Author Title Imprint 18 — 47372-3 OPO iIhi^^ o*^ congress OODlb 1/ / - '■Ji RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Evacuation of Richmond, By JOHIv^ a. CAMPBELL RECOLLECTIONS OF THE Evacuation of Richmond^ April 2d, 1865. ^ J By JOHN A^ CA]\»BELL BALTIMOEE: JOHN MURPHY & CO. 1880. 4-77 .LI Recollections of tlie InmM of RicliuioDi J^ l//e Confederate A^rmj and Gov- e7^?ime?ii, m April, 7865, a7id of i7icide?ils l/ial fotlo7t^'ed it. I HAVE been often requested to make a record of my reminiscence of the occurrences in RichmxOnd, at the time of its evacuation in 1865, by the Confederate Government ; and of the intercourse between President Lincoln and myself after that event. I proceed to comply with the requests. It was evident to any considerate observer, that the war must terminate in the spring of 1865 by the overthrow of the Confederacy. Their armies had suffered disastrous defeats and losses during the winter of 1864-5; their territory had become circumscribed ; their seaports were all captured ; their soldiers and laborers in workshops were deserting, supplies were exhausted and the popu- lation disheartened ; the army before Richmond was besieged, and its communications for the most 3 part, occupied or destroyed. On Sunday morning, the 2d April, 1865, I was as usual at the War Office. During the forenoon three telegrams came from General Lee to the War Office. One re- ported an engagement and heavy loss the preced- ing day ; the second reported the disaster and loss to have been more serious and heavy than was supposed at first ; the third reported the disaster and loss as irreparable, and directed an evacua- tion of the city. The remainder of the day and the following- night were employed in the collection together of the officers of government and their removal with the archives, army, and a large number of citizens from the city in the direction toward Danville. My son, two sons-in-law and a nephew left the city with the army to which they belonged. I remained in the city and was at the War Office till late in the evening. Before midnight the trains had gone and all the public buildings were empty. The only sounds came from the march of troops and the passage of wagons across the streets and bridge. About 3 A. M. of Mon- day morning, the explosion of the INTavy Maga- zine below Richmond, shook the buildings and aroused the slumbering population. Not long- after, I went down to the War Office and the Treasury building, and walked down to the canal. There were lights in the Shocco tobacco warehouse resembling lamps at the distance, but in a little time there was a blaze of light and flame. I wit- nessed the conflagration, and its extension to the flour mills near by and the stores in Carey street in front. One of the last acts of a retreating sol- dier must have been the firing of the warehouse. There was no appearance of fire as I came along the streets, nor until I saw the lights in the ware- house. I returned to my house and remained there till noon. The entry of the troops of the United States into the city, the appointment of a military governor, the establishment of guards and patrols, all occurred in the forenoon. The con- flagration continued till the afternoon and had extended over some twenty blocks of buildings along the main and other streets near. There was discipline and order among the troops of the United States and they rendered much aid in subduing the flames. In the afternoon of Mon- day, I visited a number of the families of persons who had gone from the city, and found that there had been no molestation suffered among them. On Tuesday morning, I reported to General Shepley, the military governor of the city, and informed him of my submission to the military authorities. General Shepley had argued causes before the Supreme Court while I was a member of it, and had obtained reputation as an able lawyer. I had made his acquaintance, but had not had any 6 personal intercourse. He gave me an order, secur- ing myself and my family protection, and spoke with some freedom of the course of affairs. He said, that the public authorities would pursue a conduct of liberality and forbearance, one not calculated to wound the sensibilities of the people. That the State would probably be placed under a military government, but the Governor would be selected from the State, and would not be ob- noxious. I understood that such were his own views. In the course of this conversation, he mentioned that President Lincoln was then at City Point, below Richmond. I said that I should be pleased to see him, and asked for a permission. General Shepley replied that he would consult General Weitzel, the commander of the troops in Rich- mond, and would send a telegram to the President with his consent. During the same afternoon. President Lincoln came to Richmond. He was escorted along the streets of the city by a small body of cavalry, and was followed by