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 18, 2024.

Pages

Page 12

To Thomas J. Henderson1Jump to section

Executive Mansion, Washington,
Hon. T.J. Henderson. December 20, 1862.

My dear Sir:--- Your letter of the 8th to Hon. William Kellogg has just been shown me. You can scarcely overestimate the pleasure it would give me to oblige you, but nothing is operating so ruinously upon us everywhere as ``absenteeism.'' It positively will not do for me to grant leaves of absence in cases not sufficient to procure them under the regular rules.

It would astonish you to know the extent of the evil of ``absenteeism.'' We scarcely have more than half the men we are paying on the spot for service anywhere. Yours very truly,

A. LINCOLN.

Annotation

[1] Lapsley, VI, 222. Colonel Thomas J. Henderson of the One Hundred Twelfth Illinois Volunteers was at Camp Ella Bishop, Lexington, Kentucky. No letter from him at this time has been found.

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