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.
