Lincoln, Abraham, as Sixteenth President

Autograph endorsement signed ("A. Lincoln"), [Washington], 12 May 1863, being 7 lines on the verso of the second leaf of an autograph letter to Lincoln by Robert Chester, Buffalo, 9 May 1863, 2 pages (12 3/4 x 7 7/8 in.; 324 x 197 mm) on a bifolium of blue-ruled paper; neatly reinforced at folds.

Clendenin J. Ryan (Parke-Bernet, 5 November 1958, lot 146) — Joseph M. Roebling (Sotheby's New York, 28 April 1981, lot 94)

The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Basler, Supplement: 187

Autograph endorsement signed ("A. Lincoln"), [Washington], 12 May 1863, being 7 lines on the verso of the second leaf of an autograph letter to Lincoln by Robert Chester, Buffalo, 9 May 1863, 2 pages (12 3/4 x 7 7/8 in.; 324 x 197 mm) on a bifolium of blue-ruled paper; neatly reinforced at folds.
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Lincoln deals with an officer seeking "an honorable discharge, &c to avoid a dishonorable one."

Robert Chester, who identifies himself as "late Capt. 17th Infantry, U.S. Army," petitions the President: "I would most respectfully request a suspension of Special Orders No. 201. (Extract 4) by which I am dismissed the service of the United States. The reasons for such request are that my case has not been properly submited to Your Excellency. I would respectfully ask that the order may be suspended until a Court of Inquiry, or Court Martial; can be convened, when  I may have the opportunity to defend myself." Chester's appeal is joined by ten other prominent citizens of Buffalo, including her postmaster, one of the justices of the city's Superior Court, and three Union officer hailing from the Bison City.

Lincoln forwarded Chester's petition to Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt, directing him to "please examine & report on this case. The officer only seeks an honorable discharge, &c to avoid a dishonorable one." Nothing further on the case is recorded, and Holt—influenced, perhaps, by the President's none-too-subtle insinuation—evidently found no merit to Chester's claim.