To William H. Seward1Jump to section
My dear Sir Yours of the 8th received. I still hope Mr. Gilmer will, on a fair understanding with us, consent to take a place in the Cabinet. The preference for him over Mr. Hunt or Mr. Gentry,2Jump to section is that, up to date, he has a living position in the South, while they have not. He is only better than Winter Davis in that he is farther South. I fear if we could get, we could not safely take more than one such man---that is, not more than one who opposed us in the election---the danger being to lose the confidence of our own friends.
Your selection for the State Department having become public, I am happy to find scarcely any objection to it. I shall have trouble with every other Northern cabinet appointment---so much so that I shall have to defer them as long as possible, to avoid being teased to insanity to make changes. Your obt. servt A. LINCOLN---
Annotation
[1] ALS, NAuE. Seward had written on January 4: ``Mr. G. of N.C. says he will consider of the proposition and that he trusts that before giving an answer he will be able to name a person better calculated than himself for the purpose indicated. . . . He will not reply further until required to do so by you directly or indirectly. . . . '' Again on January 8 Seward wrote: ``Mr. Gilmer has written home confidentially and will give me an answer in a few days. . . . '' (DLC-RTL).
[2] Randall Hunt, a New Orleans attorney who later became President of the University of Louisiana (1867-1884) and Meredith P. Gentry, Whig ex-congressman (1839-1843; 1845-1853) from Tennessee.