Description:

Andrew Johnson
Washington, D.C., July 5, 1865
Andrew Johnson Pardons the Top Rebel in the CSA!
DS
A presidential pardon signed by Andrew Johnson and William Seward. 3pp of a bifolium, measuring 10.75" x 16.75", Washington, D.C., dated July 5, 1865. Signed "Andrew Johnson" and countersigned by Secretary of State William Seward. The document pardons L. Q. Washington, a soldier in the Confederate Army, newspaper editor, and aide to the Confederate Secretary of State. Additional conditions were added in pen, predicating the pardon on Washington taking the oath of allegiance, and making it void if he ever acquires "any property whatever in slaves or make use of slave labor..." A white paper seal is adhered at the left edge of the page signed by Johnson. With flattened mail folds. Separations and tears/holes in places which have been repaired with archival material. The seal has a crack through it near the center. Light soiling and toning. Boldly signed.

Reading in part:
"Whereas L.Q. Washington of Richmond, Virginia by taking part in the late rebellion against the government of the United States, has made himself liable to heavy pains and penalties, and whereas the circumstances of his case render him a proper object of Executive clemency,...I, Andrew Johnson...hereby grant to the said L.Q. Washington a full pardon and amnesty for all offenses by him committed arising from participation...in the said rebellion."

Andrew Johnson used his Executive power to pardon great numbers of former Confederates and their sympathizers immediately following the Civil War. Southern soldiers, officers, civilians, and government officials, as well as a number of Northern Copperheads all had full citizenship rights restored to them by Johnson. In anticipation of the war's end, President Lincoln had issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in December 1863. Upon Lincoln's death, the immense responsibility for healing and helping the South back into the Union fell into the hands of his successor, Andrew Johnson.

Johnson chose to honor Lincoln's approach to clemency, and issued an amnesty proclamation of his own on May 29, 1865. By its terms, any former Confederate, upon taking an oath to defend the Constitution and the Union, and to obey all Federal laws and proclamations in reference to slavery, would receive amnesty. There were, however, a number of disqualifiers that required a personal application for a presidential pardon. Conditions for exclusion included those who had served as Confederate civil or diplomatic agents or officials.

One such individual was Littleton Quinton Washington (1825-1902). Born in Washington, D.C., he was a distant relative of George Washington. Littleton had led a life of travel and adventure before the war. When Virginia seceded, he moved to Richmond, and briefly fought at Bull Run as a first lieutenant in the Confederate infantry. He became editor of the Richmond Examiner in 1861, apparently at some point assuming the nom de plume, "Lucius Quintus," after the famed Roman statesman-soldier, Lucius Quinctus Cincinnatus. Washington left the Examiner to take a position as chief clerk to the Confederate Secretary of State, R.M.T. Hunter. The following year, Judah P. Benjamin replaced Hunter, and for the remainder of the conflict, he came to rely heavily upon Washington as his senior aide. Before the war ended, Washington served in uniform once again - in the "Department Clerks Battalion" - defending Richmond against the ill-fated Dahlgren Raid.

Littleton Washington resigned his post after receiving word of Lee's surrender. His office excluded him from the general amnesty, and he applied for a pardon immediately after Johnson's May 29 proclamation. In his application, Washington made no apologies for his past affiliation. He wrote, "My principles and sympathies led me to unite in the Southern movement and when Virginia passed an ordinance of secession I promptly quitted my residence in Washington for the purpose of…aiding her in the struggle…." Until his resignation on April 11, "I lost no opportunity of serving the Confederate cause by all lawful and honorable means." Now, however, he avowed "publickly my intention to obey the laws and authority of the U.S. government in good faith."

President Johnson, on the recommendations of various public officials, granted Washington a pardon, conditional upon his taking the oath of allegiance (to which Washington had sworn on May 5), and making the pardon void if he ever acquires "any property whatever in slaves or make use of slave labor." Before the passage of the 13th Amendment, which officially abolished slavery, this passage was handwritten as an added condition of the pardon. Within a short time of its issuance, presidential pardons were printed with the slavery qualification included.

After the war, Littleton moved back to Washington, and returned to journalism. In the fall of 1865, he covered the trial of Andersonville Prison commandant Henry Wirz.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 21.5" x 16.75"
  • Medium: DS

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