“Let them Have their Horses to Plow With”
March 28, 1865
Lincoln wanted the surrender of the Confederate armies, and desired that the most liberal terms should be granted them. “Let them once surrender,” he said, “and reach their homes, they won’t take up arms again. Let them all go, officers and all. I want submission, and no more bloodshed. Let them have their horses to plow with, and, if you like, their guns to shoot crows with. I want no one punished ; treat them liberally all round. We want those people to return to their allegiance to the Union and submit to the laws. Again I say, give them the most liberal and honorable terms.”
Quoted in David Dixon Porter, Incidents and Anecdotes of the Civil War, pp. 311
April 22, 2020 at 20:49
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