Chapter LXIV: Section 10: And be it further enacted, That when any person (17)

'Four-score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on
this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long
endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We
have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final
resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we
should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we
cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men,
living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far
above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little
note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never
forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to
be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought
here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to
be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us,—that
from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that
cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have
died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'"

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 7._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1863 (December).

The President's Message to Congress, at the opening of its
session, December 8, was accompanied by the following
Proclamation of Amnesty, which made known the terms of
political reconstruction and rehabilitation that would be
favored by the Executive, in dealing with rebellious citizens
who might return to their allegiance:

"Whereas, in and by the Constitution of the United States, it
is provided that the President 'shall have power to grant
reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States,
except in cases of impeachment;' and Whereas a rebellion now
exists whereby the loyal State governments of several States
have for a long time been subverted, and many persons have
committed and are now guilty of treason against the United
States; and 'Whereas, with reference to said rebellion and
treason, laws have been enacted by Congress declaring
forfeitures and confiscation of property and liberation of
slaves, all upon terms and conditions therein stated, and also
declaring that the President was thereby authorized at any
time thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may
have participated in the existing rebellion, in any State or
part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at
such times and on such conditions as he may deem expedient for
the public welfare; and Whereas the congressional declaration
for limited and conditional pardon accords with well
established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and
Whereas, with reference to said rebellion, the President of
the United States has issued several proclamations, with
provisions in regard to the liberation of slaves; and Whereas
it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said
rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United States, and
to reinaugurate loyal State governments within and for their
respective States: Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of
the United States, do proclaim, declare and make known to all
persons who have directly, or by implication, participated in
the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that a
full pardon is hereby granted to them and each of them, with
restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves,
and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have
intervened, and upon the condition that every such person
shall take and subscribe an oath, and thenceforward keep and
maintain said oath inviolate; and which oath shall be
registered for permanent preservation, and shall be of the
tenor and effect following, to wit:

'I, ------, do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God,
that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and
defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union
of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner,
abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed
during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so
long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by
Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I
will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all
proclamations of the President made during the existing
rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as
not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme
Court. So help me God.'

The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing
provisions are all who are, or shall have been, civil or
diplomatic officers or agents of the so-called Confederate
Government; all who have left judicial stations under the
United States to aid the rebellion; all who are, or shall have
been, military or naval officers of said so-called Confederate
Government above the rank of colonel in the Army, or of
lieutenant in the Navy; all who left seats in the United
States Congress to aid the rebellion; all who resigned
commissions in the Army or Navy of the United States, and
afterwards aided the rebellion; and all who have engaged in
any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in
charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war,
and which persons may have been found in the United States
service as soldiers, seamen, or in any other capacity. And I
do further proclaim, declare, and make known that whenever in
any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, [Virginia?], Florida, South
Carolina, and North Carolina, a number of persons, not less
than one tenth in number of the votes cast in such State at
the presidential election of the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty, each having taken the oath aforesaid
and not having since violated it, and being a qualified voter
by the election law of the State existing immediately before
the so-called act of secession, and excluding all others,
shall re-establish a State government which shall be
republican, and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall
be recognized as the true government of the State, and the
State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the
constitutional provision which declares that 'the United
States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them
against invasion; and, on application of the Legislature, or
the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened),
against domestic violence.' And I do further proclaim,
declare, and make known that any provision which may be
adopted by such State government in relation to the freed
people of such State, which shall recognize and declare their
permanent freedom, provide for their education, and which may
yet be consistent, as a temporary arrangement, with their
present condition as a laboring, landless, and homeless class,
will not be objected to by the national Executive.
{3516}
And it is suggested as not improper, that, in constructing a
loyal State government in any State, the name of the State,
the boundary, the subdivisions, the constitution, and the
general code of laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained,
subject only to the modifications made necessary by the
conditions hereinbefore stated, and such others, if any, not
contravening said conditions, and which may be deemed
expedient by those framing the new State government. To avoid
misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this
proclamation, so far as it relates to State governments, has
no reference to States wherein loyal State governments have
all the while been maintained. And for the same reason, it may
be proper to further say, that whether members sent to
Congress from any State shall be admitted to seats
constitutionally rests exclusively with the respective Houses,
and not to any extent with the Executive. And still further,
that this proclamation is intended to present the people of
the States wherein the national authority has been suspended,
and loyal State governments have been subverted, a mode in and
by which the national authority and loyal State governments
may be re-established within said States, or in any of them;
and, while the mode presented is the best the Executive can
suggest, with his present impressions, it must not be
understood that no other possible mode would be acceptable.
Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, the eighth day
of December, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United
States of America the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN."

