in his hands and goes to fight the battles of his country. In what is contributed to his comfort when he passes to and fro, and in what is contributed to him. when he is sick and wounded, in whatever shape it comes, whether from the fair and tender hand of woman or from any other source, it is much, very much. But I think that there is still that which is of as much value to him in the continual reminders he sees in the newspapers, that while he is absent he is yet remembered by the loved ones at home.

Another view of these various institutions, if I may so call them, is worthy of consideration, I think. They are voluntary contributions, given zealously and earnestly, on top of all the disturbances of business, of all the disorders, of all the taxation, and of all the burdens that the war has imposed upon us, giving proof that the national resources are not at all exhausted, and that the natural spirit of patriotism is even firmer and stronger than at the commencement. of the war.

It is a pertinent question, often asked in the mind. privately, and from one to the other, When is the war to end? Surely I feel as deep an interest in this question as any other can, but I do not wish to name a day, a month, or a year, when it is to end. I do not wish to run any risk of seeing the time come, without our being ready for the end, for fear of disappointment because the time had come and not the end. We accepted this war for an object, a worthy object, and the war will end when that object is attained. Under God, I hope it never will end until that time. Speaking of the present campaign, Gen

eral Grant is reported to have said, "I am going through on this line if it takes all summer." This war has taken three years; it was begun or accepted upon the line of restoring the national authority over the whole national domain, and for the American people, as far as any knowledge enables me to speak, I say we are going through on this line if it takes three years more.

My friends, I did not know but I might be called upon to say a few words before I got away from here, but I did not know it was coming just here. I have never been in the habit of making predictions in regard to the war, but I am almost tempted to make one. If I were to hazard it, it is this: that Grant is this evening, with General Meade and General Hancock, and the brave officers and soldiers with him, in a position from whence he will never be dislodged until Richmond is taken, and I have but one single proposition to put now, and perhaps I can best put it in the form of an interrogative. If I shall discover that General Grant and the noble officers and men under him can be greatly facilitated in their work by a sudden pouring forward of men and assistance, will you give them to me? Are you ready to march? [Cries of "Yes!"] Then, I say, stand ready, for I am watching for the chance. I thank you, gentle

men.

TO HON. WILLIAM DENNISON AND OTHERS, A COMMITTEE OF THE UNION NATIONAL CONVENTION.

Executive Mansion, Washington, June 27, 1864. Gentlemen:-Your letter of the 14th inst., formally

notifying me that I have been nominated by the convention you represent for the Presidency of the United States for four years from the 4th of March next, has been received. The nomination is gratefully accepted, as the resolutions of the convention, called the platform, are heartily approved.

While the resolution in regard to the supplanting. of republican government upon the western continent is fully concurred in, there might be misunderstanding were I not to say that the position of the government in relation to the action of France in Mexico, as assumed through the State Department and indorsed by the convention among the measures and acts of the Executive, will be faithfully maintained so long as the state of facts shall leave that position pertinent and applicable. I am especially gratified that the soldiers and seamen were not forgotten by the convention, as they forever must and will be remembered by the grateful country for whose salvation they devote their lives.

Thanking you for the kind and complimentary terms in which you have communicated the nomination, and other proceedings of the convention, I subscribe myself, Your obedient servant,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

LINCOLN TO GENERAL GRANT.

July 10, 1864, 2:30 P. M.

Your dispatch to General Halleck, referring to what I may think in the present emergency, is shown me. General Halleck says we have no force here fit to go to the field. He thinks that with the hundred-day

men and invalids we have here, we can defend Washington, and, scarcely, Baltimore. Besides these, there are about eight thousand, not very reliable, under Howe at Harper's Ferry, with Hunter approaching that point very slowly, with what number I suppose you know better than we. Wallace, with some odds and ends, and part of what came up with Ricketts, was so badly beaten yesterday at Monocacy, that what is left can attempt no more than to defend Baltimore. What we shall get in from Pennsylvania and New York will scarcely be worth counting, I fear. Now what I think is, that you should provide to retain your hold where you are certainly; and bring the rest with you, personally, and make a vigorous effort to defeat the enemy's force in this vicinity. I think there is really a fair chance to do this if the movement is prompt. This is what I think-upon your suggestion-and is not an order. A. LINCOLN.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.

Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., July 18, 1864. Any proposition which embraces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole Union, and the abandonment of slavery, and which comes by and with an authority that can control the armies now at war against the United States, will be received and considered by the Executive Government of the United States, and will be met by liberal terms on other substantial and collateral points, and the bearer or bearers thereof shall have safe conduct both ways. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT, CITY POINT, VA.

Washington, D. C., Aug. 3, 1864, Cypher, 6 P. M. I have seen your dispatch in which you say—“ I want Sheridan put in command of all the troops in the field, with instructions to put himself south of the enemy, and follow him to the death. Wherever the enemy goes, let the troops go also." This, I think, is exactly right, as to how our forces should move. But please look over the dispatches you may have received. from here, even since you made that order, and discover, if you can, that there is any idea in the head of any one here, of "putting our army south of the enemy" or of "following him to the death" in any direction. I repeat to you it will neither be done nor attempted unless you watch it every day, and hour, and force it. A. LINCOLN.

PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S REPLY TO REV. DR. POHLMAN, OF ALBANY, N. Y., AND OTHERS OF THE GENERAL SYNOD OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH AT LANCASTER.

August, 1864. Gentlemen:-I welcome here the representatives of the Evangelical Lutherans of the United States. I accept with gratitude their assurances of the sympathy and support of that enlightened, influential and loyal class of my fellow-citizens in an important crisis, which involves, in my judgment, not only the civil and religious liberties of our own dear land, but in a large degree the civil and religious liberties of mankind in many countries, and through many ages. You well know, gentlemen, and the world knows, how reluctantly I accepted this issue of battle forced