Lincoln, Abraham. Manuscript letter signed, to major generals William B. Franklin and William F. Smith, 22 December 1862

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM

MANUSCRIPT LETTER SIGNED AS PRESIDENT ("A. LINCOLN"), TO MAJOR GENERALS WILLIAM B. FRANKLIN AND WILLIAM F. SMITH, DISCUSSING THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC'S PLANNED ADVANCE TO RICHMOND

One page (9 7/8 x 7 3/4 in.; 250 x 198 mm) on a bifolium of blue-ruled Executive Mansion letterhead, body of the letter in the hand of John G. Nicolay, Lincoln's principal secretary, Washington, 22 December 1862. Accompanied by related papers, comprising William B. Franklin's autograph letter draft signed with initials to Lincoln, one page, Head Quarters Left Grand Division, 26 December 1862; Franklin's autograph transcription or draft of a letter sent by him and William F. Smith to Lincoln, 5 pages, [Virginia,] (21 [but 20] December 1862); and an "official Business" envelope of Head Quarters Left Grand Division annotated by Franklin, "Correspondence with the President of the United States, December, 1862"; fold separations and one spot of ink corrosion to Franklin's draft of 26 December.

"if you go to James River, a large part of the army must remain on or near the Fredericksburg line, to protect Washington": an important exchange of letters between President Lincoln and Union military leaders during a crucial period in the Civil War. Lincoln's letter is dated just ten days after the disastrous rout of the Union Army at Fredericksburg (for which General Franklin shouldered much of the blame), on the heels of a cabinet upheaval the President barely averted, and just days before his Emancipation Proclamation took effect.

Franklin and Smith's joint letter to Lincoln questioned army leadership and promoted their own plan for approaching the Confederate capital at Richmond. The two found numerous faults with an overland advance and recommended the use of steamships to transport as many as a quarter million troops to march up both sides of the James River. The troops could be provisioned from vessels on the river and would eventually "proceed to the investment or attack upon Richmond according to circumstances. Whether the investment of Richmond leads to the destruction or capture of the enemy's army, it will certainly lead to the capture of the rebel capital, and the war will be on a better footing than it is now." (Franklin and Smith's letter as sent is printed in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume XXI:868–70.)

Lincoln's detailed reply demonstrates both his keen understanding of the military situation and his desire to learn more. "Yours of the 20th suggesting a plan of operations for the Army of the Potomac, is received. I have hastily read the plan, and shall yet try to give it more deliberate consideration, with the aid of military men. Meanwhile let me say it seems to me to present the old questions of preference between the line of the Peninsula, and the line you are now upon. The difficulties you point out pertaining to the Fredericksburg line are obvious and palpable. But, now, as heretofore, if you go to James River, a large part of the army must remain on or near the Fredericksburg line, to protect Washington. It is the old difficulty." A difficulty, Lincoln points out, that he had discussed with his correspondents before: "When I saw Gen. Franklin at Harrison's Landing on James River last July, I can not be mistaken in saying that he distinctly advised the bringing of the Army away from there."

In his reply to the President, Franklin attempts to explain the seeming inconsistency in his position. The sent letter is not in the Lincoln Papers, although a copy is preserved in the Benjamin F. Butler Papers, so the present autograph draft is probably the most accurate record of his text.

The Union Army was demoralized and in disarray after Fredericksburg, and on 23 January 1863, the commanding officer of the Army of the Potomac, Ambrose Burnside, charged that Franklin and Smith "can be of no further service to this army" and ordered them to be relieved of their commands. Lincoln, however, prevented this order from taking effect and instead removed Burnside, replacing him with Joseph Hooker.

LITERATURE:

Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Basler, 6:15–16 (text from the retained draft in the Lincoln Papers, with the recipient's copy unlocated)

PROVENANCE:

Purchased by Joseph Rubinfine from a descendant of General William B. Franklin