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The Hampton Roads Conference was a peace conference held between the United States and representatives of the unrecognized breakaway
Confederate States The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
on February 3, 1865, aboard the steamboat ''
River Queen ''River Queen'' is a 2005 New Zealand-British war drama film directed by Vincent Ward and starring Samantha Morton, Kiefer Sutherland, Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison and Stephen Rea. The film opened to mixed reviews but performed well at the ...
'' in
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
, Virginia, to discuss terms to end the American Civil War. President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
and Secretary of State
William H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...
, representing the Union, met with three commissioners from the Confederacy: Vice President
Alexander H. Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in ...
, Senator
Robert M. T. Hunter Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (April 21, 1809 – July 18, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician and planter. He was a U.S. representative (1837–1843, 1845–1847), speaker of the House (1839–1841), and U.S. senator (18 ...
, and Assistant Secretary of War John A. Campbell. The representatives discussed a possible alliance against France, the possible terms of surrender, the question of whether slavery might persist after the war, and the question of whether the South would be compensated for property lost through emancipation. Lincoln and Seward reportedly offered some possibilities for compromise on the issue of slavery. The only concrete agreement reached was regarding prisoner-of-war exchanges. The Confederate commissioners immediately returned to
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...
at the conclusion of the conference. Confederate President Jefferson Davis announced that the North would not compromise. Lincoln drafted an amnesty agreement based on terms discussed at the Conference, but met with opposition from his Cabinet. John Campbell continued to advocate for a peace agreement and met again with Lincoln after the
fall of Richmond The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cl ...
on April 2.


Overtures for peace

In 1864, pressure mounted for both sides to seek a peace settlement to end the long and devastating Civil War. Several people had sought to broker a North–South peace treaty in 1864.
Francis Preston Blair Francis Preston Blair Sr. (April 12, 1791 – October 18, 1876) was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and influential figure in national politics advising several U.S. presidents across party lines. Blair was an early member of the De ...
, a personal friend of both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, had unsuccessfully encouraged Lincoln to make a diplomatic visit to Richmond. Blair had advocated to Lincoln that the war could be brought to a close by having the two opposing sections of the nation stand down in their conflict, and reunite on grounds of the
Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine was a United States foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It held that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers was a potentially hostile act ...
in attacking the French-installed Emperor Maximilian in Mexico.Harris (2000). Lincoln asked Blair to wait until Savannah had been captured.


South

Davis was pressed for options as the Confederacy faced collapse and defeat. Peace movements in the South had been active since the beginning of the war, and intensified in 1864.


Alexander Stephens

Alexander H. Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in ...
, Vice President of the Confederate States, had by 1863 become an active advocate for ending the war.Sanders, "Jefferson Davis and the Hampton Roads Peace Conference" (1997), pp. 806–807. "Stephens was also the best-known peace advocate in the South. In June 1863 he had petitioned President Davis for permission to proceed to Washington to resolve prisoner of war issues and, if the circumstances warranted, to engage Union authorities in discussions that might lead to 'a correct understanding and agreement between the two governments . . . .' In July 1863, the Southern vice president was poised to enter Washington and initiate negotiations, but the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg doomed his efforts at obtaining an audience with President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
."
Stephens had almost begun negotiations with Lincoln in July 1863, but his efforts were thwarted after Confederate defeat in the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In t ...
. By 1864, Stephens was an outright dissident against the power of Davis's CSA government, and was invited by General
William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
to discuss independent peace negotiations between the State of
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and the federal Union. Stephens addressed the Confederate States Senate as its nominal presiding officer in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...
on January 6, 1865, urging peace talks with the North. Some Confederate legislators agreed with Stephens and began to agitate for negotiations.


