Opposite top: The Confederate government’s peace overture to Seward was a test of Lincoln’s message in an August 23, 1862,

letter to
Horace Greeley (right) in which he stated that “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do that.”
Opposite bottom: George Sanders (left), a well-known Confederate agent, and others at Niagara Falls in 1864.

42 Prologue Winter 2010

I t was explained to Wendell that he was chosen as the go-
between due both to his prior and current political views
as well as his personal friendship with Seward. Although
actions would be followed by negotiations aimed at
restoring the Union.
There was one catch, however, and that arose out of
Wendell had supported the candidacy of Stephen Douglas President Lincoln’s own words.
over Lincoln for President in 1860, he stayed true to the
Union cause when the South began seceding and firmly confederate envoy cites lincoln's public pledge
believed that the rebellion must be suppressed at all costs. On August 22, 1862, Lincoln had written a letter to Horace
This other person, the gentleman explained, was a Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune, responding
very important person in the South and was authorized to an article that Greeley
to represent the Confederate States in this confidential had published titled “The
matter. Wendell agreed to the meeting, and it was Prayer of Twenty Millions,” in
decided that it would take place at the Clifton House—a which it was implied that the
popular hotel on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls— Lincoln administration lacked
on April 16. direction.
Upon arriving for the meeting, Wendell immediately In his rebuttal letter Lincoln
recognized the Confederate agent as someone who held a wrote, “If I could save the
very high position in his home state and who once served Union without freeing any
in a diplomatic position abroad. Wendell explained to slave I would do it, and if I
Seward, however, that he was not at liberty to disclose the could save it by freeing all the
identity of the man at that time. slaves I would do it; and if I
During the course of their four-hour conversation, the could save it by freeing some
gentleman explained to Wendell that he was acting on and leaving others alone I
behalf of the Confederate States of America and that he would also do that.”
had been sent from Richmond in an attempt to enlist The Confederate government wanted to test just how serious
Wendell’s help in establishing a line of communication Lincoln was regarding prior statements he had made suggesting
with Secretary Seward. that the abolition of slavery was not the primary reason for
The Confederate government, he explained, wanted to prosecuting the war—that saving the Union was first and
know if Seward would be open to receiving a communication foremost. Lincoln’s letter to Greeley was mentioned as a
outlining a suspension of hostilities between the basis for the beginning of peace negotiations.
North and the South, as well as a withdrawal of all The mystery gentleman proposed
troops—both Union and to Wendell that the decision of
Confederate—from the slavery might be left up to the
fields of battle. These individual states to decide through
popular elections and that a constitutional
amendment might be adopted guaranteeing
each state’s status on the slavery question.
After hearing details of the meeting, Seward
informed Wendell that he would speak with
the President and meet with him again the
following day.
Seward and Wendell met for a second time
on April 20. After assuring Wendell that his
confidence would not be violated under any
circumstances, Seward explained that the
United States government could not engage
in correspondence with the Confederates
because they were not recognized as a
legitimate government.
Seward did say, however, that the
administration would be willing to receive
proposals for peace from any private citizen
44 Prologue
or from any individual state currently
involved in the rebellion.
As to the issue of slavery, Seward explained
that although the United States government
was open to proposals of peace, slavery was
nonnegotiable.
It needed to be understood, Seward
emphasized, that slavery must be abolished
throughout the states and that all slaves be
made unconditionally free. The government
could afford to be liberal in other areas of
negotiation, but it was absolutely vital that the
Union be preserved and that slavery die.
The administration, said Seward, refused to
give ground on these two issues. Wendell and
Seward both agreed that this would be a sufficient
response for the anonymous representative to
take back to his superiors. It was decided that any
further communication would be unproductive
as long as their positions on the issue of slavery
remained unchanged.
