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 9, 2024.

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To William C. Bryant1Jump to section

Executive Mansion,
Mr. W. C. Bryant. Washington, May 14, 1863.

My dear Sir Yours requesting that Gen. Sigel may be again assigned to command, is received. Allow me to briefly explain. I kept Gen. Sigel in command for several months, he requesting to resign, or to be relieved. At length, at his urgent & repeated solicitation, he was relieved. Now it is inconvenient to assign him a command without relieving or dismissing some other officer, who is not asking, and perhaps would object, to being so disposed of. This is one of a class of cases; and you perceive how embarrassing they are. Yours very truly A. LINCOLN

Page 217

Annotation

[1] ALS, in custody of Conrad G. Goddard, Roslyn, Long Island, New York. Bryant wrote on May 11, 1863, ``You will . . . pardon the liberty which I take in representing to you the universal desire of our German fellow citizens that General Sigel should be again placed in command of that part of the army of the Rappahannock which is composed of German soldiery and which has suffered some loss of credit in the recent battles. The enthusiasm in his favor among our German population is unanimous. . . . It is impossible, Sir, for you, where you are, to concieve of the strength and fervor of this wish of our German population. . . . The other day when it was said that General Sigel had been called to join the army under General Hooker it was the common exclamation that that single step `was equal to the addition of ten thousand men to the army.' '' (DLC-RTL).

On July 6, 1863, Sigel was assigned to command of militia and volunteer forces at Reading, Pennsylvania (OR, I, XXVII, III, 563).

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