John Campbell

John Campbell, another of the peace commissioners, had also opposed secession. Campbell served earlier on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1853 to 1861, but began to consider resignation after Lincoln's first inaugural address in March 1861. He stayed on for the spring term of 1861 and supported the
Corwin Amendment The Corwin Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that was never adopted. It would shield "domestic institutions" of the states from the federal constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by ...
to protect slavery from federal intervention. Hoping to prevent a war, Samuel Nelson enlisted Campbell to help broker negotiations over the status of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor in South Carolina. On March 15, Campbell relayed to Martin Jenkins Crawford a supposed promise from Secretary of State Seward that the federal government would evacuate Fort Sumter within five days. As the Fort remained occupied on March 21, Confederate commissioners pushed Campbell to find out more; Seward reassured Campbell that evacuation would take place and Campbell reassured Crawford: on March 21, March 22, April 1, and hesitantly on April 7. Lincoln had already ordered the fort resupplied. By April 12th, diplomacy had evidently failed and the Bombardment of Fort Sumter began. Campbell resigned his position on the Supreme Court and went South. Fearing he would be persecuted as a Union sympathizer in his home state of
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
, he moved instead to New Orleans. Campbell declined a number of positions in the CSA government, but accepted the post of
Assistant Secretary of War The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to thMilitary Laws of the United States "The act of August ...
in President Davis' cabinet in 1862. For the duration of the job, Campbell was criticized for trying to limit the scope of wartime conscription. By late 1864, he was pushing again for an end to the war. In an 1865 letter to Judge Benjamin R. Curtis, he described the disastrous state of the Confederacy and marveled: "You would suppose there could be no difficulty in convincing men under such circumstances that peace was required. But when I look back upon the events of the winter, I find that I was incessantly employed in making these facts known and to no result."


North

Lincoln would clearly insist on full sovereignty of the Union. Slavery posed a more difficult problem. The Republican platform in 1864 had explicitly endorsed abolition; but pushing too hard on the slavery issue might offend mainstream politicians and voters.Johnson, "Lincoln's Solution to the Problem of Peace Terms" (1968), pp. 577–578. "The lowest common denominator of all the important factions was the preservation of the Union, but if Lincoln did not go beyond that in negotiating with the South, he would be repudiating his party's platform and would irrevocably alienate the Radicals. Yet if he made abolition a sine qua non, he would offend conservative Republicans and War Democrats. No matter what his offer, it seemed that the Democrats' chances in November would be improved. Still he could not simply remain silent (so desperate was the longing for peace) should an occasion for negotiations arise." Within this precarious political situation, in July 1864 Lincoln issued a statement via Horace Greeley: Lincoln confided to James W. Singleton that his primary concern was the Union. In Singleton's words: "that he never has and never will present any other ultimatum—that he is misunderstood on the subject of slavery—that it shall not stand in the way of peace". Lincoln's reassurance earned him Singleton's support in the 1864 election. Seward openly suggested in September 1864 that if the Confederate States relented on the question of independence, the question of slavery would fall "to the arbitrament of courts of law, and to the councils of legislation". (He did not mention the ongoing debate over what became the Thirteenth Amendment, and declined to clarify his position in written correspondence.) Seward invited the South to return to the "common ark of our national security and happiness" as "brethren who have come back from their wanderings". Having won the election, Lincoln told Congress that reaching a peace agreement with Davis would be unlikely: "He affords us no excuse to deceive ourselves. He cannot voluntarily reaccept the Union; we cannot voluntarily yield it." However, said Lincoln, the South could end the War by laying down arms:
They can, at any moment, have peace simply by laying down their arms and submitting to the national authority under the Constitution. . . . If questions should remain, we would adjust them by the peaceful means of legislation, conference, courts, and votes, operating only in constitutional and lawful channels. . . . In presenting the abandonment of armed resistance to the national authority on the part of the insurgents, as the only indispensable condition to ending the war on the part of the government, I retract nothing heretofore said as to slavery. I repeat the declaration made a year ago, that "while I remain in my present position I shall not attempt to retract or modify the emancipation proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person who is free by the terms of that proclamation, or by any of the Acts of Congress.


