“Nothing but a patent…at last”: James Russell Lowell, “General McClellan’s Report (1864),” in The Writings of James Russell Lowell. Vol. V: Political Essays (Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, 1871; 1890), pp. 94, 99.
when he arrived…Army of the Potomac: Entry for July 27, 1861, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, p. 101.
Among the Union’s…the Mexican War: See chapter 1 of Stephen W. Sears, George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon (New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1988).
defeated a guerrilla band: Sears, George B. McClellan, p. 80.
“the man on horseback”: Entry for July 27, 1861, in Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 480.
“a more martial look”: Entry for July 1861, in Gurowski, Diary from March 4, 1861 to November 12, 1862, p. 76.
drunken soldiers…troops wander the city: Entry for July 27, 1861, in Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 479; Star, July 31, 1861.
“You have no idea…such yelling”: GBM to MEM, [September 11, 1861], in The Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, Selected Correspondence, 1861–1865, ed. Stephen W. Sears (New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1989), p. 98.
“the great obstacle”: GBM to MEM, August 9, 1861, in ibid., 81.
“entirely insufficient…in our front”: GBM to Winfield Scott, August 8, 1861, in ibid., p. 80.
Scott was furious…opposition forces: Winfield Scott to Simon Cameron, August 9, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
It would not be…miscalculations: Sears, George B. McClellan, pp. 103, 109.
discord…continued to escalate: GBM to AL, August 10, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 82; GBM to MEM, September 27, 1861, in ibid., pp. 103–04.
“concentric pressure”: Sears, George B. McClellan, p. 98.
“crush…in one campaign”: GBM to MEM, August 2, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 74.
“result…in my hands”: GBM to MEM, August 9, 1861, in ibid., pp. 81–82.
“by some strange…of the land”: GBM to MEM, July 27, 1861, in ibid., p. 70.
“the people call…country is saved”: GBM to MEM, August 9, 1861, in ibid., pp. 81–82.
Scott was “a perfect imbecile…a traitor”: GBM to MEM, August 8, 1861, in ibid., p. 81.
“eternal jealousy…distinction”: GBM to MEM, October 6, 1861, in ibid., p. 106.
“The remedy…small of the back”: Winfield Scott to Simon Cameron (copy), October 4, 1861, reel 1, Stanton Papers, DLC.
McClellan’s headquarters: Entry for September 2, 1861, in Russell, My Diary North and South, pp. 520–21; Sears, George B. McClellan, p. 100.
“smoking…writing”: Entry for September 2, 1861, in Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 520.
“I have just been…stories to tell”: GBM to MEM, October 16, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 107.
“together…mortals”: Entry for November 1861, in Gurowski, Diary from March 4, 1861 to November 12, 1862, p. 123.
“lying down, very much fatigued”: Brigadier Van Vliet, quoted in entry for October 9, 1861, in Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 552.
magnificent reviews of more than fifty thousand troops: Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, October 5, 1861; JGN to TB, November 21, 1861, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“not a mistake…a hitch”: GBM to MEM, November 20, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 137.
“A long time…not mind that”: GBM to MEM, October 6, 1861, in ibid., p. 106.
“a slave-catching order”…their masters: Entry for September 1861, in Gurowski, Diary from March 4, 1861 to November 12, 1862, p. 95.
“fighting to preserve…to do with him”: GBM to Samuel L. M. Barlow, November 8, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 128.
“some of the greatest…of Job”: GBM to MEM, October 10, 1861, in ibid., p. 106.
“a meddling…old woman”: GBM to MEM, October 11, 1861, in ibid., pp. 106–07.
“an old fool…altogether fancy him!”: GBM to MEM, October 31, 1861, in ibid., p. 114.
a flattering letter…promotion to major general: SPC to GBM, July 7, 1861, quoted in Schuckers, The Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland Chase, p. 427.
engagement at Ball’s Bluff: Entry for October 21, 1861, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, p. 129.
