27 998 résultats
1771réf. 25148Boston: Richard Draper. 1771. Half title 31 1 blank pp. Disbound. Lightly foxed. Very Good. "As we are made rational and accountable creatures the care of ourselves and of our own happiness is the first natural and reasonable concern of every man. A rational self love though distinct from is not inconsistent with the more noble principles but subserves and promotes them." A footnote states that Hilliard succeeded Reverend Joseph Green who served the Barnstable church from 1725 until his death in 1770. FIRST EDITION. Evans 12289. 664 NUC 0319346 6. Richard Draper... unknown books
1800réf. 25051Newark: Pennington and Gould 1800. 71 1 blank pp. Pages 61-68 are misnumbered 53-60 as issued. Disbound with moderate spotting. Good. One of six contemporary printings this is the only one which does not begin with the phrase 'Connecticut Republicanism.' Bishop was a Jeffersonian and outspoken anti- Federalist which made him an unusual figure in Connecticut politics. "Learning that he would give this Republican campaign speech as the Phi Beta Kappa orator the Yale Corporation withdrew Bishop's invitation. Speaking to 1500 people at a local meeting-house Bishop in rousing rhetoric denounced the state and national Federalist party for its leadership social assumptions and class prejudices. He argued that the Federalists were deluding the people in order to enslave them under a monarchy and castigated the union of church and state in Connecticut charging the clergy with preaching Federalist propaganda. The two-hour harangue ended with a call for the election of Republicans to preserve the liberty so dearly and recently won." Sheidley. Evans 36980. Felcone 18. Sheidley 132. Pennington and Gould unknown books
réf. 24234NP ND. Two identical plates each measuring 2.5" x 2.75" and mounted side by side on yellow cardboard backing measuring 6.75" x 3.25". Very Good. unknown books
1800réf. 23651Philadelphia 1800. 2 leaves versos blank. Disbound Very Good. The Committee refuses "to interfere with the rule prescribed by the Secretary of War for granting warrants for bounty land." Evans 38901. NAIP 021935 9. unknown books
1603réf. 299306Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius 1603. unbound. Map. Engraving with beautiful original hand color. Image measures 14" x 18 3/4" This map depicts several islands in the Mediterranean including Sicily Sardinia Elba Malta Corfu and Djerba. Towns are noted as well as topographic features such as mountains and rivers. Light staining and toning but otherwise is good condition. Abraham Ortelius 1527-1598 a Flemish cartographer and geographer is widely regarded as one of the important and influential cartographers in history. He is known for his "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" which was the first modern atlas. Van den Broecke #141 Abraham Ortelius unknown books
1584réf. 299318Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius 1584. unbound. Map. Uncolored engraving. Image measures 14" x 18 3/4" This map depicts several islands in the Mediterranean including Sicily Sardinia Elba Malta Corfu and Djerba. Towns are noted as well as topographic features such as mountains and rivers. Some discoloration at right margin and toning throughout. Creasing along original centerfold otherwise very good condition. Abraham Ortelius 1527-1598 a Flemish cartographer and geographer is widely regarded as one of the important and influential cartographers in history. He is known for his "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" which was the first modern atlas. Van den Broecke #141 Abraham Ortelius unknown books
1950réf. 17314Worcester MA: Achille J. St. Onge 1950. Limited Edition. Leather bound. Near fine. The Selected Writings of Abraham Lincoln President of the United States in miniature published in 1950 by Achille J. St. Onge. Miniature volume vii 76pp 2. Blue morocco title in gilt on spine and front panel with decorative gilt illustrations. All edges gilt. Book measures 2 x 3 inches. From a limited edition of 1500 copies produced by The Chiswick Press of London. Light shelf wear to covers minor sunning to spine and front cover. An attractive and unique example of Lincoln's writing. Achille J. St. Onge unknown books
1861réf. 377541861. It also includes the rules issued to the incoming prisoners taken in during the suspension of Habeas Corpus at the infamous Fort Lafayette by its Commander Charles Wood A remarkable group without precedent in its scope in our experience <img class=""alignnone wp-image-37759 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260902194337/Lincoln-Oct-29-1861-1-1600x948.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""948"" /> In the opening months of 1861 with South Carolina out of the Union and other Southern states having called conventions to declare secession feeling was divided in Maryland. The tobacco counties of southern Maryland and the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay were secessionist. The grain-growing counties of northern and western Maryland containing few slaves were safe for the Union. But the loyalty of Baltimore with a third of the state’s population was suspect. President-elect Lincoln had to pass through Baltimore on his way to Washington for his inauguration. Allan Pinkerton's detectives uncovered a plot to murder him as he moved through Baltimore so he famously had to pass through in stealth and disguise. After the war broke out on April 12 1861 Confederate flags appeared on many Baltimore homes and buildings. On April 19 as the 6th Massachusetts Infantry marched through Baltimore headed to protect the capital there was a riot and a number of soldiers were killed by the mob. Pro-Confederate Baltimore activists cut the telegraph lines north pulled marking buoys from the harbor to prevent ship entry and destroyed bridges to make train access almost impossible while groups of citizens went to the White House to demand that no Northern troops be sent through Baltimore. In these early days of the war chaos reigned and suspicions of Southern sympathies were readily flung. John Williams a Baltimore-born steamship agent who had spent several years living and working in Norfolk Virginia was one of them. In early August 1861 Williams traveled to Boston where he checked into the Parker House under a false name and had shaved his mustache. The city's U.S. Marshal alerted that a man of some prominence from ""Secessia"" was in town traced him through the office of a steamship company after a two-day search. Once apprehended Williams acknowledged his true identity and according to a contemporary newspaper account of the arrest admitted to holding a commission — that of Major — in the Confederate army though the report qualified this as secondhand information and it may not have been so. The New York Times reprinted a story from the Boston Herald that covered his arrest under the headline ""Rebel Spy Arrested in Boston."" He said he had been in Richmond on the day of the Battle of Bull Run and that his purpose in Boston was to arrange payment for cotton belonging to Massachusetts owners that had been left in his charge as steamship agent and subsequently seized by Confederate authorities in Virginia. He was arrested and confined at Fort Lafayette the infamous military prison in New York Harbor then holding dozens of similarly detained civilians including several of Baltimore's arrested police commissioners and the sitting mayor of Washington D.C. In immediate command over the Fort Lafayette prisoners was Lieutenant Charles 0. Wood who was described as “brutal” by many of the prisoners. He had been a baggage handler on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad before the war and had received his commission it was said from President Lincoln as a reward for successfully smuggling Lincoln’s baggage through Baltimore prior to his inaugurations When originally converted to a prison the fort was believed capable of holding up to fifty POWs. From the very beginning however twenty were held in each battery while nine to ten were held in each casemate. Before long there were often thirty-five to a battery and up to thirty in a casemate. . . . When the prisoners arrived at Fort Lafayette they were escorted to the office of Lieutenant Wood where again they were searched and had their names recorded. All their money was confiscated; they were given a receipt and then shown to their quarters. Williams's family and friends mounted a sustained campaign on his behalf almost immediately. Character references arrived from Norfolk and Baltimore attesting to his loyalty and denying he held any real military rank or authority — an odd claim given his own admission. His wife unable to reach Union territory easily from Confederate-held Norfolk required a military flag of truce simply to travel north. In the end her plight would make it from John Dix to Winfield Scott to William Seward to Abraham Lincoln. By late September Williams had declined to take the oath of allegiance required for release; by early October the War Department set firm terms — the oath plus a personal bond of $10000 guaranteeing his future loyalty to be approved by the United States District Attorney. A bond in that amount was drawn up in New York in late October executed jointly by Williams's son as principal and four sureties including Williams's own father and three other men. A joint bond however exposed each surety to the entire $10000 obligation should any of the others prove unable to pay — a meaningful risk for men who in some cases were only business or personal connections rather than family. Baltimore's Provost Marshal George R. Dodge functioned as the intermediary between the family and the military/War Department chain — writing on Williams's behalf to Butler and Dix forwarding Seward's letters relaying Dix's instructions. Williams's wife Cecilia decided to travel directly to Washington meet the President and press for her son's release and for the bond to be restructured so that each surety's liability would be several or individually fixed rather than joint. After a full day of frustration — hours waiting at the White House hours more waiting for Secretary of State Seward who never appeared — she and a companion finally intercepted President Lincoln in person. He heard her out and in a tone characteristically restrained even in victory said that while he never interfered with his Secretary of State's decisions he thought the bond might indeed be made several rather than joint. He gave her a note to that effect. Within days the change was formally authorized: each of the four sureties would be liable for $2500 rather than the whole $10000. Williams was released from Fort Lafayette sometime in the following weeks and was corresponding freely from his father's Baltimore address by mid-December 1861. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-37760 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260902194446/Lincoln-Oct-29-1861-B-1-1600x869.