A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Lincoln
by
Compiled by James D. Richardson

Part 9 out of 10




Call at Fortress Monroe and put yourself under direction of Mr. S.,
whom you will find there.

A. LINCOLN.


On the morning of the 2d instant the following telegrams were received
by me respectively from the Secretary of State and Major Eckert:

FORT MONROE, VA., _February 1, 1865--11.30 p.m._

The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:

Arrived at 10 this evening. Richmond party not here. I remain here.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.


CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865--10 p.m._

His Excellency A. LINCOLN,
_President of the United States_:

I have the honor to report the delivery of your communication and my
letter at 4.15 this afternoon, to which I received a reply at 6 p.m.,
but not satisfactory.


At 8 p.m. the following note, addressed to General Grant, was received:

"CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865_.

"Lieutenant-General GRANT.

"SIR: We desire to go to Washington City to confer informally with the
President personally in reference to the matters mentioned in his letter
to Mr. Blair of the 18th January ultimo, without any personal compromise
on any question in the letter. We have the permission to do so from the
authorities in Richmond.

"Very respectfully, yours,
"ALEX. H. STEPHENS.
"R.M.T. HUNTER.
"J.A. CAMPBELL."


At 9.30 p.m. I notified them that they could not proceed further unless
they complied with the terms expressed in my letter. The point of
meeting designated in the above note would not, in my opinion, be
insisted upon. Think Fort Monroe would be acceptable. Having complied
with my instructions, I will return to Washington tomorrow unless
otherwise ordered.

THOS. T. ECKERT, _Major, etc._


On reading this dispatch of Major Eckert I was about to recall him and
the Secretary of State, when the following telegram of General Grant to
the Secretary of War was shown me:

OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH,
_War Department_.

The following telegram received at Washington 4.35 a.m. February 2,
1865, from City Point, Va., February 1, 10.30 p.m., 1865:

"Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON,
"_Secretary of War_:

"Now that the interview between Major Eckert, under his written
instructions, and Mr. Stephens and party has ended, I will state
confidentially, but not officially to become a matter of record, that
I am convinced upon conversation with Messrs. Stephens and Hunter that
their intentions are good and their desire sincere to restore peace and
union. I have not felt myself at liberty to express even views of my
own or to account for my reticency. This has placed me in an awkward
position, which I could have avoided by not seeing them in the first
instance. I fear now their going back without any expression from anyone
in authority will have a bad influence. At the same time, I recognize
the difficulties in the way of receiving these informal commissioners
at this time, and do not know what to recommend. I am sorry, however,
that Mr. Lincoln can not have an interview with the two named in this
dispatch, if not all three now within our lines. Their letter to me was
all that the President's instructions contemplated to secure their safe
conduct if they had used the same language to Major Eckert.

"U.S. GRANT, _Lieutenant-General"_


This dispatch of General Grant changed my purpose, and accordingly I
telegraphed him and the Secretary of State, respectively, as follows:

WAR DEPARTMENT,
_Washington, D.C., February 2, 1865_.
(Sent at 9 a.m.)

Lieutenant-General GRANT,
_City Point, Va._:

Say to the gentlemen I will meet them personally at Fortress Monroe
as soon as I can get there.

A. LINCOLN.


WAR DEPARTMENT,
_Washington, D.C., February 2, 1865_.
(Sent at 9 a.m.)

Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Fortress Monroe, Va._:

Induced by a dispatch from General Grant, I join you at Fort Monroe as
soon as I can come.

A. LINCOLN.

Before starting, the following dispatch was shown me. I proceeded,
nevertheless.

OFFICE UNITED STATES MILITARY TELEGRAPH,
_War Department_.

The following telegram received at Washington February 2, 1865, from
City Point, Va., 9 a.m., February 2, 1865:

"Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
"_Secretary of State, Fort Monroe_:

"The gentlemen here have accepted the proposed terms, and will leave
for Fort Monroe at 9.30 a.m.

"U.S. GRANT,
"_Lieutenant-General."_

(Copy to Hon. EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington.)


On the night of the 2d I reached Hampton Roads, found the Secretary of
State and Major Eckert on a steamer anchored offshore, and learned of
them that the Richmond gentlemen were on another steamer also anchored
offshore, in the Roads, and that the Secretary of State had not yet seen
or communicated with them. I ascertained that Major Eckert had literally
complied with his instructions, and I saw for the first time the answer
of the Richmond gentlemen to him, which in his dispatch to me of the 1st
he characterizes as "not satisfactory." That answer is as follows, to
wit:

CITY POINT, VA., _February 1, 1865_.

THOMAS T. ECKERT,
_Major and Aid-de-Camp_.

MAJOR: Your note, delivered by yourself this day, has been considered.
In reply we have to say that we were furnished with a copy of the letter
of President Lincoln to Francis P. Blair, esq., of the 18th of January
ultimo, another copy of which is appended to your note.

Our instructions are contained in a letter of which the following is
a copy:

"Richmond, _January 28, 1865_.

"In conformity with the letter of Mr. Lincoln, of which the foregoing is
a copy, you are to proceed to Washington City for informal conference
with him upon the issues involved in the existing war, and for the
purpose of securing peace to the two countries.

'With great respect, your obedient servant,
"JEFFERSON DAVIS."


The substantial object to be obtained by the informal conference is to
ascertain upon what terms the existing war can be terminated honorably.

Our instructions contemplate a personal interview between President
Lincoln and ourselves at Washington City, but with this explanation we
are ready to meet any person or persons that President Lincoln may
appoint at such place as he may designate.

Our earnest desire is that a just and honorable peace may be agreed
upon, and we are prepared to receive or to submit propositions which may
possibly lead to the attainment of that end.

Very respectfully, yours,

ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS.
R.M.T. HUNTER.
JOHN A. CAMPBELL.


A note of these gentlemen, subsequently addressed to General Grant, has
already been given in Major Eckert's dispatch of the 1st instant.

I also here saw, for the first time, the following note addressed by the
Richmond gentlemen to Major Eckert:

CITY POINT, VA., _February 2, 1865_.

THOMAS T. ECKERT,
_Major and Aid-de-Camp_.

MAJOR: In reply to your verbal statement that your instructions did not
allow you to alter the conditions upon which a passport could be given
to us, we say that we are willing to proceed to Fortress Monroe and
there to have an informal conference with any person or persons that
President Lincoln may appoint on the basis of his letter to Francis P.
Blair of the 18th of January ultimo, or upon any other terms or
conditions that he may hereafter propose not inconsistent with the
essential principles of self-government and popular rights, upon which
our institutions are founded.

It is our earnest wish to ascertain, after a free interchange of ideas
and information, upon what principles and terms, if any, a just and
honorable peace can be established without the further effusion of
blood, and to contribute our utmost efforts to accomplish such a result.

We think it better to add that in accepting your passport we are not to
be understood as committing ourselves to anything but to carry to this
informal conference the views and feelings above expressed.

