Lincoln Letters - April 02, 1865
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Head Quarters Armies of the United States,
City. Point, April 2 8:00PM 1865
Hon. Secretary of War
Washington, D.C.
At 4:40 PM today, Gen. Grant telegraphs as follows, to wit
A. Lincoln
The following are the notes attached to this document: "A remarkable Lincoln autograph, being so far as is known, the only letter written by him on General Grant's stationery." (Note: There are three or four letters in the Library of Congress Lincoln Collection that are written at that time on Grant's letterhead) "It is a letter of unusual historic interest because of the time, place and circumstance under which it was written. City Point was the base of the Army of the Potomac and Grant's headquarters in directing the final drive on Richmond, which terminated in the surrender of General Lee. At the time of this telegraph, for that is what it really is, was written, Lincoln was on a visit to City Point, recovering from an illness. Petersburg had already been taken by the Union armies, and the following day Richmond fell. At 8:30 A.M on Sunday April 2, the day on which this telegraph was written, Lincoln had sent on Grant's first telegraph of that day. At 2 P.M. a second telegraph from Grant reporting the Northern troops close to Petersburg, had been forwarded and finally at 8:30 in the evening, this message with Grant's telegram, the third and last of that eventful day was forwarded to Washington."