In the Message Mr. Lincoln gave his reasons for the
Proclamation, and explained the grounds on which he rested the
policy declared in it, as follows: "On examination of this
proclamation it will appear, as is believed, that nothing is
attempted beyond what is amply justified by the Constitution.
True, the form of an oath is given, but no man is coerced to
take it. The man is only promised a pardon in case he
voluntarily takes the oath. The Constitution authorizes the
Executive to grant or withhold the pardon at his own absolute
discretion; and this includes the power to grant on terms, as
is fully established by judicial and other authorities. It is
also proffered that if, in any of the States named, a State
government shall be, in the mode prescribed, set up, such
government shall be recognized and guaranteed by the United
States, and that under it the State shall, on the
constitutional conditions, be protected against invasion and
domestic violence. The constitutional obligation of tire
United States to guarantee to every State in the Union a
republican form of government, and to protect the State, in
the cases stated, is explicit and full. But why tender the
benefits of this provision only to a State government set up
in this particular way? This section of the Constitution
contemplates a case wherein the element within a State,
favorable to republican government, in the Union, may be too
feeble for an opposite and hostile element external to or even
within the State; and such are precisely the cases with which
we are now dealing. An attempt to guarantee and protect a
revived State government, constructed in whole, or in
preponderating part, from the very element against whose
hostility and violence it is to be protected, is simply
absurd. There must be a test by which to separate the opposing
elements so as to build only from the sound; and that test is
a sufficiently liberal one which accepts as sound whoever will
make a sworn recantation of his former unsoundness. But if it
be proper to require, as a test of admission to the political
body, an oath of allegiance to the Constitution of the United
States, and to the Union under it, why also to the laws and
proclamations in regard to slavery? Those laws and
proclamations were enacted and put forth for the purpose of
aiding in the suppression of the rebellion. To give them their
fullest effect, there had to be a pledge for their
maintenance. In my judgment they have aided, and will further
aid, the cause for which they were intended. To now abandon
them would be not only to relinquish a lever of power, but
would also be a cruel and an astounding breach of faith. I may
add at this point, that while I remain in my present position
I shall not attempt to retract or modify the Emancipation
Proclamation; nor shall I return to slavery any person who is
free by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the acts
of Congress. For these and other reasons it is thought best
that support of these measures shall be included in the oath;
and it is believed the Executive may lawfully claim it in
return for pardon and restoration of forfeited rights, which
he has clear constitutional power to withhold altogether, or
grant upon the terms which he shall deem wisest for the public
interest. It should be observed, also, that this part of the
oath is subject to the modifying and abrogating power of
legislation and supreme judicial decision. The proposed
acquiescence of the national Executive in any reasonable
temporary State arrangement for the freed people is made with
the view of possibly modifying the confusion and destitution
which must at best attend all classes by a total revolution of
labor throughout whole States. It is hoped that the already
deeply afflicted people in those States may be somewhat more
ready to give up the cause of their affliction, if, to this
extent, this vital matter be left to themselves; while no
power of the national Executive to prevent an abuse is
abridged by the proposition. The suggestion in the
proclamation as to maintaining the political frame-work of the
States on what is called reconstruction, is made in the hope
that it may do good without danger of harm. It will save
labor, and avoid great confusion. But why any proclamation now
upon this subject? This question is beset with the conflicting
views that the step might be delayed too long or be taken too
soon. In some States the elements for resumption seem ready
for action, but remain inactive, apparently for want of a
rallying-point—a plan of action. Why shall A adopt the plan of
B, rather than B that of A? And if A and B should agree, how
can they know but that the General Government here will reject
their plan? By the proclamation a plan is presented which may
be accepted by them as a rallying-point, and which they are
assured in advance will not be rejected here. This may bring
them to act sooner than they otherwise would. The objection to
a premature presentation of a plan by the national Executive
consists in the danger of committals on points which could be
more safely left to further developments. Care has been taken
to so shape the document as to avoid embarrassments from this
source.
{3517}
Saying that, on certain terms, certain classes will be
pardoned, with rights restored, it is not said that other
classes, or other terms, will never be included. Saying that
reconstruction will be accepted if presented in a specified
way, it is not said it will never be accepted in any other
way. The movements, by State action, for emancipation in
several of the States, not included in the Emancipation
Proclamation, are matters of profound gratulation. And while I
do not repeat in detail what I have heretofore so earnestly
urged upon this subject, my general views and feelings remain
unchanged; and I trust that Congress will omit no fair
opportunity of aiding these important steps to a great
consummation. In the midst of other cares, however important,
we must not lose sight of the fact that the war power is still
our main reliance. To that power alone we can look, yet for a
time, to give confidence to the people in the contested
regions, that the insurgent power will not again overrun them.
Until that confidence shall be established, little can be done
anywhere for what is called reconstruction. Hence our chiefest
care must still be directed to the army and navy, who have
thus far borne their harder part so nobly and well. And it may
be esteemed fortunate that in giving the greatest efficiency
to these indispensable arms, we do also honorably recognize
the gallant men, from commander to sentinel, who compose them,
and to whom, more than to others, the world must stand
indebted for the home of freedom disenthralled, regenerated,
enlarged, and perpetuated.
Abraham Lincoln."