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""869"" /> The 19-piece archive: There is a nineteen-piece archive documenting running from prison regulations issued days before Williams's arrival at Fort Lafayette through correspondence addressed to him as a free man in Baltimore that December. Selected items are transcribed here in full; the remainder are described and available for inspection. - The note Lincoln handed Williams' mother after encountering her walking by the White House fence Autograph document signed Washington October 29 1861 directing Seward to see Mrs. Williams given to Mrs. Williams by a fence post in the garden of the White House. ""Sec. of State please see this lady – She wishes the bond may be several & not joint. I think it might be so. A. Lincoln."" - An original set of rules for Fort Lafayette prisoners signed by the head of prisoners Charles Wood. Document signed Fort Lafayette August 3 1861. ""Instructions for the Guidance of Citizen Prisoners confined at this Post"" Fort Lafayette N.Y.H. August 3 1861. Standing prison regulations issued before Williams's own arrival transcribed here in full: Regulations for the guidance of Citizen Prisoners confined at this Post. §1. The rooms of the prisoners will be ready for inspection at 9 o'clock A.M. all cleaning etc. will be done by the Prisoners themselves unless otherwise directed all washing will be done in the yard. §2. No conversation will be allowed with any member of this garrison and all necessary communications in regard to their wants will be made to the Sergeant of the Guard. §3. No Prisoner will leave his room without the permission of the Sergt. of the Guard who will allow them to go to the privy every other hour during day time and twice after midnight at night. §4. Prisoners will avoid all conversations on the political affairs of this Country within hearing of any member of this garrison. §5. Light will be allowed in the prisoners' rooms until 9.15 P.M. after this hour all talking or noise of any kind will cease. §6. The Prisoners will obey implicitly the directions of any member of the Guard. §7. Cases of sickness should be reported at 7 A.M. §8. Any transgressions of the foregoing rules will be corrected by solitary confinement or such other restrictions as may be required to the strict enforcement thereof."" - Winfield Scott intervenes permitting Cecilia Williams to visit her husband. Letter signed Winfield Scott Head Quarters of the Army Washington October 25 1861. ""Mrs. Cecilia A. Williams will be permitted to visit her husband John Williams a prisoner confined at Fort Lafayette. Winfield Scott."" - Cecilia Williams describes her meeting with Lincoln and her receipt of this note. Autograph letter signed Cecilia A. Williams to her father Baltimore October 31 1861. ""My dear Father After a hard days work I take my pen to endeavor to explain matters to you. I wrote you we were going to Washington. Accordingly on Tuesday night I went to Mr. Mentyell's house that we might be able to start in the early train. We arrived in Washington soon after daylight Wednesday and went to the President's house and sent up our letter but there were already 20 persons waiting for him and we were told to call at 1 o'clock as that was the best time for ladies. We then went to the State Department but Mr. Seward was not to be seen. His son read our letter from Gen. Dix and when we explained what we wanted he thought it could be done. We waited 3 hours for Secretary Seward but he did not come and we went back to the President caught him finally in a fence corner and told him what we wanted. He understood the matter directly and said though he never interfered with the Secretary yet he thought the bond might be made severally instead of jointly and gave us a note to Mr. Seward to that effect. We then returned to the State Department and saw his son again. He said it was no use to wait for his father that the proper documents would be sent to the District attorney in Balt. this Thursday morning. We returned to Balt. in the afternoon train and bright and early this morning Mr. Mentyell and myself went to Mr. Addison's office saying if Mr. Seward's letter came to hand saying that the other parties were reliable men the bond might be severally instead of jointly. Mr. Addison said we could have another bond drawn up and get it signed and sealed and get a letter from Mr. Deford saying the securities were reliable and he would fix it with the District Attorney in New York. We then went by Mr. Addison's instructions to Mr. Hanan U.S. Commissioner and he drew up the bond and we brought the signers except yourself to his office and had everything fixed and sealed with the U. States Seal and took it with Mr. Deford's letter saying the securities were reliable to Mr. Addison. He first said we could send it on by our friend Mr. Lawton but on reading Mr. Seward's letter a second time he said there was a mistake and the bond would have to go to Washington and be forwarded to the district attorney in New York. He promised me faithfully he would write to Mr. Seward this afternoon and send it and the bond on and also mention for fear of another delay that Fort Lafayette struck through should be changed to Fort Warren. ""Now my dear father do not be discouraged I am very hopeful that it is nearer right than it has ever been because we have both Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Seward in our favor and the most you can do is to see the district attorney constantly because it is to be sent to him and you must put your signature to make the bond complete. It is best therefore for you to be in New York because as soon as it comes to the attorney you can sign and I would not hesitate to press my suit keep at him till it is finished night and day but I need not urge you I know your perseverance. ""I wish you would telegraph as soon as it comes we will be so much relieved but Mr. Mentyell and I are going again to Washington on Saturday to see if the papers have been sent on and that I hope will be the last of your travelling and mine on this errand and soon we hope to have you both with us. My trust and confidence is in my Heavenly Father that he will give us the desire of our heart. P.S. I suppose there is no doubt about his taking the oath now do you think there is after all this extra trouble Perhaps you had better write and tell him and comfort him all you can. I think all now will depend on himself in haste. Does he know that he has to take the oath and give bond also"" <img class=""alignnone wp-image-37761 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260902194603/Lincoln-Oct-29-1861-C-1-1600x951.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""951"" /> There are other documents in the group including: - Fort Lafayette receipt August 11 1861 for $59.89 in cash taken from Williams on intake itemized as good paper bank notes gold and silver. - A three-part exchange August 13–15 1861 concerning a visit by Williams's father signed by General J. Dix George Dodge and Col. Martin Burke attempting successfully to enlist the help of Winfield Scott. - Letter from a Lt. Wm. H. Wiegel to Cecilia Williams Norfolk Va. Fortress Monroe August 21 1861 forwarding a letter from her brother via flag of truce and offering to arrange her safe passage to Baltimore through Confederate lines. - Letter of introduction Naval Office Custom House Baltimore August 31 1861 to Simon Cameron Secretary of War vouching for Williams as ""a firm supporter of the government."" - Letter from Marshall George R. Dodge to Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler Baltimore September 12 1861 stating that Williams ""arrested in Boston as a rebel and charged with having been commissioned by the Confederate authorities has not at any time been under our surveillance"" and that Baltimore authorities had no charge against him. - A long Norfolk citizens' affidavit undated attesting to the fact that Williams was a simple commercial agent and had no military commission signed by several prominent businessmen. - Retained copies of letters of Secretary Seward and a letter of Dodge forwarding at least one. - Letter sending a pass from Lt. H. Van Rensselaer to Mrs. C. A. Williams October 25 1861 stating that: ""I enclose pass to visit your husband no passes are given to males."" - The original $10000 indemnity bond dated October 26/27 1861. A printed instrument docket: ""Dated October 26th 1861""; body: ""twenty-seventh day of October"" binding John Williams Jr. as principal and John Williams Sr. Thomas Jenkins James Flack and George McComas as sureties jointly in the sum of $10000 conditioned on Williams's observance of his oath of allegiance. Witnessed by E. Delafield Smith and Stewart L. Woodford notary public; affidavits of the sureties' worth sworn before John Hanan U.S. Commissioner October 27 1861. - Undated pass ""Pass the bearer to and from Fort Warren"" to Capt. Davidson Steamer Asst. signed Wm. H. McKim Capt. A.Q.M. - Letter from the same Chas. F. Wood now 1st Lieut. 9th Infty to John Williams Esq. Baltimore December 16 1861. Returning his pistol and noting four others belonging to fellow prisoners were sent to Col. Dimmick commanding Fort Warren. A remarkably complete archive showing not only Lincoln's clemency but the chaos and accusations of the early months of the war and containing a first hand account of meeting Lincoln himself. