Diary of Gideon Welles: Tuesday, January 5, 1864

Congress reassembled after a fortnight's vacation, or rather were to have assembled but there was not a quorum in either house. At the Cabinet council only a portion were present. The President in discussion narrated some stories, very apt, exhibiting wisdom and sense. He requested me to read an article in the North American Review,¹ just received, on the policy of the Administration, which he thought very excellent, except that it gave him over-much credit.

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¹ An article by James Russell Lowell which was widely quoted.

SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 1: 1861 – March 30, 1864, p. 504