“a slight demonstration…move them”: GMB to Charles P. Stone, October 20, 1861, quoted in note 2 of GBM to Stone, October 21, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 109.
casualties at Ball’s Bluff: “Return of casualties in the Union forces in the engagement at Ball’s Bluff, Virginia, October 21, 1861,” OR, Ser. 1, Vol. V, p. 308.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr…. home to recover: SPC to KCS, July 28, 1865, reel 35, Chase Papers.
“the death…a desert”: Noah Brooks, “Recollections of Abraham Lincoln,” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine 31 (July 1865), p. 228.
“Mr. Lincoln sat”…and kissed him: Benjamin Rush Cowen, Abraham Lincoln: An Appreciation by One Who Knew Him (Cincinnati, Ohio: Robert Clarke Co., 1909), pp. 29–30.
Eckert…received word: Bates, Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, pp. 95–96.
“with bowed head…into the street”: Charles Carleton Coffin, “Lincoln’s First Nomination and His Visit to Richmond in 1865,” in Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Rice (1909 edn.), p. 176.
Mary was similarly distraught: Entry for October 22, 1861, in Russell, My Diary North and South, p. 558.
Willie and Tad…were heartbroken: Helm, The True Story of Mary, p. 191.
“On the Death of Colonel Edward Baker”: NR, November 4, 1861.
“to care for him…his orphan”: AL, “Second Inaugural Address,” March 4, 1865, in CW, VIII, p. 333.
“disaster…committed”: GBM to Division Commanders, Army of the Potomac, October 24, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 111.
“The whole thing…directly to blame”: GBM to MEM, October 25, 1861, in ibid., p. 111.
the president defended McClellan: Entry for October 26, 1861, in Hay, Inside Lincoln’s White House, p. 28.
unleashed a diatribe…to remove Scott: GBM to MEM, October 26, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 112; Sears, George B. McClellan, p. 123.
“You may have…heads to call me”: GBM to MEM, October 30, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 112.
“long and brilliant…deep emotion”: AL, “Order Retiring Winfield Scott from Command,” November 1, 1861, in CW, V, p. 10.
Lincoln designated McClellan: AL to GBM, November 1, 1861, in ibid., pp. 9–10.
“I saw there…his successor”: GBM to MEM, November 3, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, pp. 123–24.
All the members…on his journey: Star, November 2, 1861; Charles Winslow Elliott, Winfield Scott: The Soldier and the Man. American Military Experience Series (New York: Arno Press, 1979), p. 743.
“quite a number of citizens”: NYH, November 4, 1861.
the young Napoleon: Sears, George B. McClellan, p. xi.
“I do not intend to be sacrificed”: GBM to MEM, October 31, 1861, in Civil War Papers of George B. McClellan, p. 113.
to confront the rebel forces: GBM to Simon Cameron, October 31, 1861, in ibid., pp. 114–19; GBM to MEM, August 16, 1861, in ibid., p. 85.
“to dodge…Presdt etc.”: GBM to MEM, October 31, 1861, in ibid., p. 113.
“the original…his high position”: GBM to MEM, November 17, 1861, in ibid., pp. 135–36.
“I wish here to record…personal dignity”: Entry for November 13, 1861, in Hay, Inside Lincoln’s White House, p. 32.
He would hold…could be achieved: Henry Ketcham, The Life of Abraham Lincoln (New York: A. L. Burt, 1901), p. 291.
“A minute passes…rebellious consciousness”: Stoddard, Inside the White House in War Times, p. 63.
His “mouth would relax…sea of laughter”: Grimsley, “Six Months in the White House,” JISHS, p. 55.
“daily drive…so much needed”: Ibid.
soirées in the Blue Room: Turner and Turner, Mary Todd Lincoln, pp. 96–97, 98; MTL to Hannah Shearer, October 6, 1861, ibid., p. 108; Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 231.
Daniel Sickles…“temporary insanity”: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, pp. 83–85.
Henry Wikoff…“and Thackeray”: John W. Forney, Anecdotes of Public Men, Vol. I (New York: Harper & Bros., 1873; New York: Da Capo Press, 1970), pp. 366–71 (quote p. 367).
“My wife…never fallen out”: AL, quoted in Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 196.
