Description:

Mary Lincoln
Washington, DC, December 8, [1864]
Mary Lincoln as 1st Lady Helps "strong Union man" Penn Veteran Get Position as Sutler
AL

Mary Lincoln writes to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton about a petition from Robert E. Parker, whom she describes as "a strong Union man." Because Mary Lincoln sometimes clashed with Secretary Stanton, who had insulted her husband as an attorney in the 1850s and was a pro-Breckinridge Democrat in 1860, she may have written this draft and decided not to send it.

Eight days later, she wrote on Parker's behalf to James A. Hardie (1823-1876), a West Point graduate who had been inspector general since May 1864, whom she may have thought would be a better contact within the War Department. She requested for Parker the position of sutler at the New Convalescent Camp at Fairfax Seminary or Fort Delaware "or any other post." Hardie had been Assistant Adjutant General of the War Department but was then serving in the office of the Secretary of War.

The Fairfax Seminary Hospital was a Union hospital that occupied the buildings of Fairfax Seminary, an Episcopal institution in Alexandria, Virginia. Fort Delaware was a prison for Confederate prisoners of war on an island in the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey.

MARY LINCOLN, Autograph Letter, to Secretary of War [Edwin M. Stanton], December 8, [1864], [Washington, DC]. 1 p., 4.5" x 6.75". With an oval engraving of "Mrs. Abraham Lincoln," 5.5" x 8.75". Expected folds; very good.

Complete Transcript
December 8th
Hon Sec of War
Sir:
The applicant Robert E. Parker is a strong Union man, and if you can grant his petition, which I send enclosed, you will bestow a personal favor upon me.
[In a different hand:] (from Mrs Lincoln)

Mary Lincoln (1818-1882) was born into the prominent Todd family in Lexington, Kentucky. Educated at female academies and boarding schools, she learned to speak French fluently and studied literature, dance, drama, and music. She was very well-educated for her time, place, and gender. In November 1842, she married Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, and they had four sons. She supported her husband's political ambitions, becoming First Lady in 1861. Because she was from a border state, with several of her relatives supporting the Confederacy, Mary Lincoln was the object of suspicion in the press. Although she was responsible for hosting many social functions, her extensive spending to renovate the White House also drew complaints from a nation at war and from her husband. However, she also visited wounded soldiers in Washington hospitals, taking them fruit and flowers and writing letters home for them. Prone to severe headaches and depression, she suffered the loss of three of her four sons and was present when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre. After leaving the White House, she lived in Chicago, where her son briefly had her committed to a sanitarium in 1875. After being declared competent to manage her own affairs in 1876, she spent the next four years traveling in Europe and living in Pau, France. She later returned to Springfield, where she died in her sister's home.

Robert Emmett Parker Jr. (1845-1908) was born in Philadelphia to surveyor Robert E. Parker and his wife Mary Shee Parker. He enlisted as a private in Company A of the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in May 1861. In April 1862, he was appointed sutler of the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry regiment. He received successive promotions to corporal (August 1862), sergeant (November 1862), and sergeant major (August 1863. In January 1864, the officers and men of the regiment presented Parker with a "handsome flag and staff" at the Metropolitan Hotel in Philadelphia. He mustered out of service in June 1864 at Philadelphia. In 1866, he married Elizabeth Smith (1849-1922) in Philadelphia. In the 1870s, they moved to Wisconsin and then to Chicago. By 1880, he was an entry clerk in Chicago, and by 1895, he and his wife had divorced. He died in Chicago.

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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