Autograph endorsement signed ("A. Lincoln"), presumably to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. [Washington], 12 December 1861.

Lincoln, Abraham.

Price: $9,200.00

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2 1/2 pages (8 x 5 in). Six lines in Lincoln's hand, on the last page of a petition submitted to and signed by sixteen members of Maryland's House of Delegates, Annapolis, 10 December 1861; written on Legislature of Maryland House of Delegates letterhead with a few fold separations, light tape stain. Led by the Speaker of the state House, John Summerfield Berry, Maryland legislators urge President Lincoln to grant a military commission: "The undersigned members of the House of Delegates of Maryland respectfully recommend to you, the appointment of Robert H. Thompson Esqr of this state as a Lieut of Marines. Mr. Thompson is a loyal man of a loyal family, and we are sure that he has all the personal characteristics necessary in an efficient military or naval officer." The petition is also endorsed by the state's governor, Thomas Holliday Hicks, who writes in a marginal note: "I concur fully in all said by the Gentlemen whose are hereto subscribed." Lincoln added his own endorsement and sent the petition on to Gideon Welles in the Department of the Navy, writing: "If there is a vacancy not already committed to any other, let the gentleman within recommended be approved." (Item ID: 23625)

$9,200.00

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