When Prince Napoleon…visited: Entry for August 3, 1861, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 58.
“We only have…proper season”: MTL to Hannah Shearer, August 1, 1861, in Turner and Turner, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 96.
“beautiful dinner…predominated”: Grimsley, “Six Months in the White House,” JISHS, p. 70.
Mary requested Volume 9: Entry for August 5, 1861, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 59.
William Scott: Court-martial of Private William Scott, Co. K, 3rd Vermont Infantry, case file OO-209, Court-Martial Case Files, 1809–1894, entry 15, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), RG 153, DNA; NYT, September 10, 1861.
As the story was told: See L. E. Chittenden, Recollections of President Lincoln and His Administration (New York and London: Harper & Bros., 1901), p. 267.
“Think…much as he tried to”: Grimsley, “Six Months in the White House,” JISHS, p. 71.
Lincoln walked over…“‘Lady President’”: George B. McClellan, McClellan’s Own Story (New York: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1887), p. 91 (quote); entry for September 8, 1861, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 65.
“that it was asking…‘only one he had’”: Chittenden, Recollections of President Lincoln (1901 edn.), p. 273.
“the most beautiful…my own”: MTL to Hannah Shearer, July 11, 1861, Turner and Turner, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 94.
drives with the Sewards: See entries for September 1, 3, and 6, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers, for examples of afternoons spent driving with Sewards; FAS to LW, [August 1861], reel 119, Seward Papers.
“a plain…& the crops”: FAS to LW, [July 1861?], reel 119, Seward Papers.
“I liked him…all over him”: Entry for September 1, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
“abandon of…climb a rope”: NYT, June 17, 1861.
“With one impulse…mouth to mouth”: Entry for September 6, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
“I love…and does”: Entry for September 9, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
“palatial…tasteful & attractive”: FAS to LW, [July 1861?], reel 119, Seward Papers.
confined to her bed by migraines: See FAS to LW, [August 1861], reel 119, Seward Papers; “‘I have supped full on horrors,’ from Fanny Seward’s Diary,” ed. Patricia Carley Johnson, American Heritage X (October 1959), p. 62.
vacation in upstate New York and Long Branch: Entry for August 14, 1861, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 60.
“especially as…her husband”: FAS to LW, [July 1861?], reel 119, Seward Papers.
word came…“company in the evening”: Entry for September 9, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
“If things…my husband”: MTL, quoted in George B. Lincoln to GW, April 25, 1874, quoted in “New Light on the Seward-Welles-Lincoln Controversy,” Lincoln Lore 1718 (April 1981), p. 3.
“It makes me…skein of thread”: MTL, quoted in Elizabeth Keckley, Behind the Scenes. Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. The Schomburg Library of Nineteenth-Century Black Women Writers Series (New York: G. W. Carleton & Co., 1868; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), p. 131.
the long evenings Lincoln spent at Seward’s: Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, p. 186.
“My friend…churchwarden!”: Wilson, Intimate Memories of Lincoln, p. 422.
“a tithe…read for ever”: Entry for October 12, 1861, in Hay, Inside Lincoln’s White House, p. 26.
“personal courage…the enemy is”: Entry for October 10, 1861, in ibid., p. 25.
brought up the Chicago convention…“his life in his hand”: Entry for October 17, 1861, in ibid., pp. 26, 27.
probably rekindled memories…on the circuit: Taylor, William Henry Seward, p. 188.
the fighting…in Missouri: See Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, Vol. IV, chapter 11, esp. pp. 206–11; Thomas L. Snead, “The First Year of the War in Missouri,” in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I, Part I, Grant-Lee edition (New York: Century Co., 1887–88; Harrisburg, Penn.: Archive Society, 1991), pp. 262–65.
Frank Blair…General Nathaniel Lyon: Snead, “The First Year of the War in Missouri,” Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I, Pt. 1, pp. 264–68; Williams, Lincoln and the Radicals, p. 39; “Missouri for the Union,” in Parrish, Frank Blair.
