing, they found Petersburg evacuated. Gen. Wilcox's division, of the Ninth Corps was left to occupy Petersburg, and the Sixth Corps, with portions of the Second and Ninth, at once moved up the Appomattox river, reaching Sutherland's Station the same evening. Sunday, the 2d of April, was a memorable day for Richmond and the Rebellion. As the people of that city went to church in the morning, they knew that during the last two or three days there had been fighting on Lee's right, and among their 769 impressions of the result, that of a defeat of Meade's Fifth Cor'ps was the most vivid. Not even Jefferson Davis or Gov. Smith, though better informed, had any thought, on that morning, that the last day of their power in Richmond had come. Davis was quietly seated in his pew. Prayers had been said. The reverend pastor had begun his discourse. Presently the sexton, moving softly up the aisle, put a telegraphic dispatch in the hand of the "Confederate President." That functionary rose, and, followed by many inquiring but not startled eyes, stalked out of the sanctuary. The discourse went on to the end, and the concluding exercises, even to the collection, were not omitted. The news was then broken to the minister, and speedily spread among his flock. The lines before Petersburg had been broken through by Grant's whole army, and Lee had apprised his superior that Richmond must be evacuated, Davis and his chief associates moved away that night toward Danville. On the following morning, Gen. Weitzel's colored troops, of the Army of the James, entered the city, which was now wrapped in flames kindled by Rebel hands. Despite the efforts of the soldiers to extinguish the conflagration, an important portion of the city was destroyed.President Lincoln, who was awaiting at City Point the results of the movement commenced on the 29th of March, transmitted, successively, the following dispatches to Secretary Stanton: CITY POINT, VA., April 2—8.30 A. M. Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War: Last night Gen. Grant telegraphed that Gen. Sheridan, with his cavalry, and the Fifth Corps, had captured three brigades of infantry, a train of wagons, and several batteries —prisoners amounting to several thousand. This morning, Gen. Grant, having ordered an attack along the whole line, telegraphs as follows: "Both Wright and Parke got through the enemy's lines. The battle now rages furiously. Gen. Sheridan, with his cavalry, the Fifth Corps, and Miles' division of the Second Corps, which was sent to him since one o'clock this morning, is now sweeping down from the west." All now looks highly favorable. Gen. Ord is engaged, but I have not yet heard the result in his front.
770 CITY POINT, VA., April 2, 1865—11 A. M.Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War: Dispatches frequently coming in. All going finely. Parke, Wright and Ord, extending from the Appomattox to Hatcher's Run, have all broken through the enemy's intrenched lines, taking some forts, guns and prisoners. Sheridan, with his own cavalry, Fifth Corps and part of the Second, is coming in from the west on the enemy's flank, and Wright is already tearing up the Southside railroad.
CITY POINT, VA., April 2, 1865—2 P. M.
At 10.45 A. M., Gen. Grant telegraphs as follows: "Everything has been carried from the left of the Ninth Corps. The Sixth Corps alone captured more than 3,000 prisoners. The Second and Twenty-fourth Corps, both captured forts, guns and prisoners from the enemy, but I can not tell the numbers. We are now closing around the works of the line immediately enveloping Petersburg. All looks remarkably well. I have not yet heard from Sheridan." His headquarters have been moved up to T. Banks' house near the Boydton road, about three miles south-west of
Petersburg.
Later in the day, the President telegraphed —sending some further details from Gen. Grant: All seems well with us, and everything quiet just now.
