Login to Use StampAuctionNetwork. New Member? Click "Register".
StampAuctionNetwork Extended Features
StampAuctionNetwork Channels
Extended Features
Visit the following Auction Calendars:
Help:
More Useful Information:
Newsletter:
For Auction Firms:
Search for comparables at SiegelAuctions.com
EXTREMELY FINE. A MAGNIFICENT EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S ENDORSEMENT AND SIGNATURE ON A HAND-CARRIED COVER WITH ORIGINAL LETTER OF INTRODUCTION WRITTEN BY WILLIAM M. EVARTS, WHO WOULD EVENTUALLY ACT AS CHIEF COUNSEL FOR PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON DURING JOHNSON'S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL.
William H. Evarts (1818-1901) was chairman of the New York delegation to the 1860 Republican National Convention, where he placed Senator William H. Seward's name in nomination for President. He served on New York's Union Defense Committee during the Civil War. In 1861 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate from New York. Evarts was chief counsel for President Andrew Johnson during the impeachment trial, and served as U.S. Attorney General for Johnson from July 1868 until March 1869.
The subject of the meeting and letter, Colonel Lewis Benedict, was captured early in the war and exchanged in 1862. In the Fall of 1862 he was given command of the 162nd New York Volunteers and joined the Banks Expedition. His actions in battle earned him a reputation for gallantry, and as this letter and endorsement show, Colonel Benedict was recommended for promotion. On April 9, 1864, he was killed in action during the Battle of Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. Subsequently Benedict received a posthumous promotion: "ACTION BY THE PRESIDENT AND SENATE. The President, on the recommendation of the Secretary at War, nominated, for Brevet Brigadier General, U. S. Volunteers: 'Colonel Lewis Benedict of the One Hundred and Sixty Second New York Volunteers, for gallant conduct at Port Hudson, Louisiana, to date from March 13, 1865.' This nomination was confirmed by the Senate, July 23, 1866." (Image)