“thickly veiled”…revolvers: Snead, “The First Year of the War in Missouri,” Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I, Pt. 1, p. 265 (quote); see also Franklin A. Dick, “Memorandum of Matters in Missouri,” Papers ofF. A. Dick, Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
the “earnest solicitation”: Entry for December 9, 1863, in Hay, Inside Lincoln’s White House, p. 123.
“He is just…eminently practical”: “Editorial, 3 August 1861,” in Hay, Lincoln’s Journalist, p. 84.
“There was…magical influence”: Koerner, Memoirs of Gustave Koerner, Vol. II, p. 162.
“recklessness in expenditures”: JGN, memorandum of September 17, 1861, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
Tales circulated…unwanted visitors: Ibid.; FB to Governor Dennison, September 19, 1861, quoted in Smith, The Francis Preston Blair Family in Politics, Vol. II, pp. 79–80.
Frémont…had chosen to stay: Lorenzo Thomas to Simon Cameron, October 21, 1861, in OR, Ser. 1, Vol. III, p. 543; Parrish, Frank Blair, p. 116.
General Lyon’s death…devastating defeat: Entries for August 10 and September 20, 1861, in Long, The Civil War Day by Day, pp. 107, 120.
Frémont issued a bold proclamation…“declared freemen”: Proclamation of John C. Frémont, August 30, 1861, in OR, Ser. 1, Vol. III, pp. 466–67 (quotes p. 467).
far exceeded…their future status: Joseph Holt to AL, September 12, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
Lincoln learned of…a private letter to Frémont: Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, Vol. IV, pp. 416, 417–18.
unilaterally recast…war against slavery: Benjamin Quarles, Lincoln and the Negro (New York: Oxford University Press, 1962; repr. New York: Da Capo Press, 1990), p. 71.
has “anxiety…so as to conform”: AL to John C. Frémont, September 2, 1861, in CW, IV, p. 506.
“Fremont’s proclamation…future condition”: AL to Orville H. Browning, September 22, 1861, in ibid., p. 531.
“The trouble…only to himself”: Carpenter, “A Day with Governor Seward,” Seward Papers.
“unable to eat…on such a principle”: Joshua Speed to AL, September 3, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
“I know that you…to the very foundations”: FB to MB, September 1, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
he himself had reluctantly concluded: Williams, Lincoln and the Radicals, pp. 48–49.
“but being…public interests”: MB to AL, September 4, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
General Meigs and Montgomery Blair…“look into the affair”: JGN, memorandum of September 17, 1861, container 2, Nicolay Papers; entry for September 10 to September 18, 1861, extracts from diary of Montgomery C. Meigs, container 13, Nicolay Papers.
Jessie…arrived in Washington: “The Lincoln Interview: Excerpt from ‘Great Events,’” in The Letters of Jessie Benton Frémont, ed. Pamela Herr and Mary Lee Spence (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1993), pp. 264–65.
“If I were…I did not do so”: John C. Frémont to AL, September 8, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
“You are quite a female politician”: “The Lincoln Interview,” Letters of Jessie Benton Frémont, p. 266.
“taxed me…for himself”: Entry for December 9, 1863, in Hay, Inside Lincoln’s White House, p. 123.
she asked Lincoln…when he was ready: “The Lincoln Interview,” Letters of Jessie Benton Frémont, p. 266.
Lincoln wrote…“an open order”: AL to John C. Frémont, September 11, 1861, in CW, IV, pp. 517–18.
he sent it to be mailed: Jessie Benton Frémont to AL, September 12, 1861, in Letters of Jessie Benton Frémont, p. 271 n1.
“He had always…now very angry”: “The Lincoln Interview,” Letters of Jessie Benton Frémont, p. 267.
the elder Blair revealed: Jessie B. Frémont to AL, September 12, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
“examine into that Department”: AL to Jessie B. Frémont, September 12, 1861, draft copy, Lincoln Papers.
“threatened the old man…from responsibility”: MB to W. O. Barlett, September 26, 1861, copy, reel 21, Blair Family Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress [hereafter Blair Family Papers, DLC].
