Presidential party, including Mrs. Lincoln, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus V. Fox, and several others, arrives at Navy Yard aboard Baltimore in morning. Evening Star (Washington, DC), 1 August 1864, 3d ed., Extra, 2:1.

President asks Senator Edwin D. Morgan (N.Y.) to come to Washington at once. Abraham Lincoln to Edwin D. Morgan, 1 August 1864, CW, 7:474.

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles confers with Lincoln about trial of Benjamin G. and Franklin W. Smith ("Smith Brothers") of Boston, charged with attempt to defraud government. Welles, Diary, 2 August 1864.

Lincoln considers request of wife of Surg. Gen. William A. Hammond for interview and prefers not to see her. Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. William A. Hammond, [2 August 1864], CW, 7:474-75.

Cabinet meets. Military affairs discussed. Bates, Diary.

President confers with Sen. Morgan (N.Y.) and produces correspondence with former Sec. Chase at time Chase resigned. Welles, Diary, 5 August 1864.

President sends congratulations to Charles XV, King of Sweden and Norway, on marriage of Prince Nicolas Auguste. Abraham Lincoln to Charles XV, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:475.

Offers condolences to Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, on death of Archduchess Hildegarde. Abraham Lincoln to Francis Joseph I, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:475-76.

Congratulates King Leopold of Belgians on birth of granddaughter. Abraham Lincoln to Leopold, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:477.

Congratulates William I, King of Prussia, on daughter born to Princess Antonie. Abraham Lincoln to William I, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:478-79.

Interviews Michael Burns, president of North Western Railroad, and refers him to Sec. Stanton . Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:478.

Lincoln writes Gen. Grant: "'Putting our army South of the enemy' or of following [']him to the death' . . . will neither be done nor attempted unless you watch it every day, and hour, and force it." Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:476.

Instructs Sec. Stanton to suspend order of Gen. Hunter, who directed arrest and shipment south of Union lines of secessionist residents of Frederick, Md. Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, 3 August 1864, CW, 7:477-78.

President interviews Sec. Welles regarding promotion of Col. Griffin A. Stedman, who is reported dying from wounds received in action before Petersburg, Va., and endorses recommendation of Gen. Edward O. C. Ord that Col. Stedman be promoted to brigadier general. "I shall be glad to have this done." Welles, Diary; Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, 6 August 1864, CW, 7:484.

Requests interview and receives notice that Col. Samuel M. Bowman, chief mustering officer for Negro troops in Maryland, will call on August 8, 1864. Abraham Lincoln to Samuel M. Bowman, 6 August 1864, CW, 7:482.

Approves publication of correspondence between himself and Horace Greeley relative to Niagara Falls peace effort. Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, 6 August 1864, CW, 7:482-83.

President interviews Col. Joseph N. G. Whistler, who wants his son to go to West Point. Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, 20 August 1864, CW, 7:509.

President Lincoln telegraphs Brigadier General John F. Miller and "[s]uspend[s] . . . [the] death sentence" of fifteen-year-old Private Patrick Jones, of the 12th Tennessee Cavalry. Tennessee's Military Governor Andrew Johnson telegraphed Lincoln and recommended a commutation to a life sentence. Johnson notes that at the time that Jones committed the murder, he "was drunk." Johnson argues, "[T]he moral influence would be much greater if we could hang some of the larger fish . . . [T]here is no trouble in convicting & hanging the little helpless minnows which makes & leaves no impression upon the public mind." Andrew Johnson to Abraham Lincoln, 19 August 1864, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Abraham Lincoln to John F. Miller, 20 August 1864, CW, 7:509.

Receives 151st Ohio Regiment, en route home after completing 100 days of service. Washington Chronicle, 21 August 1864.

At 10 A.M. President thanks 147th Ohio Regiment, commanded by Col. Benjamin F. Rosson, for its services. Evening Star (Washington, DC), 24 August 1864, 2d ed., Extra, 3:1.

Authorizes Sec. Stanton to release J. Howard, Jr., from Fort Lafayette, N.Y. Harper, Press, 302.

Recognizes D. T. Arnaldo Marques as consul of Peru at San Francisco. Evening Star (Washington, DC), 26 August 1864, 2d ed., Extra, 2:3.

Confers with Cong. Fenton (N.Y.) about campaign for governor and Fenton's chances of winning against Gov. Seymour (N.Y.). Rice, 68-70.

At a cabinet meeting, President Lincoln asks each member to sign "the back of a" memorandum. Lincoln does not reveal the contents of the document, which reads,"This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards." Memorandum Concerning His Probable Failure of Re-election, 23 August 1864, CW, 7:514-15; J. G. Randall and Richard N. Current, Lincoln the President: Last Full Measure (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1955), 4:215-16; Michael Burlingame and John R. Turner Ettlinger, eds., Inside Lincoln's White House: The Complete Civil War Diary of John Hay (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997), 247-48.

