"
That gigantic system of fleets and armies, the creation of which
was due to Lincoln, was closing tight around the dying
Confederacy. Five weeks after the inauguration Lee surrendered,
and the war was virtually at an end. What was to come after was
inevitably the overshadowing topic of the hour. Many anecdotes
represent Lincoln, in these last few days of his life, as
possessed by a high though melancholy mood of extreme mercy.
Therefore, much has been inferred from the following words, in
his last public address, made on the night of the 11th of April:
"In the present situation, as the phrase goes, it may be my duty
to make some new announcement to the people of the South. I am
considering and shall not fail to act when action shall be
proper."
What was to be done for the South, what treatment should be
accorded the Southern leaders, engrossed the President and his
Cabinet at the meeting on the 14th of April, which was destined
to be their last. Secretary Welles has preserved the spirit of
the meeting in a striking anecdote. Lincoln said that no one
need expect he would "take any part in hanging or killing those
men, even the worst of them. Frighten them out of the country,
open the gates, let down the bars, scare them off;" said he,
throwing up his hands as if scaring sheep.
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