A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Lincoln
by
Compiled by James D. Richardson
Part 7 out of 10
WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, in answer to the
resolutions passed by the Senate in executive session on the 14th and
18th of April, 1864.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
_Washington City, April 22, 1864_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: In answer to the Senate resolutions of April 14 and April 18, I
have the honor to state that the nominations of Colonel Hiram Burnham,
Colonel Edward M. McCook, Colonel Lewis A. Grant, and Colonel Edward
Hatch are not either of them made to fill any vacancy in the proper
sense of that term. They are not made to fill a command vacated by any
other general, but are independent nominations, and if confirmed the
officers will be assigned to such command as the General Commanding may
deem proper. But in consequence of the resignations of Generals Miller,
Boyle, and Beatty and the death of General Champlin, their confirmations
will be within the number of brigadiers allowed by law.
Your obedient servant,
EDWIN M. STANTON
_Secretary of War_.
WASHINGTON, _April 23, 1864_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I transmit to Congress a copy of a note of the 19th instant from Lord
Lyons to the Secretary of State, on the subject of two British naval
officers who recently received medical treatment at the naval hospital
at Norfolk. The expediency of authorizing Surgeon Solomon Sharp to
accept the piece of plate to which the note refers, as an acknowledgment
of his services, is submitted to your consideration.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
APRIL 28, 1864.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In obedience to the resolution of your honorable body a copy of which
is herewith returned, I have the honor to make the following brief
statement, which is believed to contain the information sought.
Prior to and at the meeting of the present Congress Robert C. Schenck,
of Ohio, and Frank P. Blair, jr., of Missouri, members elect thereto, by
and with the consent of the Senate held commissions from the Executive
as major-generals in the Volunteer Army. General Schenck tendered the
resignation of his said commission and took his seat in the House of
Representatives at the assembling thereof upon the distinct verbal
understanding with the Secretary of War and the Executive that he might
at any time during the session, at his own pleasure, withdraw said
resignation and return to the field. General Blair was, by temporary
assignment of General Sherman, in command of a corps through the battles
in front of Chattanooga and in the march to the relief of Knoxville,
which occurred in the latter days of November and early days of December
last, and of course was not present at the assembling of Congress. When
he subsequently arrived here, he sought and was allowed by the Secretary
of War and the Executive the same conditions and promise as allowed and
made to General Schenck. General Schenck has not applied to withdraw
his resignation, but when General Grant was made lieutenant-general,
producing some change of commanders, General Blair sought to be assigned
to the command of a corps. This was made known to Generals Grant and
Sherman and assented to by them, and the particular corps for him
designated. This was all arranged and understood, as now remembered,
so much as a month ago, but the formal withdrawal of General Blair's
resignation and making the order assigning him to the command of a corps
were not consummated at the War Department until last week, perhaps on
the 23d of April instant. As a summary of the whole, it may be stated
that General Blair holds no military commission or appointment other
than as herein stated, and that it is believed he is now acting as a
major-general upon the assumed validity of the commission herein stated,
in connection with the facts herein stated, and not otherwise. There
are some letters, notes, telegrams, orders, entries, and perhaps other
documents in connection with this subject, which it is believed would
throw no additional light upon it, but which will be cheerfully
furnished if desired.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
APRIL 28, 1864.
_To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to transmit herewith an address to the President of the
United States, and through him to both Houses of Congress, on the
condition and wants of the people of east Tennessee, and asking their
attention to the necessity of some action on the part of the Government
for their relief, and which address is presented by a committee of an
organization called "The East Tennessee Relief Association."
Deeply commiserating the condition of these most loyal and suffering
people, I am unprepared to make any specific recommendation for their
relief. The military is doing and will continue to do the best for them
within its power. Their address represents that the construction of
direct railroad communication between Knoxville and Cincinnati by way of
central Kentucky would be of great consequence in the present emergency.
It may be remembered that in the annual message of December, 1861, such
railroad construction was recommended. I now add that, with the hearty
concurrence of Congress, I would yet be pleased to construct a road,
both for the relief of these people and for its continuing military
importance.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _April 29, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 27th instant,
requesting information in regard to the condition of affairs in the
Territory of Nevada, I transmit a copy of a letter of the 25th of last
month addressed to the Secretary of State by James W. Nye, the governor
of that Territory.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
MAY 2, 1864.
_To the Honorable the House of Representatives_:
In compliance with the request contained in your resolution of the 29th
ultimo, a copy of which resolution is herewith returned, I have the
honor to transmit the following:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, November 2, 1863_.
Hon. MONTGOMERY BLAIR.
MY DEAR SIR: Some days ago I understood you to say that your brother,
General Frank Blair, desired to be guided by my wishes as to whether he
will occupy his seat in Congress or remain in the field. My wish, then,
is compounded of what I believe will be best for the country and best
for him, and it is that he will come here, put his military commission
in my hands, take his seat, go into caucus with our friends, abide the
nominations, help elect the nominees, and thus aid to organize a House
of Representatives which will really support the Government in the war.
If the result shall be the election of himself as Speaker, let him serve
in that position; if not, let him retake his commission and return to
the Army. For the country, this will heal a dangerous schism. For him,
it will relieve from a dangerous position. By a misunderstanding, as I
think, he is in danger of being permanently separated from those with
whom only he can ever have a real sympathy--the sincere opponents of
slavery. It will be a mistake if he shall allow the provocations offered
him by insincere timeservers to drive him from the house of his own
building. He is young yet. He has abundant talents, quite enough to
occupy all his time without devoting any to temper. He is rising in
military skill and usefulness. His recent appointment to the command of
a corps by one so competent to judge as General Sherman proves this. In
that line he can serve both the country and himself more profitably than
he could as a Member of Congress upon the floor. The foregoing is what
I would say if Frank Blair were my brother instead of yours.
Yours, truly,
A. LINCOLN.
HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE DEPARTMENT, EIGHTH ARMY CORPS,
_Baltimore, Md., November 13, 1863_.
Hon. E.M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.
SIR: Inclosed I forward to the President my resignation, to take effect
on the 5th of December.