The news of the evacuation of Petersburg, and soon after, of the occupation of Richmond by Union troops, was received at Washington on the morning of the 3d of April. Expectation had been excited by the cheering dispatches of the previous day, and the decisive intelligence was not a surprise; yet never before was there witnessed at the National Capital any scene to be compared with the present spontaneous manifestations of joy. The streets were speedily filled; everybody was abroad, business was suspended, flags waved on every side, bands played national airs, batteries thundered in token of the universal delight. Processions visited the War Department. Vice 771 President Johnson, Secretary Seward, Secretary Stanton, and other public men, made speeches in answer to the calls of many thousands of jubilant listeners. A deep feeling of religious gratitude seemed to move the hearts of all speakers and all listeners, underlying all the superficial demonstrations of popular gladness. It was not the mere exultation of triumph over a fallen foe. In those ever-memorable hours, there was a gentle spirit of clemency diffused among the people, such as had but now become consciously present. To the colored race, the "jubilee" appeared indeed to have come —an hour earnestly longed for, and now welcomed with childlike exhilaration.Similar was the reception of the news in all the great cities, and throughout the loyal portion of the land. Even those who least sympathized with the Government, found cause for gratification in the immediate prospect of peace. The joy was truly universal. While the people were rejoicing over the capture of Richmond, Gen. Grant and the armies with him were eagerly endeavoring to make an end of the army of Lee, without which the work was incomplete. Anticipating the prompt retreat of the enemy from Richmond, Grant did not wait for "official information" that he was gone, but threw his men at once westward toward Burkesville, moving with great celerity, in order to intercept his retiring march. Sheridan, with the Fifth Corps, led the van. His cavalry pursued the forces retreating from Petersburg, routing the Rebel cavalry and taking many prisoners, on the 3d of April. During the two following days Grant's entire force, except those left in garrison at Petersburg, and the Ninth Corps, guarding the Southside railroad, was moving along the river and Namozine roads, the Second and Sixth Corps following after the Fifth, which was preceded by the cavalry. On the 4th, learning from scouts that a body of the enemy was at Amelia Court House, a concentration at that point being probable, Sheridan ordered Crook's cavalry division to strike the Danville railroad between Jettersville and Burke's Station, advancing toward the former place. The Fifth Corps moved rapidly up to that point, and the fact was soon settled 772 that Lee, with his whole army, was there, his retreat to Burkesville Junction having thus been intercepted. He now endeavored to strike across the country by way of Deatonsville to Farmville, on the Lynchburg road. The cavalry and the Sixth and Second Corps encountered Ewell's corps at Sailor's creek, on the 6th, surrounded it, and captured nearly all the force, including Ewell and other general officers. On the 7th, the Fifth Corps was moved to the left, toward Prince Edward's Court House, south-west of Farmville. The Second Corps continued the direct pursuit, coming up with the enemy at High Bridge, across the Appomattox, capturing eighteen of his guns. Gen. Barlow's division advanced to the left, found the enemy evacuating Farmville, and hastened his movement by attacking the place.Pursuit was continued on the 8th, by the Lynchburg stage road, and on the following day at noon, the advance of the Second Corps came up with the enemy, three miles from Appomattox Court House. Meanwhile, Gen. Sheridan's cavalry had succeeded in getting beyond that point, on the 8th, and having reported the situation, with an urgent request for infantry support, the Fifth and Twenty-Fourth Corps, with one division of the Twenty-Fifth, arrived in position on the Lynchburg side of the enemy, who was now surrounded. Gen. Grant, in the meantime, had sent the following note to the Rebel General-in-Chief, there being "no relaxation in the pursuit:" April 7th, 1865.
GENERAL : The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate army known as the Army of Northern Virginia.
773 To this the subjoined reply was received:April 7, 1865. To Lieut.- Gen. U. S. Grant, Commanding Armies of the United States: GENERAL: I have received your note of this date. Though not entirely of the opinion you express of the hopelessness of the further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and, therefore, considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender.
The remainder of this memorable correspondence is as follows: GEN. GRANT TO GEN. LEE.
GENERAL: Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of same date, asking conditions on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received. In reply, I would say that peace being my first desire, there is but one condition I insist upon, viz.: That the men surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against tke Government of the United States until properly exchanged. I will meet you, or designate officers to meet any officers you may name for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be received.
GEN. LEE TO GEN. GRANT.
GENERAL: I received at a late hour your note of to-day, in answer to mine of yesterday. I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army, but as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desire to know whether your proposals would tend to that end. I can not, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia; but as far as your proposi- 774 tion may affect the Confederate States forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M. to-morrow, on the old stage road to Richmond, between the picket lines of the two armies. Very respectfully, your obedient servant,R. E. LEE, General, Confederate States Army. Lieut.-Gen. U. S. GRANT, Commanding United States Armies. GEN. GRANT TO GEN. LEE.
GENERAL: Your note of yesterday is received. As I have no authority to treat on the subject of peace, the meeting proposed for 10 A. M. to-day could lead to no good. I will state, however, General, that I am equally anxious for peace with yourself, and the whole North entertains the same feeling. The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By the South laying down their arms they will hasten that desirable event, save thousands of human lives; and hundreds of millions of property not yet destroyed. Sincerely hoping that all our difficulties may be settled with-out the loss of another life, I subscribe myself, very respect-fully,
GEN. LEE TO GEN. GRANT.