Very respectfully, yours, etc.,

ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS.
J.A. CAMPBELL.
R.M.T. HUNTER.

Note.--The above communication was delivered to me at Fort Monroe at
4.30 p.m. February 2 by Lieutenant-Colonel Babcock, of General Grant's
staff.

THOMAS T. ECKERT,

_Major and Aid-de-Camp_.



On the morning of the 3d the three gentlemen, Messrs. Stephens, Hunter,
and Campbell, came aboard of our steamer and had an interview with the
Secretary of State and myself of several hours' duration. No question of
preliminaries to the meeting was then and there made or mentioned; no
other person was present; no papers were exchanged or produced; and it
was in advance agreed that the conversation was to be informal and
verbal merely. On our part the whole substance of the instructions to
the Secretary of State hereinbefore recited was stated and insisted
upon, and nothing was said inconsistent therewith; while by the other
party it was not said that in any event or on any condition they _ever_
would consent to reunion, and yet they equally omitted to declare that
they _never_ would so consent. They seemed to desire a postponement of
that question and the adoption of some other course first, which, as
some of them seemed to argue, might or might not lead to reunion, but
which course we thought would amount to an indefinite postponement. The
conference ended without result.

The foregoing, containing, as is believed, all the information sought,
is respectfully submitted.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1865_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a dispatch of the 12th ultimo,
addressed to the Secretary of State by the minister resident of the
United States at Stockholm, relating to an international exhibition to
be held at Bergen, in Norway, during the coming summer. The expediency
of any legislation upon the subject is submitted for your consideration.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1865_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I transmit to Congress a copy of a note of the 2d instant, addressed to
the Secretary of State by the Commander J.C. de Figaniere a Morao, envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Most Faithful Majesty
the King of Portugal, calling attention to a proposed international
exhibition at the city of Oporto, to be opened in August next, and
inviting contributions thereto of the products of American manufactures
and industry. The expediency of any legislation on the subject is
submitted for your consideration.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



WASHINGTON, _February 25, 1865_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In compliance with the resolution of the Senate of the 23d instant,
I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of War, with the
accompanying General Orders, No. 23,[14] issued by Major-General Banks
at New Orleans, February 3, 1864.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[Footnote 14: On the subject of compensated plantation labor, public or
private.]



EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_WASHINGTON, February 27, 1865_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

I herewith lay before the Senate, for its constitutional action thereon,
a treaty made and concluded with the Klamath and Modoc tribes of Indians
of Oregon, at Fort Klamath, on the 5th day of October, 1864.

A letter of the Secretary of the Interior of this date, a copy of the
report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs of the 24th instant, and
a communication of the superintendent of Indian affairs in Oregon
accompany the treaty.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington, D.C., February 28, 1865_.

Hon. H. HAMLIN,

_President United States Senate_.

SIR: In reply to the resolution of the Senate dated February 14, 1865, I
transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of War, forwarding
a copy of the report of the court of inquiry "in respect to the
explosion of the mine in front of Petersburg."

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 2, 1865_.

Hon. SCHUYLER COLFAX,

_Speaker of the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith the report of the Secretary of War, which, with
my permission, has been delayed until the present time to enable the
Lieutenant-General to furnish his report.

A. LINCOLN.

[The same message was addressed to the President of the Senate.]



WASHINGTON, _March 3, 1865_.

_To the Senate and House of Representatives_:

I herewith transmit to Congress a report, dated 1st instant, with the
accompanying papers, received from the Secretary of State in compliance
with the requirements of the eighteenth section of the act entitled "An
act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United
States," approved August 18, 1856.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.




VETO MESSAGE.[15]

[Footnote 15: Pocket veto.]

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _January 5, 1865_.

_To the House of Representatives of the United States_:

I herewith return to your honorable body, in which it originated,
a "Joint resolution to correct certain clerical errors in the
internal-revenue act," without my approval.

My reason for so doing is that I am informed that this joint resolution
was prepared during the last moments of the last session of Congress
for the purpose of correcting certain errors of reference in the
internal-revenue act which were discovered on an examination of an
official copy procured from the State Department a few hours only before
the adjournment. It passed the House and went to the Senate, where a
vote was taken upon it, but by some accident it was not presented to the
President of the Senate for his signature.

Since the adjournment of the last session of Congress other errors of a
kind similar to those which this resolution was designed to correct have
been discovered in the law, and it is now thought most expedient to
include all the necessary corrections in one act or resolution.

The attention of the proper committee of the House has, I am informed,
been already directed to the preparation of a bill for this purpose.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.




PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

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 any 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 by the credits allowed in accordance with the act of Congress on
the call for 500,000 men, made July 18, 1864, the number of men to be
obtained under that call was reduced to 280,000; and

Whereas the operations of the enemy in certain States have rendered it
impracticable to procure from them their full quotas of troops under
said call; and

Whereas from the foregoing causes but 240,000 men have been put into
the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps under the said call of July 18, 1864,
leaving a deficiency on that call of two hundred and sixty thousand
(260,000):

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of
America, in order to supply the aforesaid deficiency and to provide for
casualties in the military and naval service of the United States, do
issue this my call for three hundred thousand (300,000) volunteers to
serve for one, two, or three years. The quotas of the States, districts,
and subdistricts under this call will be assigned by the War Department
through the bureau of the Provost-Marshal-General of the United States,
and "in case the quota or any part thereof of any town, township, ward
of a city, precinct, or election district, or of any county not so
subdivided, shall not be filled" before the 15th day of February, 1865,
then a draft shall be made to fill such quota or any part thereof under
this call which may be unfilled on said 15th day of February, 1865.

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 19th day of December, 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 St. Albans, 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 10th day of January, A.D. 1865, 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.

Whereas objects of interest to the United States require that the Senate
should be convened at 12 o'clock on the 4th of March next to receive and
act upon such communications as may be made to it on the part of the
Executive:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, have
considered it to be my duty to issue this my proclamation, declaring
that an extraordinary occasion requires the Senate of the United States
to convene for the transaction of business at the Capitol, in the city
of Washington, on the 4th day of March next, at 12 o'clock at noon on
that day, of which all who shall at that time be entitled to act as
members of that body are hereby required to take notice.

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at Washington, the
17th day of February, A.D. 1865, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the eighty-ninth.

[SEAL.]

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.




EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, _December 10, 1864_.

_Ordered_, first. That Major-General William F. Smith and the Hon. Henry
Stanbery be, and they are hereby, appointed special commissioners to
investigate and report, for the information of the President, upon the
civil and military administration in the military division bordering
upon and west of the Mississippi, under such instructions as shall be
issued by authority of the President and the War Department.

Second. Said commissioners shall have power to examine witnesses upon
oath, and to take such proofs, orally or in writing, upon the
subject-matters of investigation as they may deem expedient, and return
the same together with their report.

