Office of Agent For C.S. Prisoners
Letter sent by a Confederate prisoner of war named WM. S. Hawkins. Hawkins was a Confederate army colonel who was confined to Camp Chase, one of the largest POW camps in the Northern states. Hawkins expresses his regrets in regards to President Lincoln's fate, while voicing a desire for a post-war world in which the country was unified under principles of justice, mercy, and kindness.
Office of Agent for C.S Prisoners, Camp Chase, Ohio, April, 18th 1865.
I desire, through your columns, to express my profound abhorrence of the deeds resulting in the death of President Lincoln. I wish also to mention that in passing through the prisons, where are still confined several thousand of my comrades, I heard of no one so fallen from the level of our common humanity as to be in any sense gratified at this atrocious murder. The sentiment on every side was that of indignation at so cowardly an attempt, and of regret at its successful completion.
In the name of Right, let the obloquy and the punishment fall in united horror upon the guilty, but not upon men who have had neither part nor lot in the matter; who, in other affairs, may have erred in judgement, but certainly not in heart, since countless sacrifices attest their sincerity; and whose strength, in case of ultimate Federal success, can be merged once more in the common resources far more readily by the Divine policy of brotherly kindness, than by any exercise of bitter and vindictive feeling.
Over the ark of a wise Government two seraphs bend - one of these is clear-eyed Justice, but the other is warm-hearted Mercy.
I am, sirs, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
WM. S. HAWKINS
Colonel, C.S.A.
This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.
WM. S. Hawkins. "Office of Agent For C.S. Prisoners". The Louisville Daily Journal. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed December 4, 2024. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1204
WM. S. Hawkins
The Louisville Daily Journal
April 18, 1865
Newspaper from Apr. 18, 1865
Letter sent by a Confederate prisoner of war named WM. S. Hawkins. Hawkins was a Confederate army colonel who was confined to Camp Chase, one of the largest POW camps in the Northern states. Hawkins expresses his regrets in regards to President Lincoln's fate, while voicing a desire for a post-war world in which the country was unified under principles of justice, mercy, and kindness.
This item is in the public domain and may be reproduced and used for any purpose, including research, teaching, private study, publication, broadcast or commercial use, with proper citation and attribution.
WM. S. Hawkins
The Louisville Daily Journal
April 18, 1865