GENERAL : I received your note of this morning on the picket line, whither I had come to meet you, and ascertain definitely what terms were embraced in your proposition of yesterday. With reference to the surrender of this army, I now request an interview, in accordance with the offer contained in your letter of yesterday for that purpose.
Lieut.-Gen. U. S. GRANT, Commanding United States Armies.
Your note of this date is but this moment, 11.50 A. M., received, in consequence of my having passed from the Rich- 775 mond and Lynchburg road to the Farmville and Lynchburg road. I am at this writing about four miles west of Walter's Church, and will push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you. Notice sent to me on the road where you wish the interview to take place will meet me.Yery respectfully, your obedient servant, U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. TERMS PROPOSED BY GEN. GRANT.
In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th inst., I propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate; one copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be packed and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside.
GEN. LEE'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS.
GENERAL: I have received your letter of this date, containing the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th inst., they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect.
776 The intelligence of Lee's surrender put the seal of certainty on what was confidently hoped the week before. The main army of the rebellion, the only one that had successfully resisted the advance of our forces for any long period, was now disarmed and disbanded. All other insurgent forces must quickly succumb. PEACE was at last secured. Enthusiastic exhibitions of glad emotion were renewed, with even greater earnestness, and with a thankfulness more devout, than on the fall of the Rebel capital.On the 4th of April, the day after Gen, Weitzel entered Richmond, President Lincoln visited that city. On arriving, he proceeded at once to the headquarters of the commanding general, which happened to be the late residence of Jefferson Davis. The appearance of Mr. Lincoln in Richmond might well excite universal attention and remark. He walked from the landing to headquarters —not a little distance— with but few attendants. Nor was his presence unknown, as he passed along the streets, for crowds came out to see him. By a portion of the residents, he was received with enthusiasm —by the negroes universally with their customary manifestations of uncontrollable emotion. He received calls of respect from many army officers and Richmond citizens, holding a sort of levee in the parlor of the late Rebel Executive. Subsequently, he rode through the city, looking at the burnt district, the Libby prison, and other objects of special interest. At night he slept on board one of the gunboats lying in the James. On the 4th, and again on the 5th, he had protracted interviews with Gen. Weitzel, and also with Judge Campbell, formerly a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, and recently Assistant Secretary of War to Jefferson Davis. The Ex-Judge had been one of the Rebel conferees at Hampton Roads, and was now more anxious than ever about terms of peace and re-organization. It was finally understood that Gen. Weitzel should permit the assembling of a number of the leading men of Virginia, to consult as to the re-establishment of a State government. It was manifestly not agreed to by Mr. Lincoln, however, that the Pierpoint government or the Alexandria free constitution should be set aside, and much less that Wil- 777 liam Smith and the Rebel State Legislature should be recognized.On the 5th, the President returned to City Point. On the same day, Mrs. Lincoln, accompanied by Attorney-General Speed, Senator Harlan, and other friends, left Washington to join him. The two following days were occupied in visiting Petersburg, the scenes of military operations in the vicinity, and other interesting localities. Mr. Lincoln, meanwhile, was occasionally receiving dispatches from Gen. Grant, whose head-quarters were now at Burkesville, announcing the progress of military events. These dispatches were in turn transmitted to the Secretary of War—the last one, announcing the brilliant victory at Sailor's Creek, having been sent from City Point on the morning of April 7th. Mr. Lincoln passed most of the day, on the 8th of April, in visiting the sick and wounded soldiers in hospital at City Point. He said to the Medical Director that he had come to see the boys who had fought the battles of the country, and particularly the battles which resulted in the evacuation of Richmond. He expressed his desire to take these men by the hand, as it would probably be his last opportunity of meeting them. Though his will was good to see them in Washington, on their return from the war homeward, it would be impossible for him to meet so many of them again. The Medical Director had at first proposed some particular places for the President to visit, and was surprised to learn the extent and impartiality of his intentions. Mr. Lincoln devoted the entire day to shaking hands with over six thousand soldiers, many of them fresh from the fields of battle, and to giving them such words of cheer and sympathy, as the circumstances from time to time suggested. "It was," says one who visited the hospital the same day, "like the visit of a father to his children, and was appreciated in the same kindly spirit by the soldiers. They loved to talk of his kindness and unaffected manner, and to dwell upon the various incidents of this visit, as a green spot in the soldier's hard life. At one point in his visit he observed an ax, which he picked up and examined, and made some pleasant remark about his having once been considered a good 778 