Naval Vessels Quotes
The response was supposedly to the President’s question of the feasibility of using the Navy to remove the Negro soldiers to another land. See {590147}. This quotation’s authenticity and accuracy are challenged by many scholars. The only source is the personal reminiscences of General Butler, a politician with Presidential aspirations who had his own agenda. The nuance of wording is very critical as to whether Lincoln was trying to accomplish export or whether he was asking Butler to staff out the feasibility so that Lincoln could deal with others who had raised the issue. There is no record of his having asked anyone in the Navy to staff out such a proposal, and the Secretary of the Navy at the time, Gideon Wells kept a detailed diary. Butler’s conclusion that 150,000 people could not be transported fast enough to exceed the breeding rate of those Blacks remaining also is challenged by many, especially if the Navy and the Merchant Service were both used. This casts even more doubt on the accuracy of the quotations.