“most incautious”: EBL to SPL, October 7, 1861, in Wartime Washington, ed. Laas, p. 83.
“The rebels…for defence”: Entry for September 10 to September 18, 1861, extracts from diary of Montgomery C. Meigs, container 13, Nicolay Papers.
“a full & plain…should be consulted”: MB to AL, September 14, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
Rumors circulated: Entry for December 28, 1861, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 217; EBL to SPL, October 19, 1861, in Wartime Washington, ed. Laas, pp. 88, 90 n2.
“with a view…removal”: NYT, September 17, 1861.
“unbecoming…gentleman”: Smith, The Francis Preston Blair Family in Politics, Vol. II, p. 78.
Monty interceded: MB to John C. Frémont, September 20, 1861, copy, reel 21, Blair Family Papers, DLC.
the trial, which would never take place: MB to FPB, October 1, 1861, box 7, folder 6, Blair-Lee Papers, Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library [hereafter Blair-Lee Papers, NjP-SC].
“Were you not…proclamation?”: FAS to LW, [c. September 4, 1861], quoted in Seward, Seward at Washington…1846–1861, p. 612.
“has cast…step backwards”: Joseph Medill to SPC, September 15, 1861, reel 17, Chase Papers.
“poor white trash”: Benjamin F. Wade to Zachariah Chandler, September 23, 1861, reel 1, Papers of Zachariah Chandler, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
“Many blunders…them all”: Douglass’ Monthly (October 1861), pp. 530–31.
Blair and Meigs delivered: Entry for September 18, 1861, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 67.
“is determined…Missouri”: MB to FPB, October 1, 1861, box 7, folder 6, Blair-Lee Papers, NjP-SC.
“more damage…can do”: EB to SPC, September 11, 1861, reel 17, Chase Papers.
“distressed & mortified”: EB to James O. Broadhead, September 28, 1861, Broadhead Papers, MoSHi.
“Immense mischief…place of action”: EB to Hamilton Gamble, October 3, 1861, Hamilton Rowan Gamble Papers, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Mo. [hereafter Gamble Papers, MoShi].
“I think God…in his Cabinet”: FB to MB, October 7, 1861, quoted in Smith, The Francis Preston Blair Family in Politics, Vol. II, pp. 83–84.
“a letter directing…and conduct”: Simon Cameron to AL, October 12, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
“was very much mortified”…talked with the president: Simon Cameron to AL, October 14, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
“constitution…with its management”: NYT, October 31, 1861. For the report, see Lorenzo Thomas to Simon Cameron, October 21, 1861, in OR, Ser. 1, Vol. III, pp. 540–49.
“yielded to delay…deserve it”: Entry of October 22, 1861, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, pp. 198–99.
Lincoln dispatched…Swett: Entry for October 24, 1861, in Lincoln Day by Day, Vol. III, p. 73.
“the most remarkable”…publication: NYT, October 31, 1861.
When Swett reached Missouri: Leonard Swett to AL, November 9, 1861, Lincoln Papers.
“frown came over…‘my lines?’”: General T. I. McKenny, quoted in Ida M. Tarbell, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. III, Sangamon Edition (4 vols., n.p.: S. S. McClure Co., 1895; New York: Lincoln History Society, 1924), pp. 122–25 (quote p. 124).
“justified…is possible”: NYT, November 7, 1861.
“Slowly…our judgment”: Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 1861.
“Lincoln…the whole story”: NYH, November 7, 1861.
“I am…publ[ic] duty”: SPC to Richard Smith, November 11, 1861, reel 18, Chase Papers.
the Confederacy had dispatched…Mason and Slidell: Van Deusen, William Henry Seward, p. 308.
Charles Wilkes…Fort Warren in Boston: NYT, November 17 and 19, 1861.
“We do not believe…been found”: NYT, November 17, 1861.
Wilkes was fêted…a great banquet: NYT, November 26 and 27, 1861.
“three cheers…Wilkes”: Smith, Francis Preston Blair, p. 315.
“great and general satisfaction”: Entry for November 16, 1861, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 202.
Chase reportedly…seized the British ship: NYT, November 19, 1861.