chopper. He was invited to try his hand upon a log of wood lying near, from which he made the chips fly in primitive style. The ' boys ' seemed to worship him; and the visit of the President to City Point Hospital will long be remembered by many a soldier who was only too happy in its enjoyment."On the evening of the same day—Saturday, April 8th —the fate of Lee's army not being yet definitely known to him, but its capture a well assured result, Mr. Lincoln embarked on his way back to Washington, with Mrs. Lincoln and accom¬panying friends. During the voyage, he was at times occupied in reading the tragedy of Macbeth, a favorite drama in which he seemed now to take an unusual interest. Some passages he read aloud to the friends near him, adding remarks on the peculiar beauties that most impressed his mind. He dwelt particularly on the following lines, which he read with feeling, and again read, giving emphasis to his admiration : "Duncan is in his grave, After life's fitful fever he sleeps well; Treason has done his worst; nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing Can touch him further." President Lincoln, almost on the first occupation of Rich mond, had risited the city —amid many anxious misgivings of his friends— but slightly guarded, for two days appearing more or less in the streets where his name had so lately been rarely mentioned except in scorn or hate. He was now returning homeward unharmed, gliding quietly along the Potomac, surrounded only by friends. Did a thought of coming danger visit him? To many hearts it was a relief to know that he had safely reached the White House, on Sunday evening, having witnessed the triumph of weary years of war. Late at night came the tidings which gladdened the land, and which on the morrow was to open again—more widely if possible, than on the preceding Monday—the floodgates of gladness. Lee had surrendered. On the 10th of April, the country was jubilant with the glad tidings. The streets of the national capital again over-flowed with enthusiastic crowds. Reverberations of cannon 779 were heard in city, town, and hamlet throughout the land. Millions of flags were dancing to the movements of the winds. Te Deum was sung in New York, and thanksgiving notes of u peace on earth, good-will to men," in audible strain, or in the silent rhythm of the heart, swelled in one grand harmony through all the nation. A day which none now living can ever forget: a day which future generations will think of, but never adequately imagine.An unnumbered throng gathered before the White House, while cannon were resounding, and bands playing, and voices spontaneously joining in choral accompaniment. Mr. Lincoln, in response to the calls of the besieging multitude, appeared at the window above the main entrance, amid excited demonstrations of affectionate respect. Declining at this moment to make any extended speech, he only said: I am very greatly rejoiced that an occasion has occurred so pleasurable that the people can't restrain themselves. I suppose that arrangements are being made for some sort of formal demonstration, perhaps this evening or to-morrow night. If there should be such a demonstration I, of course, shall have to respond to it, and I shall have nothing to say if I dribble it out before. [Laughter and cries of " We want to hear you now," etc.] I see you have a band. [Voices, "We have three of them."] I propose now closing up by requesting you to play a certain air, or tune. I have always thought " Dixie " one of the best tunes I ever heard. [Laughter.] I have heard that our adversaries over the way have attempted to appropriate it as a national air. I insisted yesterday that we had fairly captured it. I presented the question to the Attorney General, and he gave his opinion that it is our lawful prize. [Laughter and cheers.] I ask the band to give us a good turn upon it. "Dixie" was played with a vigor suited to the temper of the people, Mr. Lincoln still remaining at the window. As the music ceased, he proposed "three good, rousing, hearty cheers for Lieut.-Gen. Grant and all under his command," which, were given. He then called for "three more cheers for our gallant navy," which were no less energetically given. The President then bowed and retired. 780 Considerable numbers were assembled in front of the Executive Mansion at several times during the day. After five o'clock in the evening, he again appeared at the window, in answer to repeated calls of a large crowd, and made the following speech:MY FRIENDS: I am informed that you have assembled here this afternoon under the impression that I had made an appointment to speak at this time. This is a mistake. I have made no such appointment. More or less persons have been gathered here at different times during the day, and in the exuberance of their feeling, and for all of which they are greatly justified, calling upon me to say something, and I have, from time to time, been sending out what I supposed was proper to disperse them for the present. [Laughter and applause.] I said to a larger audience this morning which I desire now to repeat. It is this: That I supposed in consequence of the glorious news we have been receiving lately, there is to be some general demonstration, either on this or to-morrow evening, when I will be expected, I presume, to say something. Just here, I will remark, that I would much prefer having this demonstration take place to-morrow evening, as I would then be much better prepared to say what I have to say than I am now or can be this evening. I therefore say to you that I shall be quite willing, and I hope ready, to say something then; whereas just now I am not ready to say anything that one in my position ought to say. Everything I say, you know, goes into print. [Laughter and applause]. If I make a mistake it doesn't merely affect me, or you, but the