Original Lincoln letter found

[samgrant]

Letter resonates with Lincoln's war hopes

A chance discovery of an original document sheds little new light on the president but is considered a 'splendid' find nonetheless

By Leora Falk
Washington Bureau
Published June 8, 2007

WASHINTON -- President Abraham Lincoln believed the Civil War was nearing the end in July 1863. If only Union Gen. George Meade would capitalize on victories in Vicksburg and Gettysburg and aggressively attack Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army, the war could be over, Lincoln felt.

That sentiment -- and Lincoln's desperate sense of urgency -- is captured in a newly found July 7, 1863, letter Lincoln wrote to Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck that was unveiled at the National Archives on Thursday. The letter, which consists of only a few lines, does not offer new information, but it captures Lincoln's strategic sense and fervent desire for the war to end.

The letter was quoted in a telegram Halleck sent to Meade that day, so its content had been known to historians. But archivists were thrilled to discover another original document from the prolific president from Illinois.

The note, written on War Department letterhead, came to light when an archivist at the National Archives, searching for another document, happened upon the signed letter among Civil War-related papers.

"Now, if Gen. Meade can complete his work so gloriously prosecuted thus far, by the litteral or substantial destruction of Lee's army, the rebellion will be over," Lincoln wrote, his misspelling hinting at his informal education.

In the end, Meade did not listen to the pleas of Lincoln and Halleck, which continued over the next week, and Lee's army crossed back over the Potomac River, leaving Lincoln distraught and possibly prolonging the war for nearly two years.

"These discoveries remind us that history is a dynamic field," said Allen Weinstein, the archivist of the United States.

Trevor Plante, the archivist who found the letter, said it was significant because "we are not left to rely on a telegram quoting Lincoln. We now have the original document."

He added that the fact the telegram to Meade was sent on the same day as the letter indicates "the urgency and importance" of the note.

Daniel Stowell, the director of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln project in Springfield, agreed with Plante.

The project, under the joint auspices of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, has been collecting documents written by or sent to Lincoln. Stowell said 20 to 25 new documents have been found in the past 18 months.

But he said this find was important because of "the combination of it being the original document written by Lincoln and also the significance of the time in which it was written."

Richard Carwardine, the Rhodes professor of American history at Oxford University in England and the author of "Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power," said that Lincoln was right in viewing July 4, 1863, when Union forces won the battles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, as "the crux of the Civil War" and that the victories were "cause for celebration."

But the document, he said, offers little new information to historians. "It's splendid to have the original letter ... but it doesn't tell us anything that we didn't already know from the original records," he said.

He noted that there was little doubt the telegram Halleck sent quoting Lincoln was accurate -- it was documented in a collection of official records published in 1889.

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lfalk@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

[whitworth]

Lincoln had no real clue what had happened at Gettysburg and the hell bent retreat Lee made with the Army of Northern Virginia. Few know that Confederate General Pettigrew, got sacrificed in rear guard action, defending the Confederate crossing of the Potomac River.

Lee moved his army as quickly as possible. There were no intermediate stops between the Potomac River and Gettysburg, for a defense.

Lee moved so quickly, that even Buford and his cavalry, could not reach the Potomac River before Lee's infantry and cavalry did.

By the time Lee got deep, on his retreat, into Virginia, the Army of Northern Virginia had effectively lost half their artillery and cavalry horses. Gettysburg and the Retreat extracted a high price.
The ANV never quite recovered from defeat and the push to the wall retreat back to Virginia.


But they still were dangerous, and Lee fought his army, almost to the death, for the next two years.