Although his formal instructions from Confederate President Jefferson Davis had limited his powers to negotiate on prisoner exchanges and other procedural matters, historian James M. McPherson speculates that he had informal goals of presenting peace overtures.
Selv om hans formelle instrukser fra præsident Jefferson Davis havde begrænset hans fuldmagt til at forhandle om fangeudveksling og andre procedurespørgsmål, har historikeren James M. McPherson fremlagt spekulationer om at han havde uformelle mål i retning af at præsentere fredsfølere.