“the items…Mason & Slidell!”: AL to Edward Everett, November 18, 1861, in CW, V, p. 26.
“intelligence…Mail Steamer”: The Times (London), quoted in the NYT, December 13, 1861.
“reparation and apology”: Morning Post (London), quoted in the NYT, December 14, 1861.
Fabricated details: Charles Francis Adams to Henry Adams, December 19, 1861, A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861–1865, Vol. I, ed. Worthington Chauncey Ford (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1920), p. 86.
“acted without…directed by us”: WHS to Charles Francis Adams, undated, quoted in Frederick W. Seward, Seward at Washington, as Senator and Secretary of State. A Memoir of His Life, with Selections from His Letters, 1861–1872 (New York: Derby & Miller, 1891), p. 21.
The first public response should come from the British government: WHS to Charles Francis Adams, undated, quoted in ibid., p. 24.
“if the taking…it means war”: TW to WHS, December 2, 1861, quoted in ibid., pp. 27, 28 (quote).
“fanning the popular flame…manufactures”: NYT, December 16, 1861.
“certainly jubilant”: TW to WHS, December 5, 1861, quoted in Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 28.
in “high places”: TW to WHS, December 6, 1861, quoted in ibid., p. 29.
“to provoke…getting Canada”: TW to WHS, December 2, 1861, quoted in ibid., p. 27.
“how created…your dismissal”: TW to WHS, December 6, 1861, quoted in ibid., p. 29.
Seward burst…“so foolish a thing”: Entry for December 15, 1861, in Browning, The Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Vol. I, p. 515.
“I know…will not bite?”: AL, quoted in Monaghan, Diplomat in Carpet Slippers, p. 187.
both he and Lord Lyons…remained silent: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 187; Lord Thomas Newton, Lord Lyons: A Record of British Diplomacy, Vol. I (New York: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1913), p. 55.
“Her Majesty’s…for the aggression”: Earl Russell to Lord Lyons, November 30, 1861, quoted in John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, Vol. V (New York: Century Co., 1917), pp. 29–30. While the letter was dated November 30, it did not arrive in Washington until December 19, 1861.
If the United States…return to Britain: Ibid., p. 30; Newton, Lord Lyons, p. 62.
Lyons carried the document…consider their response: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 24.
“You will perhaps…side of peace”: Newton, Lord Lyons, p. 69.
“devoted one entire day”: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 24.
“With England…‘crushed out’”: TW to WHS, December 10, 1861, quoted in ibid., p. 30.
“They can never…such a surrender”: Quoted in ibid., p. 24.
Lincoln himself…considered humiliating: Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, p. 205.
“the British side…cheerfully”: WHS to Lord Lyons, December 26, 1861, in The Works of William H. Seward, Vol. V, ed. George E. Baker (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1884; New York: AMS Press, 1972), pp. 295–309 (quotes pp. 307–09).
“There was great…power of England”: Entry for December 25, 1861, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 216.
“gall and wormwood…I possess”: Entry for December 25, 1861, in Chase Papers, Vol. I, p. 320.
Only Monty Blair…with Seward: Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, p. 206.
Charles Sumner…“the North’s problems”: Monaghan, Diplomat in Carpet Slippers, p. 191.
“Governor Seward…on each side”: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 25.
Seward finished…read it to Chase: Monaghan, Diplomat in Carpet Slippers, p. 191; entry for December 26, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
“I am consoled…simply doing right”: Entry for December 25, 1861, in Chase Papers, Vol. I, p. 320.
“a great point…Government”: Carpenter, “A Day with Governor Seward,” Seward Papers.
“an argument…the right one”: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 26.
Seward hosted a dinner party: Entry for December 27, 1861, in Browning, The Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Vol. I, p. 519; entry for December 27, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
“a great homely…iron grey”: Entry for December 27, 1861, Fanny Seward diary, Seward Papers.
The conversation at dinner…“on the floor cloth”: Ibid.
“swore vehemently”: Entry for December 27, 1861, in Browning, The Diary of Orville Hickman Browning, Vol. I, p. 519.
