t relieve General Curtis because of any full conviction
that he had done wrong by commission or omission. I did it because
of a conviction in my mind that the Union men of Missouri,
constituting, when united, a vast majority of the whole people,
have entered into a pestilent factional quarrel among themselves--
General Curtis, perhaps not of choice, being the head of one faction,
and Governor Gamble that of the other. After months of labor to
reconcile the difficulty, it seemed to grow worse and worse, until
I felt it my duty to break it up somehow; and as I could not remove
Governor Gamble, I had to remove General Curtis.

"Now that you are in the position, I wish you to undo nothing merely
because General Curtis or Governor Gamble did it, but to exercise
your own judgment and _do right_ for the public interest.

"Let your military measures be strong enough to repel the invader
and keep the peace, and not so strong as to unnecessarily harass
and persecute the people. It is a difficult role, and so much
greater will be the honor if you perform it well. If both factions,
or neither, shall abuse you, you will probably be about right.
Beware of being assailed by one and praised by the other.

"Yours truly,
"A. Lincoln."

In acknowledging the President's letter on June 1, I concluded by
saying:

"I have strong hopes that the Missouri State Convention, at its
approaching session, will adopt such measures for the speedy
emancipation of slaves as will secure the acquiescence of the large
majority of Union men, though perhaps not quite satisfactory to
either extreme. If this hope be realized, one of my most embarrassing
difficulties will be removed, or at least greatly diminished."

The military problem in that department, as understood by me and
by my superiors in Washington, was at that time a comparatively
simple one, though my predecessor in command of the department
entertained different views. With my views of the military situation,
whether confined to my own department or extended to embrace the
entire country, there was but one course to pursue, namely, to send
all available forces to assist in the capture of Vicksburg and the
opening of the Mississippi to the gulf. After that I could easily
operate from points on the Mississippi as a base, capture Little
Rock and the line of the Arkansas, and then make that river the
base of future operations.

Hence, in response to a request from General Halleck,