1 p. on bifolium; 8 x 5 in. (203 x 127 mm); docket on verso in another hand; creasing from old folds; mat burn along edges of first page; ink smudging in bottom three lines.

In full: "My Dear Sir; The bearer of this, Edward B. Jerome, is son of the sister of our lamented Col. Baker, and was in the service with him when he fell. He is a very intelligent and brave young man; and I wish him made a Lieutenant in the Regular Army so soon as it can be done. Please let it be so. Yours truly A. Lincoln."

PRESIDENT LINCOLN PROMOTES THE NEPHEW OF A LONGTIME FAMILY FRIEND.

Edward Baker Jerome was nominated to First Lieutenant by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton on 7 March, with his appointment being confirmed on 24 March 1862. Jerome was the nephew of one of Abraham Lincoln's longtime friends, Edward D. "Ned" Baker (1811-61).

Lincoln and Edward D. Baker first met in 1835 when both men were involved in the Whig Party of Illinois. They quickly became friends and remained in contact over the years, while Lincoln was advancing his legal career, and Baker was becoming a politician in both California and Oregon. Their bond was so strong that Lincoln named his second son Edward Baker Lincoln (1846-1850).

Baker was killed leading a Union regiment at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in October of 1861, the only sitting U.S. Senator to ever be killed in combat. When Lincoln learned of his death, while visiting the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, he was reported to be distraught and in tears. Basler First Supplement, p. 124.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California