The Importance of Numbers

[David Lockmiller]

(07-22-2018 07:55 AM)LincolnMan Wrote:  Interesting discussion!

I thought that you and others might be interested in excerpts from Cornelia A.P. Harvey's recall of her discussions with President Lincoln. The source material is from Emanuel Hertz's book "Lincoln Talks" at pages 432-440.

I entered the White House, not with fear and trembling, but strong and self-possessed, fully conscious of the righteousness of my mission. I was received without delay. I had never seen Mr. Lincoln before. He alone, in a room, no elegance about him, no elegance in him. He raised his eyes, saying: "Mrs. Harvey?" In a moment he looked at me with a good deal of sad severity and said: "Madam, this matter of Northern hospitals has been talked of a great deal, and I thought it was settled, but it seems not. What have you got to say about it?"

"Only this, Mr. Lincoln, that many soldiers in our Western army on the Mississippi must have Northern air or die. There are thousands of graves all along our Southern rivers and in the swamps for which the Government is responsible, ignorantly, undoubtedly, but this ignorance must not continue. If you will permit these men to come North you will have ten men where you have one now."

"If your reasoning were correct, it would be a good argument. I don't see how sending one sick man North is going to give us in a year ten well ones."

"Mr. Lincoln, I intended to say, if you will let the sick come North, you will have ten well men in the army one year from today, where you have one well one now; whereas, if you do not let them come North, you will not have one from the ten, for they will all be dead."

"Yes, yes, I understand you; but if they are sent North, they will desert; where is the difference?"

"Dead men cannot fight," I answered, "and they may not desert."

Mr. Lincoln's eyes flashed as he replied: "A fine way, a fine way to decimate the army; we should never get a man of them back, not one, not one."

"Indeed, but you must pardon me when I say you are mistaken; you do not understand our people. You do not trust them sufficiently. They are as true and as loyal to the Government as you say. The loyalty is among the common soldiers and they have ever been the chief sufferers."

"This is your opinion," he said with a sort of a sneer. "Mrs. Harvey, how many men do you suppose the Government was paying in the Army of the Potomac at the battle of Antietam, and how many men do you suppose could be got for active service at that time? I wish you would give a guess."

[See my original post to this thread.]

"It was very sad but the delinquents were certainly not in Northern hospitals, neither were they deserters therefrom, for there are none. This is, therefore, no argument against them."

"Well, well, Mrs. Harvey, you go and see the Secretary of War and talk with him and hear what he has to say."

"May I return to you, Mr. Lincoln?" I asked.

"Certainly," he replied, and his voice was gentler than it had been before.

I left him for the War Department. I found written on the back of the letter these words: "Admit Mrs. Harvey at once; listen to what she says, she is a lady of intelligence and talks sense. A. Lincoln."

[Story to be continued in my next post.]