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1861réf. 3768907/08/1861. He names G.A. Pierce an assistant quartermaster with the rank of Captain who would serve under General Ulysses S. Grant at Fort Donelson Shiloh and Vicksburg Gilbert Ashville Pierce was a Union Army officer during the Civil War who later became a U.S. Senator and Governor of the Dakota Territory. He served as a captain assistant quartermaster and eventually lieutenant colonel and inspector in the Quartermaster's Department. Pierce entered the service as a second lieutenant in Company H 9th Indiana Volunteer Infantry on April 23 1861. He was promoted by President Abraham Lincoln to captain and assistant quartermaster on August 7 1861. Pierce served under General Ulysses S. Grant at Paducah Fort Donelson Shiloh Grand Gulf and Vicksburg. He was advanced to lieutenant colonel in the Quartermaster's Department on September 12 1863 and later served as a colonel and inspector until mustering out in October 1865. After the war he was admitted to the bar in 1865 and then served in the Indiana House of Representatives starting in 1869. He was appointed Governor of the Dakota Territory by President Chester A. Arthur in 1884 serving until 1886. Pierce was elected as a Republican senator from North Dakota serving from 1889 to 1891. He died in 1901 at age 62. This is the document that launched Pierce’s remarkable career. Document signed by President Lincoln with engravings of flags cannons and an imposing eagle Washington August 7 1861 being Pierce’s original commission as “Assistant Quartermaster with the rank of Captain.” <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1861réf. 3767609/09/1861. He also served at Bull Run and Gettysburg It is early in the war and bears the signature of Simon Cameron one of the original members of the Team of Rivals It has never before been offered for sale In May 1861 just after the outbreak of the Civil War Eugene B. Beaumont son of noted politician of the Jacksonian Age Andrew Beaumont graduated from the Military Academy at West Point. He initially trained soldiers in Washington D.C until June 1861 when he became aide-de-camp to General Ambrose Burnside. With Burnside he participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. In September he became aide-de-camp to General John Sedgwick and served with him in the Peninsula Campaign of early 1862. In August 1862 he worked as an aide-de-camp this time to General-in-Chief of the Union Army Henry Halleck. Beaumont requested to be sent back to the field and in May 1863 he rejoined General Sedgwick as a captain. He served with Sedgwick for just over a year and took part in a series of battles including Gettysburg Mine Run the Wilderness Spotsylvania Court-House and Cold Harbor. He later participated in the battle of Nashville in the pursuit of Hood. On December 17 1864 he was a major serving as the Assistant Adjutant General of the Army of the Mississippi’s Cavalry Corps. On that day at the Harpeth River in Tennessee he took command of the 4th Cavalry and led the regiment in an assault on Confederate fortifications. He was with his corps in its march through Alabama and Georgia taking part in the battles of Montevallo Ebenezer Church storming of Selma and capture of Montgomery Columbus and Macon Georgia. This march was one of the most brilliant and successful of the war. For his actions during this period he was promoted to Bvt. Colonel; after the war Beaumont served in the Indian Wars in the West. Then on March 30 1898 in recognition of his Civil War service he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Beaumont's official Medal of Honor citation reads: “Obtained permission from the corps commander to advance upon the enemy's position with the 4th U.S. Cavalry of which he was a lieutenant; led an attack upon a battery dispersed the enemy and captured the guns. At Selma Ala. charged at the head of his regiment into the second and last line of the enemy's works."" Document signed WashingtonSeptember 9 1861 appointing Eugene B. Beaumont “Second Lieutenant in the First Regiment of Cavalry” effective on the 6th day of June 1861. The document is countersigned by Secretary of War Simon Cameron. A great rarity this being our first Lincoln appointment of a Medal of Honor winner. It has never before been offered for sale. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1851réf. 3655813/09/1851. This is our first such document <img class=""alignnone wp-image-36570 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20260526171629/Lincoln-Sept-13-1851-1-1600x604.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""604"" /> John H. Harris was a hatter in New York and then in South Carolina. In 1833 he came to Illinois to scout the land and in 1835 he returned with a group of prospective settlers from New York who established themselves in what became the town of Tremont. Harris laid out the village built a schoolhouse and built a church. He was clearly a major local booster and land developer. When there was a possibility for Tremont to become the county seat of Tazewell County in 1836 John Harris donated 20 acres of land and the citizens raised $2000 to bring the county seat to the town. Harris married Catharine Montross in 1815 with whom he had four children before her death. In 1843 he married Sarah Holder with whom he had one child. In 1860 Harris was a farmer living in Tremont with his second wife and their son and he owned $5000 in real estate and $400 in personal property. Abraham Lincoln represented Harris in three cases in the Tazewell County Circuit Court two of which he won and one of which Lincoln lost and appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court. This is the famous case of Harris v. Shaw. In 1850 Harris brought suit in the Tazewell County Circuit Court to obtain compensation by reason of the removal of the county seat of Tazewell County from Tremont to Pekin. This was because of his gift of the piece of ground in the public square of Tremont to the county on the condition that the county seat be located there. The judgment of the Court was against Harris and he carried the case to the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois. He employed Lincoln as his attorney. The Supreme Court case was heard on Jan. 24th and 25th 1851 in the city of Springfield. It was taken under advisement by the Court. Almost a year later February 4 1852 the Supreme Court finally affirmed the judgment of the lower court on the premise that in no part of the contract between Harris and the County was it stated that the county seat should remain forever as located. So Lincoln lost this case. As for Lincoln’s fee for the case and appeal he received $50 in cash upfront and a promissory note for another $100 due a year later — a total fee of $150 for the case. It is interesting to note that Lincoln had argued a similar case shortly before Harris v Shaw. This one was Adams et al. v the County of Logan and he had represented the County - and won. This is a very rare receipt for Lincoln’s legal services. It is our first. Autograph document signed Pekin Ill. September 13 1851. “Received Pekin Sept. 13th 1851 of John H. Harris fifty dollars in cash and his note for one hundred dollars due one year hence in full for my services done and to be done about his suit for the old court house property at Tremont. A. Lincoln.” In another earlier case in which Harris used Lincoln’s legal services Harris sued a Mr. Dean in an action of debt. The ruled against Harris and Harris retained Lincoln and appealed to the Tazewell County Circuit Court. A jury found for Harris and awarded him $19.95. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1862réf. 3568928/02/1862. He was later promoted to Lt. Colonel for gallantry in action at the Battle of Groveton Document signed with fine engravings of an eagle flags and cannons Washington February 28 1862 naming Percy B. Spear a Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers with the rank of Captain effective November 30 1861. The document is countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The appointment is listed in the U.S. Army Register. The Civil War Commissary Department was responsible for procuring storing and distributing food to soldiers. The rations managed by the department included such things as pork beef bread coffee and soap. But Spear did not serve solely as a Commissary for the entire war. He would soon serve an aide-de-camp in the Fifth Corps in the Gettysburg campaign with Gen. James Barnes mentioning him with distinction in dispatches. Spear ended the war as a Brevet Major. In July 1865 he was appointed Lt. Colonel of Volunteers for meritorious service and for gallantry in action at the Battle of Groveton in 1862. After the war he was again named Commissary of Subsistence this time at the recommendation of Gen. George G. Meade. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1857réf. 3563230/10/1857. John V. Drake and John C. Moses practiced law in Danville Illinois. They worked on cases appearing before the Vermilion County Circuit Court. When Abraham Lincoln had a case appearing in that court he would sometimes affiliate himself with Drake and Moses. Lincoln was before that court in October and November 1857. Hezekiah Ballah sued John Deck and Zachariah Deck in a case heard in the Vermilion County Circuit Court. This was an action of trespass for castrating seventeen buck sheep and cutting up eight other ewes wethers and lambs. The Decks retained Lincoln who worked together with Drake and Moses in the case in October 1857. The Decks pleaded not guilty. Moreover John Deck also pleaded that he had been acquitted of the charge in Justice of the Peace court. The jury found the Decks not guilty. Hearing the case was Judge David Davis who Lincoln would one day name to the U.S. Supreme Court. Autograph document signed a draft pleading completely in Lincoln’s hand Vermilion County Circuit Court October 1857 being the pleading informing the Court that Deck had previously been acquitted of the same offense. The name of the case was John Deck impleaded with Zachariah Deck ads vs Hezekiah Ballah and it was filed In Trespass. “And the said defendant John Deck comes and defends the force and injury…and says plaintiff actio non fails to act when there is a duty to act because he defendant says he is not guilty in manner and form as is in the declaration alleged; and of this he puts himself upon the country etc. citizens in a court or jury. Moses & Drake & Lincoln p.d.” Lincoln adds below: “And for further plea in this behalf defendant John Deck says plaintiff actio non because he says that heretofore to wit on the __ day of __ in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty seven at the county of Vermillion in the state of Illinois before Joseph Peters a Justice of the Peace of said county and before commencement of this suit said defendant John Deck in a suit against him by the plaintiff herein was lawfully judged to be not guilty of the same identical supposed trespass in this declaration mentioned and this he is ready to verify therefore he prays judgment etc. Moses & Drake & Lincoln p.d.” The case is listed at lawofficeofabrahamlincoln.org. An interesting pleading where Lincoln’s client has already been acquitted of the same offense. