War Governors' Conference
The Loyal War Governors' Conference gathered thirteen Union governors at a hotel in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on the 24th and the 25th of September, 1862. The country was in crisis. The war was going badly. Abraham Lincoln was sitting on a proclamation he was afraid to release. And a group of governors had quietly arranged a meeting that historians have largely forgotten ever happened.
Why did Lincoln need permission from governors to free the slaves? Why would one governor call the Union victory at Antietam a rebel triumph? And why were no official minutes kept? What was said in that hotel that was too sensitive to write down?
In the late summer of 1862, Abraham Lincoln held a proclamation that could reshape the entire meaning of the war, but he would not release it. His fear was specific: the Union's border states still practicing slavery might secede if he acted too soon. A premature announcement would look, to both the country and the world, like a desperate plea rather than a declaration of principle.
Lincoln needed a military victory first. Without one, the Emancipation Proclamation would carry no weight. The Battle of Antietam on the 17th of September, 1862 gave him the moment he had been waiting for. Five days later, he issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. The timing meant the governors would arrive in Altoona knowing that the proclamation already existed. Their task was not to debate whether emancipation should happen, but whether the northern states would stand behind it.
Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin sent his telegram invitation on the 6th of September, calling on Union governors to meet at a point in the border states. The city he had in mind was Altoona, Pennsylvania. Its geography made it practical: close enough to both Midwest states and New England to be reachable by most governors. Its infrastructure made it ideal. Altoona was home to a massive Pennsylvania Railroad center, which offered fast, reliable transport to the meeting location.
The Logan House Hotel, where the conference would be held, was no ordinary venue. Built in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and nicknamed the Mansion in the Wilderness, it boasted 106 rooms, gas lighting, and hot running water. One visitor reportedly said the hotel was about the size of Rhode Island. Governors and their aides began arriving on September 23, a day before the meeting was scheduled to open. Local crowds and politicians gathered at the train platform beside the hotel to watch the dignified guests arrive. General John Alexander McClernand and his staff, passing through town, stopped to observe. A reporter from the New York Herald was also on hand, and the resulting article appeared on the front page of that paper on the 29th of September. The day before the conference began, those governors already present took a sightseeing trip to the Horseshoe Curve, arranged through John Edgar Thomson and the Pennsylvania Railroad.
When the meeting opened, eleven governors, one representative, and a number of aides were seated. Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts took to the floor early and openly criticized General George B. McClellan's capacity to lead the Army of the Potomac. The debate that followed lasted until 12:30 in the morning.
Governor William Sprague of Rhode Island agreed with Andrew, arguing that the Battle of Antietam had been, in his telling, a rebel victory. He claimed the Confederates had not withdrawn because they were defeated, but had exhibited great military strategy in doing so. Governor David Tod of Ohio pushed back hard. He said he could not understand why anyone would want to remove McClellan and stated plainly that he would block any attempt to do so.
The division among the governors mirrored a broader argument about the war itself. Andrew, who the source describes as a radical and sometimes an opponent of Lincoln, had originally supported the meeting to push for more aggressive measures, including emancipation, writing that he hoped to save the president from the infamy of ruining his country. McClellan was eventually relieved of command less than two months after the Altoona meeting.
Despite the heated debates inside the Logan House, all governors except Augustus Bradford of Maryland agreed to sign the final address. Bradford's refusal almost certainly reflected the fact that Maryland was still a slave state. Governor Austin Blair of Michigan arrived the next morning, too late for the debates, but he added his name, bringing the total to twelve signatures.
No official minutes of the conference were kept, a deliberate choice made for security reasons. This decision, the source notes, is likely one reason why historians have so often overlooked the event entirely.
The delegation reached the White House on the 26th of September. There they read a document affirming the rightful authority of the president and the constitutional powers of Congress as resting on the rights and liberties of the people. The governors pledged to continue in the most vigorous exercise of all our lawful powers, contending against treason, rebellion, and the public enemies until final victory and unconditional submission. The address also promoted the military education of the people. Lincoln accepted their suggestions on the internal management of the war, including recruiting and the transport of troops. When Governor Kirkwood of Iowa raised the question of McClellan's fitness for command, Lincoln refused to argue either way and promptly ended the meeting.
The address was forwarded to Union governors who had not attended. Vermont, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, and Oregon all approved it. The governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri declined, the last three of which were also slave states.
The Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on the 1st of January, 1863, legally freed enslaved people in the seceded states and in parts of states not under Union control. It did not affect slavery in the border states or in those areas of Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana already occupied by Union forces. Its reach was limited by design.
Its international effect, however, extended well beyond American borders. Public sentiment in Britain and France ran strongly against supporting any government that upheld slavery. The proclamation made it politically impossible for those countries to recognize the Confederacy. On the same day the governors met in Altoona, Lincoln also suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States. The source notes it is not known whether the two events were connected.
The Altoona Mirror, writing in observance of the 50th anniversary of the conference, stated that it was this conference which more than any other thing strengthened Lincoln's hands in the darkest hour of the war period.
The Logan House Hotel outlasted the conference by decades, drawing a roster of famous visitors that included presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and William Howard Taft. Mary Todd Lincoln and her children spent summer days there to escape Washington's heat. Just a year after the Governors' Conference, David Wills of Gettysburg held a meeting at the Logan House to begin planning what would become the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
In 1912, Altoona held a massive ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the conference. All northern governors of the relevant states attended, and President Taft himself traveled to the city to address the crowds. A parade moved down 11th Avenue downtown, with old Civil War veterans marching alongside a large float carrying a model of the USS Monitor, complete with a revolving turret. At the Cricket Field sports arena, vendors, food, and souvenirs marked the occasion.
The Logan House Hotel closed in 1927 and the building was demolished in 1931. The site is now occupied by the Altoona Post Office.
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Common questions
What was the Loyal War Governors' Conference and when was it held?
The Loyal War Governors' Conference was a political meeting of thirteen Union state governors held on September 24 and 25, 1862, at the Logan House Hotel in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The governors gathered to discuss state troop quotas, support for the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, and the conduct of the war effort.
Who organized the War Governors' Conference in Altoona?
Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin organized and hosted the conference. He sent a telegram invitation on the 6th of September, 1862, to all Union governors, calling on them to meet at a point in the border states to discuss the war effort.
Why did Lincoln need the support of the governors before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation?
Lincoln feared that releasing the proclamation without a military victory would make it appear as a desperate last measure rather than a position of strength. He also worried that border states still practicing slavery might secede. The Battle of Antietam on the 17th of September 1862 gave him the victory he needed, and he issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation five days later.
Which governor refused to sign the address at the War Governors' Conference?
Governor Augustus Bradford of Maryland was the only governor to withhold his signature from the final address. The source attributes this most likely to Maryland's status as a slave state at the time.
What happened to General McClellan after the War Governors' Conference?
General George B. McClellan was relieved of command less than two months after the conference. Several governors, including John Andrew of Massachusetts and William Sprague of Rhode Island, had openly criticized his leadership during the Altoona meeting.
What was the Logan House Hotel in Altoona where the conference was held?
The Logan House Hotel was built in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and was known as the Mansion in the Wilderness. With 106 rooms, gas lighting, and hot running water, it was considered one of the most modern hotels of its era. The building was demolished in 1931 and the site is now the Altoona Post Office.