January 22, 1864
Navy Secretary Gideon Welles writes in his diary: “Very little done at the Cabinet. Stanton, Usher, and myself were the only ones present. Some general talk and propositions.”
According to the Illinois Journal, “President address a group of Arkansas residents regarding reconstruction: “The President announced to the Arkansas delegation, this afternoon, that he had determined not to appoint a separate Military Governor, but to entrust to General [Frederick] Steele, the recently appointed Commander of the Department of Arkansas, with both the military and civil administration of the State.
He stated the reason to be that the experience of the past had proved that there was constant conflict between military governors and military commanders, which was injurious to the interests under their charge. He expressed hopes that a formal organization of the State Government under the terms of the Amnesty Proclamation would speedily be made by the people of Arkansas. The delegation was fully satisfied with the President’s action.
Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War 
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