Third. All officers and persons in the military, naval, and revenue
services, or in any branch of the public service under the authority of
the United States Government, are required, upon subpoena issued by
direction of the said commissioners, to appear before them at such time
and place as may be designated in said subpoena and to give testimony on
oath touching such matters as may be inquired of by the commissioners,
and to produce such books, papers, writings, and documents as they may
be notified or required to produce by the commissioners, and as may be
in their possession.

Fourth. Said special commissioners shall also investigate and report
upon any other matters that may hereafter be directed by the Secretary
of War, and shall with all convenient dispatch make report to him in
writing of their investigation, and shall also from time to time make
special reports to the Secretary of War upon such matters as they may
deem of importance to the public interests.

Fifth. The Secretary of War shall assign to the said commissioners such
aid and assistance as may be required for the performance of their
duties, and make such just and reasonable allowances and compensation
for the said commissioners and for the persons employed by them as he
may deem proper.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, December 17, 1864_.

The President directs that, except immigrant passengers directly
entering an American port by sea, henceforth no traveler shall be
allowed to enter the United States from a foreign country without a
passport. If a citizen, the passport must be from this Department or
from some United States minister or consul abroad; and if an alien, from
the competent authority of his own country, the passport to be
countersigned by a diplomatic agent or consul of the United States. This
regulation is intended to apply especially to persons proposing to come
to the United States from the neighboring British Provinces. Its
observance will be strictly enforced by all officers, civil, military,
and naval, in the service of the United States, and the State and
municipal authorities are requested to aid in its execution. It is
expected, however, that no immigrant passenger coming in manner
aforesaid will be obstructed, or any other persons who may set out on
their way hither before intelligence of this regulation could reasonably
be expected to reach the country from which they may have started.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.



WASHINGTON, D.C., _December 31, 1864_.

By the authority conferred upon the President of the United States by
the second section of the act of Congress approved July 2, 1864,
entitled "An act to amend an act to aid in the construction of a
railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific
Ocean," etc., I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
hereby designate the Merchants' National Bank, Boston; the Chicago and
Rock Island Railroad Company's office, Chicago; the First National Bank
at Philadelphia; the First National Bank at Baltimore; the First
National Bank at Cincinnati, and the Third National Bank at St. Louis,
in addition to the general office of the Union Pacific Railroad Company
in the city of New York, as the places at which the said Union Pacific
Railroad Company shall cause books to be kept open to receive
subscriptions to the capital stock of said company.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington City, January 20, 1865_.

_Ordered_, That no clearances for the exportation of hay from the United
States be granted until further orders, unless the same shall have been
placed on shipboard before the publication hereof.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



EXECUTIVE MANSION,

_Washington City, February 6, 1865_.

Whereas complaints are made in some localities respecting the
assignments of quotas and credits allowed for the pending call of troops
to fill up the armies:

Now, in order to determine all controversies in respect thereto and
to avoid any delay in filling up the armies, it is ordered that the
Attorney-General, Brigadier-General Richard Delafield, and Colonel C. W.
Foster be, and they are hereby, constituted a board to examine into the
proper quotas and credits of the respective States and districts under
the call of December 19, 1864, with directions, if any errors be found
therein, to make such corrections as the law and facts may require and
report their determination to the Provost-Marshal-General. The
determination of said board to be final and conclusive, and the draft to
be made in conformity therewith.

2. The Provost-Marshal-General is ordered to make the draft in the
respective districts as speedily as the same can be done after the 15th
of this month.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



WASHINGTON, _February 13, 1865_.

_To the Military Officers Commanding in West Tennessee_:

While I can not order as within requested, allow me to say that it is
my wish for you to relieve the people from all burdens, harassments,
and oppressions so far as is possible consistently with your military
necessities; that the object of the war being to restore and maintain
the blessings of peace and good government, I desire you to help, and
not hinder, every advance in that direction.

Of your military necessities you must judge and execute, but please do
so in the spirit and with the purpose above indicated.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



[From the Daily National Intelligencer, February 22, 1865.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, February 21, 1865_.

The Department buildings will be illuminated on the night of
Washington's birthday, in honor of the recent triumphs of the Union.

By order of the President:

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.




SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.


Fellow-Countrymen: At this second appearing to take the oath of the
Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than
there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course
to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four
years, during which public declarations have been constantly called
forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs
the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is
new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else
chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is,
I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope
for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were
anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought
to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this
place, devoted altogether to _saving_ the Union without war, insurgent
agents were in the city seeking to _destroy_ it without war--seeking to
dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties
deprecated war, but one of them would _make_ war rather than let the
nation survive, and the other would _accept_ war rather than let it
perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed
generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it.
These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew
that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen,
perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the
insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government
claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement
of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration
which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the _cause_ of
the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should
cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental
and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and
each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men
should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from
the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not
judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has
been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the
world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but
woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that
American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of
God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed
time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South
this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came,
shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes
which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we
hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily
pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled
by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall
be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid
by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago,
so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and
righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the
right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the
work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who
shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves
and with all nations.

MARCH 4, 1865.




SPECIAL MESSAGES.


WASHINGTON, D.C., _March 8, 1865_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

The fourth section of the law of 16th January, 1857, provides that
reserved officers may be promoted on the reserved list, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, and under this authority various
officers of the Navy have been promoted one grade from time to time.

I therefore nominate Commander John J. Young, now on the reserved list,
to be a captain in the Navy on the reserved list from the 12th August,
1854, the date when he was entitled to his regular promotion had he not
been overslaughed. It is due to this officer to state that he was passed
over in consequence of physical disability, this disability having
occurred in the discharge of his duties; and prior to his misfortune
he bore the reputation of an efficient and correct officer, and
subsequently has evinced a willingness to perform whatever duties were
assigned him.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.



WASHINGTON, _March 8, 1865_.

_To the Senate of the United States_:

In answer to the Senate's resolution of the 6th instant, requesting the
return of a certain joint resolution,[16] I transmit a report from the
Secretary of State.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

[Footnote 16: Entitled "Joint resolution in relation to certain
railroads."]




PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas the twenty-first section of the act of Congress approved on the
3d instant, entitled "An act to amend the several acts heretofore passed
to provide for the enrolling and calling out the national forces and
for other purposes," requires "that, in addition to the other lawful
penalties of the crime of desertion from the military or naval service,
all persons who have deserted the military or naval service of the
United States who shall not return to said service or report themselves
to a provost-marshal within sixty days after the proclamation
hereinafter mentioned shall be deemed and taken to have voluntarily
relinquished and forfeited their rights of citizenship and their rights
to become citizens, and such deserters shall be forever incapable of
holding any office of trust or profit under the United States or of
exercising any rights of citizens thereof; and all persons who shall
hereafter desert the military or naval service, and all persons who,
being duly enrolled, shall depart the jurisdiction of the district in
which he is enrolled or go beyond the limits of the United States with
intent to avoid any draft into the military or naval service duly
ordered, shall be liable to the penalties of this section. And the
President is hereby authorized and required, forthwith on the passage of
this act, to issue his proclamation setting forth the provisions of this
section, in which proclamation the President is requested to notify all
deserters returning within sixty days as aforesaid that they shall be
pardoned on condition of returning to their regiments and companies or
to such other organizations as they may be assigned to until they shall
have served for a period of time equal to their original term of
enlistment."