a multitude of persons, mostly colored, who testified joy and exultation. He was carried to the house which had been vacated, not forty-eight hours before, by Mr. Davis, and was now the head-quarters of the General commanding the United States troops. Shortly after his arrival a staff officer came for me, and I was conducted to a small room in that building, where I met Presi- dent Lincoln and General Weitzel. I had seen President Lincoln in Washington City, and a short time before at Hampton Roads. His manner indi- cated that he expected some special, and perhaps authorized, communication to him from the Con- federate Government. I disabused his mind of this by saying I had no commission to see him. I told him that in parting with General Breckenridge, the Secretary of War of the Confederate States, I had informed him I should not leave Richmond, and that I should take the earliest opportunity to see Mr. Lincoln on the subject of peace, and should be glad to have a commission to do so, but I had no reply, and received no commission. I then told the President that the war w^as over, and all that remained to be done was to compose the country. I told him, there had been much discussion among individuals on the subject of peace, and how one could be obtained, and of the conditions of a settlement. There had been a great number of prominent persons who had desired a settlement. There had been divisions as to the power to make one on the conditions he had announced. Some thought a convention of the States would be needed, others supposed the President, or President and Senate, or Congress, or the Generals might arrange for one ; that none had undertaken the task, and the result was that every man was left to make his 8 own peace. I spoke to him particularly for Vir- ginia, and urged him to consult and counsel with her public men, and her citizens, as to the restora- tion of peace, civil order, and the renewal of her relations as a member of the Union. I urged, that although there had been passion, petulance and animosity in the secession movements, that there were also serious differences of opinion as to constitutional obligations and responsibilities, upon which there w^as a ground for opposing opinions. That these had not been settled by the authorities of the country and perhaps could not be otherwise settled than by a war. That Virginia had not been a party in any intemperate agitation and had not precipitated the measures of secession. War existed when her final resolution was taken. Mr. Lincoln asked me to whom I alluded, in asking him to take counsel with the public men of Virginia? I mentioned among others, Mr. Rives, Mr. Hunter, Gov. Letcher, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Caperton, Mr. Holcombe, &c., and General Lee himself. Mr. Lincoln, at the end, answered that my general principles were right ; the trouble was how to apply them. That he was impressed with what I had said of the difficulty of finding any one willing to deal with the subject of peace. He said he " wanted to have another talk," and for that purpose would remain in Richmond that 9 nio'lit. His officers would not listen to his suo-- gestion of remaining in Richmond, and it was agreed that I should visit him on the gunboat (Malvern) on which he had come to Richmond from City Point, and that I might bring with me citizens of the place. I sent invitations to several, but most of them were absentees, others declined to go with me. The following day (5th of April) in company with Mr. Gustavus Myers, a member of the Richmond bar, and General AVeitzel, I went to the gunboat Malvern, lying in James River, near Richmond. The President was prepared for the visit and spoke with freedom and apparent deci- sion. 'No one could hesitate to believe that he desired to restore the Union to the condition that it had been, and in doing so, to leave as few occasions for animosities, grudges or resentments as the extraordinary circumstances allowed. In the course of the conversation, he /produced a paper written by himself, but not signed, nor addressed to any one. This paper he read over and then commented ujDon each clause at some length and handed the i^aper to me. The follow- ing is a coY>y of the paper : "As to peace, I have said before, and now repeat that three things are indispensable : 1. The restoration of the national authority throughont the United States. '2 cCa—'— ^ 10 2. No receding by the Executive of the United States on the slavery question from the position assumed thereon in the late annual message, and in preceding documents. 