The life and public services of Abraham Lincoln ... together with his state papers, including his speeches, addresses, messages, letters, and proclamations, and the closing scenes connected with his life and death. By Henry J. Raymond. To which are added anecdotes and personal reminiscences of President Lincoln, by Frank B. Carpenter.

STATE PAPERS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

435

Plainly, the irritating system was not to be perpetual; and it was
plausibly urged that it could be modified at once with advantage. The
case could scarcely be worse, and whether it could be made better could
only be determined by a trial. In this view, and not to ban or br;i:l,
General Curtis, or to give a victory to any party, I made the change of
commander for the departnieiit. I now learn that soon after this change
Mr. Dick was remloved, and that Mr. Broadhe(ad, a gentletran of no less
good character, was put in tile place. Tile mere fact of this change is
more distinctly compllaiined o' than is any conduct of the new officer, or
other consequence of the change.
I gave the new commander no instructions as to the administration of
the system mentioned, beyond what is (cotained in the private letter
afterwards surreptitiously published, in which I directed him to act solely
for the public good, and independently of both parties. Neither any
thing you have presented me, nior any thing I have otherwise learned, has
convinced me that he has been unfaithful to this charge.
Imbecility is urged as one cause for remllovin, General Schofield; a:rid
the late massacre at Lawrence, Kansas, is pressed as evidence of that imbecility: To my mind that fact scarcely tends to prove the proposition.
That massacre is only an example of what Grierson, John Morgatn and
many others might have repeatedly dotie on their respective raids, lhad
they chosen to incur the personal hazard, and possessed the fiendish hearts
to do it.
The charge is made that General Schofield, on purpose to protect the
Lawrence murderers, would not allow them to be pursued into Missouri.
While no punishment could be too sudden or too severe fotr those imurderers, I am well satisfied that the preventing of the threatened remedial
raid into Missouri was the only way to avoid an itdiscriminate massacre
there, including probably more innocent than guilty. Instead of condemning, I therefore approve what I understand General Schofield did in
that respect.
The charge that General Schofield has purposely withheld protection
from loyal people, and purposely facilitated the objects of the disloyal,
are altogether beyond my power of belief. I do not arraign the veracity
of gentlemen as to the facts complained of, but I do m,,ore than question
the judgment which would infer that these facts occurred in accordance
with the purposes of General Schofield.
With my present views, I must decline to remove General Schofield.
In this I decide nothing against General Butler. I sincerely wish it were
convenient to assign him a suitable command.
In order to meet some existing evils, I have addressed a letter of
instruction to General Schofield, a copy of which I enclose to you.
As to the "Enrolled Militia," I shall endeavor to ascertain, better than I
now know, what is its exact value. Let me say now, however, that
your proposal to substitute National force for the "Enrolled Militia,"
implies that, in your judgment, the latter is doing something which needs

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