Description:

Abraham Lincoln
Washington, DC, April 11, 1861
The Civil War Begins! Abraham Lincoln Recommends Naval Appointment Amidst Fort Sumter Crisis. War Burned Letter?
ALS

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Autograph Letter Signed, to Gideon Welles, April 11, 1861, Washington, DC. 1 p., 4.5" x 6.5". Expected folds; burned edges, affecting signature ["A. Li" present] and end of all lines in main body; tear on original opening at left affecting one word; additional tear with loss on two lines; backed and silked. It would be fantastical to think that somehow this letter was burned in the bombardment of the Fort or perhaps intercepted and set on fire by an angry Confederate but we have no proof of either. However, this letter was sold by Charles Hamilton over 50 years ago in 1974 and has not seen the light of day since then (see scans). Hamilton thought well enough of this letter to provide a full page illustration, something that was rare for him in those days!

This brief letter by President Lincoln to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles requests the appointment of James Davis as a paymaster in the Navy as a favor to Commodore Joseph Smith, who was placed on the retired list in December 1861 but continued to serve actively for another decade. There is no evidence that James Davis was appointed as a paymaster of the Navy.

The following day, Confederate forces began their bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, setting off the American Civil War. Even before his inauguration as president, Lincoln was confronted with the situation at Fort Sumter as part of the secession crisis. Unwilling to evacuate the fort as federal property, he was also reluctant to reinforce the small garrison there, an act that might start a civil war. Instead, he proposed to send supplies only to the fort.

On April 4, Lincoln ordered a relief expedition commanded by Captain Gustavus V. Fox. Lincoln ordered Fox to land supplies only. If he were opposed by Confederate forces, he was to respond with U.S. Navy vessels and land supplies and men. On April 6, Lincoln informed South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens that he had authorized an attempt to supply Fort Sumter with provisions only. Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered local Confederate Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard to demand again Fort Sumter's surrender and, if the commander refused, to reduce the fort before the relief expedition arrived. On April 11, Beauregard sent aides to demand the surrender, which Major Robert Anderson again refused. At 4:30 a.m., on April 12, the Confederates began the bombardment of the fort. After 34 hours of bombardment, Anderson agreed to evacuate the fort. As a result, President Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve for ninety days, driving four more border states, including Virginia, into the Confederacy.

On July 17, 1861, Lincoln signed a law passed by Congress that allowed the President to appoint up to 36 assistant paymasters as needed for active service in the Navy. On December 17, 1861, Lincoln sent nominations to the Senate for the promotion of five assistant paymasters to paymasters and the appointment of 31 additional assistant paymasters. James Davis was not among them.

Complete Transcript
Executive Mansion
April 11, 1861
Hon. Sec. of Navy
Dear Sir:
Comodore Smith te[lls] me he wishes James Davis, to [be] appointed a Pay-Master in th[e] [N]avy; and, if it shall do n[o] injustice to the service[e] nor an[y] individual, I would [ask?] f[or] Com. Smith to be oblige[d]
Your obt Se[vt]
A. Li[ncoln]

Gideon Welles (1802-1878) was a Connecticut native, journalist, Democratic state legislator, Hartford Postmaster, and Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and Clothing for the Navy early in his career. In the 1848 presidential election, Welles left the Democratic Party over the issue of the expansion of slavery. Welles founded an influential Republican organ, the Hartford Evening Press, in 1856. Abraham Lincoln appointed Welles as Secretary of the Navy, and Welles was highly effective in mobilizing the resources of the country for an extensive blockade and offensive operations against the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln nicknamed Welles his "Neptune," and Welles served as Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869.

Joseph Smith (1790-1877) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a maritime family. He entered the U.S. Navy as a midshipman in 1809 and was promoted to lieutenant in July 1813, during the War of 1812. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Lake Champlain in September 1814. He was promoted to master commandant in 1827 and to captain in 1837. He commanded the USS Ohio (1838-1840) and the Mediterranean Squadron (1843-1845). In 1846, he became the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks, a position he held until 1869. He was placed on the retired list in December 1861, but continued to serve in an active capacity. He was a member of the Ironclad Board, which oversaw the development and construction of the U.S. Navy's first ironclad warship, the USS Monitor. Smith was promoted to rear admiral on the retired list in July 1862. He retired in September 1871 after 62 years of continuous service in the U.S. Navy.

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: 4.5" x 6.5"
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