JANUARY 30, 1865:
Rumors abound in
Washington City that the three Confederate Peace Commissioners are secretly
ensconced as guests in the White House. Too many people remember that the First
Lady’s sister, the widow of a Confederate General, had spent many quiet weeks
in the White House without being discovered during Christmas 1863. An irate
delegation of Congressmen demands to know if the Peace Commissioners are in the
capital. Lincoln tells them no, truthfully.
 | |
| Alexander "Little Aleck" Stephens, Vice-President of The Confederacy |
What
he does not tell them is where they are. Where they are is at City Point,
Virginia, hidden aboard General Grant’s floating Headquarters, River Queen. The three gentlemen are
guests, but are being treated as prisoners. They must stay between decks, and
their demands to meet President Lincoln are being offput by sending telegrams
hither, thither and yon, requesting instructions on the matter.
 |
| Fmr. U.S. Supreme Court Justice John A. Campbell |
The
day passes with
painful slowness for Messrs. Stephens, Hunter and Campbell. At 10:30 A.M. they
are told to stand by for a message from the President. When it comes, late that
night, it is a request for a written summary of the Confederate position. The three by-now thoroughly irritated men set
to work on the summary in the morning.
 |
| Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter, Fmr. Confederate Secretary of State and President Pro Tempore of the Confederate Senate |
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