I respectfully request, however, that I may be relieved from my command
at an earlier day, say by the 20th instant, or as soon thereafter as
some officer can be ordered to succeed me. While I desire to derange the
plans or hurry the action of the Department as little as possible, it
will be a great convenience to me to secure some little time before the
session of Congress for a necessary journey and for some preparations
for myself and family in view of my approaching change of residence
and occupation. I could also spend two or three days very profitably,
I think, to the service of my successor after his arrival here.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBT. C. SCHENCK,
_Major-General_.
HEADQUARTERS MIDDLE DEPARTMENT, EIGHTH ARMY CORPS,
_Baltimore, Md., November 13, 1863_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
SIR: Having concluded to accept the place of Member of Congress in
the House of Representatives, to which I was elected in October, 1862,
I hereby tender the resignation of my commission as a major-general of
United States Volunteers, to take effect on the 5th day of December
next.
I shall leave the military service with much reluctance and a sacrifice
of personal feelings and desires, and only consent to do so in the hope
that in another capacity I may be able to do some effective service in
the cause of my country and Government in this time of peculiar trial.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBT. C. SCHENCK,
_Major-General_.
[Indorsement on the foregoing letter.]
The resignation of General Schenck is accepted, and he is authorized to
turn over his command to Brigadier-General Lockwood at any time.
EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, November 21, 1863_.
Major-General ROBERT C. SCHENCK,
_United States Volunteers, Commanding Middle Department, Baltimore, Md._
SIR: Your resignation has been accepted by the President of the United
States, to take effect the 5th day of December, 1863.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
WASHINGTON, _January 1, 1864_.
The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
_Washington City, D.C._:
I hereby tender my resignation as a major-general of the United States
Volunteers.
Respectfully,
FRANK P. BLAIR,
_Major-General, United States Volunteers_.
JANUARY 12, 1864.
Accepted, by order of the President.
EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, January 12, 1864_.
Major-General FRANCIS P. BLAIR,
_U.S. Volunteers_.
(Care of Hon. M. Blair, Washington, D.C.)
SIR: Your resignation has been accepted by the President of the United
States, to take effect this day.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAS. A. HARDIE,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
[Telegram.]
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, D.C., March 15, 1864_.
Lieutenant-General GRANT,
_Nashville, Tenn._:
General McPherson having been assigned to the command of a department,
could not General Frank Blair, without difficulty or detriment to the
service, be assigned to command the corps he commanded a while last
autumn?
A. LINCOLN.
[Telegram.]
NASHVILLE, TENN., _March 16, 1864--10 a.m._
His Excellency the PRESIDENT:
General Logan commands the corps referred to in your dispatch. I will
see General Sherman in a few days and consult him about the transfer,
and answer.
U.S. GRANT,
_Lieutenant-General_.
[Telegram.]
NASHVILLE, TENN., _March 17, 1864_.
His Excellency A. LINCOLN,
_President of the United States_:
General Sherman is here. He consents to the transfer of General Logan to
the Seventeenth Corps and the appointment of General F.P. Blair to the
Fifteenth Corps.
U.S. GRANT,
_Lieutenant-General_.
[Telegram.]
HUNTSVILLE, ALA., _March 26, 1864_.
His Excellency A. LINCOLN,
_President of the United States_:
I understand by the papers that it is contemplated to make a change
of commanders of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, so as to
transfer me to the Seventeenth. I hope this will not be done. I fully
understand the organization of the Fifteenth Corps now, of which I have
labored to complete the organization this winter. Earnestly hope that
the change may not be made.
JOHN A. LOGAN,
_Major-General_.
[Telegram.]
OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH,
_War Department_.
The following telegram received at Washington 9 a.m. March 31, 1864,
from Culpeper Court-House, 11.30 p.m., dated March 30, 1864:
"Major-General W.T. SHERMAN,
"_Nashville_:
"General F.P. Blair will be assigned to the Seventeenth (17th) Corps,
and not the Fifteenth (15th). Assign General Joseph Hooker, subject to
the approval of the President, to any other corps command you may have,
and break up the anomaly of one general commanding two (2) corps.
"U.S. GRANT
"_Lieutenant-General, Commanding_."
From a long dispatch of April 2, 1864, from General Sherman to General
Grant, presenting his plan for disposing the forces under his command,
the following extracts, being the only parts pertinent to the subject
now under consideration, are taken:
After a full consultation with all my army commanders, I have settled
down to the following conclusions, to which I would like to have the
President's consent before I make the orders:
* * * * *
Third. General McPherson. * * * His [three] corps to be commanded by
Major-Generals Logan, Blair, and Dodge. * * *
OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH,
_War Department_.
The following telegram received at Washington 3 p.m. April 10, 1864,
from Culpeper Court-House, Va., 10 p.m., dated April 9, 1864:
"Major-General H.W. HALLECK,
"_Chief of Staff_:
"Will you please ascertain if General F.P. Blair is to be sent to
General Sherman. If not, an army-corps commander will have to be named
for the Fifteenth Corps.
"U.S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General_."
WASHINGTON, _April 20, 1864_.
The PRESIDENT:
You will do me a great favor by giving the order assigning me to the
command of the Seventeenth Army Corps immediately, as I desire to leave
Washington the next Saturday to join the command. I also request the
assignment of Captain Andrew J. Alexander, of Third Regiment United
States Cavalry, as adjutant-general of the Seventeenth Corps, with the
rank of lieutenant-colonel. The present adjutant, or rather the former
adjutant, Colonel Clark, has, I understand, been retained by General
McPherson as adjutant-general of the department, and the place of
adjutant-general of the corps is necessarily vacant.
I also request the appointment of George A. Maguire, formerly captain
Thirty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, as major and aid-de-camp, and
Lieutenant Logan Tompkins, Twenty-first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, as
captain and aid-de-camp on my staff.
Respectfully,
FRANK P. BLAIR.
[Indorsements.]
APRIL 21, 1864.
HONORABLE SECRETARY OF WAR:
Please have General Halleck make the proper order in this case.
A. LINCOLN.
Referred to General Halleck, chief of staff.
EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, April 23, 1864_.