3. No cessation of hostilities short of an end of the war, and the disbanding of all forces hostile to the government. That all propositions coming from those now in hostility to the govern- ment, not inconsistent with the foregoing, will be respectfully considered and passed upon in a spirit of sincere liberality. I now add that it seems useless for me to be more specific with those who will not say that they are ready for the indispensable terms, even on conditions to be named by themselves. If there be any who are ready for these indispensable terms, on any con- ditions whatever, let them say so, and state their conditions, so that the conditions can be known and considered. It is further added, that the remission of confiscation being within the ex- ecutive power, if the war be now further persisted in by those opposing the government, the making of confiscated property at the least to bear the additional cost, will be insisted on, but that confiscations (except in case of third party intervening interests), will be remitted to the people of any State which shall now promptly and in good faith withdraw its troops from further re- sistance to the government. What is now said as to the remis- sion of confiscation has no reference to supposed property in slaves." , "\ I did not perceive any material difference be- tween the terms expressed in this paper and those announced by the President at the conference at Hampton Roads, in February of the same year, at which I was present and had participated. The demand for the restoration of the national au- thority as an indispensable condition for settlement was embodied in the inaugural address of the 11 President, and had not been abated or withdrawn for an instant since that date. There was no opposition possible now. The President in pub- lishing his proclamation in 1862, for the eman- cipation of the slave population, had resorted to an extreme and extra constitutional measure. If carried into execution it changed the constitution, and the social organization of all of the States to which it had been applied. The power to accom- plish by proclamation of the President such a social and constitutional change — such a revolution might well be questioned. The President here, as well as at Hampton Roads, said he spoke only for himself as the Executive of the United States. He repeated here with the same emphasis as there, that he would be steadfast to the measure proposed in those 2)apers. My opinion at the time of the Hampton confer- ence was that the Confederate States were powerless to make resistance, and on my return I favored negotiations for peace. I had not under estimated the condition of the Confederacy. General Lee had now retreated from Richmond, destitute and inca- pable of making resistance. There was no other army organized to resist. My answer to President Lincoln was that I did not believe there would be any opposition to his terms. That I had regarded his proclamation as one of those acts that com- 12 mitted the government fatally and beyond recall, and that the institution of slavery after it, was as much an issue in the war as was the restoration of the Union. In the existing condition I believed there would be no contention on the subject. He referred to the laws imposing fines and penalties as not mentioned in his paper. He said he had not mentioned this in his paper because he did not think he ought to force any one to take a pardon ; that Mr. Davis had said he would not have one, but he himself would say, that most any one might have one for the asking. Mr. Lincoln told me he had been meditating a plan, but that he had not fixed upon it, and if he ..adopted it, he would write to General Weitzel from City Point. This was to call the Virginia Legislature together, " the very Legislature which had been sitting in Richmond," — " been sitting up yonder," pointing to the Capitol, " to vote the restoration of Virginia to the Union." He said he had a government in Virginia — the Pierpont government — but it had a very small margin, and he was not disposed to increase it. He Avanted the very Legislature that had been sitting in Rich- mond to vote the restoration of Virginia to the Union. He said Virginia was in the condition of a tenant between contending landlords. The tenant should attorn to tlie landlord which shows the best title. 13 President Lincoln addressed inquiries to Mr. JNIyers, who was a prominent member of the bar of Richmond, relative to the composition of the Legislature — whether it had been adjourned or was dissolved — the character of its members, and whether it could be assembled in its entirety. We were several hours in conversation, and parted with him with expressions of mutual good-will. The following day, the letter the President had been meditating, came to General Weitzel and was shown to me, by the direction of the author as expressed in the letter. I have no copy of the letter, and have not seen it since that time. The interpretation I placed upon its terms, will appear from the contemporary papers, I prepared to carry it into execution, which I annex to this narrative. I understood that the President desired from that Legislature a repeal of all laws hostile to the United States, the renewal of their bonds of Union, and their