Sunday, December 28, 2014

December 29, 1864---A Peace Conference?



DECEMBER 29, 1864:     

Confederate President Jefferson Davis receives a letter from Northern Unionist Francis Preston Blair Sr., who invites himself to Richmond in order to "explain the views I entertain in reference to the state of the affairs of our Country."  Blair wants to sound Davis out on peace terms. The meeting has the silent blessing of President Lincoln, who knows it will come to nothing but needs the politically powerful Blair’s help to corral conservative Republican votes for the Thirteenth Amendment. 
 


The Blair townhouse in Washington D.C. is today the official guesthouse for the White House.


Elsewhere in the world, the National Association of Ireland is founded in Dublin to obtain Irish independence by fostering cooperation with English radicals.