Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47150

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47150

Abraham Lincoln Partial Autograph Manuscript from His Last Annual Message to Congress. One page, 8 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches on lined paper. The opening of his Fourth Annual Message to Congress, a critical war-time address delivered in Washington on December 6, 1864. Lincoln invokes a blessing from God, offering thanks for the nation's health and prosperity. Although only the opening of the address, the salutation and passage present as a complete and poignant statement. In full:

"Fellow citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Again the blessings of health, and abundant harvests, claim our profoundest gratitude to Almighty God."

A contemporary pencil note in the top margin identifies the piece: "A portion of President Lincoln Message, & in his hand writing." The manuscript was presented to the Doles by Superintendent of Public Printing, J. D. Defrees, and the note is likely in Elizabeth Dole's hand.

Carl Sandburg, in his book Lincoln Collector, explains how only a precious few of the original pages of this address have survived: "Of President Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress in December of 1864, several manuscript sheets were given to various persons by the Superintendent of Public Printing, J. D. Defrees." Basler, in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume VIII, records eleven extant fragments of the original manuscript, all from its later sections: "Other fragments may exist, but if so, they have escaped the editors."

The address was delivered less than one month after Lincoln, running under the National Union party banner, claimed victory over the Democratic "peace" candidate General George B. McClellan. Held in the midst of a raging war, certain states allowed soldiers in the field to cast ballots. The fighting men gave Lincoln a resounding 70% of their votes. The divided nation had been fighting a brutal "brother against brother" war for well over three years and, for most of 1864, Lincoln's chances of reelection had looked grim. But news from the fighting fronts gave the North a glimmer of hope for a Union victory: General Sherman had taken Atlanta and was marching forcefully to the sea; General Sheridan had successfully taken control of the Shenandoah Valley making Grant's final advance to take Richmond possible.

Lincoln began working on his Annual Message just a week after the November 8th election. He telegraphed governors asking them to "send, as soon as practicable, exactly, or approximately, the aggregate of votes cast in your State at the late election. It is desired with reference to the forthcoming Message." Lincoln read his first draft during a Cabinet meeting on November 25th; and then, on December 3rd, he called a special Cabinet meeting to read the final version. He planned to send it to Congress on the 6th.

Lincoln wrote the address in longhand, and it was then sent to be printed for distribution to the members of the House and Senate.

Noah Brooks, a journalist from California, wrote of the December 6th joint session of Congress: "Precisely at one o'clock yesterday the private secretary of the President [John Hay] appeared at the House of Representatives with the annual message of the president... in a few minutes, Clerk [Edward] McPherson, in a loud and clear voice, took up the document and began..." Another contemporary report stated: "A complete silence pervaded the vast hall and the breathless, crowded galleries."

Lincoln's message projected the full strength of the Union. He spoke on foreign affairs with South America, Liberia, and the Barbary States, affirming the United States' stable diplomatic relations abroad. Turning to domestic matters, he addressed the national debt, the expansion of western settlement, and reforms in policy to secure the frontier and improve conditions for Native peoples. He reaffirmed his commitment to preserving the Union, writing: "[Jefferson Davis] can not voluntarily reaccept the Union; we can not voluntarily yield it. Between him and us the issue is distinct, simple, and inflexible. It is an issue which can only be tried by war and decided by victory."

And, perhaps most crucially, Lincoln used the address to urge passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, emphasizing that the abolition of slavery was essential to the Union's survival:

"At the last session of Congress a proposed amendment of the Constitution abolishing slavery throughout the United States passed the Senate, but failed for lack of the requisite two-thirds vote in the House of Representatives...I venture to recommend the reconsideration and passage of the measure at the present session. Of course the abstract question is not changed; but an intervening election shows almost certainly that the next Congress will pass the measure if this does not. Hence there is only a question of time as to when the proposed amendment will go to the States for their action. And as it is to so go at all events, may we not agree that the sooner the better?...In a great national crisis like ours unanimity of action among those seeking a common end is very desirable...In this case the common end is the maintenance of the Union, and among the means to secure that end such will, through the election, is most dearly declared in favor of such constitutional amendment."

The New York Times described the message as "straightforward and business-like" while the London Times called "the tenour... decidedly warlike." Later that evening, a crowd assembled at the White House to serenade and congratulate Lincoln. The New York Tribune of December 8, 1864, reported on his impromptu address to the group: "FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS: I believe I shall never be old enough to speak without embarrassment when I have anything...to talk about...I have no good news to tell you, and yet I have no bad news to tell. We have talked of elections until there is nothing more to say about them. The most interesting news we now have is from Sherman. We all know where he went in at, but I can't tell where he will come out at...I will now close by proposing three cheers for Gen. Sherman and the army."

The Doles received three fragments of Lincoln's message from Defrees, including one which was donated to the Beloit Historical Society in the early 20th century (later de-assessed). Of the three, this was the one most treasured for its reverent and measured tone underscoring the nation's endurance.

Condition: Lightly toned with minor creasing.

Reference: Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume VIII, pp. 136-153; Sandburg, Lincoln Collector, p. 190; Perrin, W. H., History of Edgar County, Illinois, pp. 569-570.

Provenance: Elizabeth Dole and by descent, to our consignor.

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