obedience to the Constitution, and the restoration of the national authority so far as they could do so authoritatively or individually. My impression is that he expected they would sanction the resolution of Congress, which pro- posed the thirteenth amendment to the constitution. My own hope was, that what remained of civil order in the State, would be upheld, so as to assist in composing the elements of social disorganization and disorder, whicli would abound from the dis- 14 banding of the armies, and the abrupt and com- pulsory emancipation of the slaves. I did not suppose that the President, nor the Virginia Legis- lature could do more than to initiate measures which would result in a full and legal restora- tion of public order and domestic tranquility. The members of the Legislature in Richmond were called together, and a committee was formed of which General Anderson, of Richmond, was chairman, to summon the members and other persons. The papers I subjoin being a letter by me to the committee, and the letter of the committee will show all that was done by us. These papers were inspected and revised by Gen- eral Shepley, the military governor, and General Weitzel. They were examined by Charles A. Dana, assistant Secretary of War, who had es- tablished a branch of the War Department in Richmond. While thev were beino- read to Mr. Dana, Vice-President Johnson and Mr. Preston King came in and heard them. The former, I was told, expressed himself afterwards, strongly and profanely hostile, but this was not known at the time to me. Apparently there was but one senti- ment in Richmond, that of cordial approbation. On the 13th of April, I received a letter from General Ord, who had succeeded General Weitzel, saying : " I am instructed by the President to inform you that since his paper was written on 15 the subject of reconvening the gentlemen who acted under the insurrectionary government as the Legishiture of Virginia, events have occurred anticipating the objects had in view, and the con- vention of such gentlemen is unnecessary. He wishes the paper withdrawn, and I shall recall my l^ublications assembling them." I replied to the letter of General Ord the same day, and enclosed the paper the President had given to me ; and stated that " the communication of President Lincoln to him, in respect to con- vening the Legislature of Virginia, was addressed to General Weitzel. I read this communication by the authority of the writer, and imparted its import to those who were interested in fulfilling its requirements. The object was to restore peace to Virginia on the terms mentioned in the enclosed paper by the agency of the authorities that have sustained the war against the United States. I still think that the issue would have been most favorable. The events that have occurred since, have removed some impediments to the action sought for, and preclude the possibility of its failure." The surrender of the army of General Lee on the 8th and 9th of April, was foreseen some time before it took place. In the interview with Gen- eral Weitzel, on the 6th of April, he told me that lie understood then the force of my remark to Mr. 16 Lincoln, " that the war was ended," for that he had captured a letter of General Lee. Upon inquiry I found it was a letter that had been written to the Secretary of War, (Breckenridge), dated about the 10th of ISJarch, 18(35, in answer to a request from the Secretary to inform him of his ability to main- tain a campaign. The letter of General Lee reported " that the situation was full of peril and difficulty, and required prompt action." In the course of the letter he stated that unless his con- dition was improved " that he could neither hold his lines before Richmond, nor could he remove from them." General AVeitzel spoke of the letter as a noble one, and that General Lee had spoken frankly and faithfully. This letter I had read with General Breck- enridge. It, with others from the Quarter-Master General, Commissary General, Chief of Ordnance, not more encouraging, had been communicated to the President of the Confederacy, and by him to Congress. These were captured among the other papers of that body. Whatever resources of munition or supplies those departments had for the campaign in Rich- mond, remained in Richmond at the evacuation, and were captured or consumed in the flames. Mr. Hunter came to Richmond to meet the Legislature when it should be assembled, and on 17 the 13tli was ordered to leave in twenty-four hours, under the orders of the Commander Ord. He proposed to me to go with him to Washington City to see President Lincoln, to which I assented. A telegram was sent afe BfjjiSm to the President in our names by General Ord, about noon of the 14th of April. No answer was ever given. The same nio-ht the President was assassinated. The assassination of President Lincoln on the night of the 14th of April, 1865, at Washington City, and the horrible