Ramsey County History – Spring 2012: “‘As if in a Law Office in Illinois:’ An Interview with President Lincoln”

“As if in a Law Office in Illinois:” An Interview with President Lincoln
Author: John B. Sanborn

This short article is an excerpt from John B. Sanborn’s 1887 autobiographical address titled, “Reminiscences of the Campaigns Against Vicksburg.” Sanborn served as a colonel in the Union Army in the Civil War, especially in the campaigns to win control of the Mississippi River in the vicinity of the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg. General Ulysses S. Grant had recommended Sanborn for promotion to brigadier general, but the promotion was delayed for unknown reasons. Sanborn decided to resign from the army in August 1863 because of the delay and to go to Washington and present the case for his promotion directly to President Abraham Lincoln. The excerpt printed here recounts Sanborn’s brief meeting with Lincoln where Sanborn gave General Grant’s letter supporting his promotion to the president, who subsequently intervened on behalf of Sanborn.
PDF of Sanborn article