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, do issue this my proclamation, as required by said act,
ordering and requiring all deserters to return to their proper posts;
and I do hereby notify them that all deserters who shall, within sixty
days from the date of this proclamation, viz, on or before the 10th day
of May, 1865, return to service or report themselves to a
provost-marshal shall be pardoned, on condition that they return to
their regiments and companies or to such other organizations as they may
be assigned to and serve the remainder of their original terms of
enlistment and in addition thereto a period equal to the time lost by
desertion.

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 11th day of March, A.D. 1865, 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 reliable information has been received that hostile Indians
within the limits of the United States have been furnished with arms and
munitions of war by persons dwelling in conterminous foreign territory,
and are thereby enabled to prosecute their savage warfare upon the
exposed and sparse settlements of the frontier:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim and direct that all persons
detected in that nefarious traffic shall be arrested and tried by
court-martial at the nearest military post, and if convicted shall
receive the punishment due to their deserts.

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 17th day of March, A.D. 1865, 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 proclamations of the 19th and 27th days of April, A.D.
1861, the ports of the United States in the States of Virginia, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Texas were declared to be subject to blockade; but

Whereas the said blockade has, in consequence of actual military
occupation by this Government, since been conditionally set aside or
relaxed in respect to the ports of Norfolk and Alexandria, in the State
of Virginia; Beaufort, in the State of North Carolina; Port Royal, in
the State of South Carolina; Pensacola and Fernandina, in the State of
Florida; and New Orleans, in the State of Louisiana; and

Whereas by the fourth section of the act of Congress approved on the
13th of July, 1861, entitled "An act further to provide or the
collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes," the President,
for the reasons therein set forth, is authorized to close certain ports
of entry:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of
the United States, do hereby proclaim that the ports of Richmond,
Tappahannock, Cherrystone, Yorktown, and Petersburg, in Virginia;
of Camden (Elizabeth City), Edenton, Plymouth, Washington, Newbern,
Ocracoke, and Wilmington, in North Carolina; of Charleston, Georgetown,
and Beaufort, in South Carolina; of Savannah, St. Marys, and Brunswick
(Darien), in Georgia; of Mobile, in Alabama; of Pearl River
(Shields-boro), Natchez, and Vicksburg, in Mississippi; of St.
Augustine, Key West, St. Marks (Port Leon), St. Johns (Jacksonville),
and Apalachicola, in Florida; of Teche (Franklin), in Louisiana; of
Galveston, La Salle, Brazos de Santiago (Point Isabel), and Brownsville,
in Texas, are hereby closed, and all right of importation, warehousing,
and other privileges shall, in respect to the ports aforesaid, cease
until they shall have again been opened by order of the President; and
if while said ports are so closed any ship or vessel from beyond the
United States or having on board any articles subject to duties shall
attempt to enter any such port, the same, together with its tackle,
apparel, furniture, and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United 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 11th day of April, A.D. 1865, 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.

Whereas by my proclamation of this date the port of Key West, in the
State of Florida, was inadvertently included among those which are not
open to commerce:

Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the
United States, do hereby declare and make known that the said port of
Key West is and shall remain open to foreign and domestic commerce upon
the same conditions by which that commerce has there hitherto been
governed.

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 11th day of April, A.D. 1865, 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.

Whereas for some time past vessels of war of the United States have been
refused in certain foreign ports privileges and immunities to which they
were entitled by treaty, public law, or the comity of nations, at the
same time that vessels of war of the country wherein the said privileges
and immunities have been withheld have enjoyed them fully and
uninterruptedly in ports of the United States, which condition of things
has not always been forcibly resisted by the United States, although, on
the other hand, they have not at any time failed to protest against and
declare their dissatisfaction with the same. In the view of the United
States, no condition any longer exists which can be claimed to justify
the denial to them by any one of such nations of customary naval rights
as has heretofore been so unnecessarily persisted in.

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do
hereby make known that if after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for
intelligence of this proclamation to have reached any foreign country in
whose ports the said privileges and immunities shall have been refused
as aforesaid they shall continue to be so refused, then and thenceforth
the same privileges and immunities shall be refused to the vessels of
war of that country in the ports of the United States; and this refusal
shall continue until war vessels of the United States shall have been
placed upon an entire equality in the foreign ports aforesaid with
similar vessels of other countries. The United States, whatever claim or
pretense may have existed heretofore, are now, at least, entitled to
claim and concede an entire and friendly equality of rights and
hospitalities with all maritime nations.

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 11th day of April, A.D. 1865, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-ninth.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.




EXECUTIVE ORDERS.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, March 8_.

Whereas, pursuant to the order of the President of the United States,
directions were issued from this Department, under date of the 17th of
December, 1864, requiring passports from all travelers entering the
United States, except immigrant passengers directly entering an American
port from a foreign country; but whereas information has recently been
received which affords reasonable grounds to expect that Her Britannic
Majesty's Government and the executive and legislative branches of the
government of Canada have taken and will continue to take such steps as
may be looked for from a friendly neighbor and will be effectual toward
preventing hostile incursions from Canadian territory into the United
States, the President directs that from and after this date the order
above referred to requiring passports shall be modified, and so much
thereof as relates to persons entering this country from Canada shall be
rescinded, saving and reserving the order in all other respects in full
force.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.



DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, March 14, 1865_.

The President directs that all persons who now are or hereafter shall be
found within the United States who have been engaged in holding
intercourse or trade with the insurgents by sea, if they are citizens of
the United States or domiciled aliens, shall be arrested and held as
prisoners of war until the war shall close, subject, nevertheless, to
prosecution, trial, and conviction for any offense committed by them as
spies or otherwise against the laws of war. The President further
directs that all nonresident foreigners who now are or hereafter shall
be found in the United States, and who have been or shall have been
engaged in violating the blockade of the insurgent ports, shall leave
the United States within twelve days from the publication of this order,
or from their subsequent arrival in the United States, if on the
Atlantic side, and forty days if on the Pacific side, of the country;
and such persons shall not return to the United States during the
continuance of the war. Provost-marshals and marshals of the United
States will arrest and commit to military custody all such offenders as
shall disregard this order, whether they have passports or not, and they
will be detained in such custody until the end of the war, or until
discharged by subsequent orders of the President.

W.H. SEWARD,
_Secretary of State_.



GENERAL ORDERS, No. 50.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

_Washington, March 27, 1865_.

_Ordered_, first. That at the hour of noon on the 14th day of April,
1865, Brevet Major-General Anderson will raise and plant upon the ruins
of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, the same United States flag which
floated over the battlements of that fort during the rebel assault, and
which was lowered and saluted by him and the small force of his command
when the works were evacuated on the 14th day of April, 1861.

