To Joseph Gilmore1Jump to section
Joseph A. Gilmore, Gov. N.H. Washington Aug. 7, 1863.
My dear Governor Gilmore: I thank you very heartily for your kind invitation to visit Concord, and especially for the exceedingly cordial terms in which you have conveyed it. I very much regret that I cannot at present accept it. I am by no means certain that I can leave Washington at all this summer. The exacting nature of my official duties renders it exceedingly improbable. I assure you however that I am none the less sincerely grateful for your kind intentions and for the expressions of personal good will contained in your letter. I am very truly yours, A. LINCOLN.
Annotation
[1] LS, RyU. This letter is also in Hertz, II, 940, but without date. A footnote in the source states that the letter is in John Hay's handwriting, signed by Lincoln. Governor Gilmore wrote on August 4, 1863, ``I see from the public prints that you are intending to spend a few weeks among the Mountains of New Hampshire. May we not have the privilege of welcoming you to our state capital? . . . I have no desire to subject you to . . . speeches or parading you over our dusty streets in the broiling sun. But if you were to let me know . . . a day or two before your arrival that you would spend a night at least at my house, the people . . . would give you a spontaneous & informal ovation which would do your soul good. . . .'' (DLC-RTL).