Preparation for conference

Blair duly renewed his efforts in January 1865, and traveled to Richmond on January 11. He met with Davis and outlined a plan to end the war, based partly on a North–South alliance against the French presence in Mexico. Blair assured Davis that Lincoln had become more willing to negotiate.Sanders, "Jefferson Davis and the Hampton Roads Peace Conference" (1997), p. 810–811. On January 12, Davis wrote a letter inviting Lincoln to begin negotiations "with a view to secure peace to the two countries".Escott, ''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?"'' (2009), pp. 201–202. Lincoln replied, via Blair, that he would discuss only "securing peace to the people of one common country."Ethan S. Rafuse,
Hampton Roads Conference
; Encyclopedia Virginia, 29 March 2011.
Davis was upset by this response; Blair blamed the political climate in Washington. At Blair's suggestion, Davis proposed a meeting between Generals
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...
and
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
.Sanders, "Jefferson Davis and the Hampton Roads Peace Conference" (1997), p. 813. Lincoln refused. Grant ultimately smoothed over the "two countries" dispute and convinced Lincoln to meet the Confederates at Fort Monroe. Davis appointed his three commissioners on January 28 and instructed them to explore all options short of renouncing independence. (Davis's precise understanding of what an "independent" Confederacy might be, in 1865, is not fully clear.) Of the three commissioners, Alexander Stephens and Robert Hunter wanted to focus more on the possibility of an alliance against France; Campbell focused more on a scenario for domestic peace. Campbell wrote in his letter to Curtis:
He duped Mr. Davis with the belief that President Lincoln regarded the condition of Mexico with more concern than the war; that he would be willing to make a suspension of hostilities under some sort of collusive contract, and to unite Southern and Northern troops on the Rio Grande for the invasion of Mexico, and that after matters were assured in Mexico affairs might be adjusted here. This was the business at Hampton Roads. I was incredulous, Mr. Hunter did not have faith. Mr. Stephens supposed Blair to be "the mentor of the Administration and Republican party.
The Union Congress was shaken by the news of possible Confederate peace negotiations in late January, just days before a rescheduled Thirteenth Amendment vote. Some Congress members feared that adopting an emancipation amendment would signal hostility and undermine the talks.
Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans (later also known as " Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...
, hoping for a complete victory and stringent terms of surrender, were dismayed by the prospect of a compromise. Opponents of the Amendment exploited these fears in an attempt to prevent its passage in the House. (Stephens later blamed this political reaction for the failure of the Conference.) Reassurance from Lincoln's secretary John Hay was not convincing to Ohio Democrat Sunset Cox who demanded that Ashley investigate the rumor of impending negotiations. Lincoln issued a memo denying the arrival of Confederates—in Washington.Cox & Cox, ''Politics, Principle, and Prejudice'' (1963), p
23
Cox investigated further, decided that Lincoln was "mistaken or ignorant", and shocked a crowd of onlookers by voting 'nay' to the Amendment. When the Amendment passed anyway, two members of the "Seward lobby"—George O. Jones and William Bilbo—both telegraphed congratulations to Seward and commented on his upcoming meeting with the Confederate diplomats. Historians
LaWanda Cox LaWanda Fenlason Cox (1909–2005) was a pioneering historian of the American Civil War and the period of Reconstruction. Cox was born on September 24, 1909, in Aberdeen, Washington. She attended Washington High School in Portland, Oregon. La ...
and John Cox (no relation to Sunset Cox) wrote: "It is worthy of note that these messages of Jones and Bilbo implied a verbal commitment from the Secretary of State that passage of the Amendment would be coupled with a policy of peace and reconciliation which Southerners might accept with relief and Northern Democrats with enthusiasm." On January 29, a Confederate officer with a
flag of truce White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...
interrupted the Siege of Petersburg to announce the passage of the three Confederate peace commissioners. Soldiers from both armies cheered. On February 1, Seward dropped off a copy of the new amendment in Annapolis, then departed with the ''River Queen'' for Fort Monroe.


