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

Lot Number: 47186

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47186

Abraham Lincoln Autograph Letter Signed with Related Correspondence. One page of an Executive Mansion imprinted bifolium, 5 x 8 inches; Washington; July 5, 1863. Writing just two days after the conclusion of the Battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln asks Surgeon General William A. Hammond to allow Sarah Fisher Ames to minister to the wounded on the battlefield. This is the only Abraham Lincoln letter we could find with such direct association to the Battle of Gettysburg to appear at auction.

In full: "The bearer of this, Mrs. Ames, wishes to go anywhere she can, to minister to our wounded soldiers; and I shall be glad for you to give any facilities you can, consistent with the service." Signed, "A. Lincoln."

Below, Hammond adds his own note in pencil: "I have no objection herewith but it is contrary to the orders of the Dept. The Presidents wishes herein take precedence. W.A.H." The last line and Hammond's initials are at the top of the interior integral page.

Hammond writes a letter the following day (one page of a bifolium, 8 x 10 inches), on July 6, 1863, forwarding Lincoln's order to the medical staff at Gettysburg, writing: "The President of the United States desires that facilities not inconsistent with the interests of the service may be granted to Mrs Ames for visiting the battle field at Gettysburg and rendering her services to the wounded." Signed, "W. A. Hammond / Surg. Gen." With later date stamps from the US Pension office, October 14, 1893.

During the Civil War, Sarah Fisher Ames became a prominent figure in service to the Union cause in Washington, D.C. She was appointed Lady Superintendent of the Capitol Hospital following the influx of wounded after the Second Battle of Manassas in August 1862. Her dedication and effectiveness no doubt resulted in her responsibilities being extended to care for the wounded at Stanton General Hospital which was established soon after.

Although news of the devastation suffered at Gettysburg reached Washington by telegraph within hours after the battle concluded on July 3, the extraordinarily large number of casualties was not known until the following day. By July 5, the scale of the loss of life and wounded was fully understood, triggering an emergency expansion of Washington-area hospitals. It was on this day that Ames sought the President's ear and asked to be allowed passage to the Gettysburg battlefield. The Lincoln letter offered here is evidence of Lincoln's acquiescence to her wishes. Hammond's endorsement offers insight into the irregularity of the request but makes clear that "the President's wishes herein take precedence."

While caring for the wounded after Second Manassas overwhelmed Washington hospitals in 1862, the number of casualties at Gettysburg dwarfed that crisis. The Union army suffered 22,000 casualties at Second Manassas; the casualties at Gettysburg numbered 51,000 making it the bloodiest battle of the war.

Four additional letters help document Ames' Civil War service as a nurse and her close access to President Lincoln and senior Union officials. Three earlier letters from 1862 document Ames' nursing service before Gettysburg. In a September 29 letter, Surgeon General William A. Hammond informs his staff that Ames has been assigned "to duty as Lady Superintendent of the Capitol Hospital under your charge and expect for her the best consideration to which her social position entitles her..."

On November 4, Hammond wrote directly to Ames that the "Stanton Hospital will be ready for patients in a few days. If you have not had reason to change your mind you cannot come in too soon as there is much to do in the way of fitting it up..."

A third letter, dated November 27 of the same year, is from Joseph Rowe Smith. At the time, Smith had only recently returned to Washington after being captured as a prisoner of war by the Confederate Army in May 1861. Writing to another doctor, he confirms that Ames had been reassigned to duty at Stanton Hospital: "The Surgeon General directs that Mrs Ames be assigned to duty in the Stanton Hospital. Should the nurses for whom you have sent arrive they will be added to the corps now on duty with Surgn Bryan and to be transferred to the Lincoln Hosp."

A letter from Lincoln's secretary John Hay, dated July 30, 1863 sheds further light on Ames's life in Washington. He writes with a teasing tone about sending along photos and autographs from the President: "Here are four pictures of the Abolition Despot, each a little worse than the rest...I dined with Harry Gringo [penname of author Henry Augustus Wise] last night. He coolly asked me for my head, said he had promised it for your magnum opus. You will find the inadequacy of these pictures fully compensated by the principal elegance of the autographs. If the war does not go fast enough to suit you reflect how much time has been spent on these specimens of caligraphy [sic] & forbear to blame. And please do not forget that I am yours slavishly, John Hay."

Although relatively little is known about Ames today, she was beloved by her contemporaries. Her marble bust of Lincoln, now in the U.S. Capitol, was considered by his friends to be among the finest likenesses ever produced. A contemporary obituary clipping included with the group outlines her extraordinary life: "Upon the outbreak of the civil war in America, she was one of the first to offer herself as a nurse to the Sanitary Commission, and joined the army at the front. In addition she had a special permit from Lincoln authorizing her to move at will anywhere within the Union lines. She was present at the battle of Fredericksburg and at Gettysburg and at one time she was in charge of the hospital at the Capitol in Washington."

Together with eleven photographs spanning Ames's long life. Nine of the photographs depict Ames herself from childhood through old age. There is also a photograph of her husband, Joseph Alexander Ames, as well as an 1899 photograph of an individual identified by a period note in pencil on the verso as "Uncle Toto." In addition to this last photograph, six others have period notes in pencil on the verso written by Ames's daughter, including one that identifies her as "your great grandmother."

Condition: Lincoln ALS somewhat toned with separations at the folds touching text but not affecting legibility; a few light scattered stains and creasing. Hammond's endorsement at bottom is faint. Hammond letter dated July 6 moderately toned with several separations at folds, one just touching Hammond's signature; staple holes at the top edge. Other letters with light toning, minor separations, and occasional stains. Photographs lightly toned with minor edgewear.

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