February 08, 1865
To the Senate and House of Representatives:
I transmit to Congress a copy of a note of the 4th instant addressed by J. Hume Burnley, esq., Her Britannic Majesty's charge' d'affaires, to the Secretary of State relative to a sword which it is proposed to present to Captain Henry S. Stellwagen, commanding the United States frigate Constitution , as a mark of gratitude for his services to the British brigantine Mersey. The expediency of sanctioning the acceptance of the gift is submitted to your consideration.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Abraham Lincoln, Special Message Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/202707