HONORABLE SECRETARY OF WAR.
MY DEAR SIR: According to our understanding with Major-General Frank P.
Blair at the time he took his seat in Congress last winter, he now asks
to withdraw his resignation as major-general, then tendered, and be sent
to the field. Let this be done. Let the order sending him be such as
shown me to-day by the Adjutant-General, only dropping from it the names
of Maguire and Tompkins.
Yours, truly,
A. LINCOLN.
[Indorsement.]
APRIL 23, 1864.
Referred to the Adjutant-General.
EDWIN M. STANTON, _Secretary of War_.
WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., _April 23, 1864_.
Hon. E.M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_:
I respectfully request to withdraw my resignation as major-general of
the United States Volunteers, tendered on the 12th day of January, 1864.
Respectfully,
FRANK P. BLAIR.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 178.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, April 23, 1864_.
I. Major-General F.P. Blair, jr., is assigned to the command of the
Seventeenth Army Corps.
II. Captain Andrew J. Alexander, Third Regiment United States Cavalry,
is assigned as assistant adjutant-general of the Seventeenth Army Corps,
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, under the tenth section of the act
approved July 17, 1862.
By order of the President of the United States:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
The foregoing constitutes all sought by the resolution so far as is
remembered or has been found upon diligent search.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
MAY 7, 1864.
_To the Senate of the United States:_
In compliance with the request contained in a resolution of the Senate
dated April 30, 1864, I herewith transmit to your honorable body a copy
of the opinion by the Attorney-General on the rights of colored persons
in the Army or volunteer service of the United States, together with the
accompanying papers.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _May 12, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, requesting
a copy of correspondence relative to a controversy between the Republics
of Chile and Bolivia, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State,
to whom the resolution was referred.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, May 14, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of the Interior of the
14th instant, and accompanying papers, in answer to a resolution of the
Senate of the 14th ultimo, in the following words, viz:
_Resolved_, That the President of the United States be requested to
communicate to the Senate the reasons, if any exist, why the refugee
Indians in the State of Kansas are not returned to their homes.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, May 17, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
a treaty concluded on the 7th instant in this city between William P.
Dole, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Clark W. Thompson,
superintendent of Indian affairs, northern superintendency, on the part
of the United States, and the chief Hole-in-the-day and Mis-qua-dace for
and on behalf of the Chippewas of the Mississippi, and the Pillager and
Lake Winnibigoshish bands of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota.
A communication from the Secretary of the Interior of the 17th instant,
with a statement and copies of reports of the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs of the 12th and 17th instant, accompany the treaty.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, D.C., _May 24, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I recommend Lieutenant-Commander Francis A. Roe for advancement in his
grade five numbers, to take rank next after Lieutenant-Commander John H.
Upshur, for distinguished conduct in battle in command of the United
States steamer _Sassacus_ in her attack on and attempt to run down the
rebel ironclad ram _Albemarle_ on the 5th of May, 1864.
I also recommend that First Assistant Engineer James M. Hobby be
advanced thirty numbers in his grade for distinguished conduct in
battle and extraordinary heroism, as mentioned in the report of
Lieutenant-Commander Francis A. Roe, commanding the United States
steamer _Sassacus_ in her action with the rebel ram _Albemarle_ on
the 5th May, 1864.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _May 24, 1864_.
_To the House of Representatives_:
In answer to the resolution of the House of Representatives of yesterday
on the subject of the joint resolution of the 4th of last month relative
to Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the
resolution was referred.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _May 28, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In reply to a resolution of the Senate of the 25th instant, relating to
Mexican affairs, I transmit a partial report from the Secretary of State
of this date, with the papers therein mentioned.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _May 31, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit to the Senate, in answer to their resolution of the 28th
instant, a report[12] from the Secretary of State, with accompanying
documents.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
[Footnote 12: Relating to the delivery of a person charged with crime
against Spain to the officers of that Government.]
WASHINGTON, D.C., _June 8, 1864_.
_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:
I have the honor to submit, for the consideration of Congress, a letter
and inclosure[13] from the Secretary of War, with my concurrence in the
recommendation therein made.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
[Footnote 13: Report from the Provost-Marshal-General, showing the result
of the draft to fill a deficiency in the quotas of certain States, and
recommending a repeal of the clause in the enrollment act commonly known
as the three-hundred-dollar clause.]
WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 4th of March,
1864, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War in the case
of William Yokum, with accompanying papers.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _June 13, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I transmit herewith, for consideration with a view to ratification, a
convention between the United States of America and the United Colombian
States, signed by the plenipotentiaries of the contracting powers on the
10th February last, providing for a revival of the joint commission on
claims under the convention of 10th September, 1857, with New Granada.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _June 18, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In further answer to the Senate's resolution of the 28th ultimo,
requesting to be informed whether the President "has, and when,
authorized a person alleged to have committed a crime against Spain or
any of its dependencies to be delivered up to officers of that
Government, and whether such delivery was had, and, if so, under what
authority of law or of treaty it was done," I transmit a copy of a
dispatch of the 10th instant to the Secretary of State from the acting
consul of the United States at Havana.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _June 21, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I herewith communicate to the Senate, for its constitutional action
thereon, the articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at
the city of Washington on the 15th instant between the United States and
the Delaware Indians of Kansas, referred to in the accompanying
communication of the present date from the Secretary of the Interior.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, June 24, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
a treaty made and concluded at the city of Washington on the 11th day of
June, 1864, by and between William P. Dole, Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, and Hiram W. Farnsworth, United States Indian agent,
commissioners on the part of the United States, and the chiefs and
headmen of the Kansas tribe of Indians.
A communication of the Secretary of the Interior of the 18th instant,
with a copy of report of Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 13th
instant, accompany the treaty.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _June 28, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 24th instant,
requesting information in regard to the alleged enlistment in foreign
countries of recruits for the military and naval service of the United
States, I transmit reports from the Secretaries of State, of War, and of
the Navy, respectively.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _June 28, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 16th of last
month, requesting information in regard to the maltreatment of
passengers and seamen on board ships plying between New York and
Aspinwall, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom
the resolution was referred.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WASHINGTON, _July 2, 1864_.
