ruel. Among the exceptions
are the massacre of vanquished foes and non-combatants, male and female.

But the proclamation, as law, either is valid or is not valid. If it is
not valid, it needs no retraction. If it is valid, it cannot be
retracted any more than the dead can be brought to life. Some of you
profess to think its retraction would operate favourably for the Union.
Why better after the retraction than before the issue? There was more
than a year and a half of trial to suppress the rebellion before the
proclamation issued, the last one hundred days of which passed under an
explicit notice that it was coming, unless averted by those in revolt
returning to their allegiance. The war has certainly progressed as
favourably for us since the issue of the proclamation as before. I know,
as fully as one can know the opinions of others, that some of the
commanders of our armies in the field who have given us our most
important successes, believe the emancipation policy and the use of
coloured troops constitute the heaviest blow yet dealt to the rebellion,
and that at least one of these important successes could not have been
achieved when it was but for the aid of black soldiers. Among the
commanders holding these views are some who have never had any affinity
with what is called Abolitionism or with Republican party politics, but
who hold them purely as military opinions. I submit these opinions as
being entitled to some weight against the objections often urged, that
emancipation and arming the blacks are unwise as military measures, and
were not adopted as such in good faith.

You say you will not fight to free negroes. Some of them seem willing to
fight for you; but no matter. Fight you, then, exclusively to save the
Union. I issued the proclamation on purpose to aid you in saving the
Union. Whenever you shall have conquered all resistance to the Union, if
I shall urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time then for
you to declare you will not fight to free negroes.

I thought that in your struggle for the Union, to whatever extent the
negroes should cease helping the enemy, to that extent it weakened the
enemy in his resistance to you. Do you think differently? I thought that
whatever negroes could be got to do as soldiers leaves just so much less
for white soldiers to do in saving the Union. Does it appear otherwise
to you? But negroes, like other people, act upon motives. Why should
they do anything fo