Sir: To enable the Secretary of War most advantageously to perform the duties devolved upon him in relation to the Indian tribes by the second section of the Act to establish the War Department of February 21, 1861, it is deemed desirable that there should be established a Bureau of Indian Affairs, and, if the Congress concur in this view, I have the honor respectfully to recommend that provision be made for the appointment of a Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and for one clerk to aid him in the discharge of his official duties.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Source: Richardson, James D. A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy Including the Diplomatic Correspondence 1861-1865 Nashville : United States Publishing Company, 1905 |