Second. That the flag, when raised, be saluted by one hundred guns from
Fort Sumter and by a national salute from every fort and rebel battery
that fired upon Fort Sumter.

Third. That suitable ceremonies be had upon the occasion, under the
direction of Major-General William T. Sherman, whose military operations
compelled the rebels to evacuate Charleston, or, in his absence, under
the charge of Major-General Q.A. Gillmore, commanding the department.
Among the ceremonies will be the delivery of a public address by the
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.

Fourth. That the naval forces at Charleston and their commander on that
station be invited to participate in the ceremonies of the occasion.

By order of the President of the United States:

EDWIN M. STANTON,

_Secretary of War_.

_To all whom these presents may concern_:

Whereas for some time past evil-disposed persons have crossed the
borders of the United States or entered their ports by sea from
countries where they are tolerated, and have committed capital felonies
against the property and life of American citizens; as well in the
cities as in the rural districts of the country:

Now, therefore, in the name and by the authority of the President of the
United States, I do hereby make known that a reward of $1,000 will be
paid at this Department for the capture of each of such offenders, upon
his conviction by a civil or military tribunal, to whomsoever shall
arrest and deliver such offenders into the custody of the civil or
military authorities of the United States. And the like reward will be
paid upon the same terms for the capture of any such persons so entering
the United States whose offenses shall be committed subsequently to the
publication of this notice.

A reward of $500 will be paid upon conviction for the arrest of any
person who shall have aided and abetted offenders of the class before
named within the territory of the United States.

Given under my hand and the seal of the Department of State, at
Washington, this 4th day of April, A.D. 1865.

[SEAL.]

WILLIAM H. SEWARD,

_Secretary of State_.




DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.


ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE VICE-PRESIDENT.

[From the original, Department of State.]

WASHINGTON CITY, D.C.,

_April 15, 1865_.

ANDREW JOHNSON,

_Vice-President of the United States_.

SIR: Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, was shot by an
assassin last evening at Ford's Theater, in this city, and died at the
hour of twenty-two minutes after 7 o'clock.

About the same time at which the President was shot an assassin entered
the sick chamber of the Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and
stabbed him in several places--in the throat, neck, and face--severely
if not mortally wounding him. Other members of the Secretary's family
were dangerously wounded by the assassin while making his escape. By the
death of President Lincoln the office of President has devolved, under
the Constitution, upon you. The emergency of the Government demands that
you should immediately qualify, according to the requirements of the
Constitution, and enter upon the duties of President of the United
States. If you will please make known your pleasure, such arrangements
as you deem proper will be made.

Your obedient servants,

HUGH McCULLOCH,
_Secretary of the Treasury_.

EDWIN M. STANTON,
_Secretary of War_.

GIDEON WELLES,
_Secretary of Navy_.

W. DENNISON,
_Postmaster-General_.

J.P. USHER,
_Secretary of the Interior_.

JAMES SPEED,
_Attorney-General_.



[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 17, 1865.]

The Vice-President responded that it would be agreeable to him to
qualify himself for the high office to which he had been so unexpectedly
called, under such melancholy circumstances, at his rooms at the
Kirkwood Hotel; and at 11 o'clock a.m. [15th] the oath of office was
administered to him by Chief Justice Chase, of the Supreme Court of the
United States, in the presence of nearly all the Cabinet officers; the
Hon. Solomon Foot, United States Senator from Vermont; the Hon.
Alexander Ramsey, United States Senator from Minnesota; the Hon. Richard
Yates, United States Senator from Illinois; the Hon. John. P. Hale, late
Senator from New Hampshire; General Farnsworth, of the House of
Representatives, from Illinois; F.P. Blair, sr.; Hon. Montgomery Blair,
late Post master-General, and some others.

[For Inaugural Address of President Johnson, see pp. 305-306.]



ANNOUNCEMENT TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES ABROAD.

[From official records, Department of State.]

CIRCULAR.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

SIR: The melancholy duty devolves upon me officially to apprise you of
the assassination of the President at Ford's Theater, in this city, in
the evening of the 14th instant. He died the next morning from the
effects of the wound.

About the same time an attempt was made to assassinate the Secretary of
State in his own house, where he was in bed suffering from the effects
of the late accident. The attempt failed, but Mr. Seward was severely
cut, on the face especially, it is supposed with a bowie knife. Mr. F.W.
Seward was felled by a blow or blows on the head, and for some time
afterwards was apparently unconscious. Both the Secretary and Assistant
Secretary are better, especially the former.

Andrew Johnson has formally entered upon the duties of President. I have
been authorized temporarily to act as Secretary of State.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

W. HUNTER,

_Acting Secretary_.



ANNOUNCEMENT TO REPRESENTATIVES OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS IN THE UNITED
STATES.

[From official records, Department of State.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, April 15, 1865_.

SIR: It is my great misfortune to be obliged to inform you of events not
less afflicting to the people of the United States than distressing to
my own feelings and the feelings of all those connected with the
Government.

The President of the United States was shot with a pistol last night,
while attending a theater in this city, and expired this morning from
the effects of the wound. At about the same time an attempt was made to
assassinate the Secretary of State, which, though it fortunately failed,
left him severely, but it is hoped not dangerously, wounded with a knife
or dagger. Mr. F.W. Seward was also struck on the head with a heavy
weapon, and is in a critical condition from the effect of the blows.

Pursuant to the provision of the Constitution of the United States,
Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, has formally assumed the functions
of President. I have by him been authorized to perform the duties of
Secretary of State until otherwise ordered.

I avail myself of the occasion to offer to you the assurance of my
distinguished consideration.

W. HUNTER,

_Acting Secretary_.



ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE ARMY.

[From official records, War Department.]

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 66.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

_Washington, April 16, 1865_.

The following order of the Secretary of War announces to the armies of
the United States the untimely and lamentable death of the illustrious
Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United States:

WAR DEPARTMENT, _Washington City, April 16, 1865_.

The distressing duty has devolved upon the Secretary of War to announce
to the armies of the United States that at twenty-two minutes after
7 o'clock on the morning of Saturday, the 15th day of April, 1865,
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, died of a mortal wound
inflicted upon him by an assassin.

The armies of the United States will share with their fellow-citizens
the feelings of grief and horror inspired by this most atrocious murder
of their great and beloved President and Commander in Chief, and with
profound sorrow will mourn his death as a national calamity.

The headquarters of every department, post, station, fort, and arsenal
will be draped in mourning for thirty days, and appropriate funeral
honors will be paid by every army, and in every department, and at every
military post, and at the Military Academy at West Point, to the memory
of the late illustrious Chief Magistrate of the nation and Commander in
Chief of its armies.

Lieutenant-General Grant will give the necessary instructions for
carrying this order into effect.

EDWIN M. STANTON,

_Secretary of War_.


