At 11 A.M. Sec. Welles calls at White House and finds President in conference with Secs. Seward, Stanton , and Fessenden, and Henry J. Raymond on subject of peace mission to President Davis, which they decide against. John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Abraham Lincoln: A History, 10 vols. (New York: Century, 1890), 9:221.

Seward arranges White House meeting for Lord Lyons at 12 M. Seward to Lincoln, 24 August 1864, Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.