Beschreibung:

BUCHANAN, JAMES, President . Autograph letter signed ("James Buchanan") to Charles J. Faulkner (formerly Buchanan's Minister to France, later A.A.G. to T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson), Wheatland, near Lancaster [Pennsylvania], 21 October 1865. 2 pages, small 4to, integral blank neatly inlaid. BUCHANAN, TO A FORMER CONFEDERATE OFFICER, DEFENDS HIS CONDUCT AS PRESIDENT An unusual letter in which Buchanan alludes to his Presidential mistakes: Buchanan notes that Faulkner "whilst attributing to me patriotic motives for my official acts as President" has expressed the opinion "that I had erred in some of my recommendations & measures of policy. To this I can, as a resonable man, have no objection, for I may have committed many errors. But when you add, that I would probably myself admit such to be the fact, I must say that you are mistaken. I pursued a settled & consistent line of policy from the beginning to the end, & on reviewing my past conduct, I do not recollect a single important measure which I should desire to recall, even if this were in my power. Under this conviction I have enjoyed a tranquil and cheerful mind. I am happy to know that you still continue to be my friend..." He thanks Faulkner for a newspaper clipping which "contains a correct representation of your conduct whilst minister in France. I learned from Mr. Mcgraw the cause of your arrest..." Faulkner (1806-1884), a Virginia Congressman before the war, was a moderate who supported gradual abolition of slavery and opposed the idea of nullification. Buchanan appointed him Minister to France in 1859. Not long after his return to the U.S. after the outbreak of war, Faulkner was summarily arrested as a Confederate sympathizer. Exchanged, he joined the Confederate Army and served as Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Stonewall Jackson, in which capacity he wrote most of Jackson's battle reports. He resumed his law practice after the war.