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1843réf. 3570010/1843. Miles who was also a prominent Whig politico and part of Lincoln’s political circle used Lincoln’s legal services a number of times Abraham Lincoln and Stephen T. Logan formed a prominent Illinois law partnership called Logan & Lincoln from 1841 to 1844 during which Logan an experienced attorney mentored Lincoln and introduced him to complex areas of the law. During his partnership with Logan Lincoln also increased his caseload before the Illinois Supreme Court and handled appeals from all areas of the state. Logan and Lincoln handled many cases together not merely at their Springfield office but around the state. This ls because Lincoln had a circuit law practice that involved riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Illinois covering 14-15 counties including Menard County on horseback or buggy. Logan remained in Springfield while Lincoln traveled the Circuit. As a general practitioner Lincoln handled diverse cases including property disputes debts torts. slander and criminal law. The Logan & Lincoln partnership ended amicably in 1844 after which Lincoln partnered with William H. Herndon who was a clerk in the Logan & Lincoln law office and whose father had been a Lincoln friend for many years. George U. Miles was Herndon’s father-in-law. He came to Illinois in 1816 at age 20 settling first in St. Clair County and then in White County where he married Jane McCoy on November 18 1821. They had three children. Miles removed to Logan County and then in 1836 he went to Sangamon County where he lived on a farm six miles north of Springfield. In 1839 he moved to Petersburg in Menard County where he served as public administrator from 1845 to 1849. Miles was a Whig and a Menard County delegate to conventions that chose Whig candidates. Miles and Lincoln knew each other as neighbors and fellow Whigs and also because of Miles’ family relationship to Lincoln’s friend and partner Herndon. In early 1843 Lincoln sought a nomination for Congress and hoped for Miles’ political support. Miles used Lincoln as an attorney a number of times both before and after Herndon became Lincoln’s partner. In late 1843 Miles retained Logan & Lincoln and sued John Webb and Thomas Rogers to collect a $368.60 debt on a promissory note. Autograph document signed all in Lincoln’s hand Menard County Illinois October-November 1843 being a petition in the county court in which Miles asks for judgment for a debt. “George U. Miles plaintiff states that he holds a note on the defendants John Webb and Thomas Rogers in substance as followeth: ‘$368.60. One day after date we or either of us promise to pay George U. Miles or order three hundred and sixty eight dollars and sixty cents with twelve percent interest from date for value received. Our hands & seals: John Webb and Thomas Rogers Petersburg Ill. April 20th 1843.’ Yet the same debt remains unpaid wherefore he prays judgment for his debt and damages for the detention of the same together with his costs. Logan & Lincoln.” Lincoln won the case. The defendants were found to have defaulted and the court awarded Miles $392.67 counting costs. The case was decided November 1 1843. It is listed at lawofficeofabrahamlincoln.org. After Lincoln’s assassination Miles acted as one of Herndon's key investigators. Miles famously interviewed individuals including Ann Rutledge’s aunt to gather information about Lincoln's early life and relationships serving as a vital source for Herndon's research. Herndon would write a famous biography of Lincoln in the 1880s. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1863réf. 3619207/02/1863. This document has been in a private collection for a generation Kentucky Unionists were important to Lincoln a Kentucky native as he famously said ""I hope to have God on my side but I must have Kentucky.” The Congressman Henry Grider apparently needed to see Thomas to discuss the Act its impact on Kentucky and the details of how the recruitment would be handled Kentuckian Henry Grider was a Whig who served in Congress from 1843-1847 and then as a Unionist from March 4 1861 until 1865. For the Thirty-ninth Congress 1865–1867 Grider shifted to the Democratic Party but retained his commitment to the Union serving from March 4 1865 until his death in office on September 7 1866. Grider represented a Kentucky pro-slavery but Union-loyal constituency and he retained that point of view throughout the Civil War. Kentucky Unionists like Grider were particularly important to Abraham Lincoln a Kentucky native who had famously said ""I hope to have God on my side but I must have Kentucky.” Lincoln is known to have consulted with Grider about Kentucky affairs and relied on his support and that of the Kentucky delegation to Congress. On February 7 1863 Congress passed an Act providing that “the Governor of the State of Kentucky by the consent and under the direction of the President of the United States shall have power to raise and organize into regiments a volunteer force not exceeding twenty thousand rank and file to be raised within the State of Kentucky to serve for the term of twelve months to be employed within the limits of Kentucky in repelling invasion suppressing insurrection and guarding and protecting the public property: Provided That at any time it may be necessary in the discretion of the President of the United States these troops may be employed out of the limits of Kentucky against the enemies of the United States.” Thus the Governor of Kentucky would raise a force of 20000 volunteers to serve in Kentucky but President Lincoln had the authority to order them used outside the state. This Act was received with mixed reviews in Kentucky and on the very day it was enacted Grider’s son Benjamin C. Grider a slave-holding Unionist resigned from the Union Army. From the timing of his resignation one can surmise that he disapproved of the Act. He had commanded the 9th Kentucky Volunteers. Lorenzo Thomas was the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army at that time and his job was to maximize operational effectiveness of the army by manning recruiting for and sustaining military operations. Autograph note signed Washington February 7 1863 the day of the Act to Lorenzo Thomas expediting Grider’s ability to see Thomas. “Adjutant General Please see and hear Hon. Mr. Grider. A. Lincoln.” It seems clear that Grider needed to see Thomas to discuss the Act its impact on Kentucky and the details of how the recruitment would be handled and managed. Not in Basler. A separation running vertically archivally mended. This is a very scarce communication involving Lincoln aiding a Kentucky Unionist. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt=""historical memorabilia dealer"" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1853réf. 3514603/11/1853. The case is well known and illustrates Lincoln’s penchant for aiding women who had been unjustly treated ""Said answers are untrue uncertain and insufficient that her Bill is true certain and sufficient and he Lincoln will so prove it to be"" During his 25-year legal career in Illinois Abraham Lincoln was involved in a substantial number of cases involving women as litigants. He was known for seeking to represent women and working to get justice for them in an era when women’s cases were often shunned by lawyers or not taken seriously. Lincoln handled some 147 divorce cases about 40% of all divorce cases in his home county of Sangamon. Importantly more than half of the litigants he represented were women. He handled these cases with ""tender consideration"" learning from experience that the law could be a dangerous place for women who had few rights under the legal doctrines of the time. Lincoln also represented women in cases involving land disputes and in slander lawsuits which often involved accusations of adultery and were important for maintaining a woman's community reputation. Lincoln was known for taking cases for women where he felt justice was on his client's side. Notable examples include: Nance Legins-Costley - In 1841 Lincoln successfully represented this African American woman to prevent her from being sold into slavery arguing that slavery was illegal in Illinois; Melissa Goings - He defended Mrs. Goings an elderly woman charged with her abusive husband's murder in a case based on self-defense; Doshia Wyatt - In 1853 Lincoln took on the case of Mrs. Wyatt a widow whose claim was that she was being cheated out of her inheritance. A petition for dower is a legal request filed by a surviving spouse typically a widow to claim a portion of their deceased spouse's estate such as in real property based on common law dower rights. This is a formal process that requires the surviving spouse to file a petition in court describing the property and naming the heir or person with the next immediate estate of inheritance. The court then holds a hearing to determine the rights to dower and the property. Doshia Wyatt widow of Robert Wyatt retained Lincoln and sued for her dower. Thomas Wyatt died in 1847 and left all of his property to his son Robert. Robert Wyatt lost part of the land the Mill Farm to satisfy a judgment against him in the U.S. District Court of Illinois. Robert Wyatt sold another property the Prue Farm to George Brewner. After Robert Wyatt's death in 1852 Doshia Wyatt sued Leonard and Brewner's heirs. Leonard contested the petition claiming that he did not believe Doshia and Robert Wyatt had been legally married. Leonard also claimed that Robert Wyatt had already left Doshia Wyatt land in his will which Leonard claimed was recorded. Hearing the case was Judge David Davis a friend of Lincoln whom as President he would appoint to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ward Hill Lamon Lincoln’s co-attorney on the case began his professional association with Lincoln in 1852 when they became law partners. Though they had different styles they remained close personal and professional friends. After the partnership dissolved in 1857 their friendship continued and Lamon would later become Lincoln's bodyguard and U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia during Lincoln's presidency. As the bodyguard Lamon was not in Washington on the night of Lincoln’s assassination being on assignment in Richmond at Lincoln’s request. In his Recollections of Abraham Lincoln Lamon reveals that before he left for Richmond he implored the President not to ""go out at night after he was gone particularly to the theatre."" This document relates to the case of Doshia Wyatt. In a petition to the Court filed by Lincoln Wyatt stated her case: “Your petitioner would further represent to your honor that she your petitioner is the widow of the said Robert Wyatt — that she has never relinquished her dower to the said aforesaid land or any part thereof - nor has her dower ever been set off - or assigned her in said premises - that said Robert Wyatt on or about the 28th of July AD 1852 departed this life leaving her the said Doshia widow as aforesaid…Your petitioner would further pray that this honorable court appoints commissioners to assign her dower in & to all of the above described tracts or parcels of land according to the statue in such cases made and approved. And your petitioner would pray for such & gather relief as may be according to equity and good conscience and as in duly abound your petitioner will ever pray.” This is a pleading in Lincoln’s hand which contains the answer of Wyatt to the defendants’ responses to her allegations. Autograph document signed Vermillion County Illinois Circuit Court November 3 1853. “The replication response of Doshia Wyatt to the defendants’ answers filed in the case for her Petition for Dower in the Vermillion Circuit Court against Peter R. Leonard and others. This repliant respondent says that said answers are untrue uncertain and insufficient that her Bill is true certain and sufficient and he Lincoln will so prove it to be as this Honorable Court shall direct. Lincoln & Lamon for Repliant respondent.” On the verso Lincoln has docketed the document “Dosha Wyatt vs Peter R. Leonard Replication.” The clerk of court Samuel Craig then notes that the plea was filed on November 3 1853. An uncommon document in Lincoln’s hand concerning his representation of women. As for the case the parties likely reached a settlement as Wyatt ended up dismissing the case while Leonard paid the costs. