On Wednesday, August 24, 1864, still pessimistic about his chances of re-election in November, Abraham Lincoln wrote the founder of the New York Times, Henry J. Raymond, granting Raymond the right to seek a conference with Jefferson Davis to discuss the possibility of peace. However, mindful of the political interests of Peace Democrats like General George McClellan, Lincoln instructed Raymond to tell Jefferson Davis that hostilities between the North and South would cease “upon the restoration of the Union and national authority.” Lincoln, pessimistic as he was about his own re-election, still believed that the only way to a negotiated peace would be for the South to give up its alleged independence and accept her place in the Union of American states. Then true peace and national reconciliation could occur.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.