the enemy who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas, with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth, and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant reward. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war, into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and affliction.

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next, as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the universe; and I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid, that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust, and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the great Disposer of events, for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land, which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling-place for ourselves and our posterity throughout all generations.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

[L. 8.]

Done at the City of Washington, this twentieth day of October, in the year of Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-ninth. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

He also wrote the following letter of congratulation to General Sheridan, which was read at the head of every regiment in the command:

To Major-General SHERIDAN:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, October 22.

With great pleasure I tender to you, and your brave army, the thanks of the nation and my own personal admiration and gratitude for the month's operations in the Shenandoah Valley, and especially for the splendid work of October 19. Your obedient servant,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

These victories gave vigor and courage to the country. The price of gold fell in the market, the credit of the

Government was rapidly enhanced, volunteers swelled the ranks of the army, and the menaced draft promised to be unnecessary.

The term for which the hundred-days men from the West had enlisted had expired, and the men were sent home, having done good service. Those from Ohio had served in the east, while those from the States farther west had aided Sherman's march; when they were discharged the following complimentary orders, by President Lincoln, were issued :

THANKS TO THE OHIO TROOPS.

Governor BROUGH:

WASHINGTON, September 10.

Pursuant to the President's directions, I transmit to you the following Executive order, made by him in acknowledgment of the services of the hundred-day men, who at the opening of the spring campaign volunteered their service in the operations of General Grant. The certificates of services mentioned in the order will be prepared without delay and transmitted to the officers and soldiers entitled to them.

EDWIN M. STANTON, Secretary of War.

Executive order returning thanks to the Ohio Volunteers for one hundred days:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON CITY, September 10, 1864. The term of one hundred days for which the National Guard of Ohio volunteered having expired, the President directs an official acknowledgment of their patriotism and valuable services during the recent campaign. The term of service of their enlistment was short, but distinguished by memorable events in the valley of the Shenandoah, on the Peninsula, in the operations of the James River, around Petersburg and Richmond, in the battle of Monocacy, in the intrenchments of Washington, and in other important service. The National Guard of Ohio performed with alacrity the duty of patriotic volunteers, for which they are entitled, and are hereby tendered, through the Governor of their State, the national thanks.

The Secretary of War is directed to transmit a copy of this order to the Governor of Ohio, and to cause a certificate of their honorable service to be delivered to the officers and soldiers of the Ohio National Guard, who recently served in the military force of the United States as volunteers for one hundred days. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

THANKS TO THE TROOPS OF ILLINOIS.

TO THE GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS :

War DepartHENT, WASHINGTON, October 7, 1864.

The following order has been made by the President, and the AdjutantGeneral is preparing certificates for the officers and soldiers of your State, which will be forwarded to you for distribution.

Edwin M. STANTON, Secretary of War

EXECUTIVE Mansion, WASHINGTON, October 1, 1864. Special Executive order returning thanks to volunteers for one hundred days, from the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin:

The term of one hundred days for which volunteers from the States of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin volunteered, under the call of their respective Governors, in the months of May and June, to aid the recent campaign of General Sherman, having expired, the President directs an official acknowledgment to be made of their patriotic service. It was their good fortune to render effective service in the brilliant operations in the Southwest, and to contribute to the victories of the national arms over the rebel forces in Georgia, under command of Johnston and Hood. On all occasions, and in every service to which they were assigned, their duty as patriotic volunteers was performed with alacrity and courage, for which they are entitled to and are hereby tendered the national thanks through the Governors of their respective States.

The Secretary of War is directed to transmit a copy of this order to the Governors of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and to cause a certificate of their honorable services to be delivered to the officers and soldiers of the States above named, who recently served in the military service of the United States as volunteers for one hundred days.

A. LINCOLN.

To one of the Ohio regiments returning through Washington and calling to serenade him, the President made a brief speech, in which are noticeable, first, his desire to impress upon them the importance of the main point involved in the contest with the rebellion, and the duty of not allowing minor matters to blind them to this main point, and second, that specimen of his careful and perfectly clear way of stating a proposition, when he says, not that this is a country in which all men are equal, but that it is one in which "every man has a right to be equal to every other man.