On the day after the receipt of this order at the headquarters of each
military division, department, army, post, station, fort, and arsenal
and at the Military Academy at West Point the troops and cadets will be
paraded at 10 o'clock a. m. and the order read to them, after which all
labors and operations for the day will cease and be suspended as far as
practicable in a state of war.

The national flag will be displayed at half-staff.

At dawn of day thirteen guns will be fired, and afterwards at intervals
of thirty minutes between the rising and setting sun a single gun, and
at the close of the day a national salute of thirty-six guns.

The officers of the armies of the United States will wear the badge of
mourning on the left arm and on their swords and the colors of their
commands and regiments will be put in mourning for the period of six
months.

By command of Lieutenant-General Grant:

W.A. NICHOLS,

_Assistant Adjutant-General_.



ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE NAVY.

[From General Orders and Circulars, Navy Department, 1863 to 1887.]

GENERAL ORDER No. 51.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, _Washington, April 15, 1865_.

The Department announces with profound sorrow to the officers and men of
the Navy and Marine Corps the death of Abraham Lincoln, late President
of the United States. Stricken down by the hand of an assassin on the
evening of the 14th instant, when surrounded by his family and friends,
he lingered a few hours after receiving the fatal wound, and died at 7
o'clock 22 minutes this morning.

A grateful people had given their willing confidence to the patriot and
statesman under whose wise and successful administration the nation was
just emerging from the civil strife which for four years has afflicted
the land when this terrible calamity fell upon the country. To him our
gratitude was justly due, for to him, under God, more than to any other
person, are we indebted for the successful vindication of the integrity
of the Union and the maintenance of the power of the Republic.

The officers of the Navy and of the Marine Corps will, as a
manifestation of their respect for the exalted character, eminent
position, and inestimable public services of the late President, and as
an indication of their sense of the calamity which the country has
sustained, wear the usual badge of mourning for six months.

The Department further directs that upon the day following the receipt
of this order the commandants of squadrons, navy-yards, and stations
will cause the ensign of every vessel in their several commands to be
hoisted at half-mast, and a gun to be fired every half hour, beginning
at sunrise and ending at sunset. The flags of the several navy-yards and
marine barracks will also be hoisted at half-mast.

GIDEON WELLES,
_Secretary of the Navy_.



ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE REVENUE MARINE.

[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 18, 1865.]

GENERAL ORDER.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, _April 17, 1865_.

The Secretary of the Treasury with profound sorrow announces to the
Revenue Marine the death of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the
United States. He died in this city on the morning of the 15th instant,
at twenty-two minutes past 7 o'clock.

The officers of the Revenue Marine will, as a manifestation of their
respect for the exalted character and eminent public services of the
illustrious dead and of their sense of the calamity the country has
sustained by this afflicting dispensation of Providence, wear crape on
the left arm and upon the hilt of the sword for six months.

It is further directed that funeral honors be paid on board all revenue
vessels in commission by firing thirty-six minute guns, commencing at
meridian, on the day after the receipt of this order, and by wearing
their flags at half-mast.

HUGH McCULLOCH,

_Secretary of the Treasury_



ACTION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN WASHINGTON.

[From Appendix to Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham
Lincoln.]

The members of the Thirty-ninth Congress then in Washington met in the
Senate reception room, at the Capitol, on the 17th of April, 1865, at
noon. Hon. Lafayette S. Foster, of Connecticut, President _pro tempore_
of the Senate, was called to the chair, and the Hon. Schuyler Colfax, of
Indiana, Speaker of the House in the Thirty-eighth Congress, was chosen
secretary.

Senator Foot, of Vermont, who was visibly affected, stated that the
object of the meeting was to make arrangements relative to the funeral
of the deceased President of the United States.

On motion of Senator Sumner, of Massachusetts, a committee of five
members from each House was ordered to report at 4 p.m. what action
would be fitting for the meeting to take.

The chairman appointed Senators Sumner, of Massachusetts; Harris, of
New York; Johnson, of Maryland; Ramsey, of Minnesota, and Conness, of
California, and Representatives Washburne, of Illinois; Smith, of
Kentucky; Schenck, of Ohio; Pike, of Maine, and Coffroth, of
Pennsylvania; and on motion of Mr. Schenck the chairman and secretary of
the meeting were added to the committee, and then the meeting adjourned
until 4 p.m.

The meeting reassembled at 4 p.m., pursuant to adjournment.

Mr. Sumner, from the committee heretofore appointed, reported that they
had selected as pallbearers on the part of the Senate Mr. Foster, of
Connecticut; Mr. Morgan, of New York; Mr. Johnson, of Maryland; Mr.
Yates, of Illinois; Mr. Wade, of Ohio, and Mr. Conness, of California;
on the part of the House, Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts; Mr. Coffroth,
of Pennsylvania; Mr. Smith, of Kentucky; Mr. Colfax, of Indiana;
Mr. Worthington, of Nevada, and Mr. Washburne, of Illinois.

They also recommended the appointment of one member of Congress from
each State and Territory to act as a Congressional committee to
accompany the remains of the late President to Illinois, and presented
the following names as such committee, the chairman of the meeting
to have the authority of appointing hereafter for the States and
Territories not represented to-day from which members may be present
at the Capitol by the day of the funeral.

Maine, Mr. Pike; New Hampshire, Mr. E.H. Rollins; Vermont, Mr. Foot;
Massachusetts, Mr. Sumner; Rhode Island, Mr. Anthony; Connecticut, Mr.
Dixon; New York, Mr. Harris; Pennsylvania, Mr. Cowan; Ohio, Mr. Schenck;
Kentucky, Mr. Smith; Indiana, Mr. Julian; Illinois, the delegation;
Michigan, Mr. Chandler; Iowa, Mr. Harlan; California, Mr. Shannon;
Minnesota, Mr. Ramsey; Oregon, Mr. Williams; Kansas, Mr. S. Clarke;
West Virginia, Mr. Whaley; Nevada, Mr. Nye; Nebraska, Mr. Hitchcock;
Colorado, Mr. Bradford; Dakota, Mr. Todd; Idaho, Mr. Wallace.

The committee also recommended the adoption of the following resolution:

_Resolved_, That the Sergeants-at-Arms of the Senate and House, with
their necessary assistants, be requested to attend the committee
accompanying the remains of the late President, and to make all the
necessary arrangements.

All of which was concurred in unanimously.

Mr. Sumner, from the same committee, also reported the following, which
was unanimously agreed to:

The members of the Senate and House of Representatives now assembled in
Washington, humbly confessing their dependence upon Almighty God, who
rules all that is done for human good, make haste at this informal
meeting to express the emotions with which they have been filled by the
appalling tragedy which has deprived the nation of its head and covered
the land with mourning; and in further declaration of their sentiments
unanimously resolve:

1. That in testimony of their veneration and affection for the
illustrious dead, who has been permitted, under Providence, to do so
much for his country and for liberty, they will unite in the funeral
services and by an appropriate committee will accompany his remains to
their place of burial in the State from which he was taken for the
national service.

