Today's entry comes from the Library of Congress, and is an excerpt of a letter addressed to Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln must have received many letters giving him advice. Here is one of them, written on September 17, 1861, from somebody in Ohio who was decidedly unhappy with Lincoln's reversal of Fremont's emancipation order. Much of the letter not quoted here is related to that, as are these final paragraphs. I think this letter expresses the frustration many Americans must have felt about this time, 150 years ago. All spelling and punctuation is part of the original letter.
Read, important
Chillicothe Ohio Sep 17. 1861.
. . . . Many think that you should issue a Proclamation in the strongest terms and most decisive manner calling on all citizens to return to their allegiance or You will by the “Eternal” disperse them, without mercy, how insignificant do the terms
“Mercy”
“Leniency”
“Sympathy”
“Peace”
“Brothers in arms”
“Breaking the Constitution”
“Deal kindly”
“Kentucky will go out,”
“Noose them”
“No law for it”
“Habius Corpus”
“Coertion”
“Subjugation”
“Abolition measures.”
“Black Republicanizm,” and all such phraises sound when compared with 350,000 soldiers now lying in tents to defend our Capital from destruction, it is a farce—
Action and that determinedly expressed by the highest powers is what the Country wants— Cant we have it from you—
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| Photograph by Anthony Berger, from Library of Congress Collection |
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