The question of traffic at Norfolk was discussed in Cabinet.
General Dix has, I see, made some headway. Stanton wanted to transfer the whole
subject of permits for army supplies and intercourse to General Dix. Chase
thought there should be leave granted for return cargoes also. I requested, if
there was to be a modification of the blockade, that it should be distinctly
understood and announced to what extent. If traffic was to be authorized, it
should be publicly known. Let us not have the shame, demoralization, and wrong
of making a measure of this kind a cover for favoritism. No distinct conclusion
was arrived at.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles,
Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30, 1864,
p. 175
No comments:
Post a Comment