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1864réf. 3503129/10/1864. Journalist George D. Prentice's son was a Confederate officer captured by Union forces who would later be charged with murder George D. Prentice was born in Connecticut on December 18 1802 and graduated from Brown University in 1823. He came to Kentucky in 1830 to write a campaign biography entitled The Biography of Henry Clay and remained in this state until his death on January 22 1870 in Louisville. Prentice became the editor of the Louisville Journal the newspaper of the Whig Party. The main focus of this paper was the promotion of Henry Clay’s agenda and his multiple presidential campaigns. Prentice brought the Journal from upstart newspaper to the most widely read newspaper in the western United States because of his wit and command of the English language. Upon the failure of the Whig Party Prentice supported the Know-Nothing Party. Prentice then supported John Bell and his Unionist platform in the 1860 election calling for the Southern states to stay in the Union. Following the repeal of neutrality in Kentucky the pro-Union Prentice wrote in the Louisville Journal on September 19 1861: “Well thank God we at last have weighed anchor and set out for the haven of safety and of honor. Now let all possible sail be spread and the noble ship of state be driven into the lines of her insolent foe with the whole might of the valor and devotion of her true men.” Prentice became part of Lincoln’s core group of advisors for Kentucky affairs during the war. But despite Prentice’s Unionist satisfaction that Kentucky was no longer neutral his two sons fought in the Confederate army one dying in 1862 and the other being captured in 1863. The son of Prentice Clarence J. Prentice was one of the most colorful Kentuckians in the Confederate Army. From 1863 to 1865 he commanded the 7th Confederate Cavalry Battalion. Based in southwestern Virginia the 7th was composed of mountaineers who resided along the Kentucky-Virginia border. The unit was difficult to discipline and was regarded as a ""black sheep"" battalion by other units in the department. While some members of the battalion accompanied Gen. John Hunt Morgan on his last Kentucky raid they were part of the dismounted brigade. Prentice and the balance of the 7th was left behind to guard Pound Gap. In his ""Kentucky Cavaliers in Dixie"" George Dallas Mosgrove left a lively pen portrait of the young officer. He described the 7th as wild and difficult to discipline but added that the men were afraid of Prentice who was a crack shot. Major Prentice was captured on March 31 1863. George Prentice wrote to Lincoln to enlist his help in securing a parole for his son. In his letter to Lincoln dated Journal Office Louisville Ky. May 6 1863 Prentice stated: “I wrote to you last week in regard to my son Major Clarence Prentice now a rebel prisoner at Camp Chase. He would ere this have been forwarded for exchange but Gen. Burnside at my solicitation consented to have him detained until I could have time to hear from you. I think there has been time but I have received nothing from you either by mail or telegraph. I know that the pressure of the affairs of state upon you is very great. Perhaps you did not read my letter at all. Major Prentice is the only child left to me. My household is very desolate. My son is tired of the war but unfortunately he thinks the south right. I ask you to direct his release upon his taking the non combatants oath and giving bond and security for its scrupulous observance. If you cannot do this as I painfully fear you cannot I earnestly appeal to you to parole him to stay outside of both the United States and the Southern Confederacy until after the rebellion. I should scarcely venture Mr. President to make this appeal to you but that I think I have served the Union cause faithfully devotedly and successfully. I have suffered very much and sacrificed very much in its behalf—more I am sure than any other man in Kentucky; and I am likely even at the best to suffer and sacrifice much hereafter. I think there is not a candid and intelligent Union man in this state who would hesitate to say to you that I have saved it to the Union politically. “And now dear sir pray grant me what I ask in behalf of my only son. His mother is half delirious and so am I. I am scarcely capable of performing my daily duties to the country but if my request were granted I feel I should be buoyant with new life. Please let me know your decision soon for if my son cannot be paroled upon either of the conditions I have mentioned I want him sent forward as soon as possible to City Point as he is extremely uncomfortable in his present situation.” Ten days later Lincoln issued an order written on the back of Prentice's letter instructing General Burnside to parole young Prentice ""to remain outside the limits of both the loyal and disloyal States or so-called 'Confederate States’…during the present rebellion and to abstain from in any wise aiding or abetting said rebellion."" He was released in May 1863. However Clarence Prentice immediately upon his release from Camp Chase violated his oath and re-entered the Confederate Army. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Only a few months after his parole he was back to robbing banks burning courthouses and spreading terror and destruction generally along the Kentucky-Virginia border. In the fall of 1863 after being released from Union custody Prentice shot and killed a hotel proprietor named White in Abingdon Va. during a ""personal difficulty."" His trial was set for November 8 1864 in Abingdon and his father wanted to attend and assist him at his trial. George Prentice again wrote Lincoln asking for his assistance. Lincoln complied with Prentice’s request. Autograph note signed Washington October 29 1864. “Allow George D. Prentice of the Louisville Journal to pass our lines go to Abingdon Va. and return.” Prentice also wrote to Secretary of State William Seward on October 25 1864. A letter of Captain R. H. Baptist exists October 22 1864 to Prentice offering to give evidence in the forthcoming trial of his son saying “a conversation occurred between White & myself that ought to be made known in the trial of your son by all means.” Prentice sought Seward’s help in lining up Baptist up as a witness for his son: “Capt Baptist who formerly served under my son…and is now a prisoner…at Johnson's Island writes to me some facts which would be of vast importance to my erring child in his approaching trial…and which Capt. B. says he would state on oath…if he could be paroled to the Southern Confederacy or exchanged…I think that the exchange of Capt Baptist would subserve the cause of truth humanity and justice.’’ After being shown Baptist's letter Lincoln arranged for his parole so that he could testify on behalf of Clarence Prentice. Thus did Lincoln intervene twice to aid his Kentucky advisor. Clarence Prentice was acquitted of the murder charge. He continued to serve in the Confederate Army until the war ended. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1509réf. 3547615/09/1863. The letter itself was from Lamb a pallbearer after Lincoln's assassination Joseph Gillespie was a Whig member of the Illinois Assembly in 1840-41 and then served in the State Senate from 1847 to 1859. He joined the Republicans in 1856. Gillespie chaired the Illinois Republican State Convention in 1860 where presidential electors were selected who would vote for Abraham Lincoln and served as circuit court judge in Southern Illinois from 1861 to 1873. From when they met in 1840 Gillespie was a key political ally lawyer and trusted and intimate friend to Abraham Lincoln. They consulted on legal cases and in political matters where they kept each other informed of political developments. Gillespie visited President-elect Lincoln at Springfield before he left for Washington. When Lincoln was president Gillespie occasionally went to Washington to see him and kept him informed about the political situation in the western states. Their correspondence shows a close personal bond. James L. Lamb was a meatpacker industrialist and friend of Lincoln from Illinois known for his business dealings with the future President and his role as one of the pallbearers at Lincoln's funeral. In a letter addressed to President Lincoln Lamb wrote him from Springfield Ill. September 10 1863 to secure a position for a relative. “My friend and relative Mr. James H. Lea is an applicant for the position of paymaster in the army. His appointment I am sure would meet the approbation of all true friends of the Government who are acquainted with him. I have long known him as a reliable competent businessman and one whose integrity could be fully relied upon. His moral character is without blemish and the most satisfactory assurances can be given of his integrity and fitness for the position.” The docket states “Springfield Sep. 10/63 James L. Lamb to the President. Application for appointment of James H. Lea as a Paymaster.” This letter was not mailed by Lamb to Lincoln. Instead Lamb gave the letter to Gillespie to enlist his support and use his influence with Lincoln. Gillespie presented Lamb’s letter to Lincoln with his request that it be honored. Autograph endorsement signed Washington September 15 1863. “My old friend Gillespie presents this; and I would like for him to be obliged.” This is unpublished and not in Basler’s Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. The wording of Lincoln’s endorsement saying that Gillespie presented this to Lincoln and the implication that Gillespie will need to be presenting this to the Secretary of War raises the possibility that Gillespie handed this to Lincoln in person and then took the endorsement to Stanton. On October 10 Gillespie wrote Lincoln that the appointment had not yet been made and relating a communication with Stanton saying “I would beg to call your attention to the subject of the appointment of my friend James H. Lea of Alton to the office of paymaster in the regular army. Secy. Stanton told me that he would retire one now on the list to make place for Mr Lea in a short time. I have heard nothing from him since. I would take it as a great favor if this thing could be done soon. I am aware how much you must be pressed with business of an engrossing character at this juncture but hope you may find leisure to jog the secretary’s memory.” According to papers in the Library of Congress James H. Lea was appointed an additional paymaster of volunteers to rank from February 23 1864. He signed his oath of office in April. This is a fascinating endorsement showing how Lincoln sought to assist his old friends to the extent he appropriately could. