thority to detail from the retired list of the navy for the command of squadrons and single ships such officers as he may believe that the good of the service requires to be thus placed in command; and such officers may, if upon the recommendation of the President of the United States they shall receive a vote of thanks of Congress for their services and gallantry in action against an enemy, be restored to the active list, and not otherwise." In conformity with this law, Captain Louis M. Goldsborough, of the navy, was nominated to the Senate for continuance as the flag-officer in command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which recently rendered such important service to the Union in the expedition to the coast of North Carolina. Believing that no occasion could arise which would more fully correspond with the intention of the law or be more pregnant with happy influence as an example, I cordially recommend that Captain Louis M. Goldsborough receive a vote of thanks of Congress for his services and gallantry displayed in the combined attack of the forces commanded by him and Brigadier-General Burnside in the capture of Roanoke Island and the destruction of rebel gunboats on the 7th, 8th, and 10th of February, 1862. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. TO GENERAL H. W. HALLECK. 1 EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, MAJOR-GENERAL HALLECK, St. Louis, Missouri: You have Fort Donelson safe, unless Grant shall 10. R. A. be overwhelmed from outside; to prevent which latter will, I think, require all the vigilance, energy, and skill of yourself and Buell, acting in full co-operation. Columbus will not get at Grant, but the force from Bowling Green will. They hold the railroad from Bowling Green to within a few miles of Fort Donelson, with the bridge at Clarksville undisturbed. It is unsafe to rely that they will not dare to expose Nashville to Buell. A small part of their force can retire slowly toward Nashville, breaking up the railroad as they go, and keep Buell out of that city twenty days. Meanwhile Nashville will be abundantly defended by forces from all South and perhaps from here at Manassas. Could not a cavalry force from General Thomas on the upper Cumberland dash across, almost unresisted, and cut the railroad at or near Knoxville, Tennessee? In the midst of a bombardment at Fort Donelson, why could not a gunboat run up and destroy the bridge at Clarksville? Our success or failure at Fort Donelson is vastly important, and I beg you to put your soul in the effort. I send a copy of this to Buell. A. LINCOLN. PROCLAMATION CONCERNING WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1862. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A Proclamation. It is recommended to the people of the United States that they assemble in their customary places of meeting for public solemnities on the 22d day of February instant and celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the Father of his Country by causing to be read to them his immortal Farewell Address. Given under my hand and the seal of the United States, at Washington, the nineteenth day [SEAL.] of February, A.D. 1862, and of the independence of the United States of America the eighty-sixth. By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State. EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 2.-IN RELATION TO STATE PRISONERS. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON CITY, February 27, 1862. It is ordered: First. That a special commission of two persons, one of military rank and the other in civil life, be appointed to examine the cases of the state prisoners remaining in the military custody of the United States, and to determine whether in view of the public safety and the existing rebellion they should be discharged, or remain in military custody, or be remitted to the civil tribunals for trial. Second. That Major-General John A. Dix, commanding in Baltimore, and the Hon. Edwards Pierrepont, of New York, be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners for the purpose above mentioned; and they are authorized to examine, hear, and determine the cases aforesaid ex parte and in a summary manner, at such times and places as in their discretion they may appoint, and make full report to the War Department. By order of the President: EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War. ORDER RELATING TO COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. Considering that the existing circumstances of the country allow a partial restoration of commercial intercourse between the inhabitants of those parts of the United States heretofore declared to be in insurrection and the citizens of the loyal States of the Union, and exercising the authority and discretion confided to me by the act of Congress, approved July 13, 1861, entitled "An act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes," I hereby license and permit such commercial intercourse in all cases within the rules and regulations which have been or may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for conducting and carrying on the same on the inland waters and ways of the United States. WASHINGTON, February 28, 1862. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. SPEECH TO THE PERUVIAN MINISTER, WASHINGTON, D. C., MARCH 4, 1862.1 The United States have no enmities, animosities, or rivalries, and no interests which conflict with the 1 New York Herald. |