Mr. Lincoln received word that Major General Ambrose Burnside's Army of the Potomac was badly beaten at Fredericksburg in the battle on December 13. The Union army suffered nearly 13,000 casualties.
The president asked General Halleck to order General Burnside to withdraw. Halleck refused, telling the president that he thought the commanding officer at the battle site needed to make that decision himself. The president agreed.
During the week there was a confrontation in the cabinet. The result was that cabinet secretaries Salmon Chase, Secretary of Treasury; William Seward, Secretary of State; and Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War all offered their resignations. All of the resignations were eventually denied. The president's comments on the situation was as follows: "The public interest does not admit of it. I therefore have to request that you will resume the duties of your departments respectively."
No comments:
Post a Comment