“doom [Seward] to unpopularity”: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 26.
“The general…domestic treason”: Entry for December 29, 1861, Diary of George Templeton Strong, Vol. III, p. 198.
“Presidents and Kings…unselfish heart”: Seward, Seward at Washington…1861–1872, p. 26.
“Houses are being…life in the Capital”: “Miriam,” Iowa State Register, Des Moines, November 13, 1861.
a mansion transformed: Randall, Mary Lincoln, pp. 258–63, 266; Monkman, The White House, pp. 123–33.
the new rugs…“roses at your feet”: Mary Clemmer Ames, Ten Years in Washington. Life and Scenes in the National Capital, as a Woman Sees Them (Hartford, Conn.: A. D. Worthington & Co., 1871), p. 171.
“The President’s…comparative beauty”: Daily Alta California, May 12, 1862, quoted in Monkman, The White House, p. 132.
“elegant fitting up…in the least arrogant”: George Bancroft to his wife, December 12 and 14, 1862, in M. A. DeWolfe Howe, The Life and Letters of George Bancroft, Vol. II (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1908), pp. 144–45.
she had overspent…extra money over to her: Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln, pp. 187, 191.
She had replaced…the manure account: Entry for November 3, 1861, in William Howard Russell’s Civil War: Private Diary and Letters, 1861–1862, ed. Martin Crawford (Athens, Ga., and London: University of Georgia Press, 1992), p. 162.
She exchanged her patronage…wealthy donors: For a general discussion of MTL’s financial finagling, see Michael Burlingame, “Mary Todd Lincoln’s Unethical Conduct as First Lady,” appendix 2 in At Lincoln’s Side: John Hay’s Civil War Correspondence and Selected Writings, ed. Michael Burlingame (Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000).
she asked John Hay…“the Steward’s salary”: JH to JGN, April 4 and 5, 1862, in ibid., pp. 19–20.
She had no recourse…to speak with her husband: Entry for December 16, 1861, in Benjamin Brown French, Witness to the Young Republic: A Yankee’s Journal, 1828–1870, ed. Donald B. Cole and John J. McDonough (Hanover, N.H., and London: University Press of New England, 1989), p. 382.
after he returned home…Edward Baker: NR, December 14, 1861.
“inexorable…his own pocket!”: Entry for December 16, 1861, in French, Witness to the Young Republic, p. 382.
“better and better…will defend her”: Entry for December 22, 1861, in ibid., p. 383.
hide a deficiency appropriation: Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln, p. 190.
“I need hardly…his own expences”: SPC to KCS, October 25, 1861, reel 17, Chase Papers.
a questionable relationship…investment account for Chase: Belden and Belden, So Fell the Angels, pp. 36–37.
“I will take…working as you do”: Jay Cooke to SPC, quoted in ibid., p. 37.
growth in size of the Union army: Simon Cameron to AL, December 1, 1861, OR, Ser. 3, Vol. I pp. 669, 700.
“incapable…general plans”: “A Private Paper. Conversation with the President, October 2d, 1861,” memorandum, container 2, Nicolay Papers.
“he would look…in the other”: Albert Gallatin Riddle, Recollection of War Times: Reminiscences of Men and Events in Washington, 1860–1865 (New York and London: G. P. Putman’s Sons, 1895), p. 180.
accusations of corruption…in the War Department: NYT, July 3 and 9, and August 28, 1861.
Congress appointed…Cameron was not charged: Thomas, Abraham Lincoln, p. 293; Macartney, Lincoln and His Cabinet, pp. 35–36; Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, pp. 222–23.
“It is better…with dissolution”: NYT, July 7, 1861.
Cameron sought…Republicans: Williams, Lincoln and the Radicals, p. 59.
“We agreed…in that opinion”: SPC to Trowbridge, March 31, 1844, quoted in Schuckers, The Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland Chase, p. 420.
“extremist measures…absolute ruin”: National Intelligencer, Washington, D.C., November 14, 1861.
heated arguments with Bates, Blair, and Smith: Entry for November 20, 1862, in The Diary of Edward Bates, 1859–1866, p. 203; Niven, Gideon Welles, p. 392.
