Lincoln, Abraham, as Sixteenth President

Letter signed ("A. Lincoln"), text in the hand of his secretary John Hay, 1 page (8 x 5 in.; 203 x 126 mm) on a bifolium of Executive Mansion letterhead, Washington, 11 August 1862, to Governor Eustus Fairbanks of Vermont; light marginal soiling, fold separations to integral blank. Matted, framed, and glazed with a contemporary autograph transcription of Governor Fairbanks's letter to Lincoln, 7 August 1862.

Not in Collected Works, ed. Basler, and presumably unpublished.

Letter signed ("A. Lincoln"), text in the hand of his secretary John Hay, 1 page (8 x 5 in.; 203 x 126 mm) on a bifolium of Executive Mansion letterhead, Washington, 11 August 1862, to Governor Eustus Fairbanks of Vermont; light marginal soiling, fold separations to integral blank. Matted, framed, and glazed with a contemporary autograph transcription of Governor Fairbanks's letter to Lincoln, 7 August 1862.
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An unrecorded exchange of letters supporting Lincoln's order for a Union draft. Following the military reversals of the first year of the Civil War, volunteer recruitment for the Northern army slowed dramatically. In late summer 1862, President Lincoln somewhat reluctantly authorized Secretary of War Stanton to issue an order calling for a draft of three hundred thousand militia to cover anticipated deficiencies in volunteer quotas.

The draft order was enthusiastically greeted by the governor of Vermont, Eustus Fairbanks, who made the present copy of his letter to Lincoln: "I cannot resist the inclination to express to you the very great satisfaction afforded me by your recent order calling for 300,000 men to be drafted from the enrolled militia of the States, for nine month's service; and I beg to assure you that the citizens of Vermont are eager to sustain you, not only in this, but in any and every measure you may see fit to adopt for the most vigorous prosecution of the war, and the speedy suppression of the rebellion." Not everyone in the North was as supportive of the draft as Fairbanks, however, and violent riots rocked several cities, most particularly New York.

The president's brief acknowledgment is endorsed with an unusually bold signature: "Allow me to acknowledge the receipt of your kind letter of the 7th August and to thank you cordially for it."