_To the Senate of the United States_:
In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 6th ultimo, requesting
information upon the subject of the African slave trade, I transmit a
report from the Secretary of State and the papers by which it was
accompanied.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
PROCLAMATIONS.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
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, 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 A.D. 1860, 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
reestablish 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
guarantee 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 can not 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.
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 reestablished 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.
[SEAL.]
Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 8th day of December,
A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States of America the
eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by an act of the Congress of the United States of the 24th of
May, 1828, entitled "An act in addition to an act entitled 'An act
concerning discriminating duties of tonnage and impost' and to equalize
the duties on Prussian vessels and their cargoes,' 'it is provided that
upon satisfactory evidence being given to the President of the United
States by the government of any foreign nation that no discriminating
duties of tonnage or impost are imposed or levied in the ports of the
said nation upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the United
States or upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise imported in the
same from the United States or from any foreign country, the President
is thereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that the
foreign discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the United
States are and shall be suspended and discontinued so far as respects
the vessels of the said foreign nation and the produce, manufactures, or
merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the said
foreign nation or from any other foreign country, the said suspension to
take effect from the time of such notification being given to the
President of the United States and to continue so long as the reciprocal
exemption of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States and
their cargoes, as aforesaid, shall be continued, and no longer; and
Whereas satisfactory evidence has lately been received by me through an
official communication of Senor Don Luis Molina, envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Nicaragua, under date of the
28th of November, 1863, that no other or higher duties of tonnage and
impost have been imposed or levied since the 2d day of August, 1838, in
the ports of Nicaragua upon vessels wholly belonging to citizens of the
United States and upon the produce, manufactures, or merchandise
imported in the same from the United States and from any foreign country
whatever than are levied on Nicaraguan ships and their cargoes in the
same ports under like circumstances:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States
of America, do hereby declare and proclaim that so much of the several
acts imposing discriminating duties of tonnage and impost within the
United States are and shall be suspended and discontinued so far as
respects the vessels of Nicaragua and the produce, manufactures, and
merchandise imported into the United States in the same from the
dominions of Nicaragua and from any other foreign country whatever, the
said suspension to take effect from the day above mentioned and to
continue thenceforward so long as the reciprocal exemption of the vessels
of the United States and the produce, manufactures, and merchandise
imported into the dominions of Nicaragua in the same, as aforesaid, shall
be continued on the part of the Government of Nicaragua.
[SEAL.]
Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 16th day of December,
A.D. 1863, and the eighty-eighth of the Independence of the United
States.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by my proclamation of the 19th of April, 1861, the ports of the
States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Texas were, for reasons therein set forth, placed under
blockade; and
Whereas the port of Brownsville, in the district of Brazos Santiago, in
the State of Texas, has since been blockaded, but as the blockade of
said port may now be safely relaxed with advantage to the interests of
commerce:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth
section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July, 1861,
entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on
imports and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of
the said port of Brownsville shall so far cease and determine from and
after this date that commercial intercourse with said port, except as to
persons, things, and information hereinafter specified, may from this
date be carried on subject to the laws of the United States, to the
regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and, until the
rebellion shall have been suppressed, to such orders as may be
promulgated by the general commanding the department or by an officer
duly authorized by him and commanding at said port. This proclamation
does not authorize or allow the shipment or conveyance of persons in or
intending to enter the service of the insurgents, or of things or
information intended for their use or for their aid or comfort, nor,
except upon the permission of the Secretary of War or of some officer
duly authorized by him, of the following prohibited articles, namely:
Cannon, mortars, firearms, pistols, bombs, grenades, powder, saltpeter,
sulphur, balls, bullets, pikes, swords, boarding caps (always excepting
the quantity of the said articles which may be necessary for the defense
of the ship and those who compose the crew), saddles, bridles,
cartridge-bag material, percussion and other caps, clothing adapted for
uniforms, sailcloth of all kinds, hemp and cordage, intoxicating drinks
other than beer and light native wines.
To vessels clearing from foreign ports and destined to the port of
Brownsville, opened by this proclamation, licenses will be granted by
consuls of the United States upon satisfactory evidence that the vessel
so licensed will convey no persons, property, or information excepted or
prohibited above either to or from the said port, which licenses shall
be exhibited to the collector of said port immediately on arrival, and,
if required, to any officer in charge of the blockade; and on leaving
said port every vessel will be required to have a clearance from the
collector of the customs, according to law, showing no violation of the
conditions of the license. Any violations of said conditions will
involve the forfeiture and condemnation of the vessel and cargo and the
exclusion of all parties concerned from any further privilege of
entering the United States during the war for any purpose whatever.
In all respects except as herein specified the existing blockade remains
in full force and effect as hitherto established and maintained, nor is
it relaxed by this proclamation except in regard to the port to which
relaxation is or has been expressly applied.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of February,
A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the
eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas it has become necessary to define the cases in which insurgent
enemies are entitled to the benefits of the proclamation of the
President of the United States which was made on the 8th day of
December, 1863, and the manner in which they shall proceed to avail
themselves of those benefits; and
Whereas the objects of that proclamation were to suppress the
insurrection and to restore the authority of the United States; and
Whereas the amnesty therein proposed by the President was offered with
reference to these objects alone:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
hereby proclaim and declare that the said proclamation does not apply to
the cases of persons who at the time when they seek to obtain the
benefits thereof by taking the oath thereby prescribed are in military,
naval, or civil confinement or custody, or under bonds, or on parole of
the civil, military, or naval authorities or agents of the United States
as prisoners of war, or persons detained for offenses of any kind,
either before or after conviction, and that, on the contrary, it does
apply only to those persons who, being yet at large and free from any
arrest, confinement, or duress, shall voluntarily come forward and take
the said oath with the purpose of restoring peace and establishing the
national authority. Prisoners excluded from the amnesty offered in the
said proclamation may apply to the President for clemency, like all
other offenders, and their applications will receive due consideration.
