Wednesday, October 26, 1864.
Washington, DC.
Abraham Lincoln
Orders discharge of "Big Eagle," Indian confined at Davenport, Iowa. Order for Discharge of Big Eagle, 26 October 1864, CW, 8:76.
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 8.Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
Order for Discharge of Big Eagle [1]
Let the Indian ``Big Eagle'' now confined at Davenport, Iowa, be discharged at once. A. LINCOLN
Oct. 26. 1864
Annotation
[1] ADS-P, ISLA. See further Lincoln's telegram to Alfred Sully, November 19, infra.
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Saturday, November 19, 1864.
Washington, DC.
Issues second order to release Indian "Big Eagle" from confinement at Davenport, Iowa. Abraham Lincoln to Alfred Sully, 19 November 1864, CW, 8:116.
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 8.Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
To Alfred Sully [1]
Officer in command at Executive Mansion,
Davenport, Iowa. Washington, Nov. 19. 1864.
Let the Indian ``Big Eagle'' be discharged. I ordered this some time ago. A. LINCOLN
Annotation
[1] ALS, DNA WR RG 107, Presidential Telegrams, I, 243. See Lincoln's order of October 26, supra. On November 14, 1864, George S. C. Dow, a lawyer and banker of Davenport, Iowa, wrote Lincoln:
``You will remember me as the person to whom you were kind enough to give an order for the release of the Indian `Big Eagle.'
``This order failed to effect his release. The person in charge and to whom I presented it, treated me very rudely. I may as well say that he insulted me most grossly. He treated also the order and yourself with great contempt because as he said, you ought to know better than to write an order in pencil, or give it to a civilian.
``I did not intend to trouble you again, but for reasons not necessary to be stated, I think I should report the facts to you, and request of you, that you will be kind enough to direct a note to the proper military officer, requesting him to issue the proper order for `Big Eagle's' discharge. . . .'' (DLC-RTL).
General Alfred Sully was in command of the District of Iowa with headquarters at Davenport, from August, 1864, through April, 1865, but no reply from any officer at Davenport has been found. On December 3, 1864, AGO Special Orders No. 430, directed that ```Big Eagle,' an Indian, now in confinement at Davenport, Iowa, will, upon the receipt of this Order, be immediately released from confinement and set at liberty.''
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