Lincoln, Abraham, as Sixteenth President

Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln"), 1 page (8 x 5 in.; 202 x 121 mm) on a bifolium of Executive Mansion letterhead, Washington, 9 August 1862, to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles; short tear at fore-edge margin, repaired with transparent tape.

Christie's New York, 5 December 1991, lot 76 (undesignated consignor)

Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln"), 1 page (8 x 5 in.; 202 x 121 mm) on a bifolium of Executive Mansion letterhead, Washington, 9 August 1862, to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles; short tear at fore-edge margin, repaired with transparent tape.
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Lincoln temporarily supersedes a Congressional resolution, allowing an eighteen-year-old to be appointed a Midshipman in the Union Navy.

"It is said to be a mistake of a clerk that Midshipmen, when appointed must be between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, whereas Congress actually voted 'between fourteen and eighteen.' Let William F. Hall be appointed, with the understanding that I may require him to resign if Congress, at the next session does not correct the mistake."

Not in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Basler, and apparently unpublished.