I do further declare and proclaim that the oath prescribed in the
aforesaid proclamation of the 8th of December, 1863, may be taken and
subscribed before any commissioned officer, civil, military, or naval,
in the service of the United States or any civil or military officer of
a State or Territory not in insurrection who by the laws thereof may be
qualified for administering oaths. All officers who receive such oaths
are hereby authorized to give certificates thereon to the persons
respectively by whom they are made, and such officers are hereby
required to transmit the original records of such oaths at as early a
day as may be convenient to the Department of State, where they will be
deposited and remain in the archives of the Government. The Secretary of
State will keep a register thereof, and will on application, in proper
cases, issue certificates of such records in the customary form of
official certificates.
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, the 26th day of March,
A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the
eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
_To all whom it may concern_:
An exequatur bearing date the 3d day of May, 1850, having been issued to
Charles Hunt, a citizen of the United States, recognizing him as consul
of Belgium for St. Louis, Mo., and declaring him free to exercise and
enjoy such functions, powers, and privileges as are allowed to the
consuls of the most favored nations in the United States, and the said
Hunt having sought to screen himself from his military duty to his
country in consequence of thus being invested with the consular
functions of a foreign power in the United States, it is deemed
advisable that the said Charles Hunt should no longer be permitted to
continue in the exercise of said functions, powers, and privileges:
These are, therefore, to declare that I no longer recognize the said
Charles Hunt as consul of Belgium for St. Louis, Mo., and will not permit
him to exercise or enjoy any of the functions, powers, or privileges
allowed to consuls of that nation, and that I do hereby wholly revoke
and annul the said exequatur heretofore given and do declare the same to
be absolutely null and void from this day forward.
In testimony whereof I have caused these letters to be made patent and
the seal of the United States of America to be hereunto affixed.
[SEAL.]
Given under my hand, at Washington, this 19th day of May, A.D. 1864, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by a proclamation which was issued on the 15th day of April,
1861, the President of the United States announced and declared that the
laws of the United States had been for some time past, and then were,
opposed and the execution thereof obstructed in certain States therein
mentioned by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary
course of judicial proceedings or by the powers vested in the marshals
by law; and
Whereas immediately after the issuing of the said proclamation the land
and naval forces of the United States were put into activity to suppress
the said insurrection and rebellion; and
Whereas the Congress of the United States by an act approved on the 3d
day of March, 1863, did enact that during the said rebellion the
President of the United States, whenever in his judgment the public
safety may require it, is authorized to suspend the privilege of the
writ of _habeas corpus_ in any case throughout the United States or in
any part thereof; and
Whereas the said insurrection and rebellion still continue, endangering
the existence of the Constitution and Government of the United States;
and
Whereas the military forces of the United States are now actively
engaged in suppressing the said insurrection and rebellion in various
parts of the States where the said rebellion has been successful in
obstructing the laws and public authorities, especially in the States of
Virginia and Georgia; and
Whereas on the 15th day of September last the President of the United
States duly issued his proclamation, wherein he declared that the
privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_ should be suspended throughout
the United States in the cases where, by the authority of the President
of the United States, military, naval, and civil officers of the United
States, or any of them, hold persons under their command or in their
custody, either as prisoners of war, spies, or aiders or abettors of the
enemy, or officers, soldiers, or seamen enrolled or drafted or mustered
or enlisted in or belonging to the land or naval forces of the United
States, or as deserters therefrom, or otherwise amenable to military law
or the rules and articles of war or the rules or regulations prescribed
for the military or naval services by authority of the President of the
United States, or for resisting a draft, or for any other offense
against the military or naval service; and
Whereas many citizens of the State of Kentucky have joined the forces of
the insurgents, and such insurgents have on several occasions entered
the said State of Kentucky in large force, and, not without aid and
comfort furnished by disaffected and disloyal citizens of the United
States residing therein, have not only greatly disturbed the public
peace, but have overborne the civil authorities and made flagrant civil
war, destroying property and life in various parts of that State; and
Whereas it has been made known to the President of the United States by
the officers commanding the national armies that combinations have been
formed in the said State of Kentucky with a purpose of inciting rebel
forces to renew the said operations of civil war within the said State
and thereby to embarrass the United States armies now operating in the
said States of Virginia and Georgia and even to endanger their safety:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by
virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws, do
hereby declare that in my judgment the public safety especially requires
that the suspension of the privilege of the writ of _habeas corpus_, so
proclaimed in the said proclamation of the 15th of September, 1863, be
made effectual and be duly enforced in and throughout the said State of
Kentucky, and that martial law be for the present established therein. I
do therefore hereby require of the military officers in the said State
that the privileges of the writ of _habeas corpus_ be effectually
suspended within the said State, according to the aforesaid
proclamation, and that martial law be established therein, to take
effect from the date of this proclamation, the said suspension and
establishment of martial law to continue until this proclamation shall
be revoked or modified, but not beyond the period when the said
rebellion shall have been suppressed or come to an end. And I do hereby
require and command as well all military officers as all civil officers
and authorities existing or found within the said State of Kentucky to
take notice of this proclamation and to give full effect to the same.
The martial law herein proclaimed and the things in that respect herein
ordered will not be deemed or taken to interfere with the holding of
lawful elections, or with the proceedings of the constitutional
legislature of Kentucky, or with the administration of justice in the
courts of law existing therein between citizens of the United States in
suits or proceedings which do not affect the military operations or the
constituted authorities of the Government of the United States.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 5th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of
the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas the Senate and House of Representatives at their last session
adopted a concurrent resolution, which was approved on the 2d day of
July instant and which was in the words following, namely:
That the President of the United States be requested to appoint a day
for humiliation and prayer by the people of the United States; that he
request his constitutional advisers at the head of the Executive
Departments to unite with him as Chief Magistrate of the nation, at the
city of Washington, and the members of Congress, and all magistrates,
all civil, military, and naval officers, all soldiers, sailors, and
marines, with all loyal and law-abiding people, to convene at their
usual places of worship, or wherever they may be, to confess and to
repent of their manifold sins; to implore the compassion and forgiveness
of the Almighty, that, if consistent with His will, the existing
rebellion may be speedily suppressed and the supremacy of the
Constitution and laws of the United States may be established throughout
all the States; to implore Him, as the Supreme Ruler of the World, not
to destroy us as a people, nor suffer us to be destroyed by the
hostility or connivance of other nations or by obstinate adhesion to our
own counsels, which may be in conflict with His eternal purposes, and to
implore Him to enlighten the mind of the nation to know and do His will,
humbly believing that it is in accordance with His will that our place
should be maintained as a united people among the family of nations; to
implore Him to grant to our armed defenders and the masses of the people
that courage, power of resistance, and endurance necessary to secure
that result; to implore Him in His infinite goodness to soften the
hearts, enlighten the minds, and quicken the consciences of those in
rebellion, that they may lay down their arms and speedily return to
their allegiance to the United States, that they may not be utterly
destroyed, that the effusion of blood may be stayed, and that unity and
fraternity may be restored and peace established throughout all our
borders:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States,
cordially concurring with the Congress of the United States in the
penitential and pious sentiments expressed in the aforesaid resolution
and heartily approving of the devotional design and purpose thereof, do
hereby appoint the first Thursday of August next to be observed by the
people of the United States as a day of national humiliation and prayer.