_A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, pages 442-456._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1863-1864
(December-April: Tennessee-Mississippi).
Winter operations.
Sherman's Meridian Expedition.
Longstreet's withdrawal from East Tennessee.

"Sherman was at Vicksburg. On a line with Vicksburg, but
almost on the eastern boundary of the State, was the town of
Meridian. Here two railroads crossed, one running north and
south, extending from Mobile into the heart of Tennessee, and
the other extending to the eastward into Alabama and Georgia.
Railroads were few in the South at that time and the junction
had made Meridian an important point. Here the Confederates
had erected great warehouses for the storage of provisions and
munitions of war. A considerable body of troops, too, was
maintained at this point, whence they could be sent speedily
by rail north or south, east or west, as the necessity might
arise. General Sherman determined to fall upon Meridian, drive
away the Confederate garrison, burn the arsenal and tear up
the railroads so as to isolate the different parts of the
Confederacy thenceforth. But in addition to accomplishing this
he desired to effect the defeat and dispersal of the
Confederate cavalry force under General Forrest, which was
operating in Northern Mississippi and Southern Tennessee.
Forrest was a brave and dashing leader. His men were hardy
troopers, used to quick marches and reckless of danger. To
crush him and annihilate his command would be a notable
victory for the Union cause. Full of this project, Sherman
boarded a steamer at Vicksburg and set out for Memphis, where
were the headquarters of General W. Sooy Smith, then chief of
cavalry in the division of the Mississippi. The river was full
of great cakes of floating ice that bumped against the prow of
the boat and ground against her sides until those on board
feared that she might be sent to the bottom. But Memphis was
reached without accident, and Sherman and the chief of cavalry
were soon in earnest consultation. General Smith was ordered
to take the field against Forrest with a force of 7,000 men. …
It was agreed that General Smith should start from Memphis on
February 1 and march southeast, while Sherman should leave
Vicksburg February 3, and march due east. Thus they would
effect a junction in the vicinity of Meridian. Sherman then
re-embarked on the icy river and made his way back to
Vicksburg. Promptly on the appointed day the head of Sherman's
column passed out through the chain of earthworks that girdled
the land ward side of Vicksburg. It was to be an expedition of
destruction—a raid. His force of 25,000 men was in light
marching order and advanced with such rapidity that the
Confederates were driven from the very first, without having
time to rally and oppose the advance of the invaders. Jackson
was reached without any fighting, other than slight
skirmishing with Polk's cavalry. The ministerial general had
but 9,000 men in all, so he dared not make a determined stand
against Sherman, but fled, without even destroying his pontoon
bridge across the Pearl River, whereby the Federal advance was
much expedited. From Jackson eastward the path of Sherman's
army was marked by a broad belt of ashes and desolation. No
public property was spared, nor anything which could be
applied to public uses. Mills, railway stations, and rolling
stock were burned. Railway tracks were torn up, the ties
heaped on roaring fires and the rails heated red· hot and
twisted out of shape. Sometimes the soldiers would twine a hot
rail about a young tree, making what they facetiously termed
'Jeff Davis's neck-ties.' To Sherman's lines came escaping
slaves in droves, old and young men, women and pickaninnies. …
The slaves still further impoverished their masters by taking
horses and mules with them when they fled, so that after
Sherman's army had passed, most of the plantations in its
track were stripped of their live-stock, both cattle and
human. When Meridian was reached its defenders were nowhere to
be seen. Sherman took possession and waited for Smith. Days
passed without any word coming from the cavalry column. After
a week in Meridian, Sherman set the torch to the public
buildings and retraced his steps toward Vicksburg. He had
taken 400 prisoners, destroyed 150 miles of track, 67 bridges,
20 locomotives and 28 cars; had burned several thousand bales
of cotton, a number of steam mills, and over 2,000,000 bushels
of corn. Over 1,000 Union white refugees and 8,000 negroes
followed in his wake. In 1866, the historian Lossing, passing
through Meridian, asked the Mayor of the town if Sherman had
done the place much injury. 'Injury!' was the emphatic reply,
'Why, he took it away with him.'"