Conference

Lincoln and Stephens had been political allies before the war and the meeting began on friendly terms.Escott, ''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?"'' (2009), p. 205. Stephens discussed the topic of a military alliance against France in Mexico, but Lincoln cut him off and asked directly about the question of sovereignty. Prodded by Campbell, Lincoln insisted that the South would have to disband its armies and submit to federal authority. Campbell wrote: "We learned in five minutes that the assurances to Mr. Davis were a delusion, and that union was the condition of peace." On the question of slavery, Lincoln reportedly told the Confederates that Northern opinion was divided on the question of how new laws would be enforced. Regarding the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln reportedly interpreted it as a war measure that would permanently affect only the 200,000 people who came under Army protection during the War—but noted that the Courts might feel differently.Escott, ''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?"'' (2009), p. 219. "As a consequence of his view of the Constitution, he favored and repeatedly proposed a method of emancipation that would depend entirely upon state initiative and state choice, even if the federal government might help. For the same reason, he viewed his Emancipation Proclamation as a war measure, a step to be chosen only by the commander in chief, to be justified only by 'actual armed rebellion,' and to become inoperative as soon as the war itself ceased. Likewise, he told Confederate commissioners that in the judgement of the courts this war measure might apply only to 200,000 black Americans who had actually experienced its benefits." Seward reportedly showed the Confederates a copy of the newly adopted Thirteenth Amendment, referred to this document also as a war measure, and suggested that if they were to rejoin the Union they might be able to prevent its ratification.Escott, ''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?"'' (2009), p. 206. After further discussion, Lincoln suggested that the Southern states might "avoid, as far as possible, the evils of immediate emancipation" by ratifying the Amendment "''prospectively'', so as to take effect—say in five years." Seward and Lincoln denied that they were demanding "unconditional surrender"; Seward said that rejoining the Union, under the Constitution, could not "properly be considered as unconditional submission to conquerors, or as having anything humiliating in it." Lincoln also offered possible compensation for emancipation, perhaps naming the figure of $400,000,000 which he later proposed to Congress. Reportedly, Seward disagreed with Lincoln; Lincoln responded that the North had been complicit in the slave trade. The Conference ended with agreement on prisoner-of-war exchange. Lincoln would release Stephens' nephew in exchange for a Northern official in Richmond—and would recommend that Grant establish a system for prisoner exchange.


Historical uncertainties

There are no official records of the conference itself, so all reports originate from the subsequent commentary of involved parties. The two lengthy accounts of the Conference—written by Confederates Stephens and Campbell—concur on most of the details. These accounts, along with secondary records from the archives of Lincoln and Seward, suggest that Lincoln and Seward would have compromised on the issue of slavery. Lincoln's personal communications, even from around the time of his ''To Whom it May Concern'' letter, indicate that he might have been willing to privately give ground on slavery.Donald, ''Lincoln'' (1995), p. 559. "Stephens' record would be highly suspect were it not confirmed by other, more contemporary evidence that Lincoln did not now insist upon the end of slavery as a precondition for peace. He told Representative Singleton that his 'To Whom it May Concern' letter to the Confederate commissioners at Niagara Falls had 'put him in a false position—that he did not mean to make the abolition of slavery a condition' of peace and that 'he would be willing to grant peace with an amnesty, and restoration of the union, leaving slavery to abide the decisions of judicial tribunals.' On the day before Christmas, Lincoln repeated these views to Browning, who was advising Singleton; he declared 'that he had never entertained the purpose of making the abolition of slavery a condition precedent to the termination of the war, and the restoration of the Union.'" That Lincoln proposed a delayed ratification plan is mentioned by the ''Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel'' in June 1865—based on a report by Stephens from after the meeting. From a legal standpoint, Lincoln never believed that the federal government had the authority to ban slavery in the states—thus his constant emphasis on the status of the Emancipation Proclamation as a measure effective only during wartime. According to Paul Escott, Lincoln's moral opposition to slavery did not override his understanding of the Constitution; therefore, Lincoln may have believed that the rebel states would have a right to reject the Thirteenth Amendment if they rejoined the Union. Seward's biographers generally agree that the Secretary of State may have suggested an outright rejection of the Amendment. The Confederate delegates spread word of this suggestion privately, contradicting Jefferson Davis's public statements that the surrender terms had been unconscionable.Escott, ''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?"'' (2009), pp. 211–212. "When Stephens, Campbell, and Hunter returned to Richmond, Jefferson Davis controlled the presentation of their report—as Stephens feared he would—in order to convince his public that the South had to fight on. The commissioners refused to state that only insulting terms had been offered, but Davis then prefaced a very brief summary by them with his own interpretation that 'unconditional submission' had been demanded. This irritated the Confederate emissaries." Some historians dispute Stephens's interpretation of the Conference. Michael Vorenberg writes that Lincoln would have known that a constitutional amendment cannot be "prospectively" ratified, and therefore "the story is suspicious at best." Vorenberg suggests that although Lincoln might have expressed his preference for "gradual emancipation", he would not have sought to portray this option as legally or politically possible. William C. Harris also doubts the 'prospective ratification' story, on the grounds that this offer is not mentioned by Campbell in his 1865 letter to Curtis. James McPherson suggests: "It is probable that Stephens was reading his own viewpoint into Seward's remarks." According to David Herbert Donald, Lincoln and Seward may have offered olive branches to the Confederates based on their sense that the institution of slavery was doomed and would end regardless. Relenting on the slavery issue might thus have prevented unnecessary warfare. Seward biographer Walter Stahr supports this inevitability theory, confirming that Seward would have accepted delay in ratification in order to end the war.Stahr, ''Seward'' (2012), pp. 424–425. "More plausible, in light of Seward's general views on slavery and reconciliation, is that by this time Seward believed slavery was dying a rapid death, and that it did not matter much whether the process ended in one year or ten years. What mattered most to Seward was to end the war and to bring the Southern states back into the Union, and he was prepared to delay ratification of the antislavery amendment in order to hasten the reunification of the nation." Ludwell H. Johnson theorizes that peace negotiations reflected Lincoln's efforts to consolidate political power by creating "a new conservative coalition which would include Southerners". Johnson argues that negotiations would have built support among Northern Democrats as well as nascent Southern governments.


