"No, no; there will be no shooting in this case. Henry M. Luckett ! There must be something wrong with him, or he wouldn't get into such a scrape as this."

The President dictated a despatch to General Hurlburt, in command of the Department at Memphis, directing him to suspend the execution till further orders.

"No; we will have no shooting in this case," he repeated, as if in soliloquy. The grateful petitioners took their departure, the daughter of the reprieved man laughing and crying by turns over the joy that had come to her. (*)

TRIBUTE

GETTYSBURG MONUMENT.

Congress was once more in session, listening to the annual message of the President. The year had been marked by great events. Dec. 7. Mr. Lincoln said:

"Eleven months having now passed, we are permitted to take another review. The rebel borders are pressed back still farther, and by the complete opening of the Mississippi the country dominated by the Rebellion is divided into distinct parts, with no political communication between them. Tennessee and Arkansas have been substantially cleared of insurgent control, and influential citizens in each-owners of slaves and advocates of slavery at the beginning of the Rebellion-now declare openly for emancipation in their respective States. Of those States not included in the Emancipation Proclamation-Maryland and Missouri-neither of which three years ago would tolerate any restraint upon the extension of slavery into new Territories, only dispute now as to the best mode of removing it within their own limits."

The proposition to employ negro troops had aroused much opposi

tion. The President had patiently waited for the time when he could use them as soldiers. General Butler had enlisted a regiment of free negroes in New Orleans in September, 1862. But negroes who had been slaves were also enlisting. President Lincoln's message on this subject read:

"Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the war, fully one hundred thousand are now in the United States military service. About one-half of these actually bear arms in the ranks, thus giving the double advantage of taking so much labor from the insurgent cause, and supplying the places which otherwise must be filled with so many white men. So far as tested, it is difficult to say that they are not as good soldiers as any."

All the predictions that the slaves would cut their masters' throats; that they were cowards and would run at the sound of a hostile shot, had been proven false. The enlistment of so many negroes made the men who were opposing the war very angry, but gave great satisfaction to the loyal people of the country.

The President presented a plan by which the seceded States might be restored to the Union. The message was accompanied by a procla mation which offered pardon and amnesty.

"He has struck another great blow," said Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts.

"It is," remarked Mr. Boutwell, from the same State, "a very able and shrewd paper. It has great points of popularity, and it is right." "I shall live to see slavery ended!" the gleeful words of Owen Lovejoy.

"God bless old Abe! I am one of the radicals who have always believed in him!" shouted Mr. Blow, member from Missouri.

"The message is highly satisfactory," the more quiet remark of Senator Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland.

There were few, if any, dissenting voices. Senator Sumner, who had been strenuous in maintaining his own theory of reconstruction, manifested his pleasure. Many members of Congress visited the White House to express their thanks and appreciation of what the President

had done.

NOTES TO CHAPTER XX.

() Zachariah Chandler, quoted in "Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln," p. 598. (2) James B. Rusling, Lecture before the Young Men's Christian Association, Trenton, N. J., 1892.

(*) James B. Fry, “Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln,” p. 402.

(*) "Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln," p. 599.

(') Edward McPherson to Author.

He

() Edward Everett was a native of Dorchester, Mass., born April 11, 1794. graduated at Harvard University, 1811, when but sixteen years old. He studied theology, and became pastor of the Brattle Street Unitarian Church at the age of twenty. In 1819 he became Professor of Greek in Harvard University; was member of Congress, 182535; Governor of Massachusetts four years, 1836-40. A law restricting the sale of intoxicating liquors in quantities less than fifteen gallons, passed by the Whig Party, created a revolution in public sentiment upon the question of temperance, which caused his defeat for a fifth term by one vote. He was appointed President of Harvard University, 1846, contiuning till 1849, when he succeeded Daniel Webster as Secretary of State. He became United States Senator, 1853, remaining till May, 1864. Mr. Everett was renowned for his scholarship, erudition, and oratory. An attempt was made by the "Mount Vernon Association" of women to purchase the estate of Washington on the banks of the Potomac. Funds were needed, and Mr. Everett, with a desire to promote so worthy an object, prepared a lecture upon Washington, which was given in most of the cities of the Union. The proceeds were devoted to its purchase. He also contributed a series of articles to the New York "Ledger," by which many thousand dollars were obtained. He wrote a biography of Daniel Webster and edited his speeches. Mr. Everett was nominated as candidate for Vice-president in 1860, on a ticket with John Bell, of Tennessee, as President. He supported President Lincoln in 1864, and was one of the electors of Massachusetts. He was selected as orator at the dedication of the Gettysburg monument. He was for many years editor of the "North American Review." He has been justly regarded as one of the foremost scholars and orators of his time.-Author.

(1) Donn Piatt, "Memorials of Men who Saved the Nation," p. 40. (*) D. W. Voorhees, "Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln," p. 357.

1

MR.

CHAPTER XXI.

SPRING OF 1864.

R. LINCOLN was entering upon the last year of the Presidential term, and people were thinking about his renomination. He had made enemies. The Peace Democrats opposed him because he was carrying on the war so persistently and for issuing the Proclamation of Emancipation. Opprobrious and insulting epithets were still applied to him. Those aggrieved at the removal of General McClellan said the President was an autocrat and tyrant. Men who had endeavored to use him to attain their own selfish ends, but whom he had foiled, said he was not fit to be President. Members of Congress turned against him. Earnest and impulsive men, who wanted to see the Rebellion crushed at once, said Mr. Lincoln was too slow. Conservatives maintained he was going too fast. Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, was ambitious to be President. He wrote a letter to his friend, Mr. James C. Hall, of Toledo, O., formally announcing himself as a Jan. 18, candidate. A committee of Senators, representatives, and citizens was formed to bring about his nomination. (') A circular was issued by Senator Pomeroy and others advocating the selection of Mr. Chase. Mr. Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, one of the most influential members of Congress, was opposed to the renomination of Mr. Lincoln. (2) A friend of Mr. Stevens visited the Capitol. "Introduce me to some of the members who are friendly to Mr. Lincoln," he said.

1864.

Mr. Stevens took him to Isaac N. Arnold, member from Illinois.

"You are the only one I know," said Mr. Stevens, "who favors the renomination of Lincoln, and I have come to introduce my friend to you."

"Thank you," replied Mr. Arnold; "I know many members who want him renominated. I will present your friend to them." (")

"If the question could be submitted to the people," said Mr. Stevens, in a speech, "the majority of them would vote for General Benjamin F. Butler." (*)