2. That in the life of Abraham Lincoln, who by the benignant favor of
republican institutions rose from humble beginnings to the heights of
power and fame, they recognize an example of purity, simplicity, and
virtue which should be a lesson to mankind, while in his death they
recognize a martyr whose memory will become more precious as men
learn to prize those principles of constitutional order and those
rights--civil, political, and human--for which he was made a sacrifice.

3. That they invite the President of the United States, by solemn
proclamation, to recommend to the people of the United States to
assemble on a day to be appointed by him, publicly to testify their
grief and to dwell on the good which has been done on earth by him whom
we now mourn.

4. That a copy of these resolutions be communicated to the President of
the United States, and also that a copy be communicated to the afflicted
widow of the late President as an expression of sympathy in her great
bereavement.


The meeting then adjourned.



ORDERS OF THE HEADS OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS.

[From official records, Department of State.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

It is hereby ordered that, in honor to the memory of our late
illustrious Chief Magistrate, all officers and others subject to the
orders of the Secretary of State wear crape upon the left arm for the
period of six months.

W. HUNTER,

_Acting Secretary_.



[From official records, Treasury Department.]

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

It is hereby ordered that, in honor to the memory of our late
illustrious Chief Magistrate, all officers and others subject to the
orders of the Secretary of the Treasury wear crape upon the left arm for
the period of six months.

H. McCULLOCH,

_Secretary of the Treasury_.



[From official records, War Department.]

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 69.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

By direction of the President of the United States the War Department
will be closed on Wednesday next, the day of the funeral of the late
President of the United States.

Labor on that day will be suspended at all military posts and on all
public works under the direction of the War Department. The flags at all
military posts, stations, forts, and buildings will be kept at
half-staff during the day, and at 12 o'clock m. twenty-one minute guns
will be fired from all forts and at all military posts and at the
Military Academy.

By order of the Secretary of War:

W.A. NICHOLS,

_Assistant Adjutant-General_.



[From General Orders and Circulars, Navy Department, 1863 to 1887.]

SPECIAL ORDER.

APRIL 17, 1865.

By order of the President of the United States the Navy Department will
be closed on Wednesday next, the day of the funeral solemnities of the
late President of the United States. Labor will also be suspended on
that day at each of the navy-yards and naval stations and upon all the
vessels of the United States. The flags of all vessels and at all the
navy yards and stations and marine barracks will be kept at half-mast
during the day, and at 12 o'clock m. twenty-one minute guns will be
fired by the senior officer of each squadron and the commandants of the
navy yards and stations.

GIDEON WELLES,

_Secretary of the Navy_.



[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 18, 1865.]

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

_To Deputy Postmasters_:

Business in all the post-offices of the United States will be suspended
and the offices closed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the 19th
instant, during the funeral solemnities of Abraham Lincoln, late
President of the United States.

W. DENNISON,

_Postmaster-General_.



[From official records, Post-Office Department.]

SPECIAL ORDER.

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

_Washington, April 18, 1865_.

It is hereby ordered that, in honor of the memory of Abraham Lincoln,
our lamented Chief Magistrate, the officers and employees of this
Department wear crape upon the left arm for the period of six months.

W. DENNISON,
_Postmaster-General_.



[From official records, Department of the Interior.]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

_Washington, April 18, 1865_.

It is hereby ordered that, in honor of the memory of the late Chief
Magistrate of the nation, the officers and employees of this Department
wear crape upon the left arm for the period of six months.

J.P. USHER,

_Secretary_.



FUNERAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PUBLIC.

[From the Daily National Intelligencer, April 17, 1865.]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

_To the People of the United States_:

The undersigned is directed to announce that the funeral ceremonies of
the late lamented Chief Magistrate will take place at the Executive
Mansion, in this city, at 12 o'clock m. on Wednesday, the 19th instant.

The various religious denominations throughout the country are invited
to meet in their respective places of worship at that hour for the
purpose of solemnizing the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.

W. HUNTER,

_Acting Secretary of State_.



OFFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNERAL.

[From official records, War Department.]

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

_Washington, April 17, 1865_.

The following order of arrangement is directed:


ORDER OF THE PROCESSION.

FUNERAL ESCORT.
(In column of march.)

One regiment of cavalry.
Two batteries of artillery.
Battalion of marines.
Two regiments of infantry.
Commander of escort and staff.
Dismounted officers of Marine Corps, Navy, and Army,
in the order named.
Mounted officers of Marine Corps, Navy, and Army, in the order named.
(All military officers to be in uniform, with side arms.)

CIVIC PROCESSION.
Marshal.
Clergy in attendance.
The Surgeon-General of the United States Army and physicians
to the deceased.
Hearse.

_Pallbearers_.

On the part of the Senate: Mr. Foster, of Connecticut; Mr. Morgan, of
New York; Mr. Johnson, of Maryland; Mr. Yates, of Illinois; Mr. Wade,
of Ohio; Mr. Conness, of California.

On the part of the House: Mr. Dawes, of Massachusetts; Mr. Coffroth,
of Pennsylvania; Mr. Smith, of Kentucky; Mr. Colfax, of Indiana; Mr.
Worthington, of Nevada; Mr. Washburne, of Illinois.

Army: Lieutenant-General U.S. Grant; Major-General H.W. Halleck;
Brevet Brigadier-General W.A. Nichols.

Navy: Vice-Admiral D.G. Farragut; Rear-Admiral W.B. Shubrick; Colonel
Jacob Zelin, Marine Corps.

Civilians: O.H. Browning, George Ashman, Thomas Corwin, Simon Cameron.

Family.
Relatives.
The delegations of the States of Illinois and Kentucky, as mourners.
The President.
The Cabinet ministers.
The diplomatic corps.
Ex-Presidents.
The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court.
The Senate of the United States.
Preceded by their officers.
Members of the House of Representatives of the United States.
Governors of the several States and Territories.
Legislatures of the several States and Territories.
The Federal judiciary and the judiciary of the several States and
Territories.
The Assistant Secretaries of State, Treasury, War, Navy, Interior, and
the Assistant Postmasters-General, and the Assistant Attorney-General.
Officers of the Smithsonian Institution.
The members and officers of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions.
Corporate authorities of Washington, Georgetown, and other cities.
Delegations of the several States.
The reverend the clergy of the various denominations.
The clerks and employees of the several Departments and bureaus,
preceded by the heads of such bureaus and their respective chief
clerks.
Such societies as may wish to join the procession.
Citizens and strangers.


The troops designated to form the escort will assemble in the Avenue,
north of the President's house, and form line precisely at 11 o'clock
a.m. on Wednesday, the 19th instant, with the left resting on Fifteenth
street. The procession will move precisely at 2 o'clock p.m., on the
conclusion of the religious services at the Executive Mansion (appointed
to commence at 12 o'clock m.), when minute guns will be fired by
detachments of artillery stationed near St. John's Church, the City
Hall, and at the Capitol. At the same hour the bells of the several
churches in Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria will be tolled.

