Called on the President to consult as to the selection of counsel in the Henderson case, since the death of William Curtis Noyes. Told him I thought we should have the best lawyer we could obtain, for the defense had secured Evarts and Pierrepont, and suggested the name of O’Conor provided we could secure his services. He is of the opposite party in politics, but in a matter of this kind the public interest should not be permitted to suffer from that cause. It may be difficult to secure him, for I understand he has relinquished his practice. The President heartily concurred in my views and earnestly advised that O'Conor should be employed.
The President does not yet decide whether exemplified copies shall be furnished in the Stover case, but Mr. Speed informs me that there can be no question that they should be furnished. This will, I presume, be the result; but, inquiring to-day for the record, it is found to be missing from the Department. Some months since the President called for it, and it was, I understood, committed to the custody of Mr. Browning, counsel for Stover.
A special messenger from Admiral Porter brings word that the fleet is at Beaufort. Rode home with Stanton, who tells me the troops are embarking at Hampton Roads to-day for Wilmington.
SOURCE: Gideon Welles, Diary of Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy Under Lincoln and Johnson, Vol. 2: April 1, 1864 — December 31, 1866, p. 220
