accused by McClellan’s friends of meddling; decides to force action; issues General War Order No.; its purpose political rather than military; orders McClellan to move South; asks McClellan to justify his plan; calls council of generals; accepts McClellan’s plan; insists on preservation of capital; political reasons for his anxiety to hold Washington; reasons why his plan should have been adopted; never convinced of superiority of McClellan’s scheme; issues General War Order to secure Washington; unmoved by abuse of McClellan’s enemies; relieves McClellan of general command; forced by Congress to divide Army of Potomac into corps; appreciates importance of Western operations; urges on Western generals; unable to supply troops; appoints Fremont to command Department of West; tries to guide Fremont; appealed to by Mrs. Fremont; removes Fremont, his reasons; sees military importance of Cumberland Gap; urges construction of a railroad there; urges Buell on; annoyed by Buell’s refusal to move; death of his son; discusses plan to capture New Orleans; suddenly obliged to consider foreign affairs; his corrections on Seward’s instructions to Adams; his statement of foreign relations in message of December, 1861; avoids either timidity or defiance; objects from beginning to seizure of Mason and Slidell; proposes to arbitrate the matter; thinks England’s claim just; wisdom of his course in surrendering the envoys; unable to prevent slavery from entering into war, see vol. ii.; disapproves of Fremont’s order freeing slaves of rebels; by rescinding it, makes an enemy of Fremont; revokes order of Hunter freeing slaves; takes responsibility of matter upon himself; prevents Cameron from urging arming of negroes; advises recognition of Hayti and Liberia; in message suggests compensated emancipation and colonization; approves bill abolishing slavery, with compensation, in District; signs bill prohibiting return of fugitive slaves; signs bill abolishing slavery in United States Territories; signs bill to emancipate slaves of rebels; slow to execute bill to enlist slaves; finally recognizes value of black troops; his conciliatory policy not followed by Congress; his reasons for advocating compensated emancipation; hopes to induce Border States to emancipate voluntarily; sends special message urging gradual emancipation; practically warns Border State men; denounced by both sides; tries in vain to persuade Border State representatives; his plans repudiated; repeats appeal in proclamation; his scheme impracticable, but magnanimous; sees future better than others; refrains from filling vacancies on Supreme Bench with Northern men; agrees to McClellan’s peninsular campaign; still worried over safety of capital; neglects to demand any specific force to protect it; forced to detach troops from McClellan to reinforce Fremont; nearly orders McClellan to attack; his plan better than McClellan’s; orders McDowell to return to Washington; alarmed at condition of defenses of capital; question of his error in retaining