attempt by the conspirators to massacre other officers of the government of the United States, naturally aroused wild and improb- able suspicions as to the extent of the conspiracy, and a corresponding exasperation and abhorrence. Vice-President Johnson, who succeeded Mr. Lincoln, participated in the current excitement and the measures of his cabinet show the influence that event exerted upon them. The measures for reorganization which President Lincoln had under consideration before his death, were not disposed of, and his liberal spirit and purposes as to amnesty and the confiscation of property, were not embodied in the proclamation made the last of May of that year, (18(35.) A 3 18 report of the evidence taken by tlie Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives of Congress in the spring of 1867, relative to the charges against President Johnson, throws some light upon the plans and purposes of President Lincoln, and his proceedings at Richmond.. He returned to Washington from Richmond, and heard of the surrender of the army of General Lee on the 9th of April. Secretary Stanton testified to the committee " that President Lincoln went to the city of Richmond after its capture, and some intercourse took place between him and Judge Campbell, formerly of the Supreme Court of the United States, and General Weitzel, which resulted in the call of the rebel Legislature to Richmond. Mr. Lincoln on his return from Rich- mond reconsidered that matter. The policy of undertaking to restore the government through the medium of rebel organizations was very much opposed by many persons, and very strongly and vehemently opposed by myself. I had several earnest conversations with Mr. Lincoln on the subject and advised that any effort to reorganize the government should be under the Federal govern- ment solely^ and to treat the rebel organizations as 7iull and void. On the day j)receding his death, a conversation took place between him, the Attorney General and myself upon the subject at the Execu- tive mansion. An hour or two aftervvards, and 19 about the middle of the afternoon, Mr. Lincoln came over to the War Department and renewed the conversation. "After I had repeated my reasons against allow- ing the rebel Legislatures to assemble, or the rebel authorities to have any participation in the business of reorganization, he sat down at my desk and WTote a telegram to General Weitzel, and handed it to me. ' There ' said he, ' I think this will suit you.' I told him no, it did not go far enough, that the members of the Legislature would probably come to Richmond, that Greneral Weitzel ought to be directed to prohibit their assembling. He took up his pen again and made that addition to his telegram and signed it. He handed it to me. I said that was exactly right. It was transmitted immediately to General Weitzel, and was the last act ever performed by Mr. Lincoln in the War Department." Mr. Stanton w^as not decided as to wdiether the President had intended to call the Legislature together at all, and whether he had intended to use them for any purpose except to withdraw the troops of Virginia from the Con- federacy; and that he stated he had been mis- understood. The telegram to General Weitzel is in the report of the Congress committee, and the following is a copy : 20 "Office U. S. Military Telegraph, War Department, WasJiington, D. C, April ISlh, 1865. Major General Weitzel, Richmond, Va : I have just seen Judge Campbell's letter to you of the 7th. He assumes, it appears to me, that I have called the insurgent Legislature of Virginia together, as the rightful Legislature of the State to settle all differences with the United States. I have done no such thing. I spoke of them not as a Legislature, but as ' the gentlemen who have acted as the Legislature of Virginia in support of the rebellion.' I did this on purpose to exclude the assumption that I was recognizing them as a rightful body. I dealt with them as men having power de facto to do a specific thing, to wit: 'To withdraw the Virginia troops and other sup- port from resistance to the general government,' for which, in the paper handed to Judge Campbell, I promised a special equivalent, to wit : A remission to the people of the State, except in certain cases, of the confiscation of their property. I meant this, and no ■ more. Inasmuch, however, as Judge Campbell misconstrues this, and is still pressing for an armistice contrary to the explicit state- ment of the paper I gave him, and particularly as General Grant has since captured the Virginia troops, so that giving a consider- ation for their withdrawal is no longer applicable, let my letter to you and the paper to Judge Campbell both be withdrawn or countermanded, and he be notified of it. Do not now allow them to assemble, but if any have come allow them safe return to their homes. A. LINCOLN." I have detailed the conversations and acts of President Lincoln