Abraham Lincoln to Major-General Charles W. Sandford, —, 1863.

Executive Mansion, Washington,  —, 1863.

To Charles W. Sandford,

Major-general of Militia for the State of New York:

Whereas, by reason of unlawful combinations against the authority of the Government of the United States, it has become impracticable, in my judgment, to enforce, by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the laws of the United States within —

Therefore: I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do call forth yourself and your command, as part of the Militia of the State of New York, to aid in suppressing said combinations and opposition to said laws; and I do order and direct that, for this object, you report forthwith to Major-general John A. Dix.

Abraham Lincoln.

SOURCE: Morgan Dix, Memoirs of John Adams Dix, Volume 2, p. 87

EDITOR’S NOTE: See Edwin M. Stanton to Major-General John A. Dix, August 15, 1863 for explanation.