Autograph endorsement signed, to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, to discharge two underage soldiers from the Union Army.

LINCOLN, Abraham.

Published by Springfield, Illinois: 22 January 1863

About this Item

On the verso of a letter to Stanton from Illinois Governor Richard Yates (1815-1873), the president writes, "The families to which these boys belong are among my old acquaintances. A. Lincoln. Jan. 22, 1863". Yates (1815-1873) was a longtime friend of Lincoln's. His letter, dated 12 January 1863, states that "Thomas E. Clark and Jonathan C. Bergen of Petersburg in this state respectively 17 and 16 years of age left home some time during the last month without the consent of their parents and joined the 2nd Reg't U.S Cavalry stationed at Carlyle Barrack Pa". Yates requests to Stanton that "Messrs Clark & Bergen are both respectable & loyal citizens and you will oblige me by discharging these boys [from] the service of the United States". Petersburg, Illinois, is near New Salem, where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. Lincoln also received letters from the fathers, George S. Bergen and David Clark, which he referred to the Adjutant General of the Army, Lorenzo Thomas, on 21 January (Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 8, 1953, p. 509). Although no one under 18 could legally enlist without the written consent of a parent or guardian, many did so. By one recent estimate, underage enlistees accounted for roughly a tenth of the Union forces (Clarke & Plant). Parents filed thousands of petitions with Union authorities and state courts to secure their children's discharge. Here, the families were sufficiently well-connected to appeal at the highest level; Lincoln's endorsement implies that the request was granted. Provenance: Elsie O. and Philip D. Sang, their sale at Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1978, lot 484; Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California; acquired by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation as part of the Taper Collection, 2007; sold by the Foundation at Freeman's Hindman, in their Lincoln's Legacy sale, 2025, lot 78. The endorsement is published in Roy P. Basler, The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, First Supplement, 1974, page 175. Frances M. Clarke & Rebecca Jo Plant, Of Age: Boy Soldiers and Military Power in the Civil War Era, 2022. Single sheet on State of Illinois Executive Department letterhead (253 x 197 mm), handwritten by Yates on recto, endorsed by Lincoln on verso alongside a note it was forwarded to Stanton. Central folds repaired, still in very good condition.

Seller Inventory # 192290

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Autograph endorsement signed, to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, to discharge two underage soldiers from the Union Army.
• Publisher: Springfield, Illinois: 22 January 1863
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)