country. I, therefore, ought at least try not to make mistakes. If, then, a general demonstration be made tomorrow evening, and it is agreeable, I will endeavor to say something, and not make a mistake, without at least trying carefully to avoid it. [Laughter and applause]. Thanking you for the compliment of this call, I bid you good evening. On the evening of Tuesday, April 11th, Mr. Lincoln was serenaded; and the general expectation of a somewhat elaborate speech, giving a definite foreshadowing of his future policy in regard to the Rebel States, attracted a very large gathering of the people. The remarks he designed to make on this occasion were carefully written out, and will be ever 781 memorable as the final words of political counsel which he has left as a legacy to his country.MR. LINCOLN'S LAST SPEECH.We meet this evening not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart. The evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, and the surrender of the principal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and speedy peace, whose joyous expression can not be restrained. In the midst of this, however, He from whom all blessings flow must not be forgotten. A call for a national thanksgiving is being prepared, and will be duly promulgated. Nor most those whose harder part gives us the cause of rejoicing be overlooked. Their honors must not be parceled out with others. I myself was near the front, and had the high pleasure of transmitting much of the good news to you; but no part of the honor, for plan or execution, is mine. To Gen. Grant, his skillful officers and brave men, all belongs. The gallant navy stood ready, but was not in reach to take active part. By these recent successes, the reinauguration of the national authority, reconstruction, which has had a large share of thought from the first, is pressed much more closely upon our attention. It is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike the case of a war between independent nations, there is no authorized organ for us to treat with. No one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man. We simply must begin with and mold from disorganized and discordant elements. Nor is it a small additional embarrassment that we, the loyal people, differ among ourselves as to the mode, manner and means of reconstruction. As a general rule, I abstain from reading the reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to which I can not properly offer an answer. In spite of this precaution, however, it comes to my knowledge that I am much censured from some supposed agency in setting up and seeking to sustain the new State Government of Louisiana. In this I have done just so much as, and no more than, the public knows. In the annual message of December, 1863, and accompanying proclamation, I presented a plan of reconstruction (as the phrase goes), which I promised, if adopted by any State, should be acceptable to, and sustained by, the Executive Government of the nation. I distinctly stated that this was not the only plan which might possibly be acceptable; and I also distinctly protested that the Executive claimed no right to say when or whether members should be admitted to seats in Congress from such States. This plan was, in advance, submitted to the then 782 Cabinet, and distinctly approved by every member of it. One of them suggested that I should then, and in that connection, apply the Emancipation Proclamation to the theretofore excepted parts of Virginia and Louisiana; that I should drop tbe suggestion about apprenticeship for freed people, and that I should omit the protest against my own power, in regard to the admission of members of Congress, but even he approved every part and parcel of the plan which has since been employed or touched by the action of Louisiana.The new Constitution of Louisiana, declaring emancipation for the whole State, practically applies the proclamation to the part previously excepted. It does not adopt apprenticeship for freed people, and it is silent, as it could not well be otherwise, about the admission of members to Congress, So that, as it applies to Louisiana, every member of the Cabinet fully approved the plan. The message went to Congress, and I received many commendations of the plan, written and verbal; and not a single objection to it, from any professed emancipationist, came to my knowledge, until after the news reached Washington that the people of Louisiana had begun to move in accordance with it. From about July, 1862, I had corresponded with different persons, supposed to be interested, seeking a reconstruction of a State government for Louisiana. When the message of 1863, with the plan before mentioned, reached New Orleans, Gen. Banks wrote me he was confident that the people, with his military co-operation, would reconstruct substantially on that plan. I wrote him, and some of them, to try it. They tried it, and the result is known. Such only has been my agency in getting up the Louisiana government. As to sustaining it, my promise is out, as before stated. But, as bad promises are better broken than kept, I shall treat this as a bad promise, and break it, whenever I shall be convinced that keeping it is adverse to the public interest. But I have not yet been so convinced. I have been shown a letter on this subject, supposed to be an able one, in which the writer expresses regret that my mind has not seemed to be definitely fixed on the question whether the seceded States, so-called, are in the Union or out of it. It would, perhaps, add astonishment to his regret were he to learn that, since I have found professed Union men endeavoring to make that question, I have purposely forborne any public expression upon it. As appears to me, that question has not been, nor yet is, a practically material one, and that any discussion of it, while it thus remains practically