_W. J. Abbot,
Battle Fields and Victory,
chapter 1._

{3518}

General Smith, in his report to General Sherman, gave the
reasons for the falling back of the cavalry expedition, as
follows: "We advanced to West Point and felt of the enemy, who
was posted back of the Sakatonchee on our right and the Oktibbeha
in our front, in force fully equal to my own that was
available for service, encumbered as we were with our
pack-mules and the captured stock, which by this time must
have numbered full 3,000 horses and mules. The force consisted
of mounted infantry, which was dismounted and in strong
position under good cover, and beyond obstacles which could
only be passed by defiles. To attempt to force my way through
under such circumstances would have been the height of folly.
I could not cross the Tombigbee, as there were no bridges and
the stream could not be forded. To have attempted to turn the
position by our right would have carried me all the way round
to Houston again, and Forrest could again check me at the
Houlka Swamp. I was ten days behind time; could get no
communication through to you; did not know but what you were
returning, and so determined to make a push at Forrest in
front while I retired all my incumbrances and my main body
rapidly toward Okolona, just in time to prevent a rebel
brigade from getting in my rear, which had been thrown back
for that purpose. We then retired, fighting for over 60 miles
day and night."

_Official Records,
Series 1, volume 32, part 1, page 252._

In East Tennessee, during the winter little was done by either
army. A slight encounter occurred at Dandridge, in January,
between Longstreet's forces and those of the Union General
Parke. In April Longstreet was recalled by Lee, and the Ninth
Corps, with Burnside again in command, went back to the army
of the Potomac.

_J. D. Cox,
Atlanta
(Campaigns of the Civil War, volume 9),
chapters 1-2._

ALSO IN:
_A. Badeau,
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant,
volume 1, chapter 13._

_Comte de Paris,
History of the Civil War in America,
volume 4, book 4, chapter 1._

_W. T. Sherman,
Memoirs,
volume 1, chapter 14._

_W. J. Tenney,
Military and Naval History,
chapter 38._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1863-1864 (December-July).
President Lincoln's plan of reconstruction, and its
application to Louisiana.
The opposing Congressional plan.

"The proclamation which accompanied the Annual Message of the
President for 1864 embodied the first suggestions of the
Administration on the important subject of reconstructing the
Governments of those States which had joined in the secession
movement. The matter had been canvassed somewhat extensively
by the public press, and by prominent politicians, in
anticipation of the overthrow of the rebellion. … A
considerable number of the friends of the Government, in both
houses, maintained that, by the act of secession, the revolted
States had put themselves outside the pale of the
Constitution, and were henceforth to be regarded and treated,
not as members of the Union, but as alien enemies:—that their
State organizations and State boundaries had been expunged by
their own act; and that they were to be readmitted to the
jurisdiction of the Constitution, and to the privileges of the
Union, only upon such terms and conditions as the Federal
Government of the loyal States might prescribe. … After the
appearance of the President's proclamation, the movement
towards reconstruction in Louisiana assumed greater
consistency, and was carried forward with greater steadiness
and strength. On the 8th of January a very large Free State
Convention was held at New Orleans, at which resolutions were
adopted indorsing all the acts and proclamations of the
President, and urging the immediate adoption of measures for
the restoration of the State to its old place in the Union. On
the 11th, General Banks issued a proclamation, appointing an
election for State officers on the 22d of February, who were
to be installed on the 4th of March, and another election for
delegates to a convention to revise the Constitution of the
State on the first Monday in April. The old Constitution and
laws of Louisiana were to be observed, except so far as they
relate to slavery. … Under this order, parties were organized
for the election of State officers. The friends of the
National Government were divided, and two candidates were put
in nomination for Governor, Honorable Michael Hahn being the
regular nominee, and representing the supporters of the policy
of the President, and Honorable B. F. Flanders being put in
nomination by those who desired a more radical policy than the
President had proposed. Both took very decided ground against
the continued existence of slavery within the State. … The
election resulted in the election of Mr. Hahn. … Mr. Hahn was
inaugurated as Governor on the 4th of March. On the 15th he
was clothed with the powers previously exercised by General
Banks, as military governor. … On March 16th, Governor Hahn
issued a proclamation, notifying the electors of the State of
the election for delegates to the convention previously
ordered by General Banks. The party which elected Governor
Hahn succeeded also in electing a large majority of the
delegates to the convention, which met in New Orleans on the
6th of April. On the 11th of May it adopted, by a vote of 70
to 16, a clause of the new Constitution, by which slavery was
forever abolished in the State. The Constitution was adopted
on the 5th of September, by a vote of 6,836 to 1,566. Great
umbrage was taken at these proceedings by some of the best
friends of the cause, as if there had been an unauthorized and
unjustifiable interference on the part of the President. … In
Arkansas, where a decided Union feeling had existed from the
outbreak of the rebellion, the appearance of the proclamation
was the signal for a movement to bring the State back into the
Union. On the 20th of January, a delegation of citizens from
that State had an interview with the President, in which they
urged the adoption of certain measures for the
re-establishment of a legal State Government, and especially
the ordering of an election for Governor. … Meantime, a
convention had assembled at Little Rock, composed of delegates
elected without any formality, and not under the authority of
the General Government, and proceeded to form a new State
Constitution, and to fix a day for an election. … The
convention framed a constitution abolishing slavery, which was
subsequently adopted by a large majority of the people. It
also provided for the election of State officers on the day
appointed for the vote upon the constitution; and the
legislature chosen at that election elected two gentlemen,
Messrs. Fishback and Baxter, as United States Senators, and
also Representatives. These gentlemen presented their
credentials at Washington. … The whole matter was referred to
the Judiciary Committee, who … reported on the 27th of June
that on the facts it did not appear that the rebellion was so
far suppressed in Arkansas as to entitle the State to
representation in Congress, and that therefore Messrs.
Fishback and Baxter were not entitled to seats as Senators
from the State of Arkansas. And the Senate on the next day
adopted their report by a vote of 27 to 6.
{3519}
In the House, meanwhile, the Committee on Elections, to whom
the application of the Arkansas members had been referred,
reported to postpone their admission until a commission could
be sent to inquire into and report the facts of the election,
and to create a commission for the examination of all such
cases. This proposition was, however, laid on the table, and
the members were not admitted. … The cause of the rejection of
these Senators and Representatives was, that a majority in
Congress had not agreed with the President in reference to the
plan of reconstruction which he proposed. A bill for the
reconstruction of the States was introduced into the Senate,
and finally passed both Houses on the last day of the session.
It provided that the President should appoint, for each of the
States declared in rebellion, a Provisional Governor, who
should be charged with the civil administration of the State
until a State Government should be organized and such other
civil officers as were necessary for the civil administration
of the State; that as soon as military resistance to the
United States should be suppressed and the people had
sufficiently returned to their obedience, the Governor should
make an enrolment of the white male citizens, specifying which
of them had taken the oath to support the Constitution of the
United States, and if those who had taken it were a majority
of the persons enrolled, he should order an election for
delegates to a Constitutional Convention, to be elected by the
loyal white male citizens of the United States aged twenty-one
years. … The bill further provided that when a constitution
containing … provisions [excluding rebels from office,
prohibiting slavery, and repudiating Confederate debts] should
have been framed by the convention and adopted by the popular
vote, the Governor should certify that fact to the President,
who, after obtaining the assent of Congress, should recognize
this government so established as the Government of the State,
and from that date senators and representatives and electors
for President and Vice-President should be elected in the
State. … This bill thus passed by Congress was presented to
the President just before the close of the session, but was
not signed by him."

