|
Sale 9
Lot 599
Lincoln, Abraham. Document Signed ("A Lincoln"). Two pages, recto and verso, quarto, Washington DC, January 22, 1864. Being the offer of a pardon for Confederate soldiers taking the December 8 Oath. Three horizontal folds, edge splitting at left and right of center, diagonal fold at bottom right corner, three small ink spots at bottom of endorsement leaf. Very good to fine condition.
Here, Lincoln refers to the oath embedded in his December 8, 1863, Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, penning in full: "Let any or all these men take the oath of Dec. 8. & be discharged. A Lincoln January 22, 1864."
With the belief that many in the Confederacy were tired of war and would be ready to rejoin the Union, if not for fear of punitive measures, Lincoln spoke to Congress on December 8, 1863, to discuss his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. Lincoln's Proclamation laid out the steps necessary for the reconstruction and reaffiliation of loyal governments in the seceded states, based on the assumption that these states had never left the Union. Lincoln proposed that, when a number of citizens equal to 10% of the 1860 voting population in a state took the oath of loyalty to the Union, a rehabilitated government could be established. In his Proclamation, Lincoln offered a pardon and "the restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that every such person shall take and subscribe an oath, and thenceforward keep and maintain said oath inviolate, and which oath shall be registered for permanent preservation…" The text of the oath is as follows: "I, ________, do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified or held void by Congress, or by the decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help me God."
The four Confederate soldiers named in the offered document, all from Daviess County, Kentucky, are recommended by George H. Yearman and have all asked to take the Oath. The men are: Jonathan Triplett, in prison on Johnson's Island, who asked to take the Oath or be banished to "a Northern State or Canada"; Eilbeck Barron, a man "past middle life" and "very tired" of the war; Junius L. Bradley, an "inoffensive, ignorant young man" who "would not go in again"; and George Porter, a surgeon whose "father is strong union" and with a "family suffering," also would not re-enlist. We assume that with the approval of the President, these men took the Oath, as their names appear here, in Lincoln's words, "…registered for permanent preservation."
Estimated Value $4,500 - 5,500.
|
| |
| Realized $4,600 |
|