that can be said, if so much, is, that Slaves are property. Is
there, has there ever been, any question that, by the Law of War,
property, both of enemies and friends, may be taken when needed?
And is it not needed whenever it helps us and hurts the Enemy?
Armies, the World over, destroy enemies' property when they cannot
use it; and even destroy their own to keep it from the Enemy.
Civilized belligerents do all in their power to help themselves or
hurt the Enemy, except a few things regarded as barbarous or cruel.
Among the exceptions are the massacre of vanquished foes and
non-combatants, male and female.

But the Proclamation, as law, either is valid or is not valid. If
it is not valid, it needs no retraction. If it is valid it cannot
be retracted, any more than the dead can be brought to life. Some
of you profess to think its retraction would operate favorably for
the Union. Why better after the retraction than before the issue?
There was more than a year and a half of trial to suppress the
Rebellion before the Proclamation was issued, the last one hundred
days of which passed under an explicit notice that it was coming,
unless averted by those in revolt returning to their allegiance.
The War has certainly progressed as favorably for us since the
issue of the Proclamation as before.

I know as fully as one can know the opinions of others that some of
the Commanders of our Armies in the field, who have given us our
most important victories, believe the Emancipation policy and the
use of Colored troops constitute the heaviest blows yet dealt to
the Rebellion, and that at least one of those important successes
could not have been achieved when it was, but for the aid of Black
soldiers.