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In
this letter, President Abraham Lincoln authorized Grant, then campaigning
in the West, to recruit blacks into the Army, stating "at least
a hundred thousand can, and ought to be rapidly organized along its
[the Mississippi River] shore, relieving all the white troops to serve
elsewhere." African-Americans responded enthusiastically to the
call and by war's end some 200,000 - mostly former slaves - had served
in Union forces. Read a transcription of the letter. |
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Letter
from Abraham Lincoln
to General Ulysses S. Grant, August 9, 1863 Click image to enlarge. Copyright 2002 The Chicago Historical Society |
Image 27 of 77
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