 In January 1865 , Lincoln , who had been re @-@ elected the previous November , sent Francis Blair as an emissary to Richmond , hoping to secure reunion without further bloodshed . Both sides agreed to a meeting at Fort Monroe , Virginia . Benjamin drafted vague instructions for the Southern delegation , led by Vice President Alexander Stephens , but Davis insisted on modifying them to refer to North and South as " two nations " . This was the point that scuttled the Hampton Roads Conference ; Lincoln would not consider the South a separate entity , insisting on union and emancipation . 