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1861réf. 3521508/08/1861. ""It is said that the young man named within was in the Great Bethel affair. His mother calls on me to ask a Lieutenancy for him"" We have never before a document on the market referencing Bethel by name or referring to the battle as great Part of a private collection assembled at Sesslers more than a half century ago The Civil War formally began with the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12–13 1861 but the first sustained clash between organized armies on land was the Battle of Big Bethel also called the Battle of Bethel Church fought on June 10 1861 near Hampton Virginia. Virginia's decision to secede from the Union had been ratified by popular vote on May 23 and Confederate colonel later major general John B. Magruder was sent down to the peninsula to deter any advance on the state capital Richmond by Union troops based at the well-defended post of Fort Monroe. Confederate forces under Magruder defeated a probing Union attack led by John Adams Dix and field commander Theodore Winthrop who was killed in the assault. The Union objective was to push back Confederate outposts guarding the Yorktown Road but poor coordination and a nighttime friendly-fire incident ruined surprise. When Union troops advanced at dawn they were repulsed by well-positioned Southern artillery and infantry around Big Bethel Church. The battle ended in a Confederate victory providing an early morale boost to the South while exposing the inexperience and disorganization of Union forces in the war’s opening weeks. It confirmed that the conflict would not be short or bloodless. Abraham Lincoln was distressed by the Union defeat at Big Bethel. The battle underscored for him the Union's lack of military preparedness and the challenges in finding capable commanders reinforcing his determination to avoid future losses. During his presidency Lincoln would regularly meet with members of the public who would wait to see him in the foyer of his office in the White House. This included soldiers and their family members. Autograph letter signed Frank J. White as Captain of Company A 10th Regiment Fortress Monroe July 27 1861 seemingly given to the soldier himself or his sent to his family. ""Mr. Charles. J. Seymour has been a member of my company for three months and has gained my highest esteem for the excellent manner in which he has discharged his duties. He is well qualified to hold a much higher position than his present one."" Autograph document signed August 8 1861 on a detached leaf no recipient but likely Secretary of War Simon Cameron. ""It is said that the young man named within was in the Great Bethel affair. His mother calls on me to ask a Lieutenancy for him; and I ask a respectful consideration of his case."" Seymour received the promotion Lincoln requested becoming a lieutenant just weeks later on August 27 1861. He served as Aide-de-Camp on the staff of Gen. Daniel E. Sickles and was later promoted to major. He also assisted in recruiting efforts in New York City. This was acquired from Mabel Zahn at Sesslers in the 1970s. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1862réf. 3341204/03/1862. As 1862 opened the war was not going well for the Union. In the east Bull Run had been a disaster and led to the shake-up of command with no results yet to show for it. In the west the loss at Wilson’s Creek gave the Confederates the upper hand. The Federal armies in the west then turned their attention to implementation of the Anaconda Plan – to cut the Confederacy in half by securing the Mississippi River from St. Louis all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and clearing a maritime invasion route into the heart of the Confederacy by taking the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers which lay just to the east of the Mississippi. If successful these maneuvers would cut Texas Arkansas and Louisiana off from the main body of the South hold Kentucky and Missouri firmly in the Union and make it difficult for Tennessee to cooperate with her sister Confederate states. The first moves would be to take and hold commanding locations north on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers and command of the operation was given to Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant an obscure and largely unproven officer. On February 6 1862 Fort Henry commanding the Tennessee River was captured by Grant’s forces. It had a poor defensive position and was reduced mainly by the bombardment of gunboats on the river. Nonetheless its fall opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and shipping past the Alabama border and provided a real victory for Union arms. Grant next focused his attention on Fort Donelson eleven miles away on the more strategically important Cumberland River. This fort had a much stronger physical position and the Confederates had placed some 20000 men and a number of senior commanders on site to engage in its defense. They were not about to concede the fort and they were ready and waiting for Grant. Grant arrived at Fort Donelson late on February 12 and on the 13th established his headquarters near the left side of the front of the line. That day was spent in battle preparation with a few small probing attacks being carried out against the Confederate defenses. Grant's headquarters was at Cairo Ill where the head of Ordnance was Stephen Lyford. Grant arrived at Fort Donelson late on February 12 and on the 13th established his headquarters near the left side of the front of the line. That day was spent in battle preparation with a few small probing attacks being carried out against the Confederate defenses. The battle was severe with nearly 1000 soldiers on both sides killed and about 3000 wounded. When Simon Buckner the Confederate commander asked for surrender terms Grant famously replied “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted“ adding “I propose to move immediately upon your works.” Buckner surrendered his command of about 15000 men; this was the first of three Confederate armies that Grant captured during the war. The capture of Fort Donelson gave the North control of the Cumberland River which provided the road that opened the Deep South to Union invasion. It boosted morale in the North which now saw that the war could result in great victories and not just defeats. It gave President Lincoln the fighting general he was looking for and it made Grant’s career in the process; he was soon promoted to major general of volunteers. Stephen C. Lyford had a long and distinguished career. He served from May to August 1861 in the defenses of Washington D. C. and in the Manassas Campaign participating in the Battle of Bull Run July 21 1861. He was Aide-de_Camp to Brig. General McDowell in the defenses of Washington D. C. August to October 1861 and Asst. Ordnance Officer at St. Louis Arsenal Mo. November 2 1861 to February 1 1862; in command of the Cairo Ordnance Depot Ill. February to May 1862 being detached to the Cumberland River and was present at the Surrender of Ft. Donelson. He was part of Gen. Halleck's Mississippi Campaign May to July 1862 being engaged in the Siege of Corinth May 1862 and was Chief of Ordnance for Department of the Tennessee July 11 1862 to September 6 1863 and fought in the Battle of Corinth. He would go on to teach at West Point and also serve as aide-de-camp for Gen. Halleck and as representative of the US to Japan to bring back information and technology relevant for American ordnance. Document signed with engravings of flags and weapons Washington March 4 1862 Naming Lyford a “Second Lieutenant in the Ordnance Department."" <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1507réf. 3254115/07/1864. A real rarity the first Lincoln appointment to the Signal Corps for an officer active in Sherman’s Georgia Campaign we have seen On March 29 1860 the United States House of Representatives approved the Army appropriations bill for fiscal year 1861 which included the following amendment: ""For the manufacture or purchase of apparatus and equipment for field signals $2000; and that there be added to the staff of the Army one signal officer with the rank pay and allowance of a major of cavalry who shall have charge under the direction of the Secretary of War of all signal duty and all books papers and apparatus connected therewith."" The United States Senate eventually approved the appropriations bill over the objections of Jefferson Davis now Senator from Mississippi and President James Buchanan signed it into law on June 21 1860 the date now celebrated as the birthday of the modern U.S. Army Signal Corps. Now armies on the go could report back to their civilian leadership in real time and those leaders could make decisions without waiting for a messenger on horse. This changed the face of warfare. President Lincoln himself spent significant time in the telegraph office sending and receiving war correspondence. He often walked alone from the White House to the office and chatted with the operators. As Bates later wrote “During the Civil War the President spent more of his waking hours in the War Department telegraph office than in any other place except the White House. While in the Telegraph Office he was comparatively free from official cares and therefore more apt to disclose his natural traits and disposition than elsewhere under other conditions.” John Quincy Adams first enlisted in 1862 with the 38th Ohio Volunteers. On October 15 of that year he was a quartermaster sergeant with the 10th Ohio Cavalry. After a stint as acting lieutenant on July 15 1864 he was appointed by the President Second Lieutenant to date from March 3 1863. Adams was actively involved in the Georgia campaign conducted by Gen. William T. Sherman. He was with left wing of the 16th Army Corps on the march to Chattanooga Tenn. In the Atlanta Campaign he participated in the battles of Resaca Dallas Kenesaw Mountain. and Jonesboro. He manned signal corps stations at Kenesaw Mt. and Allatoona. Adams was in the engagements at Port McAllister and Rice Mill station in the campaign from Savannah through the Carolinas including battles at Columbia Bentonville and Raleigh; and at the surrender of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to Sherman on April 26 1865. Adams was breveted 1st lieutenant for gallant and meritorious service in the Signal Corps at the battle of Allatoona; he was breveted captain for gallant and meritorious services in the Signal Corps at the capture of Fort McAllister and Savannah and throughout the war. Adams was mustered out August 22 1865. After the war he was in the 1st U. S. Cavalry and was in the Indian wars and finished his career as captain and aide to Gen. O.O. Howard in October 1884. He is listed on the roster of the U.S. Signal Corps in the Civil War. Adams is also a protagonist in one of the most famous telegraph exchanges of the war during the battle near Allatoona. During this battle legend goes that Sherman signaled to General Corse and his men to ""hold the fort"" a phrase that inspired the later popular religious hymn entitled Hold the Fort by Chicago evangelist Philip P. Bliss which featured the chorus 'Hold the fort for I am coming’ which then became a common expression. We still use ""hold down the fort"" today. Adams was the signal officer who received that message or rather a variant as Sherman did not use that exact phrase though captured the sentiment. This is President Lincoln’s appointment of Adams as Second Lieutenant. Document signed Washington July 15 1864 naming Adams ""Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps"" dating from the third of March 1863. This document is a real rarity as we have never before seen a Lincoln appointment to the Signal Corps for an officer active in Sherman’s March to the Sea. Moreover Lincoln Signal Corps appointments are themselves uncommon this being our first. It was acquired from the Adams descendants and has never been offered for sale before. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1846réf. 3117130/03/1846. At the time Lincoln wrote this he was running for Congress It shows the relationship between perhaps the most famous senior and junior law partners https://vimeo.com/943731365share=copy In his nearly 25 years as a lawyer in Springfield Illinois Abraham Lincoln had three partners. He joined John Todd Stuart as a junior partner then started a new practice as a junior partner with Stephen T. Logan. In 1844 Lincoln and Logan took on William H. Herndon. In the fall of 1844 Lincoln was tired of being a junior partner. He had worked for senior partners with political ambitions and Lincoln wanted a younger partner to whom he could relate. Logan and Lincoln dissolved their partnership in December 1844. Logan wanted to practice law with his son David and Lincoln wanted to start his own law firm. In October Lincoln invited his friend William Herndon to form a partnership with Herndon as junior partner. Thus was born Lincoln and Herndon. The firm would become a legend. In all three firms Lincoln functioned as a general practitioner taking a wide variety of civil and criminal cases. Herndon did not disappoint his friend. He contributed to the practice by performing research for his older and more experienced partner building the firm's law library and overseeing young men who came to study law read the law at their office. Business began slowly for the new firm. Not until March 1845 was their first case heard in the Sangamon County Circuit Court. That first case was Hope v. Beebe et al and was action in debt with Lincoln and Herndon appearing for plaintiff and Logan for defendant. Here is a description of that case: A plaintiff Norwood had won a replevin suit against the Beebee also spelled Beebe Brothers in the U. S. Circuit Court Beebee Brothers v. Whitney & Norwood. Hope the marshal of the U. S. Circuit Court District of Illinois to help Norwood collect what he was owed retained Lincoln and Herndon and sued Beebee and others in an action of debt the intent being to collect money ordered paid by the court. Beebee and others named on the replevin bond in the federal suit failed to perform the obligation of bond - they did not or would not pay. Beebee claimed that he was unable to pay because of another suit that Norwood instituted against Beebee. On March 18 1845 the case was continued and heard again in July when Lincoln filed documents allowing for concessions on both sides. It was again continued until March of 1846. Lincoln with the help of Herndon then drafted another document seemingly pointing to the another aspect of the suit and explaining why the plaintiff should not have to drop the suit. In 1846 Lincoln was running for what would be his first elected position Congressman. In August he won that election and served one term. In March he was campaigning and seeking to gain support. Autograph document signed ""Lincoln & Herndon"" Springfield late March 1846 in the hand of both partners showing their collaboration. It begins in Lincoln's hand: “And for further replication"" before switching to Herndons for the lines"" to the said plea of the said defendants by them above pleaded said plaintiff says that to be further precluded from maintaining his said action against said defendants because of the matters in said plea alleged he ought not because he says that since the pleading of the last plea by said defendants to wit on — day of February AD 1846 the said replevin suit by the said Norwood and Turner against the said Beebees in the Said plea mentioned was by the same court at which it was pending determined in favor of the said Beebees and against the said Norwood and Turner and by the judgment of said court a return of the bacon in the plea mentioned.” Lincoln hand wrote the balance: “…Mentioned was awarded to the said Beebees and also adjudged that the said Beebees should recover of and from the said Norwood and Turner the sum of $650 damages and costs of suit and this he is ready to verify. Wherefore he prays judgment.” At that time Lincoln was preparing for his run for Congress his only national election until 1860. The parties would later reach an agreement in March 1847 and the court dismissed the case. Lincoln and Herndon received fees of $25 for their legal services. A final version of this filed document is published by the Papers of Abraham Lincoln as is the judge's further March 1846 continuance. The present document is three pieces affixed either by Lincoln or at a later date. This is the only paperwork from Lincoln and Herndon’s first case we have ever seen on the market. <img class=""alignnone size-post-window wp-image-25018"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1863réf. 2972001/09/1863. A powerful letter showing Lincoln's direct involvement with the chief judicial military officer showing the merciful Lincoln at work and showing his prioritizing retaining experienced veterans in the service <img class=""alignnone size-post-window wp-image-29790"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20240123003955/Lincoln-Sept-1-1863-3-1600x295.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""295"" /> The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army is the senior officer of the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army. The position was abolished but then reinstated in 1849. In 1862 Lincoln appointed his first Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt only the second since 1783. He named Joseph Holt. Holt joined the Army as a colonel in 1862. As Judge Advocate General of the Army Holt oversaw the expansion of military law to include the military prosecutions of citizens who were not in the military service. By the time he joined the Army he believed that the only means to prevent treason from occurring again was to ensure that slavery was abolished for all time and eventually equal treatment under the law enforced in the South. At the beginning of the Civil War Joseph Carbery Lay had an office in Washington D. C. as an agent for the transaction of all kinds of business including procuring patents pensions back pay purchase and sale of real estate writing of deeds releases and other instruments regarding settlement of accounts with and claims against the Government. He quickly enlisted in the 12th Infantry Regiment of the Regular Army as a lieutenant. During the Peninsula Campaign in the spring of 1862 the 12th Infantry distinguished itself in its first combat action at the Battle of Gaines Mill in June 1862 while sustaining fifty percent casualties. Lay was a captain at that time. <img class=""alignnone size-post-window wp-image-29789"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20240123003932/Lincoln-Sept-1-1863-2-1600x746.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""746"" /> Captain Joseph Carbery Lay was cashiered - dismissed - from the Army on July 21 1862 for being drunk on duty and breach of arrest. Lay felt that an injustice had been done and wanted the dismissal revoked. In 1863 the matter came to the attention of President Lincoln who insisted on seeing the record of the case. He was always anxious to prevent injustice from being done and even a case in which alleged drunkenness was involved was not beneath his notice. Autograph letter signed as President on Executive Mansion letterhead Washington September 1 1863 to the Judge Advocate General insisting that he receive the records in Lay’s case. “Sir: I am told that Carbery Lay a Captain in the 12th. Regular Infantry has been dismissed by a Court-Martial. Please get the record and examine the case & report to me. Yours truly A. Lincoln.” <img class=""alignnone size-post-window wp-image-29791"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20240123004036/Lincoln-Sept-1-1863-4-1600x491.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""491"" /> Lincoln prioritized retaining experienced veterans in the service and sided with Lay as is indicated by the fact that Lay was reinstated by being appointed a lieutenant in the Seventeenth Infantry on October 30 1863 less than two months after this letter. While Lay was serving in that unit in 1863 it was present in engagements at Rappahannock Station and on Mine Run and marched with it until going into winter camp. In 1864 the regiment took part in the Wilderness Campaign and the operations before Petersburg inscribing on its colors Laurel Hill North Anna Bethesda Church Cold Harbor and Petersburg; while its records show in addition that it was also engaged at Spotsylvania Court House and the battle of the Wilderness. Lay’s problems were not over however as in June 1864 he was accused of having returned to his home in Washington without leave. He came back to base soon after and made a statement that he had been ill and sent to hospital and then had a difficult time rejoining his regiment. Perhaps to avoid disciplinary action he resigned from the Army a few months later on September 12 1864. Over the years we’ve had just a handful of letters showing the kindly merciful Lincoln at work and none to Holt. <img class=""alignnone size-post-window wp-image-25018"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> unknown books