Lincoln signs order for sale of land in Winnebago Indian reservation. Order for Sale of Land in Winnebago Indian Reservation, 23 August 1864, CW, 7:515-16.

President interviews John J. Jarmey, of Ohio, concerning political matters in state. James to Cameron, 27 August 1864, Simon Cameron Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

In evening at Soldiers' Home, Lincoln and group of officials witness demonstration of Morse signalling from tower of Soldiers' Home to roof of Smithsonian Institution. Bates, Telegraph Office, 265.

President Lincoln drafts a letter to New York Times editor Henry J. Raymond, who forecasts big electoral losses for the Republicans. Raymond predicts that a peace summit will "turn the tide of public sentiment." Lincoln instructs, "You will proceed forthwith and obtain, if possible, a conference for peace with Hon. Jefferson Davis, or any person by him authorized for that purpose. . . . [Y]ou will propose, on behalf of this government, that upon the restoration of the Union and the national authority, the war shall cease at once, all remaining questions to be left for adjustment by peaceful modes. If this be accepted hostilities to cease at once." Ultimately, Lincoln and the Cabinet reject the peace conference suggestion. Henry J. Raymond to Abraham Lincoln, 22 August 1864, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Abraham Lincoln to Henry J. Raymond, 24 August 1864, CW, 7:517-18.

At 11 A.M. Sec. Welles calls at White House and finds President in conference with Secs. Seward, Stanton , and Fessenden, and Henry J. Raymond on subject of peace mission to President Davis, which they decide against. John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, 10 vols. (New York: Century, 1890), 9:221.

Seward arranges White House meeting for Lord Lyons at 12 M. Seward to Lincoln, 24 August 1864, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Cabinet meets. Welles, Diary.

President sends order to Sec. Stanton : "If Gen. Sigel has asked for an Inquiry, let him have it, if there is not some insurmountable, or at least, very serious obstacle. He is fairly entitled to this consideration." Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, 27 August 1864, CW, 7:521.

Near midnight Charles J. M. Gwinn, Baltimore lawyer for convicted spies, visits Lincoln at Soldiers' Home to ask for reprieve. Gwinn to Lincoln, 29 August 1864, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

President telegraphs Gen. Wallace in Baltimore that sentences of four men, William H. Rodgers, John R. H. Emberet, Branton Lyons, and Samuel B. Hearn, convicted as spies, have been commuted. Abraham Lincoln to Lewis Wallace, 28 August 1864, CW, 7:522.

President asks Sec. Welles to "find some way to relieve me from the embarrassment of this case" against Smith brothers of Boston under arrest for fraudulent deliveries to Navy Dept. Abraham Lincoln to Gideon Welles, 28 August 1864, CW, 7:522-23.

President interviews Col. Worthington, who asks permission to visit Gen. Grant. Abraham Lincoln to Ulysses S. Grant, 29 August 1864, CW, 7:523-24.

Sec. Welles confers with President about petition from Boston relative to trial of Smith brothers. For political reasons they decide to transfer trial to Boston before civil tribunal. Welles, Diary; Abraham Lincoln to Gideon Welles, 28 August 1864, CW, 7:522-23.

President interviews Hon. Paul C. Brinck, of New Jersey, who thinks troop quotas are too heavy on his township.

[John Nicolay arrives in New York at noon on political mission for President involving changes in customhouse officials. Nicolay to Lincoln, 29 August 1864, John G. Nicolay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.]

Cabinet meets. Capture of Fort Morgan, Ala., confirmed by news from Gen. Sherman. Welles, Diary.

[John Nicolay in New York, sends letter to President by Robert Lincoln. Nicolay will start home tomorrow if he "gets matters arranged satisfactorily." Nicolay to Lincoln, 30 August 1864, John G. Nicolay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.]

President telegraphs Mrs. Lincoln at Manchester, Vt.: "All reasonably well. Bob not here yet. How is dear Tad?" Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd Lincoln, 31 August 1864, CW, 7:526.

Addresses 148th Ohio Regiment, on its way home after completed period of service. Speech to One Hundred Forty-eighth Ohio Regiment, 31 August 1864, CW, 7:528-29; Evening Star (Washington, DC), 1 September 1864, 2d ed., 2:5.

[John Nicolay in New York, will return tomorrow. Nicolay to Lincoln, 31 August 1864, John G. Nicolay Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.]

President reviews case of Louis A. Welton, who came through Union lines with contract to furnish supplies to South, was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment, and concludes review by saying: "Now, if Senator Morgan, and Mr. Weed, and Mr. Raymond, will not argue with me that I ought to discharge this man, but will, in writing on this sheet, simply request me to do it, I will do it solely in deference to their wishes." Abraham Lincoln to Edwin D. Morgan, Thurlow Weed, and Henry J. Raymond, 31 August 1864, CW, 7:526-27.

Issues order that persons bringing out cotton in conformity with treasury regulations must not be hindered by other government departments. Order Concerning Transportation of Cotton, 31 August 1864, CW, 7:527.