Books and Manuscripts

(Washington, D.C.), January 4, 1822. One sheet, 12 x 9 3/4 in. (305 x 248 mm). Autograph document, entirely in the hand of John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State, and signed by James Monroe as President of the United States, directing Thomas G. Thornton, United States Marshal for the District of Maine, to discharge prisoner John Cain from jail: "Whereas John Cain, of Palermo, in the State of Maine, is now held in actual confinement in the jail of Wiscasset...upon an execution for a Debt due to the United States...it having, moreover, been proved, to my satisfaction, that the said John Cain is wholly unable to pay the Debt for which he thus held in confinement...I, James Monroe...do hereby order and direct that the aforesaid John Cain be immediately discharged from his imprisonment: Let it be done accordingly..."; counter-signed by Adams at bottom left; original white paper seal intact. Creasing from old folds; mounted at corners to larger sheet; mat burn along edges; scattered light to moderate foxing. In mat and in frame, 16 x 14 1/2 in. (406 x 368 mm). Lot includes a framed portrait of Monroe.

James Monroe pardoned John Cain in December of 1821, and this document officially ordered his release from prison in Maine. During Monroe's two terms as President, from 1817-25, he pardoned or commuted the sentences of 419 individuals, including Cain.