1504réf. 2913315/04/1865. The Assassination: Abraham Lincoln continues to stand as America’s most beloved President. Of our nation’s historical icons Lincoln is the quintessential embodiment of American possibility in his mythic-like rise from rail-splitter to Chief Executive and Emancipator of the oppressed. The admiration felt by Americans for Lincoln’s humble integrity his performance in office his noble statesmanship and his keen sense of justice is enduring. Lincoln is not given the highest marks just for character but for the transformation of the nation that he left behind which was both profound and long-lasting. Polls of historians generally show their belief that Lincoln faced the hardest job of any president. He had to define the issues inspire the people be steadfast in the face of losses win the Civil War free the slaves and lay the groundwork to reunite the nation. All that in the face of determined opposition. He accomplished all this in four years but was assassinated on April 14 1865 and his death left him unable to finish the job a job that quite likely he was the only one with a chance to get completed in a way that would truly bring the nation together. The end of the Civil War left the nation with two overwhelming questions: what to do with and do for the millions of freed slaves; and how to reintegrate the South into the Union. On the first point Lincoln was focused on African American access to land economic prosperity and legal rights and had just approved Gen. William T. Sherman’s order distributing parcels of former slave plantations to the slaves themselves. Lincoln wanted black Union veterans to have the right to vote which was a step to ultimately embracing full suffrage for African American males. In what proved to be his final speech three evenings before his death Lincoln had become the first president ever to support black voting. Lincoln’s successor Andrew Johnson was a Southerner uninterested in fair treatment of the liberated slaves. He opposed plans designed to guarantee the civil rights of black Americans and cancelled Sherman’s order granting land to slaves. Johnson accepted the draconian post-Civil War Black Codes which limited the rights and liberties of African-Americans something Lincoln would never have done. On the second point the readmission of the Southern states Johnson felt that once Southern states returned their loyalty to the national government they could manage their own affairs. This meant they could pass any Jim Crow laws they liked. He opposed the Republican plan for Reconstruction of the South including provisions designed to guarantee the civil rights of black Americans. The Republican Congress had no rapport with Johnson and the initial four years era of Reconstruction which was a disaster to the nation was essentially a bitter battle between a North and South that remained locked in contention presided over by a weak President Johnson and a Congress at loggerheads with him. Lincoln had enormous power and influence some of which extended into the South. He saw the end of the war as an opportunity to not simply celebrate victory but an opportunity to move the country forward. Johnson had no such feeling. Lincoln would have been much better placed to direct moderate and ease the contentions of Reconstruction. John Wilkes Booth was a member of a famous acting family and he enjoyed a phenomenally successful stage career during the Civil War: By 1864 he earned $20000 a year at a time when the average Northern family earned around $300 annually. A Marylander by birth Booth was an open Confederate sympathizer during the war. A supporter of slavery Booth believed that Lincoln was determined to overthrow the Constitution and to destroy his beloved South. After Lincoln’s reelection in November 1864 Booth devised a plan to kidnap the president and spirit him to Richmond where he could be ransomed for some of the Confederate prisoners languishing in northern jails. That winter Booth and his conspirators plotted a pair of elaborate plans to kidnap the president; the first involved capturing Lincoln in his box at Ford’s Theater and lowering the president to the stage with ropes. Booth ultimately gave up acting to focus on these schemes. Neither of the kidnapping plans bore fruit. On the evening of April 11 the President stood on the White House balcony and delivered a speech to a small group gathered on the lawn. Two days earlier Robert E. Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House and after four long years of struggle it had become clear that the Union cause would shortly emerge from the war victorious. Lincoln’s speech that evening outlined some of his ideas about reconstructing the nation and bringing the defeated Confederate states back into the Union. Lincoln also indicated a wish to extend the franchise to some African-Americans—at the very least those who had fought in the Union ranks during the war - and expressed a desire that the southern states would extend the vote to literate blacks as well. Booth stood in the audience for the speech and this notion seems to have amplified his rage at Lincoln. “That means nigger citizenship” he told Lewis Powell one of his band of conspirators. “Now by God I’ll put him through. That is the last speech he will ever make.” Three days later Booth made good on his promise. Upon learning that Lincoln and his wife intended to see the play “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater Booth used his actor’s connections there to gain access to the President’s box. He shot Lincoln at about 10 pm on April 14 1865 and Lincoln died about after 7 am on the 15th. Dr. Charles Leale was in the audience. Leale leapt over theater seats got to the president’s box and announced that he was a doctor. As he entered the President was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed and head slumped. He already looked dead Leale recalled. He felt Lincoln’s right arm for a pulse but couldn’t find one. He and some others eased Lincoln to the floor and Leale began searching for the wound. “I quickly passed the separated fingers of both hands through his blood-matted hair…and I discovered his mortal wound” Leale recalled. “The president had been shot in the back part of the head behind the left ear.” Leale stuck the little finger of his left hand into the hole in Lincoln’s skull. “I then knew it was fatal and told the bystanders” he wrote later. Leale knew he had to get Lincoln out of the theater to treat him. But he believed a carriage ride back to the White House would kill him. He and several other men lifted the president and with Leale holding Lincoln’s head they began to maneuver him outside. Across the street from the theater was the house of William Peterson and Lincoln was taken there. Lincoln was carried to a small back room stripped of his clothes and covered with blankets. His 6-foot-4-inch frame had to be placed diagonally to fit on the bed. Leale ordered the window opened and the wait began. A parade of anguished government officials and family members came and went. The President sank steadily his breathing labored and his pulse nearly undetectable. At 7:22 am on April 15 President Lincoln breathed his last. Leale smoothed the contracted muscles of Lincoln’s features placed two coins over his eyes and pulled a sheet up over his face. Famously Secretary of War Stanton saluted the fallen President and uttered “Now he belongs to the ages.” Stanton further eulogized Lincoln with the apt observation “There lies the most perfect ruler of men the world has ever seen.” Original report on the assassination printed the very day he died The public was hungry for information and the newspapers equally hungry to report the momentous news. One of these was the Binghamton Daily Republican and this is its issue of April 15 1865 with black mourning columns. The front page as was routine at the time was taken up by ads. The news then began on page two. There at top left is the headline “The Assassination of President Lincoln! A Nation in Mourning!!!” It begins “We feel too unfitted by this awful event to allude to the calamity in terms becoming its solemnity and importance! LINCOLN IS DEAD! Struck down by the hands of a brutal assassin in the midst of the triumphs which were commemorating his salvation of the country. A great man indeed has fallen! The foremost man of his time is no more…We dare not contemplate what may follow this sad and inscrutable providence.” This was followed by a proclamation of the governor of New York. On page three were dispatches from 12:30 AM to noon to 3:00. An early dispatch reports that “the President was shot… and is not expected to live” and told of the events of the assassination then available in detail. It mentioned “The screams of Mrs. Lincoln first disclosed the fact to the audience that the President had been shot.” Later it reported of Lincoln “At midnight the Cabinet…a few personal friends with Surg. Gen. Barnes and his immediate assistants were beside his bedside…The parting of his family with the dying president is too sad for description.” At noon the newspaper had more news and reported “Later concerning the President. He died this morning at 7:20. Two villains engaged in the horrible crime. The murder planned before March 4th.” At the bottom of the column is a report on the progress of the army of General William T. Sherman saying that in response to Grant’s hope Sherman would pursue the remaining Confederates Sherman said “I think we’ll do it.” At 3:00 the paper printed the latest from Washington. It contained “Full particulars of the Death of Abraham Lincoln” plus “Inauguration of President Johnson” and Johnson’s statement on taking office. Original newspapers reporting Lincoln’s assassination have become very scarce this being our first in over a decade. This one is comprehensive and with its black borders and large headlines is evocative of the moment and would be perfect for display. <img class=""alignnone wp-image-25018 size-post-window"" src=""https://cdn.raabcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/20231204144051/Folder-site-11-1600x1327.jpg"" alt="""" width=""1600"" height=""1327"" /> hardcover books
1861réf. 1571129/03/1861. James E. Harrison though born in Virginia served the Union cause during the Civil War. He received his first appointment as a Second Lieutenant to the 2d U. S. Cavalry in June 1856 and was stationed in Texas and various forts in the West until December 1858 when he was assigned to scouting Indians. He returned East and with the Civil War imminent he was promoted to First Lieutenant 2d U.S. Cavalry in March 1861 and then to Captain 5th U.S. Cavalry in May of that year. Harrison was engaged in the Peninsular campaign and commanded a regiment in the Army of the Potomac from September 1862 to June 1863. During that time he served at the battles of Antietem Chancellorsville and Brandy Station among many others. He was Breveted Major U.S. Army for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Hanover Court House and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel U.S. Army for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Antietam. In July of 1864 Harrison was assigned to be Inspector-General of Cavalry in the Department of Arkansas and was later appointed as Special Inspector of Cavalry in West Mississippi. Document signed as President Washington March 29 1861 effective retroactively to February 27 1861 an ornate vignetted commission with an eagle cannons and flags appointing Harrison to the rank of “First Lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Cavalry.” The document is countersigned by Secretary of War Simon Cameron. unknown books
