The President continues to oppose having blacks serve in the Union Army

On Monday, August 4, 1862, President Lincoln turned down the offer of accepting two black Indiana regiments to be brought into the Union Army. He said he would allow the to be laborers, but not soldiers. Mr. Lincoln was opposed to having blacks serve in the army saying it "would produce dangerous and fatal dissatisfactions in our army and would do more injury than good."

Three days later, at the Naval Yard in Washington, Mr. Lincoln, Secretaries Stanton and Seward, and Captain John Dahlgren witness experiments of the Rafael repeating cannon. Mr. Stanton suggests that the new gun be brought in to be considered by the Ordinance Bureau.