The speech was as follows:

SOLDIERS:-You are about to return to your homes and your friends, after having, as I learn, performed in camp a comparatively short term of duty in this great contest. I am greatly obliged to you, and to all who have come forward at the call of their country. I wish it might be more generally and universally understood what the country is now engaged in. We have, as all will agree, a free government, where every man has a right to be equal with every other man. In this great struggle, this form of governinent and every form of human right is endangered if our enemies succeed. There is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one. There is involved in this struggle, the question whether your children and my children shall enjoy the privileges we have enjoyed. I say this, in order to impress upon you, if you are not already so impressed, that no small matter should divert us from our great purpose.

There may be some inequalities in the practical application of our system. It is fair that each man shall pay taxes in exact proportion to the value of his property; but if we should wait, before collecting a tax, to adjust the taxes upon each man in exact proportion with every other man, we should never collect any tax at all. There may be mistakes made sometimes; things may be done wrong, while the officers of the Government do all they can to prevent mistakes. But I beg of you, as citizens of this great Republic, not to let your minds be carried off from the great work we have before us. This struggle is too large for you to be diverted from it by any small matter. When you return to your homes, rise up to the height of a generation of men worthy of a free government, and we will carry out the great work we have commenced. I return to you my sincere thanks, soldiers, for the honor you have done me this afternoon.

To another Ohio regiment he spoke as follows:

SOLDIERS-I suppose you are going home to see your families and friends. For the services you have done in this great struggle in which we are engaged, I present you sincere thanks for myself and the country.

I almost always feel inclined, when I say any thing to soldiers, to impress upon them, in a few brief remarks, the importance of success in this contest. It is not merely for the day, but for all time to come, that we should perpetuate for our children's children that great and free government which we have enjoyed all our lives. I beg you to remember this, not merely for my sake, but for yours.. I happen, temporarily, to occupy this big White House. I am a living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father's child has. It is in order that each one of you may have, through this free government which we have enjoyed, an open field, and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise, and intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations-it is for this that the struggle should be maintained, that we may not lose our birthrights-not only for one, but for two or three years, if necessary. The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel.

The premonitory symptoms of the result of the Presidential contest were seen in the State elections by which it was preceded.

In September Vermont led off with a largely increased Union majorty, and Maine followed her a week after, showing also a proportionate increase in the majority with which that State had sustained the Administration.

But the October elections in Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania indicated yet more clearly what was to be the

result in November. The two former States gave heavy majorities for the Union ticket on the home vote. In fact, in Indiana the soldiers were not allowed to vote at all. Governor Morton, who was a candidate for re-election, had made a splendid canvass, speaking with great effect all over the State. One matter which doubtless aided him materially, was the discovery of a plot on the part of leading members of the Democratic party in the Northwest to raise a revolt in that section of the country, to release the rebel prisoners, and by arming them, to make a powerful diversion in favor of the rebels. The election following close upon this exposure, Indiana reelected Governor Morton by a large majority, in spite of the absence of many of her loyal sons in the field.

In Pennsylvania the result upon the home vote was close, but with the soldiers' votes the Union ticket car. ried the State by about twelve thousand majority.

A victory was won, also, in Maryland for freedom, by the adoption, though by a close vote, of the new Free State Constitution. The heavy majorities in its favor, which were given by Baltimore and the more loyal sections of the State, were overborne by the votes of the southern and western counties, but the votes of the soldiers were almost unanimous in favor of the Constitution, and Maryland took her place as a State whose freedom was insured.

Mr. Lincoln took great interest in the success of this Constitution. The following is a letter which he wrote to a meeting of its friends in Baltimore, before the election:

Hon. HENRY W. HOFFMAN:

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, October 18

MY DEAR SIR:-A convention of Maryland has formed a new Constitution for the State; a public meeting is called for this evening, at Baltimore, to aid in securing its ratification, and you ask a word from me for the occasion. I presume the only feature of the instrument about which there is serious controversy, is that which provides for the extinction of slavery.

It needs not to be a secret, and I presume it is no secret, that I wish success to this provision. I desire it on every consideration. I wish