January 25, 1864 (Saturday): The North Carolina Question

North Carolina Capital (NC Division of Archives and History)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, January 25, 1864.
[Governor VANCE:]
    SIR: In consultation of our delegation this morning with the President in regard to public affairs in North Carolina, the President read to us a communication made by himself to you in reply to a letter of yours upon the subject of negotiating with the United States Government for the termination of the war. He did not read your letter to him, to which his was a response, and we do not know what were the views expressed by you to him in your letter. The letter of the President to you contains information which would be interesting to our people, and we are of the opinion that its publication would have a happy effect not only in our State, but upon public opinion throughout the Confederacy. There may be something in your letter to the President which you do to care to make public, and if so, the letter of the President alone would effect our object in getting his views before the public. The President informed us that the letter was a public paper in the hands of yourself, and that its publication was a matter for your consideration; that he certainly had no objection to its being made public. In that state of facts, we have thought proper to suggest the publication of this correspondence, or at least the letter of the President, thinking that it will remove much prejudince against the President now existing in our State upon the subject of peace and peace propositions.
     We have the honor to be, your obedient servants,


A. H. ARRINGTON.
E. G. READE.
J. R. McLEAN.
W. N. H. SMITH.
THOS. D. McDOWELL.
B. S. BAITHER.
THOS. S. ASHE.
A. T. DAVIDSON.
R. R. BRIDGERS.
O. R. KENAN.
WILLIAM LANDER.

Official Records, Series I., Vol. 52, Part 1, Page 813.

Vance had written Davis to state there was pressure on him from within the state to press the Confederate government to open negotiations with the Lincoln administration.  Davis' response was carefully crafted and set forth the case there could be no negotiations given the administration's stance on the war.