Cameron maintained…“nigger hobby”: MB, paraphrased in entry of September 12, 1862, Welles diary, Vol. I (1960 edn.), p. 127 (quote); Bradley, Simon Cameron, p. 203.
Each department customarily presented: Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, Vol. V, p. 125.
Cameron read his draft: Henry Wilson, “Edwin M. Stanton,” Atlantic Monthly 25 (February 1870), p. 238; Bradley, Simon Cameron, p. 203.
“I sought out…Edwin Stanton”: Simon Cameron, quoted in Henry Wilson, “Jeremiah S. Black and Edwin M. Stanton,” Atlantic Monthly 26 (October 1870), p. 470.
“read the report…hearty support”: Ibid.
he suggested his own provocative logic: Bradley, Simon Cameron, p. 203; Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, p. 134 n7.
“It is clearly a right…from the enemy”: “From the Report of the Secretary of War, Dec. 1, 1861,” in Edward McPherson, The Political History of the United States of America, During the Great Rebellion, 1861–1865, 2nd edn. (Washington, D.C.: Philp & Solomons, 1865; New York: Da Capo Press, 1972), p. 249 (quote). For the official version of the annual report of the secretary of war sent to Congress, see OR, Ser. 3, Vol. I, pp. 698–708 (esp. p. 708).
It remains unclear: See Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, pp. 134–35; Hendrick, Lincoln’s War Cabinet, pp. 236–37, 260.
“an abolitionist at heart”: Jeremiah S. Black, “Senator Wilson and Edwin M. Stanton,” Galaxy 9 (June 1870), p. 822.
his boyhood pledge to his father: Flower, Edwin McMasters Stanton, p. 25.
“my personal friend…war against Slavery”: CS to Francis Lieber, December 19, 1861, reel 64, Summer Papers.
when Stanton talked with fellow Democrats: Thomas and Hyman, Stanton, p. 135.
his approval emboldened Cameron…to the president: Flower, Edwin McMasters Stanton, p. 116.
“This will never do!”…copy already sent: AL, quoted in Carpenter, Six Months at the White House, p. 136.
“must be provided for in some way”: AL, “Annual Message to Congress,” December 3, 1861, in CW, V, p. 48.
“otherwise unconstitutional…necessity”: AL to Albert G. Hodges, April 4, 1864, in CW, VII, pp. 281–82.
Lincoln informed Cameron…the vetoed language: Nicolay and Hay, Abraham Lincoln, Vol. V, p. 127.
he complained…“dreaded most”: Niven, Gideon Welles, pp. 394–95 (quote p. 395).
“have sought our ships…a livelihood”: NYT, December 4, 1861, p. 3.
Welles resolved that…into the Confederacy: Niven, Gideon Welles, p. 395.
he outlined his ideas…“new beginner to help him”: AL, “Annual Message to Congress,” December 3, 1861, in CW, V, pp. 48, 49, 52.
“Away with…free as the white man”: Worthington G. Snethen to SPC, December 10, 1861, reel 18, Chase Papers.
“his attachment…than iron”: “The Claims of the Negro Ethnologically Considered: An Address Delivered in Hudson, Ohio, on 12 July 1854,” The Frederick Douglass Papers, Series One: Speeches, Debates, and Interviews. Vol. II: 1847–54, ed. John W. Blassingame (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1982), p. 524.
“Give him wages…by hard work”: Douglass’ Monthly (January 1862), p. 579.
“One black regiment…free colored people”: Douglass’ Monthly (May 1861), p. 451.
“We are striking…the loyal North”: Frederick Douglass, “The Reasons for Our Troubles,” ed. Philip S. Foner, The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass. Vol. III: The Civil War, 1861–1865 (New York: International Publishers, 1952), p. 204.
“It appeals to the judgment…aspirations”: NYT Supplement, December 4, 1861.
“the moderate men…with popularity”: Ibid.
“country and the world…railing accusations”: NYTrib, December 4, 1861.