I do hereby further invite and request the heads of the Executive
Departments of this Government, together with all legislators, all
judges and magistrates, and all other persons exercising authority in
the land, whether civil, military, or naval, and all soldiers, seamen,
and marines in the national service, and all the other loyal and
law-abiding people of the United States, to assemble in their preferred
places of public worship on that day, and there and then to render to
the almighty and merciful Ruler of the Universe such homages and such
confessions and to offer to Him such supplications as the Congress of
the United States have in their aforesaid resolution so solemnly, so
earnestly, and so reverently recommended.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 7th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of
the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
A 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 naught, 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.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 8th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of
the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
[H.R. 244, Thirty-eighth Congress, first session.]
AN ACT to guarantee to certain States whose governments have been
usurped or overthrown a republican form of government.
_Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That in the States declared
in rebellion against the United States the President shall, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint for each a provisional
governor, whose pay and emoluments shall not exceed that of a
brigadier-general of volunteers, who shall be charged with the civil
administration of such State until a State government therein shall be
recognized as hereinafter provided.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That 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 the
provisional governor shall direct the marshal of the United States, as
speedily as may be, to name a sufficient number of deputies, and to
enroll all white male citizens of the United States resident in the
State in their respective counties, and to request each one to take the
oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and in his
enrollment to designate those who take and those who refuse to take that
oath, which rolls shall be forthwith returned to the provisional
governor; and if the persons taking that oath shall amount to a majority
of the persons enrolled in the State, he shall, by proclamation, invite
the loyal people of the State to elect delegates to a convention charged
to declare the will of the people of the State relative to the
reestablishment of a State government, subject to and in conformity with
the Constitution of the United States.
SEC. 3. _And be it further enacted_, That the convention shall consist
of as many members as both houses of the last constitutional State
legislature, apportioned by the provisional governor among the counties,
parishes, or districts of the State, in proportion to the white
population returned as electors by the marshal in compliance with the
provisions of this act. The provisional governor shall, by proclamation,
declare the number of delegates to be elected by each county, parish, or
election district; name a day of election not less than thirty days
thereafter; designate the places of voting in each county, parish, or
district, conforming as nearly as may be convenient to the places used
in the State elections next preceding the rebellion; appoint one or more
commissioners to hold the election at each place of voting, and provide
an adequate force to keep the peace during the election.
SEC. 4. _And be it further enacted_, That the delegates shall be elected
by the loyal white male citizens of the United States of the age of 21
years, and resident at the time in the county, parish, or district in
which they shall offer to vote, and enrolled as aforesaid, or absent
in the military service of the United States, and who shall take and
subscribe the oath of allegiance to the United States in the form
contained in the act of Congress of July 2, 1862; and all such citizens
of the United States who are in the military service of the United
States shall vote at the headquarters of their respective commands,
under such regulations as may be prescribed by the provisional governor
for the taking and return of their votes; but no person who has held or
exercised any office, civil or military, State or Confederate, under the
rebel usurpation, or who has voluntarily borne arms against the United
States, shall vote or be eligible to be elected as delegate at such
election.
SEC. 5. _And be it further enacted_, That the said commissioners, or
either of them, shall hold the election in conformity with this act,
and, so far as may be consistent therewith, shall proceed in the manner
used in the State prior to the rebellion. The oath of allegiance
shall be taken and subscribed on the poll book by every voter in the
form above prescribed, but every person known by or proved to the
commissioners to have held or exercised any office, civil or military,
State or Confederate, under the rebel usurpation, or to have voluntarily
borne arms against the United States, shall be excluded though he offer
to take the oath; and in case any person who shall have borne arms
against the United States shall offer to vote, he shall be deemed to
have borne arms voluntarily unless he shall prove the contrary by the
testimony of a qualified voter. The poll book, showing the name and oath
of each voter, shall be returned to the provisional governor by the
commissioners of election, or the one acting, and the provisional
governor shall canvass such returns and declare the person having the
highest number of votes elected.
SEC. 6. _And be it further enacted_, That the provisional governor
shall, by proclamation, convene the delegates elected as aforesaid at
the capital of the State on a day not more than three months after the
election, giving at least thirty days' notice of such day. In case
the said capital shall in his judgment be unfit, he shall in his
proclamation appoint another place. He shall preside over the
deliberations of the convention and administer to each delegate, before
taking his seat in the convention, the oath of allegiance to the United
States in the form above prescribed.
SEC. 7. _And be it further enacted_, That the convention shall
declare on behalf of the people of the State their submission to
the Constitution and laws of the United States, and shall adopt the
following provisions, hereby prescribed by the United States in the
execution of the constitutional duty to guarantee a republican form of
government to every State, and incorporate them in the constitution of
the State; that is to say:
First. No person who has held or exercised any office, civil or military
(except offices merely ministerial and military offices below the grade
of colonel), State or Confederate, under the usurping power, shall vote
for or be a member of the legislature or governor.
Second. Involuntary servitude is forever prohibited, and the freedom of
all persons is guaranteed in said State.
