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No one can read this calm, philosophical, and statesmanlike letter, without feeling with renewed force the great loss which
Governor Andrew's death was, not only to
Massachusetts, but to the nation.
Whatever theories may be advanced to explain the present unfortunate condition of affairs in the
South, and of the divided and distracted counsels between the
President and Congress, no patriot, capable of reflection and philosophical study, can doubt that if either of the places were filled with men capable of grasping and fully comprehending great events, and of applying principles lofty and wide, like our late lamented Governor, the
Union would have been practically united long ere this, and the nation far advanced in all the arts of peace, and in the wealth and prosperity which mark their progress.
On the 21st of June, the
Governor wrote to
Secretary Stanton, expressing his desire in strong and pleasant language, that
Colonel William S. Lincoln, of the Thirty-fourth Regiment, should receive the honor of brevet brigadier-general.
‘He is,’ said the Governor, ‘a man of mature age, highly respected as a citizen and a gentleman, who left a large family and many important interests at home in the dark hours of the summer of 1862, to help restore the fortunes of the Union cause.
Colonel Lincoln was not a politician, but a patriot; and he belongs to a family of patriots, who, whether right or wrong on any other question, are always true to their country.
His zeal, fidelity, courage, constancy, and ability command my gratitude and respect.’
The Governor then proceeds to give a correct outline of
Colonel Lincoln's military record, and concludes with this paragraph—
Allow me to add, that the gratification such a recognition of his son would impart to the venerable ex-Governor, Levi Lincoln, would lend to it a peculiar value merely as a matter of sentiment.
More than threescore years of age, Governor Lincoln, last November, helped to cast the electoral vote of Massachusetts, serving as an elector for the third time in his life, and probably closing with that act a long and distinguished public career.
Colonel Lincoln received the brevet rank which he so well merited; and
Governor Andrew, through his private secretary,
