Abraham Lincoln’s best known proclamation is the “Emancipation Proclamation” (January 1, 1863). Three months after that famous proclamation, March 30, 1863, he issued another, remarkable in its own right though lesser known—for a national day of fasting. In fact, it was the second such proclamation, the first having been issued August 12, 1861, after a joint request from both houses of Congress, and the latter in response to a Senate resolution.