Third. No debt, State or Confederate, created by or under the sanction
of the usurping power shall be recognized or paid by the State.
SEC. 8. _And be it further enacted_, That when the convention shall have
adopted those provisions it shall proceed to reestablish a republican
form of government and ordain a constitution containing those
provisions, which, when adopted, the convention shall by ordinance
provide for submitting to the people of the State entitled to vote under
this law, at an election to be held in the manner prescribed by the act
for the election of delegates, but at a time and place named by the
convention, at which election the said electors, and none others, shall
vote directly for or against such constitution and form of State
government. And the returns of said election shall be made to the
provisional governor, who shall canvass the same in the presence of the
electors, and if a majority of the votes cast shall be for the
constitution and form of government, he shall certify the same, with a
copy thereof, to the President of the United States, who, after
obtaining the assent of Congress, shall, by proclamation, recognize the
government so established, and none other, as the constitutional
government of the State; and from the date of such recognition, and not
before, Senators and Representatives and electors for President and
Vice-President may be elected in such State, according to the laws of
the State and of the United States.
SEC. 9. _And be it further enacted_, That if the convention shall refuse
to reestablish the State government on the conditions aforesaid the
provisional governor shall declare it dissolved; but it shall be the
duty of the President, whenever he shall have reason to believe that a
sufficient number of the people of the State entitled to vote under this
act, in number not less than a majority of those enrolled as aforesaid,
are willing to reestablish a State government on the conditions
aforesaid, to direct the provisional governor to order another election
of delegates to a convention for the purpose and in the manner
prescribed in this act, and to proceed in all respects as hereinbefore
provided, either to dissolve the convention or to certify the State
government reestablished by it to the President.
SEC. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That until the United States shall
have recognized a republican form of State government the provisional
governor in each of said States shall see that this act and the laws of
the United States and the laws of the State in force when the State
government was overthrown by the rebellion are faithfully executed
within the State; but no law or usage whereby any person was heretofore
held in involuntary servitude shall be recognized or enforced by any
court or officer in such State; and the laws for the trial and
punishment of white persons shall extend to all persons, and jurors
shall have the qualifications of voters under this law for delegates to
the convention. The President shall appoint such officer provided for by
the laws of the State when its government was overthrown as he may find
necessary to the civil administration of the State, all which officers
shall be entitled to receive the fees and emoluments provided by the
State laws for such officers.
SEC. 11. _And be it further enacted_, That until the recognition of a
State government as aforesaid the provisional governor shall, under such
regulations as he may prescribe, cause to be assessed, levied, and
collected, for the year 1864 and every year thereafter, the taxes
provided by the laws of such State to be levied during the fiscal year
preceding the overthrow of the State government thereof, in the manner
prescribed by the laws of the State, as nearly as may be; and the
officers appointed as aforesaid are vested with all powers of levying
and collecting such taxes, by distress or sale, as were vested in any
officers or tribunal of the State government aforesaid for those
purposes. The proceeds of such taxes shall be accounted for to the
provisional governor and be by him applied to the expenses of the
administration of the laws in such State, subject to the direction of
the President, and the surplus shall be deposited in the Treasury of the
United States to the credit of such State, to be paid to the State upon
an appropriation therefor to be made when a republican form of
government shall be recognized therein by the United States.
SEC. 12. _And be it further enacted_, That all persons held to
involuntary servitude or labor in the States aforesaid are hereby
emancipated and discharged therefrom, and they and their posterity shall
be forever free. And if any such persons or their posterity shall be
restrained of liberty under pretense of any claim to such service or
labor, the courts of the United States shall, on _habeas corpus_,
discharge them.
SEC. 13. _And be it further enacted_, That if any person declared free
by this act, or any law of the United States or any proclamation of the
President, be restrained of liberty with intent to be held in or reduced
to involuntary servitude or labor, the person convicted before a court
of competent jurisdiction of such act shall be punished by fine of not
less than $1,500 and be imprisoned not less than five nor more than
twenty years.
SEC. 14. _And be it further enacted_, That every person who shall
hereafter hold or exercise any office, civil or military (except offices
merely ministerial and military offices below the grade of colonel), in
the rebel service, State or Confederate, is hereby declared not to be a
citizen of the United States.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by the act approved July 4, 1864, entitled "An act further to
regulate and provide for the enrolling and calling out the national
forces and for other purposes," it is provided that the President of the
United States may, "at his discretion, at any time hereafter, call for
any number of men, as volunteers for the respective terms of one, two,
and three years for military service," and "that in case the quota or
any part thereof of any town, township, ward of a city, precinct, or
election district, or of a county not so subdivided, shall not be filled
within the space of fifty days after such call, then the President shall
immediately order a draft for one year to fill such quota or any part
thereof which may be unfilled;" and
Whereas the new enrollment heretofore ordered is so far completed as
that the aforementioned act of Congress may now be put in operation for
recruiting and keeping up the strength of the armies in the field, for
garrisons, and such military operations as may be required for the
purpose of suppressing the rebellion and restoring the authority of the
United States Government in the insurgent States:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
issue this my call for 500,000 volunteers for the military service:
_Provided, nevertheless_, That this call shall be reduced by all credits
which may be established under section 8 of the aforesaid act on account
of persons who have entered the naval service during the present
rebellion and by credits for men furnished to the military service in
excess of calls heretofore made. Volunteers will be accepted under this
call for one, two, or three years, as they may elect, and will be
entitled to the bounty provided by the law for the period of service for
which they enlist.
