Jefferson Davis insisted on being recognized by his official title as
commander or President in the regular negotiation with the Government.
This Mr. Lincoln would not consent to.
Mr. Hunter thereupon referred to the correspondence between King Charles
the First and his Parliament as a precedent for a negotiation between
a constitutional ruler and rebels. Mr. Lincoln’s face then wore that
indescribable expression which generally preceded his hardest hits, and
he remarked: “Upon questions of history, I must refer you to Mr. Seward,
for he is posted in such things, and I don’t profess to be; but my only
distinct recollection of the matter is, that Charles lost his head.”