Edwin M. Stanton to Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, January 5, 1865 – 2:50 p.m.

WAR DEPARTMENT,         

Washington City, January 5, 1865 — 2.50 p.m.

Lieutenant-General GRANT,

Fortress Monroe :

I think it would be useful if you would write to Sherman, urging him to give facilities to the organization of colored troops. He does not seem to appreciate the importance of this measure and appears indifferent if not hostile.

EDWIN M. STANTON,

Secretary of War.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 47, Part 2 (Serial No. 99), p. 16