And I hereby proclaim, order, and direct that immediately after the 5th
day of September, 1864, being fifty days from the date of this call,
a draft for troops to serve for one year shall be had in every town,
township, ward of a city, precinct, or election district, or county not
so subdivided, to fill the quota which shall be assigned to it under
this call or any part thereof which may be unfilled by volunteers on the
said 5th day of September, 1864.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of July, A.D. 1864, and of
the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas the act of Congress of the 28th of September, 1850, entitled "An
act to create additional collection districts in the State of
California, and to change the existing districts therein, and to modify
the existing collection districts in the United States," extends to
merchandise warehoused under bond the privilege of being exported to the
British North American Provinces adjoining the United States in the
manner prescribed in the act of Congress of the 3d of March, 1845, which
designates certain frontier ports through which merchandise may be
exported, and further provides "that such other ports, situated on the
frontiers of the United States adjoining the British North American
Provinces, as may hereafter be found expedient may have extended to them
the like privileges on the recommendation of the Secretary of the
Treasury and proclamation duly made by the President of the United
States specially designating the ports to which the aforesaid privileges
are to be extended:"
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of
America, in accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of the
Treasury, do hereby declare and proclaim that the port of Newport, in
the State of Vermont, is and shall be entitled to all the privileges in
regard to the exportation of merchandise in bond to the British North
American Provinces adjoining the United States which are extended to the
ports enumerated in the seventh section of the act of Congress of the 3d
of March, 1845, aforesaid, from and after the date of this proclamation.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 18th day of August, A.D. 1864, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year,
defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from
abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over
the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly
Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in
their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health.
He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by
immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has
crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with
abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire
our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient
for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our
adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to
afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from
all our dangers and afflictions:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day
which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they
may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the
beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend
to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently
humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and
fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for
a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony
throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling
place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of October, A.D. 1864, and
of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas the Congress of the United States passed an act, which was
approved on the 21st day of March last, entitled "An act to enable the
people of Nevada to form a constitution and State government and for the
admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the
original States;" and
Whereas the said constitution and State government have been formed,
pursuant to the conditions prescribed by the fifth section of the act of
Congress aforesaid, and the certificate required by the said act and
also a copy of the constitution and ordinances have been submitted to
the President of the United States:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, in accordance with the duty imposed upon me by the act of
Congress aforesaid, do hereby declare and proclaim that the said State
of Nevada is admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the
original States.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 31st day of October, A.D. 1864,
and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
A PROCLAMATION.
Whereas by my proclamation of the 19th of April, 1861, it was declared
that the ports of certain States, including those of Norfolk, in the
State of Virginia, Fernandina and Pensacola, in the State of Florida,
were, for reasons therein set forth, intended to be placed under
blockade; and
Whereas the said ports were subsequently blockaded accordingly, but
having for some time past been in the military possession of the United
States, it is deemed advisable that they should be opened to domestic
and foreign commerce:
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, pursuant to the authority in me vested by the fifth
section of the act of Congress approved on the 13th of July, 1861,
entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on
imports, and for other purposes," do hereby declare that the blockade of
the said ports of Norfolk, Fernandina, and Pensacola shall so far cease
and determine, from and after the 1st day of December next, that
commercial intercourse with those ports, except as to persons, things,
and information contraband of war, may from that time be carried on,
subject to the laws of the United States, to the limitations and in
pursuance of the regulations which may be prescribed by the Secretary of
the Treasury, and to such military and naval regulations as are now in
force or may hereafter be found necessary.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.
[SEAL.]
Done at the city of Washington, this 19th day of November, A.D. 1864,
and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.
EXECUTIVE ORDERS.
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
_Washington, D.C., December 7, 1863_.
Reliable information being received that the insurgent force is
retreating from east Tennessee under circumstances rendering it probable
that the Union forces can not hereafter be dislodged from that important
position, and esteeming this to be of high national consequence, I
recommend that all loyal people do, on receipt of this information,
assemble at their places of worship and render special homage and
gratitude to Almighty God for this great advancement of the national
cause.
A. LINCOLN.
GENERAL ORDERS, No. 398.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
_Washington, December 21, 1863_.
The following joint resolution by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States is published to the Army:
JOINT RESOLUTION of thanks to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant and the
officers and soldiers who have fought under his command during this
rebellion, and providing that the President of the United States shall
cause a medal to be struck, to be presented to Major-General Grant in
the name of the people of the United States of America.
_Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled_, That the thanks of Congress
be, and they hereby are, presented to Major-General Ulysses S. Grant,
and through him to the officers and soldiers who have fought under his
command during this rebellion, for their gallantry and good conduct in
the battles in which they have been engaged; and that the President of
the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be presented to
Major-General Grant.
SEC. 2. _And be it further resolved_, That when the said medal shall
have been struck the President shall cause a copy of this joint
resolution to be engrossed on parchment, and shall transmit the same,
together with the said medal, to Major-General Grant, to be presented
to him in the name of the people of the United States of America.
SEC. 3. _And be it further resolved_, That a sufficient sum of money
to carry this resolution into effect is hereby appropriated out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
SCHUYLER COLFAX,
_Speaker of the House of Representatives_.
H. HAMLIN,
_Vice-president of the United States and President of the Senate_.
Approved, December 17, 1863.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By order of the Secretary of War:
E.D. TOWNSEND,
_Assistant Adjutant-General_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 9, 1864_.
Information having been received that Caleb B. Smith, late Secretary of
the Interior, has departed this life at his residence in Indiana, it is
ordered that the executive buildings at the seat of the Government be
draped in mourning for the period of fourteen days in honor of his
memory as a prudent and loyal counselor and a faithful and effective
coadjutor of the Administration in a time of public difficulty and
peril.
The Secretary of State will communicate a copy of this order to the
family of the deceased, together with proper expressions of the profound
sympathy of the President and the heads of Departments in their
irreparable bereavement.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
_Washington City, January 12._
_It is hereby ordered_, That all orders and records relating to the
Missouri troops, designated, respectively, as Missouri State Militia
(M.S.M.) and as Enrolled Missouri Militia (E.M.M.), and which are or
have been on file in the offices of the adjutant-generals or their
assistants at the different headquarters located in the State of
Missouri, shall be open to the inspection of the general assembly of
Missouri or of persons commissioned by it, and that copies of such
records be furnished them when called for.
By order of the President:
EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 1, 1864_.
_Ordered_, That a draft for 500,000 men, to serve for three years or
during the war, be made on the 10th day of March next for the military
service of the United States, crediting and deducting therefrom so many
as may have been enlisted or drafted into the service prior to the 1st
day of March and not heretofore credited.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
EXECUTIVE MANSION, _February 1, 1864_.
Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.
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