Auction Date:2010 Jan 13 @ 10:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
Brief war-dated ANS signed “A. Lincoln,” one page, 9.5 x 5, May 23, 1863. Note written in the lower left corner of an envelope panel with a printed address, “The Secretary of War, Washington.” Lincoln writes, in full, “Please see Mr. Butler. A Lincoln, May 23, 1863.” Butler was the former state treasurer of Illinois. Written vertically along the right side is an ANS by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton "Referred to the Quarter Master General for Report." Accompanied by a copy of the original letter from Lincoln to Stanton on continuing the Illinois Central Railroad. In very good condition, with faint toning along intersecting folds, one through a single letter of note, trimmed edges, and some scattered light wrinkling. Affixed to the reverse of the sheet is a panel clipped from the original letter endorsed by Stanton and two others.
The Civil War was undergoing several tumultuous battles around the time that Lincoln signed this note. Just a few weeks earlier, Confederate troops surprised Union forces along the Rappahannock River leading to the Battle of Chancellorsville on April 27. Just a day before Lincoln signed his name here, Grant began his siege of Vicksburg. Through it all, the Lincoln Administration also had to contend with other affairs of state, including focusing its attention on the Illinois Central Railroad, one of the largest corporations of the day and a company for which Lincoln had represented as an attorney for more than a decade. Lincoln had litigated dozens of cases for the company, becoming a company insider and often riding in a private rail car.
Among his most noteworthy settlements was a case in the 1850s against an Illinois county that had tried to tax the company—Lincoln was paid the then-unheard of sum of $5,000 for his successful defense. Interestingly, the railroad initially ignored Lincoln’s bill, but when he filed a lawsuit, company executives saw to it that their old friend was paid! In order to construct the railroad, the federal government gave the state of Illinois a land grant in exchange for monetary compensation to Illinois. It appears, however, that during the war the railroad stopped its payments. On June 3, the quartermaster general, Montgomery C. Meigs, ordered one of his underlings to settle all accounts with the railroad. Much like today’s politicians, even a great leader like Lincoln knew of the importance of taking care of his patrons.
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
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