I Hope You Will Be Benefitted By

I Am Asked If I Would Not Be Gratified If My Friends Would Procure Me Promotion To A Brigadier-generalship. My Feeling Is That I Would Rather Be One Of The Good Colonels Than One Of The Poor Generals. The Colonel Of A Regiment Has One Of The Most Agreeable Positions In The Service, And One Of The Most Useful. "a Good Colonel Makes A Good Regiment," Is An Axiom.

How Strange A Scene Is This In Which We Are Such Shifting Figures, Pictures, Shadows. The Mystery Of Our Existence--i Have No Faith In Any Attempted Explanation Of It. It Is All A Dark, Unfathomed Profound.

My Policy Is Trust, Peace, And To Put Aside The Bayonet. I Do Not Think The Wise Policy Is To Decide Contested Elections In The States By The Use Of The National Army.

I Saw The Man My Friendwants Pardoned, Thomas Flinton. He Is A Bright, Good-looking Fellow.... Of His Innocence All Are Confident. The Governor Strikes Me As A Man Seeking Popularity, Who Lacks The Independence And Manhood To Do Right At The Risk Of Losing Popularity. Afraid Of What Will Be Said. He Is Prejudiced Against The Irish And Democrats.

While I Am In Favor Of The Government Promptly Enforcing The Laws For The Present, Defending The Forts And Collecting The Revenue,i Am Not In Favor Of A War Policy With A View To The Conquest Of Any Of The Slave States; Except Such As Are Needed To Give Us A Good Boundary. If Maryland Attempts To Go Off, Suppress Her In Order To Save The Potomac And The District Of Columbia. Cut A Piece Off Of Western Virginia And Keep Missouri And All The Territories.