| “W. E. Dodge, | Peter Cooper, |
| “Wilson G. Hunt, | A. A. Low, |
| “E. M. Archibald, | Cyrus W. Field, |
| “Honorary Directors in America. | |
“To his Excellency Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States.”
“New York, March 1, 1865.
“Sir,—Under an act of Congress approved March 3, 1857, the government of the United States detailed the steam frigates Niagara and Susquehanna to assist in laying the cable of the Atlantic Telegraph Company from Ireland to Newfoundland, and the following year sent the Niagara, under the command of Captain Hudson, to co-operate with the Agamemnon, of her Britannic Majesty’s navy, in the further prosecution of this enterprise. These vessels meeting in mid-ocean on the 28th day of July, 1858, after connecting the wire, separated, the Agamemnon sailing for Valentia, on the coast of Ireland, and the Niagara for Trinity Bay, on the coast of Newfoundland. They reached their respective destinations on the 5th day of August, and the work of uniting the two continents by telegraphic communication was successfully accomplished.
“For a brief time messages were transmitted from one continent to the other, among the most interesting being the announcement of peace between Great Britain and France and China. The success, as happily achieved, but only temporary, was still sufficient to assure the parties engaged of a final and perfect fulfilment.