Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 6 [Dec. 13, 1862-Nov. 3, 1863].

About this Item

Title: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 6 [Dec. 13, 1862-Nov. 3, 1863].
Author: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
Publication: New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press; 1953.
Rights/Permissions: The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes, with permission from their copyright holder. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission.
Link to this Item: http://name.umdl.umich.edu/lincoln6
Cite this Item: "Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 6 [Dec. 13, 1862-Nov. 3, 1863]." In the digital collection Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/lincoln6. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 17, 2024.

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To Henry H. Sibley1Jump to section

Brigadier General H. H. Sibley Executive Mansion,
St. Paul, Minnesota. Washington, Dec. 16. 1862

As you suggest, let the executions fixed for Friday, the nineteenth (19th.) instant, be postponed to, and be done on, Friday the twentysixth (26th.) instant. A. LINCOLN

Private

Operator please send this very carefully and accurately.

A. L.

Annotation

[1] ALS, RPB. On December 15 General Sibley replied to Lincoln's letter of December 6 supra as follows: ``Your order of 6th Inst. for the Execution of 39 Indians just recd by Special messenger They are imprisoned at Mankato 90

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miles distant & the time fixed 19th is too short for preparation & for concentrating the troops necessary to protect the other Indians & preserve the peace The excitement prevails all sections of the state & secret combinations Exist Embracing thousands of citizens pledged to execute all the Indians matters must be managed with great discretion & as much secrecy as possible to prevent a fearful collision between the U.S. forces & the citizens. I respectfully ask for authority to postpone the Execution one week from the 19th Inst if I deem necessary Please reply at once. Your directions of 9th relative to Chakaydon rec'd today by mail & will be obeyed.'' (DLC-RTL). The communication referred to in the last sentence of Sibley's despatch has not been located. On December 27, Sibley telegraphed as follows: ``I have the honor to inform you that the 38 Indians and half-breeds ordered by you for execution were hung yesterday at Mankato, at 10 a.m. Everything went off quietly, and the other prisoners are well secured.'' (OR, I, XXII, I, 880). One of the thirty-nine listed in Lincoln's communication to Sibley, December 6, supra, ``Chaska-don'' or ``Chaskay-etay,'' alias Robert Hopkins, was not executed. On August 18, 1864, Lincoln endorsed a petition for Hopkins ``Pardons [sic]. A. LINCOLN'' (DNA WR RG 153, Judge Advocate General, NN 2323).