_H. J. Raymond,
Life and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln,
chapter 16._

The President's reasons for not signing the bill were given to
the public as well as to Congress in the following
Proclamation:

"Whereas, at the late session, Congress passed a bill to
'guarantee to certain States, whose governments have been
usurped or overthrown, a republican form of government,' a
copy of which is hereunto annexed; And whereas the said bill
was presented to the President of the United States for his
approval less than one hour before the sine die adjournment of
said session, and was not signed by him; And whereas the said
bill contains, among other things, a plan for restoring the
States in rebellion to their proper practical relation in the
Union, which plan expresses the sense of Congress upon that
subject, and which plan it is now thought fit to lay before
the people for their consideration: Now, therefore, I, Abraham
Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare,
and make known, that, while I am (as I was in December last,
when by proclamation I propounded a plan for restoration)
unprepared, by a formal approval of this bill, to be
inflexibly committed to any single plan of restoration; and,
while I am also unprepared to declare that the free-State
constitutions and governments already adopted and installed in
Arkansas and Louisiana shall be set aside and held for nought,
thereby repelling and discouraging the loyal citizens who have
set up the same as to further effort, or to declare a
constitutional competency in Congress to abolish slavery in
States, but am at the same time sincerely hoping and expecting
that a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery throughout
the nation may be adopted, nevertheless I am fully satisfied
with the system for restoration contained in the bill as one
very proper plan for the loyal people of any State choosing to
adopt it, and that I am, and at all times shall be, prepared
to give the executive aid and assistance to any such people,
so soon as the military resistance to the United States shall
have been suppressed in any such State, and the people thereof
shall have sufficiently returned to their obedience to the
Constitution and the laws of the United States, in which cases
military governors will be appointed, with directions to
proceed according to the bill.

In testimony 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 eighth day of July, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred an sixty-four, and of the
independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
Abraham Lincoln. By the President: William H. Seward,
Secretary of State."

_A. Lincoln,
Complete Works,
volume 2, page 545._

ALSO IN:
_J. G. Blaine,
Twenty Years of Congress,
volume 2, chapter 3._

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapters 16-17._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (January-February: Florida).
Unsuccessful Operations.
Battle of Olustee.

