Citizens of Connecticut in Washington, D.C.
At a meeting of the citizens of Connecticut, held at Willard’s Hotel, Washington, D. C, April 17, 1865, Governor Buckingham was called upon to preside, and W. A. Benedict was chosen secretary.
Governor Buckingham stated that the object of the meeting was to give some fitting form of expression to the feelings of the citizens of Connecticut in view of the great calamity which has spread its pall of darkness over the nation in the death of its honored head, and to make arrangements for participating in the approaching funeral ceremonies.
The following committees were appointed: On resolutions expressive of the feelings of the meeting, Hon. La Fayette S. Foster, Hon. James Dixon, and H. H. Starkweather.
On arrangements for participating in the funeral ceremonies, Governor Buckingham, [Page 715] Hon. James Dixon, W. A. Thompson, Colonel H. H. Osgood, J. A. Whitlock, and Col. J. H. Almy.
Hon. James Dixon presented the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:
Resolved, That, sharing with the people of Connecticut the unutterable sorrow which saddens every household and wrings every patriotic heart with a sense of personal bereavement in the death of the late lamented President of the United States, we unite with them in expressing our profound grief, and mingle our lamentations with theirs under the crushing blow which has struck our nation, from the summit of universal gratitude and joy, into the utmost depths of affliction and mourning.
Resolved, That we mourn the loss of the preserver of the Union, raised up by the hand of the Almighty to lead our nation through the perils of the great rebellion; that in him we recognize the guiding intellect, the conscientious purpose, the unfailing judgment, the resolute will, the unselfish heart, which were needed to constitute the leader of the nation in its hour of deepest peril; and that his humanity, his confiding trust in God, his devoted love of his country and of the human race, his entire consecration to the spirit of universal liberty, have placed him among the foremost of the great benefactors of mankind who have blessed the world and shed honor upon the human character.
Resolved, That while we mourn the unspeakable loss which our nation has suffered, we devoutly offer the Great Ruler of the Universe our reverent and earnest thanks that he permitted our departed and lamented President to live and rule over our imperilled country until, under his wise and firm control, aided by the Almighty hand, he was permitted to see the rebel hosts defeated and surrendered; their capital and seaports restored to the authority of the nation; their military power overthrown; their wicked leaders driven from their seats of power; the great cause of the rebellion, human slavery, abolished and destroyed; and liberty and equal rights for all made the basis of our national existence.
Resolved, That we tender to the President of the United States, the honorable Andrew Johnson, the assurance of our earnest and unqualified support in the performance of the arduous and responsible duties now devolved upon him, and we invoke for him the same conscientious purpose, the same divine inspiration and support from the Almighty hand by which his great predecessor was sustained.
Resolved, That we acknowledge with gratitude the providential interposition by which our beloved and honored Secretary of State, the confidential friend and adviser of Abraham Lincoln, has been protected and preserved from the dangers and violence to which he has been exposed; that we offer to him our deepest sympathy, and unite in the prayers of the nation for his speedy and perfect restoration to health, and for the safety and preservation of his family.
Resolved, That we will, as representatives of our State, attend the funeral services of our lamented President in a body, and wear the usual badge of mourning for sixty days.
Resolved, That we tender to the family of the deceased President the assurance of our deep and heartfelt sympathy in the great affliction to which God has called them; and that we humbly and devoutly supplicate for them the blessing and support of their Heavenly Father.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the family of the late President; also to the honorable Secretary of State, and to the President of the United States, and that they be published in the public press of Connecticut.
- W. A. BUCKINGHAM,
Governor of Connecticut, and Chairman of the Meeting. - W. A. BENEDICT, Secretary.