The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln — Volume 7: 1863-1865

Produced by David Widger





THE PAPERS AND WRITINGS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

VOLUME SEVEN

CONSTITUTIONAL EDITION

By Abraham Lincoln


Edited by Arthur Brooks Lapsley





THE WRITINGS OF A. LINCOLN, Volume Seven, 1863-1865




1863


OPINION ON THE LOSS OF GENERAL R. H. MILROY'S DIVISION.

October 27, 1863.

In June last a division was substantially lost at or near Winchester, Va.
At the time, it was under General Milroy as immediate commander in the
field, General Schenck as department commander at Baltimore, and General
Halleck as general-in-chief at Washington.

General Milroy, as immediate commander, was put in arrest, and
subsequently a court of inquiry examined chiefly with reference to
disobedience of orders, and reported the evidence.

The foregoing is a synoptical statement of the evidence, together with the
judge-advocate-general's conclusions. The disaster, when it came, was a
surprise to all. It was very well known to Generals Shenck and Milroy for
some time before, that General Halleck thought the division was in great
danger of a surprise at Winchester; that it was of no service commensurate
with the risk it incurred, and that it ought to be withdrawn; but,
although he more than once advised its withdrawal, he never positively
ordered it. General Schenck, on the contrary, believed the service of the
force at Winchester was worth the hazard, and so did not positively
order its withdrawal until it was so late that the enemy cut the wire and
prevented the order reaching General Milroy.

General Milroy seems to have concurred with General Schenck in the opinion
that the force should be kept at Winchester at least until the approach of
danger, but he disobeyed no order upon the subject.

Some question can be made whether some of General Halleck's dispatches to
General Schenk should not have been construed to be orders to withdraw the
force, and obeyed accordingly; but no such question can be made against
General Milroy. In fact, the last order he received was to be prepared to
withdraw, but not to actually withdraw until further order, which further
order never reached him.

Serious blame is not necessarily due to any serious disaster, and I cannot
say that in this case any of the officers are deserving of serious blame.
No court-martial is deemed necessary or proper in the case.


A. LINCOLN.




TO GENERAL SCHOFIELD.

Private and confidential

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, October 28, 1863.

GENERAL JOHN M. SCHOFIELD:

There have recently reached the War Department, and thence been laid
before me, from Missouri, three communications, all similar in import and
identical in object. One of them, addressed to nobody, and without place
or date, but having the signature of (apparently) the writer, is a letter
of eight closely written foolscap pages. The other two are written by
a different person, at St. Joseph, Mo., and of the dates, respectively,
October 12 and 13, 1863, and each inclosing a large number of affidavits.
The general statements of the whole are that the Federal and State
authorities are arming the disloyal and disarming the loyal, and that the
latter will all be killed or driven out of the State unless there shall be
a change. In particular, no loyal man who has been disarmed is named, but
the affidavits show by name forty-two persons as disloyal who have been
armed. They are as follows: [The names are omitted.]

A majority of these are shown to have been in the rebel service. I believe
it could be shown that the government here has deliberately armed more
than ten times as many captured at Gettysburg, to say nothing of similar
operations in East Tennessee. These papers contain altogether thirty--one
manuscript pages, and one newspaper in extenso, and yet I do not find it
anywhere charged in them that any loyal man has been harmed by reason of
being disarmed, or that any disloyal one has harmed anybody by reason of
being armed by the Federal or State Government. Of course, I have not had
time to carefully examine all; but I have had most of them examined and
briefed by others, and the result is as stated. The remarkable fact that
the actual evil is yet only anticipated--inferred--induces me to suppose I
understand the case; but I do not state my impression, because I might
be mistaken, and because your duty and mine is plain in any event. The
locality of nearly all this seems to be St. Joseph and Buchanan County.
I wish you to give special attention to this region, particularly on
election day. Prevent violence from whatever quarter, and see that the
soldiers themselves do no wrong.

Yours truly,


A. LINCOLN.




TELEGRAM TO GOVERNOR JOHNSON.

[Cipher.]

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C., October 28, 1863.

HON. ANDREW JOHNSON, Nashville, Tenn.: If not too inconvenient, please
come at once and have a personal conversation with me.


A. LINCOLN.