at Richmond, and the expecta- tions and hopes he excited. Mr. Secretary Stanton has deposed to the successful efforts made b}^ him- 21 self to frustrate them. I have not compLained that the President revoked his orders nor that he deemed the meeting unnecessary, nor even that he shoukl have directed that those who came at the invitation shoukl have been tokl that unless they returned home in twenty-four hours they would be imprisoned. What the course of Mr. Lincoln would have been had his life been spared, is beyond our knowledge or our conjecture. Mr. Stanton two years after the death of the President informs us that he did not know of any plan formed by the President. At the date of his death Mr. Stanton had advised there was no government in any of the eleven States ; " that the troops of the States had been conquered, the authorities overthrown by the authority of the United States, and by the war, and that their exclusion should be placed on the ground that their overthrow by the United States had been established." Within the month after the death of Mr. Lincoln, orders were given to the military commanders that there should be no recognition of any civil officer in all of those States, and that the attempt of any one to exercise any civil function of their offices should be followed by his mili- tary arrest. For some six months the civil and social order in all of those States was subverted. Numerous arrests were made of civil officers of those States, who are reported in 1866, as prisoners 22 of war. Mr. Stanton testifies of his own plan of reorganization. He favored a convention selected by the male population of lawful age, excluding all who had been disloyal. That is including the colored population and excluding a very large proportion of the whites. This plan had been recently adopted by the reconstruction acts as they were interpreted. The States were then military departments, and domi- nated by Brigadier Generals, and designated by Arabic numerals. Under such rule the most dis- honest, despicable and debased governments were established that ever existed on this continent. I am not prepared to admit that President Lincoln would have cooperated with the politicians or the j^arty who brought such calamities on the country. My opinion is that his purposes were to deal frankly and faithfully in accordance with the declarations made by him at Richmond. JOHN A. CAMPBELL. Baltimore, ISSO. 23 APPENDI [copy.] Richmond, Ya., 7th of April, 1865. General Joseph R. Anderson AND others, Committee, &c. Gentlemen : I have had, since the evacuation of Richmond, two conversations with Mr. Lincoln, President of the United States. My object was to secure for the citizens of Richmond, and the inhabitants of the State of Virginia who had come under the military au- thority of the United States, as much gentleness and forbearance as could possibly be extended. The conversations had relation to the establishment of a gov- ernment for Virginia, the requirement of oaths of allegiance from the citizens, and the terms of settlement with the United States. With the concurrence and sanction of General Weitzel, he assented to the application not to require oaths of allegiance from the citizens. He stated, that he would send to General Weitzel his decision upon the question of a government for Virginia. This letter was received on Thursday, and was read by me. It authorized Gen- eral Weitzel to grant a safe conduct to the Legislature of Virginia to meet at Richmond, to deliberate and to return to their homes at the end of their session. I am informed by General Weitzel that he will issue whatever orders that may be necessary, and will furnish all the facilities of transportation, &c., to the members of the Legislature to meet in this city, and that the Governor, 24 Lieutenant Governor and public men of the State will be included in the order. The object of the invitation is for the government of Virginia to determine whether they will administer the laws in connection with the authorities of the United States. I understand from Mr. Lincoln, if this condition be fulfilled that no attempt would be made to establish or sustain any other authority. My conversation with President Lincoln upon the terras of a settlement, was answered in writing ; that is, he left with me a written memorandum of the substance of his answer. He stated as indispensable conditions of a settlement : the restoration of the authority of the United States over the whole of the State, and the cessation of hostilities by the disbanding of the army, and that there shall be no receding on the part of the Executive from his position on the slavery question. The latter proposition was explained to mean that the Executive action on the subject of slavery, so far as it had been declared in messages, proclamations and other official acts, must pass for what they were worth ; that he would not recede from his position. But