ASHLAND, September 16, 1848.
MY DEAR SIR,—I received your favor of the 9th instant, informing me of
the movement of some of my friends in New York to bring out my name as a
candidate for the Presidency.
I feel under the greatest obligations and the warmest gratitude to
them, for the sentiments of attachment, confidence, and friendship which they
do me the honor to entertain. And to you, in particular, I owe an expression of
my cordial thanks for your long, ardent, and ever faithful attachment to me.
But, my dear sir, after the decision of the Philadelphia Convention
against my nomination, I have felt bound quietly to submit. I could not,
therefore, accept a nomination, if it were tendered to me, nor
do I wish any further use of my name in connection with the office of
President.
I never would have consented to the submission of my name to that
Convention, but under a conviction that I should have been elected if
nominated. I firmly believe now that such would have been the result.
The Convention chose to nominate another, and I have ever since avoided
giving the slightest countenance or encouragement to any further efforts on my
behalf.
To bring me into the canvass now, would, I think, only have the effect
of adding to existing embarrassments, and perhaps of throwing the election into
the House of Representatives, at a time when parties are most exasperated
against each other. Such an issue of the contest is to be deprecated.
I am glad to hear that you have finally established yourself in your
profession in New York. I request you to accept my cordial wishes for your
success, happiness, and prosperity.
SOURCE: Calvin Colton, Editor, The Private Correspondence of
Henry Clay, pp. 574-5
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Daniel Ullman (sometimes spelled Ullmann) was a New York lawyer, politician, and Union general during the Civil War. Born on April 28, 1810, in New York City, he graduated from Yale University in 1829 and was admitted to the New York bar in 1835. A prominent Whig lawyer and orator, Ullman became active in New York politics and was an ally of leaders such as Henry Clay. In 1854, he ran for governor of New York as the Know-Nothing (American Party) candidate but lost to Horatio Seymour.
Ullman was commissioned colonel of the 78th New York Infantry Regiment on April 26, 1862. He saw action at the Battle of Cedar Mountain (August 9, 1862), where his regiment fought in Brig. Gen. Henry Prince’s brigade, Banks’s corps. During the Confederate counterattack, he was captured and confined in Libby Prison at Richmond, Virginia. Paroled at Aiken’s Landing on October 6, 1862, he was soon officially exchanged.
Following his release, Ullman urged President Abraham Lincoln to authorize the enlistment of African American troops. On January 13, 1863, he was appointed brigadier general of U.S. Volunteers and sent to Louisiana, where he organized five Black regiments as the Corps d’Afrique. He later commanded a brigade composed of those infantry regiments and a unit of Black engineers. At the Siege of Port Hudson, his men suffered heavy casualties. He subsequently commanded the District of Port Hudson and by mid-1864 was leading a full division of African American troops.
Struggling with alcoholism near the war’s end, Ullman was relieved of command. He resigned his commission on July 30, 1865, was mustered out in August 1865, and received a brevet promotion to major general for his wartime service.
He died on September 20, 1892, in Yonkers, New York, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack, Rockland County, New York.
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