"Early in the winter of 1863-64, General Gillmore, commanding
the Department of the South, … resolved upon an expedition
into Florida to take possession of such portions of the
Eastern and Northern sections of the State as could be easily
held by small garrisons. … He afterwards added another detail
to his plan: to assist in bringing Florida back into the
Union, in accordance with the President's Proclamation of
December 8, 1863. This came in time to be regarded by the
opponents of the Administration as the sole purpose of the
expedition, and Mr. Lincoln has received a great deal of
unjust censure for having made a useless sacrifice of life for
a political end. … The expedition to Florida was under the
immediate charge of General Truman Seymour, an accomplished
and gallant officer of the regular army. He landed at
Jacksonville and pushed forward his mounted force 20 miles to
Baldwin. … Gillmore himself arrived at Baldwin on the 9th of
February, and after a full conference and, as he thought,
understanding with Seymour, returned to Jacksonville. … On the
18th he was surprised at receiving a letter from Seymour,
dated the day before, announcing his intention of moving at
once to the Suwanee River without supplies, and asking for a
strong demonstration of the army and navy in the Savannah
River to assist his movement. … Gillmore wrote a peremptory
letter, ordering him to restrict himself to holding Baldwin
and the south prong of the St. Mary's River and occupying
Palatka and Magnolia, and dispatched a staff officer to
Florida with it. He arrived too late.
{3520}
Seymour had made up his mind that there was less risk in going
forward than in staying at Baldwin, and like the brave and
devoted soldier that he was had resolved to take the
responsibility. He marched rapidly out towards Olustee, where
the enemy under General Joseph Finegan was supposed to be, but
came upon them unexpectedly about two miles east of that
place. The forces were equal in numbers, about 5,500 on each
side; the advantage to the Confederates was that they were in
a strong position selected by themselves and ready for the
fight. General J. R. Hawley, who commanded a brigade of
infantry in the battle, says: 'We rushed in, not waiting for
the proper full formation, and were fought in detail.' …
Seymour's attack was constantly repulsed with heavy loss,
until at nightfall he fell back to a new line. He was not
pursued, and retired in good order and unmolested to
Jacksonville. The Union loss was 1861; the Confederate, 940.
This misadventure put an end for the moment to the attempt to
occupy Florida."

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 11._

ALSO IN:
_S. Jones and J. R. Hawley,
Olustee
(Battles and Leaders, volume 4)._

_L. F. Emilio,
History of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers,
chapter 8._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (February-March: Virginia).
Kilpatrick's and Dahlgren's Raid to Richmond.

"Public feeling throughout the North had been greatly excited
by the deplorable condition of the prisoners of war held at
Richmond. Early in the year, before the opening of the great
campaign, some expeditions had been undertaken both from the
Army of the Potomac and from Fortress Monroe, with the
intention of relieving them. On February 27th, Custer, with
1500 horse, had crossed the Rapidan on a feint to the west of
the Confederate army, while Kilpatrick, starting on the
following day, moved down on its opposite flank, by
Spottsylvania Court House, to within 3½ miles of Richmond,
passing its first and second lines of defenses [March], but
being obliged to fall back from its third. Pursued by a force
of the enemy, he was compelled to cross the White House
Railroad and move down the peninsula. A detachment of
Kilpatrick's force, 400 strong, under Colonel Ulric Dahlgren,
leaving the main body at Spottsylvania, had gone to the right
through Louisa and Goochland Counties, intending to cross the
James River and enter Richmond from the south, while
Kilpatrick attacked it on the north. But the river was found
to be too deep to be forded. Dahlgren passed down the north
bank to the fortifications of Richmond, forcing his way
through the outer works, but being repulsed from the inner.
Finding that Kilpatrick's attempt had miscarried, he moved
toward King and Queen Court House; but after crossing the
Mattapony at Dabney's Ferry, he fell into an ambuscade [March
3], his command being scattered, and himself killed. Under a
false pretense that papers were found upon him showing an
intention to set fire to Richmond, and take the lives of Davis
and his cabinet, his corpse was insulted and the place of its
interment concealed. At the time of his death he was but 21
years of age."

_J. W. Draper,
History of the American Civil War,
chapter 82 (volume 3)._

"The document alleged to have been found upon the person of
Colonel Dahlgren is utterly discredited by the fact that the
signature attached to it cannot possibly be his own, because
it is not his name,—a letter is misplaced, and the real name
Dahlgren is spelled 'Dalhgren'; hence it is undeniable that
the paper is not only spurious, but is a forgery. … It is
entirely certain that no such orders were ever issued by
Colonel Dahlgren."

