most famous one was written to Mrs. Bixby, expressing his sorrow for the death
of the five sons she had lost in battle.) Lincoln probably dashed this letter off in
five minutes; yet it sold at public auction in 1926 for twelve thousand dollars,
and that, by the way, was more money than Lincoln was able to save during half
a century of hard work. The letter was written to General Joseph Hooker on
April 26, 1863, during the darkest period of the Civil War. For eighteen months,
Lincoln’s generals had been leading the Union Army from one tragic defeat to
another. Nothing but futile, stupid human butchery. The nation was appalled.
Thousands of soldiers had deserted from the army, and even the Republican
members of the Senate had revolted and wanted to force Lincoln out of the
White House. ‘We are now on the brink of destruction,’ Lincoln said. ‘It appears
to me that even the Almighty is against us. I can hardly see a ray of hope.’ Such
was the period of black sorrow and chaos out of which this letter came.
I am printing the letter here because it shows how Lincoln tried to change an
obstreperous general when the very fate of the nation could have depended upon
the general’s action.
This is perhaps the sharpest letter Abe Lincoln wrote after he became
President; yet you will note that he praised General Hooker before he spoke of
his grave faults.
Yes, they were grave faults, but Lincoln didn’t call them that. Lincoln was
more conservative, more diplomatic. Lincoln wrote: ‘There are some things in
regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you.’ Talk about tact! And
diplomacy!
Here is the letter addressed to General Hooker:
I have placed you at the head of the Army of the Potomac. Of course,
I have done this upon what appears to me to be sufficient reasons,
and yet I think it best for you to know that there are some things in
regard to which I am not quite satisfied with you.
I believe you to be a brave and skillful soldier, which, of course, I
like. I also believe you do not mix politics with your profession, in
which you are right. You have confidence in yourself, which is a
valuable if not an indispensable quality.
You are ambitious, which, within reasonable bounds, does good
rather than harm. But I think that during General Burnside’s
command of the army you have taken counsel of your ambition and
thwarted him as much as you could, in which you did a great wrong