more attempts at peace conference
fail as the north stands firm
In July of 1864, George Sanders, Clement
Clay, and James Holcombe attempted to
arrange another peace conference at the
Clifton House, this time inviting Lincoln
himself to attend. Sanders was a well-known
Confederate agent operating out of Canada,
and Clay and Holcombe were Confederate
commissioners also operating north of
the border. The talks were cancelled when
Lincoln refused to commit to attend.
As it turned out, it was probably best that
the President did not attend the conference.
Col. Ambrose Stevens, who was asked by Gen.
John A. Dix to travel to Canada and report
on the happenings at the Clifton House,
found the hotel swarming with Confederate
agents. He reported back to Dix that one
of the commissioners was talking about
a plan to assassinate Lincoln before the
November elections.
When told of the plot, the
President urged that it be kept
quiet in order to avoid potentially
harmful publicity. Although the
name of the person advocating
Lincoln’s assassination was never
reported, George Sanders was likely
the guilty party.
Is it possible that Sanders was also
Wendell’s mysterious agent representing the
Confederate government in April?
Under President Franklin Pierce,
Sanders once held the post of consul
to London—matching Wendell’s
Secretary of State William
Seward reported in a
memorandum that on
April 19, 1864, Cornelius
Wendell visited him
with news of a
Confederate offer “to
effect a restoration of
peace and Union.”
Winter 2010
George Sanders is one of the likely suspects as the
mysterious agent representing the Confederate
government at Clifton House in July 1864.
description of the man having held a diplomatic
post abroad—but his support for European
revolutions and political assassination forced
his recall to the United States. He was also
from Kentucky, the birthplace of Confederate
President Jefferson Davis, and was in regular
contact with him.
It is documented that Sanders checked
into the Clifton House on June 1, but
could he have possibly been there two
months earlier? Could a meeting with
Wendell have been a last-ditch attempt
at a peaceful settlement to the war before
more serious action would be considered
To learn more about
• The Civil War’s impact on
American history, see our
special Spring 2010 issue at
www.archives.gov/publications/
prologue, click on “Previous Issues,” then click
on Spring 2010.
• NARA resources on the Civil War, including
a listing of Civil War-related articles that have
appeared in Prologue, go to www.archives.gov/
exhibit/civil-war and click on “Resources.”
• The National Archives’ two-part exhibit,
“Discovering the Civil War,” go to www.archives.
gov/exhibits/civil-war/.
The South Appeals for Peace
Clifton House, a popular hotel on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, swarmed with Confederate agents when
Col. Ambrose Stevens investigated the hotel.
by the Confederates? Or could Seward’s
rebuff have set the wheels of assassination
in motion? (Seward would be seriously
injured the same night the President was
assassinated in April 1865.)
Whatever the case, a last attempt at
peace was made when President Lincoln
and Secretary Seward traveled to Hampton
Roads, Virginia, on February 3, 1865, to
meet with Southern leaders—including
Vice President Alexander Stephens—aboard
the ship River Queen near Fort Monroe in
Newport News. This meeting ended in
failure when the Confederate contingency
refused to accept any offer that did not
include complete independence.
The war continued for another two months
before Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his
Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. Ulysses
S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on
April 9, 1865. P
Note on Sources
Seward’s memorandum detailing his conversations
with Wendell is “Memorandum regarding a peace
proposal. April 19 and 20, 1864,” Civil War Papers
1861–1865, Entry 997, General Records of the
Department of State, Record Group 59, National
Archives at College Park, Maryland. The information
describing the activities of George Sanders, Clement
Clay, and James Holcombe was obtained from the
book Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service
and the Assassination of Lincoln, by William Tidwell,
James O. Hall, and David Winfred Gaddy. (Jackson:
University Press of Mississippi, 1988).
Author
Jay Bellamy is a specialist with
the Research Support Branch at
the National Archives at College
Park, Maryland, where he has been
employed since April 2000. He is a
student of the Civil War, with special emphasis on the Battle
of Gettysburg, as well as the life and times of Abraham
Lincoln. In 2008 he published his first book, Dear Jennie, a
mystery novel that centers on the Gettysburg battle.
Prologue 45