immaterial, could have no effect other than the mischievous one of dividing our friends. As yet, whatever it may hereafter become, that ques- 783 tion is bad, as the basis of a controversy, and good for nothing at all—a merely pernicious abstraction. We all agree that the seceded States, so-called, are out of their proper practical relation with the Union, and that the sole object of the Government, civil and military, in regard to those States, is to again get them into that proper practical relation. I believe it is not only possible, hut in fact easier to do this without deciding, or even considering, whether these States have ever been out of the Union, than with it. Finding themselves safely at home, it would be utterly immaterial whether they had ever been abroad. Let us all join in doing the acts necessary to restoring the proper practical relations between these States and the Union, and each forever after innocently indulge his own opinion whether, in doing the acts, he brought the States from without into the Union, or only gave them proper assistance, they never having been out of it.The amount of constituency, so to speak, on which the new Louisiana government rests, would be more satisfactory to all if it contained fifty, thirty, or even twenty thousand, instead of only about twelve thousand, as it really does. It is also unsatisfactory to some that the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I would myself prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent, and those who serve our cause as soldiers. Still the question is not whether the Louisiana government, as it stands, is quite all that is desirable. The question is "Will it be wiser, to take it as it is, and help to improve it, or to reject and disperse it?" "Can Louisiana be brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner by sustaining or by discarding her new State government?" Some twelve thousand voters, in the heretofore slave State of Louisiana, have sworn allegiance to the Union, assumed to be the rightful political power of the State, held elections, organized a State government, adopted a free State constitution, giving the benefit of public schools equally to black and white, and empowering the Legislature to confer the elective franchise upon the colored man. Their legislature has already voted to ratify the constitutional amendment recently passed by Congress, abolishing slavery throughout the nation. These twelve thousand persons are thus fully committed to the Union, and to perpetual freedom in the States —committed to the yery things and nearly all the things the nation wants— and they ask the nation's recognition and its assistance to make good that committal. Now, if we reject and spurn them, we do our utmost to disorganize and disperse them. We, in effect say to the white men, "You are worthless, or worse, we will neither help you, nor be helped by you." To the blacks we 784 say, "This cup of Liberty which these, your old masters, hold to your lips, we will dash from you, and leave you to the chances of gathering the spilled and scattered contents in some vague and undefined when, where and how."If this course, discouraging and paralyzing both white and black, has any tendency to bring Louisiana into proper practical relations with the Union, I have, so far, been unable to perceive it. If, on the contrary, we recognize and sustain the new government of Louisiana, the converse of all this is made true.We encourage the hearts and nerve the arms of the twelve thousand to adhere to their work, and argue for it, and proselyte for it, and fight for it, and feed it, and grow it, and ripen it to a complete success. The colored man, too, seeing all united for him, is inspired with vigilance, and energy, and daring to the same end. Grant that he desires the elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps towards it, than by running backward over them? Concede that the new government of Louisiana is only to what it should be as the egg is to the fowl, we shall sooner have the fowl by hatching the egg than by smashing it. [Laughter]. Again, if we reject Louisiana, we also reject one vote in favor of the proposed amendment to the National Constitution. To meet this proposition, it has been argued that no more than three-fourths of those States, which have not attempted secession, are necessary to validly ratify the amendment. I do not commit myself against this, further than to say that such a ratification would be questionable, and sure to be persistently questioned, while a ratification by three-fourths of all the States would be unquestioned and unquestionable. I repeat the question. "Can Louisiana be brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner by sustaining or by discarding her new State government?" What has been said of Louisiana will apply generally to other States. And yet so great peculiarities pertain to each State, and such important and sudden changes occur in the same State, and, withal, so new and unprecedented is the whole case, that no exclusive and inflexible plan can safely be prescribed as to details and collaterals. Such exclusive and inflexible plan would surely become a new entanglement. Important principles may, and must, be inflexible. In the present situation, as the phrase goes, it may be my duty to make some new announcement to the people of the South. I am considering, and shall not fail to act, when satisfied that action will be proper. The change in the domestic situation, rendered it expedient to 785 take new ground in regard to the concession of belligerent rights to the Rebels, made by certain foreign powers. The following proclamation—issued at this time—speedily accomplished its purpose of utterly outrooting this international heresy:BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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