_Admiral J. A. Dahlgren,
Memoirs of Ulric Dahlgren,
pages 233-234._

ALSO IN:
_C. C. Chesney,
Essays in Military Biography,
page 185._

_B. J. Lossing,
Field Book of the Civil War,
volume 3, chapter 10._

_Official Records,
Series 1, volume 33._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (March-April).
General Grant in chief command of the whole army.
His plans of campaign.

"Immediate]y after the victories at Chattanooga Mr. Washburne
of Illinois, the devoted friend and firm supporter of General
Grant through good and evil report, introduced a bill in
Congress to revive the grade of lieutenant-general in the
army. The measure occasioned a good deal of discussion. This
high rank had never been conferred on any citizen of the
republic except Washington, who held it for a short time
before his death. It was discontinued for more than half a
century and then conferred by brevet only upon General Scott.
There were those who feared, or affected to fear, that so high
a military rank was threatening to the liberties of the
republic. The great majority of Congress, however, considered
the liberties of the republic more robust than this fear would
indicate, and the bill was finally passed on the 26th cf
February, and received the approval of the President on the
29th of February. … Immediately upon signing the bill the
President nominated Grant to the Senate for the office created
by it. … The Senate immediately confirmed his nomination, and
on the 3d of March the Secretary of War directed him to report
in person to the War Department as early as practicable. … He
started for Washington the next day, but in the midst of his
hurried preparations for departure he found time to write a
letter of the most warm and generous friendship to Sherman."
Grant's commission as Lieutenant-General of the Army of the
United States was formally presented to him by President
Lincoln on the 9th of March. "After the presentation of the
commission a brief conversation took place. General Grant
inquired what special service was expected of him. The
President replied that our country wanted him to take
Richmond; he said our generals had not been fortunate in their
efforts in that direction and asked if the Lieutenant-General
could do it. Grant, without hesitation, answered that he could
if he had the troops. These the President assured him he
should have. There was not one word said as to what route to
Richmond should be chosen. The next day Grant visited General
Meade at the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac at Brandy
Station. … Meade said that it was possible Grant might want an
officer to command the Army of the Potomac who had been with
him in the West, and made especial mention of Sherman. He
begged him if that was the case not to hesitate about making
the change. … Grant assured him that he had no thought of
making any change; and that Sherman could not be spared from
the West. He returned to Washington on the 11th. The next day
he was placed in command of all the armies by orders from the
War Department; but without waiting for a single day to accept
the lavish proffers of hospitality which were showered upon
him, he started West again on the evening of the 11th of
March.
{3521}
In that short time he had utterly changed his views and plans
for the future conduct of the war. He had relinquished the
purpose he had hitherto firmly held of leading the Western
armies on the great campaign to Atlanta and the sea, and had
decided to take the field with the Army of the Potomac. …
Sherman at his request was promoted to command the Military
Division of the Mississippi, McPherson succeeded to Sherman's
command of the Department of the Tennessee, and Logan was
promoted to the command of McPherson's corps." The necessary
arrangements were quickly made. General Sherman assumed his
enlarged command on the 18th of March, and General Grant a few
days later was with the Army of the Potomac. He "established
his headquarters at Culpeper Court House near the end of
March, and spent a month in preparations for the great
campaign which he, in common with the entire North, hoped
would end the war. … The plan of the Lieutenant-General, as
set forth in his report, was extremely simple. So far as
practicable, the armies were to move together, and towards one
common center. Banks was to finish his operations in
Louisiana, and, leaving a small garrison on the Rio Grande,
was to concentrate an army of some 25,000 men, and move on
Mobile. Sherman was to move simultaneously with the other
armies, General Johnston's army being his objective, and the
heart of Georgia his ultimate aim. Sigel, who was in command
in the Shenandoah, was to move to the front in two columns,
one to threaten the enemy in the Valley, the other to cut the
railroads connecting Richmond with the Southwest. Gillmore was
to be brought north with his corps, and in company with
another corps, under W. F. Smith, was to form an army under
General B. F. Butler to operate against Richmond south of the
James. Lee's army was to be the objective point of Meade,
reënforced by Burnside. As to the route by which the Army of
the Potomac was to advance, Grant reserved his decision until
just before he started upon his march. … The two armies lay in
their intrenchments on both sides of the Rapidan. The
headquarters … of Lee [were] at Orange Court House; the Army
of Northern Virginia guarded the south bank of the river for
18 or 20 miles, Ewell commanding the right half, A. P. Hill
the left. The formidable works on Mine Run secured the
Confederate right wing, which was further protected by the
tangled and gloomy thickets of the Wilderness. Longstreet had
arrived from Tennessee with two fine divisions, and was held
in reserve at Gordonsville. The two armies were not so
unequally matched as Confederate writers insist. The strength
of the Army of the Potomac, present for duty equipped, on the
30th of April, was 122,146; this includes the 22,708 of
Burnside's Ninth Corps. The Army of Northern Virginia numbered
at the opening of this campaign not less than 61,953. While
this seems like a great disparity of strength, it must not be
forgotten that the Confederate general had an enormous
advantage of position. The dense woods and the thickly
timbered swamps … were as well known to him as the lines of
his own hand, and were absolutely unknown to his antagonist."

