The papers speak of a violent altercation between Blair and Stanton on Tuesday in Cabinet. It so happened that Stanton was not present with Blair. I do not believe that the two have interchanged words for weeks. There never was cordiality between them. It is also stated that three or four members of the Cabinet have resigned. Stanton, it is said with some earnestness, and reasserted, has tendered his resignation. There is no truth in any of these rumors, — not a shadow to build upon. If Stanton ever, at any time or under any circumstances, has spoken in whisper to the President of resigning, he did not mean it, for he would be, I think, one of the very last to quit, and never except on compulsion. I have little doubt that Blair would leave to-morrow, provided he could carry Stanton out with him and he could be got out in no other way.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 102
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