Aftermath

Congress debated a resolution asking Lincoln to provide a report on the Conference. Willard Salisbury introduced an amendment stipulating that Lincoln reveal the precise terms he had offered. Salisbury's amendment failed and the resolution passed. Lincoln released a set of documents which met with an exceptionally positive reaction from Congress.


Response from Davis

Davis portrayed the conference in harsh terms, saying that Lincoln had demanded unconditional surrender and that the Confederacy must continue to fight. Some historians argue that Davis entered the Conference in
bad faith Bad faith (Latin: ''mala fides'') is a sustained form of deception which consists of entertaining or pretending to entertain one set of feelings while acting as if influenced by another."of two hearts ... a sustained form of deception which ...
to generate publicity around Northern hostility. Charles Sanders contends that Davis did not retain enough control over the negotiations to ensure they would serve his purpose, writing: "If Davis's motive, therefore, was to discredit the 'croakers,' he was running the enormous political risk that the negotiations might actually succeed." Sanders also argues that if Davis had intended to sabotage the Conference, he would not have considered such prominent representatives as Lee or Stephens. Stephens left Richmond and went home to Georgia on February 9.


Lincoln amnesty resolution

Lincoln followed through on his promise to pursue compensation, requesting amnesty and $400,000,000 for the Southern states if they ended armed resistance and ratified the Thirteenth Amendment.Johnson, "Lincoln's Solution to the Problem of Peace Terms" (1968), pp. 582–583. Soon after returning to Washington, Lincoln wrote an amnesty resolution offering pardons and the return of confiscated property "except slaves".Escott, ''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?"'' (2009), p. 214–215. The resolution stipulated that the Confederacy would receive $200,000,000 if it ceased "resistance to national authority" before April 1, 1865, and $200,000,000 more for successful ratification of the Thirteenth amendment before July 1, 1865. These terms were unpopular, particularly with Lincoln's (relatively Radical) cabinet, and no such resolution was adopted. The ''New York Herald'' reported that Seward had been seeking a peace agreement in order to bolster a new coalition of conservative Republicans and Democrats; "that Secretary Seward seized upon the movement to secure whatever ''éclat'' there might be connected with it, in hopes that if peace was the result he would be able to ride upon the wave of joy of a grateful people, and thus become the standard bearer of the great conservative party in 1868." (Johnson's " Presidential Reconstruction" would achieve some of these goals by other means.)


Lincoln–Campbell meetings

Campbell continued to push a peace settlement within the CSA, writing to John C. Breckinridge on March 5 that "The South may succomb 'sic.''but it is not necessary that she should be destroyed." Campbell was the only member of the Confederate government to stay in Richmond after it fell to the Union. He met twice with Lincoln to discuss the future of the South. On April 5, Lincoln delivered the following message in writing: According to Campbell, Lincoln said he would be willing to pardon most Confederates other than "Jeff Davis". Campbell pushed the peace terms advanced by Lincoln, but his letter to the CSA published on April 11 was undercut by Lee's Appomattox surrender on April 9.Mann, ''The Political and Constitutional Thought of John Archibald Campbell'' (1966), p. 215–216. Campbell was subsequently arrested under suspicion of conspiring to assassinate Lincoln, when his initials were discovered on an incriminating document.Mann, ''The Political and Constitutional Thought of John Archibald Campbell'' (1966), p. 17. "After the fall of Richmond, he met twice more with Lincoln with the same end in view. Following the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, Campbell was arrested in Richmond by the Union army. As Assistant Secretary of War, Campbell had initialed a letter sent to president Jefferson Davis suggesting the possibility of assassinating Lincoln and his Cabinet. The unknown author and his letter were ignored by Confederate officials but the correspondence fell into Union hands when the capital was captured."