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapters 13-14._

ALSO IN:
_U. S. Grant,
Personal Memoirs,
chapters 46-47 (volume 2)._

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (March-May: Louisiana).
The Red River Expedition.

"As the third year began, General Banks conceived the idea
that the trade of Western Louisiana could be opened by the
medium of the Red river, and projected an expedition to take
possession of the country adjacent to its course. This river
is open for navigation by larger vessels, only during the high
water of March and April. Porter was to command the fleet of
twenty of the finest vessels on the Mississippi, and Sherman
was persuaded to lend some of his troops for the purpose. A.
J. Smith was to start from Vicksburg with 10,000 men, while
Banks would proceed up river from New Orleans, with Franklin's
division. Steele from Little Rock was to operate towards
Shreveport to join the main army. General Taylor was in
command of the enemy's forces at Shreveport. The fleet started
up the Red river in company with the transports carrying A. J.
Smith's column. Fort De Russy was captured [March 14], the
enemy retiring before our troops, and Alexandria and
Nachitoches fell into our hands as the joint force advanced.
Banks put in an appearance a week later. There was more or
less skirmishing with the enemy's horse and outposts along the
entire route; and near Mansfield, at Sabine Cross-Roads, the
vanguard met the enemy in force. Sufficient care had not been
taken to keep the several bodies concentrated. It was on Smith
that the attack fell [April 8], and though this general's
record for endurance is of the best, he was nevertheless badly
worsted with a loss of 2,000 men out of 8,000 engaged, and
some twenty guns. Retiring to Pleasant Hill, another stand was
made for the possession of what had been so far gained. … The
fleet had meanwhile reached Grand Écore. High water was coming
to an end, and Porter was obliged to return down river, to
Alexandria. Here it was found that most of the vessels were of
too heavy draught to pass the falls below the town; and the
loss of most of them would have been certain, but for a dam
and waterway ably constructed by Colonel Bailey, an engineer
remarkably fertile in expedients. By means of this device the
fleet was safely floated over. On the retreat, Alexandria was
burned [May 15] by accident, traceable to no particular cause,
though, naturally enough laid by the Confederates to our
spirit of revenge."

_T. A. Dodge,
Bird's-Eye View of our Civil war,
chapter 31._

"We prefer not to enter into the bitter discussions to which
this disastrous campaign gave rise on both sides of the line.
A life-long quarrel sprang up between Kirby Smith and Taylor,
between Banks and Porter, while Franklin, Charles P. Stone
(Banks's chief-of-staff), and Albert L. Lee, all of whom
relinquished their commands, added their quota of
misunderstanding and resentment. … The Committee on the
Conduct of the War made an investigation of the matter in the
year 1865, at the time when the antagonism between Mr. Lincoln
and the Radicals in relation to the subject of reconstruction
had assumed an acute form. … The charge was made by the
committee against Banks, that what he had in view was to carry
out measures for the establishment of a State government in
Louisiana, and to afford an egress for cotton and other
products of that region, and that the attention directed to
the accomplishment of these objects exerted an unfavorable
influence on the expedition. … The honorable poverty in which
General Banks has passed his subsequent life is the best
answer to the reckless charges of his enemies."

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay,
Abraham Lincoln,
volume 8, chapter 11._

ALSO IN:
_D. D. Porter,
Naval History of the Civil War,
chapters 41-42._

_Report of Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War,
38th Congress, 2d Session, volume 2._

_Official Records,
Series 1, volume 33._

_R. B. Irwin,
History of the 19th Army Corps,
chapters 23-28._

{3522}

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864
(March-October: Arkansas-Missouri).
Last important operations in the West.
Price's raid.

"During the winter of 1863-1864 the forces of Generals Steele
and Blunt held the Arkansas River as a Federal line of
advance. … During this period of inactivity, however, Steele
was making preparations for a vigorous spring campaign. It was
decided that the column under General Banks and the columns
under General Steele from Little Rock and Fort Smith should
converge toward Shreveport, Louisiana. The Federal columns
under Steele left Little Rock and Fort Smith the latter part
of March, moved toward the Southern part of the State, and
after some fighting and manœuvring drove General Price's
forces from Camden, Arkadelphia and Washington. In the midst
of these successful operations, Steele received information
that Banks' army had been defeated and was retreating and that
Price had received reënforcements from Kirby Smith of 5000
infantry and a complement of artillery, and would at once
assume the offensive.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864
(March-May: Louisiana).