At sunrise on Wednesday, the 19th instant, a Federal salute will be
fired from the military stations in the vicinity of Washington, minute
guns between the hours of 12 and 3 o'clock, and a national salute at the
setting of the sun.

The usual badge of mourning will be worn on the left arm and on the hilt
of the sword.

By order of the Secretary of War:

W.A. NICHOLS,

_Assistant Adjutant-General_.



The funeral ceremonies took place in the East Room of the Executive
Mansion at noon on the 19th of April, and the remains were then escorted
to the Capitol, where they lay in state in the Rotunda.

On the morning of April 21 the remains were taken from the Capitol and
placed in a funeral car, in which they were taken to Springfield, Ill.
Halting at the principal cities along the route, that appropriate honors
might be paid to the deceased, the funeral cortege arrived on the 3d of
May at Springfield, Ill., and the next day the remains were deposited in
Oak Ridge Cemetery, near that city.



GUARD OF HONOR.

[From official records, War Department.]

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 72.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,

_Washington, April 20, 1865_.

The following general officers and guard of honor will accompany the
remains of the late President from the city of Washington to Springfield,
the capital of the State of Illinois, and continue with them until they are
consigned to their final resting place:

Brevet Brigadier-General E.D. Townsend, Assistant Adjutant-General,
to represent the Secretary of War.

Brevet Brigadier-General Charles Thomas, Assistant
Quartermaster-General.[17]

[Footnote 17: Brevet Brigadier-General James A. Ekin, Quartermaster's
Department, United States Army, substituted.]

Brigadier-General A.B. Eaton, Commissary-General of Subsistence.

Brevet Major-General J.G. Barnard, Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers.

Brigadier-General G.D. Ramsay, Ordnance Department.

Brigadier-General A.P. Howe, Chief of Artillery.

Brevet Brigadier-General D.C. McCallum, Superintendent Military
Railroads.

Major-General D. Hunter, United States Volunteers.

Brigadier-General J.C. Caldwell, United States Volunteers.

Twenty-five picked men, under a captain.

By order of the Secretary of War:

E.D. TOWNSEND,

_Assistant Adjutant-General_.



[From official records, Navy Department.]

SPECIAL ORDER.

APRIL 20, 1865.

The following officers of the Navy and Marine Corps will accompany the
remains of the late President from the city of Washington to
Springfield, the capital of the State of Illinois, and continue with
them until they are consigned to their final resting place:

Rear-Admiral Charles Henry Davis, Chief Bureau Navigation.

Captain William Rogers Taylor, United States Navy.

Major Thomas V. Field, United States Marine Corps.

GIDEON WELLES,
_Secretary of the Navy_.



ACTION OF CONGRESS.

[From Appendix to Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham
Lincoln.]

President Johnson, in his annual message to Congress at the commencement
of the session of 1865-66, thus announced the death of his predecessor:

To express gratitude to God in the name of the people for the
preservation of the United States is my first duty in addressing you.
Our thoughts next revert to the death of the late President by an act of
parricidal treason. The grief of the nation is still fresh. It finds
some solace in the consideration that he lived to enjoy the highest
proof of its confidence by entering on the renewed term of the Chief
Magistracy to which he had been elected; that he brought the civil war
substantially to a close; that his loss was deplored in all parts of the
Union, and that foreign nations have rendered justice to his memory.

Hon. E.B. Washburne, of Illinois, immediately after the President's
message had been read in the House of Representatives, offered the
following joint resolution, which was unanimously adopted:

_Resolved_, That a committee of one member from each State represented
in this House be appointed on the part of this House, to join such
committee as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to consider and
report by what token of respect and affection it may be proper for the
Congress of the United States to express the deep sensibility of the
nation to the event of the decease of their late President, Abraham
Lincoln, and that so much of the message of the President as refers to
that melancholy event be referred to said committee.

On motion of Hon. Solomon Foot, the Senate unanimously concurred in the
passage of the resolution, and the following joint committee was
appointed, thirteen on the part of the Senate and one for every State
represented (twenty-four) on the part of the House of Representatives:

Senate: Hon. Solomon Foot, Vermont; Hon. Richard Yates, Illinois; Hon.
Benjamin F. Wade, Ohio; Hon. William Pitt Fessenden, Maine; Hon. Henry
Wilson, Massachusetts; Hon. James R. Doolittle, Wisconsin; Hon. James H.
Lane, Kansas; Hon. Ira Harris, New York; Hon. James W. Nesmith, Oregon;
Hon. Henry S. Lane, Indiana; Hon. Waitman T. Willey, West Virginia; Hon.
Charles R. Buckalew, Pennsylvania; Hon. John B. Henderson, Missouri.

House of Representatives: Hon. Elihu B. Washburne, Illinois; Hon. James
G. Blaine, Maine; Hon. James W. Patterson, New Hampshire; Hon. Justin S.
Morrill, Vermont; Hon. Nathaniel P. Banks, Massachusetts; Hon. Thomas A.
Jenckes, Rhode Island; Hon. Henry C. Deming, Connecticut; Hon. John A.
Griswold, New York; Hon. Edwin R.V. Wright, New Jersey; Hon. Thaddeus
Stevens, Pennsylvania; Hon. John A. Nicholson, Delaware; Hon. Francis
Thomas, Maryland; Hon. Robert C. Schenck, Ohio; Hon. George S. Shanklin,
Kentucky; Hon. Godlove S. Orth, Indiana; Hon. Joseph W. McClurg,
Missouri; Hon. Fernando C. Beaman, Michigan; Hon. John A. Kasson, Iowa;
Hon. Ithamar C. Sloan, Wisconsin; Hon. William Higby, California; Hon.
William Windom, Minnesota; Hon. J.H.D. Henderson, Oregon; Hon. Sidney
Clarke, Kansas; Hon. Kellian V. Whaley, West Virginia.

The joint committee, made the following report, which was concurred in
by both Houses _nem. con._:

Whereas the melancholy event of the violent and tragic death of Abraham
Lincoln, late President of the United States, having occurred during the
recess of Congress, and the two Houses sharing in the general grief and
desiring to manifest their sensibility upon the occasion of the public
bereavement: Therefore,

_Be it resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring)_, That the two Houses of Congress will assemble in the Hall
of the House of Representatives on Monday, the 12th day of February
next, that being his anniversary birthday, at the hour of 12 m., and
that, in the presence of the two Houses there assembled, an address upon
the life and character of Abraham Lincoln, late President of the United
States, be pronounced by Hon. Edwin M. Stanton,[18] and that the
President of the Senate _pro tempore_ and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives be requested to invite the President of the United
States, the heads of the several Departments, the judges of the Supreme
Court, the representatives of the foreign governments near this
Government, and such officers of the Army and Navy as have received the
thanks of Congress who may then be at the seat of Government to be


 


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