In the form in which it was first printed, his report as
Secretary of War to the annual session of Congress which met on December
3, 1861, announced:
"If it shall be found that the men who have been held by the rebels as
slaves are capable of bearing arms and performing efficient military
service, it is the right, and may become the duty, of the government to
arm and equip them, and employ their services against the rebels, under
proper military regulation, discipline, and command."
The President was not prepared to permit a member of his cabinet,
without his consent, to commit the administration to so radical a policy
at that early date. He caused the advance copies of the document to be
recalled and modified to the simple declaration that fugitive and
abandoned slaves, being clearly an important military resource, should
not be returned to rebel masters, but withheld from the enemy to be
disposed of in future as Congress might deem best. Mr. Lincoln saw
clearly enough what a serious political role the slavery question was
likely to play during the continuance of the war. Replying to a letter
from the Hon. George Bancroft, in which that accomplished historian
predicted that posterity would not be satisfied with the results of the
war unless it should effect an increase of the free States, the
President wrote:
"The main thought in the closing paragraph of your letter is one which
does not escape my attention, and with which I must deal in all due
caution, and with the best judgment I can bring to it.
Pages:
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408