In culture

The 2012 film '' Lincoln'' includes a brief dramatization of the conference, focusing on the slavery aspect and the desire of the Confederates to block adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment if re-admitted to the Union. Neither Lincoln nor Seward suggests any compromise on slavery and Lincoln describes slavery as "done" and the Thirteenth Amendment as certain to be ratified. Lincoln also encourages Stephens to understand that if the Confederates let go of certain rights, "such as the right to oppress", that they may find other, more honorable rights would reveal themselves. The conference is mentioned in
Jeff Shaara Jeffrey M. "Jeff" Shaara (born February 21, 1952) is an American novelist and the son of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Shaara. Biography Jeffrey Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. He graduated ...
's novel '' The Last Full Measure''.


See also

*
Opposition to the American Civil War Popular opposition to the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was widespread. Although there had been many attempts at compromise prior to the outbreak of war, there were those who felt it could still be ended peacefully or did not ...
*
Grand Contraband Camp The Grand Contraband Camp was located in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, on the Virginia Peninsula near Fort Monroe, during and immediately after the American Civil War. The area was a refuge for escaped slaves who the Union forces refused to r ...
* ''
The Peacemakers ''The Peacemakers'' is an 1868 painting by George P.A. Healy. It depicts the historic March 27, 1865, strategy session by the Union high command on the steamer ''River Queen'' during the final days of the American Civil War. Although he pain ...
''


References


Sources

* Conroy, James B. ''Our One Common Country: Abraham Lincoln and the Hampton Roads Peace Conference of 1865'' (Guilford: Lyons, 2014). xxiv, 390 pp. * Cox, LaWanda and John H. Cox. ''Politics, Principle, and Prejudice 1865–1866: Dilemma of Reconstruction America''. London: Collier-Macmillan, 1963. * Donald, David Herbert. ''Lincoln''. London: Jonathan Cape, 1995. * Escott, Paul D.''"What Shall We Do with the Negro?" Lincoln, White Racism, and Civil War America''. University of Virginia Press, 2009. * * Johnson, Ludwell H. "Fort Sumter and Confederate Diplomacy". ''Journal of Southern History'' 26(4), November 1960; pp. 441–477; accesse
via JStor
1 July 2013. * Johnson, Ludwell H. "Lincoln's Solution to the Problem of Peace Terms, 1864-1865," ''Journal of Southern History'' (1968) 34(4) pp. 576–58
in JSTOR
*Mann, Justine Staib. ''The Political and Constitutional Thought of John Archibald Campbell''. Dissertation, University of Alabama, 1966. Accesse
via ProQuest
30 June 2013. * McPherson, James. '' Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era''. Oxford University Press, 1988. * McPherson, James. "No Peace without Victory, 1861-1865". ''American Historical Review'' 109(1), February 2004; pp. 1–18. Accesse
. via JStor
1 July 2013. * Nicolay, J. G. and John Hay, "Abraham Lincoln: A History. The Hampton Roads Conference" ''The Century'' (Oct 1889) pp 846–852, by Lincoln's two secretarie
online
* Nystrom, Justin A. "'What Shall We Do with the Narrative of American Progress?' Lincoln at 200 and National Mythology". ''Reviews in American History 38(1), March 2010; pp. 67–71. Accesse

30 June 2013. * Sanders, Charles W. Jr. "Jefferson Davis and the Hampton Roads Peace Conference: 'To secure Peace to the two countries'." ''Journal of Southern History'' (1997) 63#4 pp 803–826
in JSTOR
* Stahr, Walter. ''Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012. * Vorenberg, Michael. "'The Deformed Child': Slavery and the Election of 1864". ''Civil War History'' 47(3), September 2001. Accesse

29 June 2013. * Vorenberg, Michael.
Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment
'. Cambridge University Press, 2001.


External links


"Hampton Roads Conference"
'' The New York Times'', July 22, 1895 {{American Civil War 1865 in the United States 1865 in Virginia 1865 conferences 19th-century diplomatic conferences Alexander H. Stephens Diplomatic conferences in the United States February 1865 events Politics of the American Civil War Virginia in the American Civil War