that this would not debar action by other authorities of the government. I suppose that if the proclamation of the President be valid as law, that it has already become operative and vested rights. I believe that full confidence may be placed in General Weitzel's fulfilment of his promises to afford facilities to the Legislature, and that its members may return after they have concluded their business, without interruption. Mr. Lincoln in his memorandum, referred to what would be his action under the confiscation acts. He stated that when the property had not been condemned and sold, that he would make a universal release of the forfeitures that had been incurred in any State which would now promptly recognize the authority of the United States, and withdraw its troops. But that if the war be persisted in that the confiscated property must be regarded 25 as a resource from which the expenses of the war might be supported. His memorandum contained no article upon the penalties im- posed upon persons, but in his oral conversation, he intimated that there was scarcely any one who might not get a discharge for the asking. I understand from the statement, though the words did not exactly imply it, that a universal amnesty would be granted if peace were now declared. In my intercourse I strongly urged the propriety of an armistice. This was done after the |)reparatiou of his memorandum. He agreed to consider the subject, but no answer has been received. I suppose that if he assents that the matter will be decided and executed between Generals Grant and Lee. Very respectfully, yours, (Signed,) J. A. CAMPBELL. TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINIA. The undersigned members of the Legislature of the State of Virginia in connection with a number of the citizens of the State whose names are attached to this paper, in view of the evacuation of Richmond by the Confederate government, and its occupation by the military authorities of the United States, the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia and the suspension of the juris- diction of the civil power of the State, are of opinion that an immediate meeting of the General Assembly of the State is called for by the exigencies of the situation. The consent of the military authorities of the United States to the session of the Legislature in Richmond, in connection with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, to their free deliberation upon public affairs, and to the ingress and departure of all its members under safe conduct has been obtained. 4 26 The United States authorities will afford transportation from any point under their control to any of the persons before men- tioned. The matters to be submitted to the Legislature are the restoration of peace to the State of Virginia, and the adjustment of questions involving life, liberty and property that have arisen in the States as a consequence of the war. We therefore, earn- estly request the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and members of the Legislature, to repair to this city by the 25th of April, (instant.) We understand that full protection to persons and property will be afforded in the State, and we recommend to peaceful citizens to remain at their homes and pursue their usual avoca- tions, with the confidence that they will not be interrupted. We earnestly solicit the attendance in Richmond on or before the 25th of April, (instant), of the following persons, citizens of Virginia, to confer with us as to the best means of restoring peace to the State of Virginia. We have procured safe conduct from the military authorities of the United States for them to enter the city and to depart without molestation : Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, A. T. Carpentor, Wm. C. Rives, John Letcher, A. H. H. Stuart, R. L. Montague, Fayette McMullen, J. P. Holcombe, Alex. Rives, B. J. Barbour, J as. Barbour, W, L. Goggins, J. B. Baldwin, T. S. Gholson, Walter Staples, S. D. Miller, T. J. Randolph, W. T. Early, R. A. Claybrook, Jno. C. Horner (?), Wra. JTownes, T. H. Eppes, and those other persons for whom passports have been procured and especially forwarded that we consider it to be unnecessary to mention. {Signed,) J. Marshall, Senator from Fauquier. J. A. Neeson, Senator fromi Marion. Jas. Venable, T. M. Dudley, W. Goddin, D. J. Burr, L. Tazwell, P. G. Bayly, D. J. Saunders, W. T. Joynes, T. J. Smith^ L. S. Hall, J. A. Meredith, F. Stearnes, 27 J. J. English, W. H. Lyons, Wm. Ambers, Wm. C. Wickham, A. M. Keiley, B. S. Ewell, H. W. Thomas, Nat. Tyler. Lt. S. S. Moncure, R. F. Walker, Jos. Mayo, Jos. R. Anderson, R. Howard, R. R. Howison, John Lyon, T. R. Fisher, W. M. Harrison, Cyrus Hall, F. W. Garnett, Jas a. Scott. I concur in the preceding recommendation, J. A. CAMPBELL. Approved for publication in the Whig and in handbill form. G. WEITZEL, Major General Commanding. Richmond, Va., Airril 11th, 1S65.