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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC00228.01 |
| From Archive Folder | Unassociated Civil War Documents 1862 |
| Title | Abraham Lincoln to John J. Key dismissing him from service |
| Date | 26 September to 27 September 1862 |
| Author | Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) |
| Document Type | Correspondence; Military document; Legal document |
| Content Description | The letter is accompanied by a copy of General Orders No. 144 of September 27, 1862, signed by the Assistant Adjutant General, dismissing Key from the service for uttering disloyal sentiments. The note describes meeting on 27 September with Key and Major Turner, the witness. The endorsement dismisses Key from the service. |
| Subjects | Treason Military History President Corruption and Scandal Union Forces Union General Confederate States of America African American History Slavery Military History Civil War |
| People | Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) McClellan, George B. (1826-1885) |
| Place written | Executive Mansion |
| Theme | The American Civil War; The Presidency; Law |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | The United States achieved independence in part because foreign countries such as France and Spain entered the war against Britain on the American side. The Confederacy, too, hoped for foreign aid. In a bold bid to win European support, the Confederacy sought to win a major victory on northern soil. In September 1862, Lee launched a daring offensive into Maryland. No one could be sure exactly what Lee planned to do. But in an incredible stroke of luck, a copy of Lee's battle plan (which had been wrapped around three cigars) fell into the hands of Union General George B. McClellan. After only a brief delay, on September 17, 1862, McClellan forces attacked Lee at Antietam Creek in Maryland. The Battle of Antietam (which is sometimes referred to as the Battle of Sharpsburg) produced the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. Lee suffered 11,000 casualties; McClellan, 13,000. Lee was forced to retreat, allowing the North to declare the battle a Union victory. But Union forces failed to follow up on their surprise success and decisively defeat Lee's army. Lincoln deeply mistrusted McClellan, an obsessively cautious general and a Democrat who bitterly opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and who called Lincoln the "Gorilla." In the following exchange of letters, Lincoln expresses his anger over the statement of one officer, Major John J. Key, whose brother was a key McClellan adviser, that it was not the objective of the war to crush the Confederate army. Instead, Key implied, the goal was simply to drag the war out until both sides gave up and the Union could be restored with slavery intact. Key was the only officer to be dismissed from service for uttering disloyal sentiments. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |