1 p.; 7 1/4 x 4 in. (184 x 102 mm), on lined paper; creasing from old folds.

In full: "Major General Meade Army of Potomac I am appealed to in behalf of Daniel Hanson, of 97th New-York, said to be under sentence of death for desertion. Please inform me as usual--A. Lincoln". 

Lincoln writes to Major General George Meade regarding a Union soldier awaiting trial for desertion. 22-year-old Daniel Hanson enlisted in the 97th New York Infantry Regiment in July 1863, and attempted to desert that October. At the time of this letter, he was awaiting trial, and facing a sentence of death if convicted. Meade responded to Lincoln via telegraph on 4 October to inform him that the young soldier had yet to be tried, and on 15 October, Lincoln requested that Meade notify him of the results of the trial.

While Lincoln's intentions regarding this soldier are not clear, during this period he often exercised a degree of leniency toward soldiers who were sentenced to death for desertion and other infractions. It is presumed that he intended to commute Hanson's death sentence, if he were convicted. Basler 6, p. 498.

Provenance:

R.E. Burdick, New York City

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California