LINCOLN, Abraham (1809-1865). Autograph endorsement signed ("A. Lincoln"), as President, 25 January 1864.

1 page, 8vo, some spotting and toning, matted and framed, unexamined out of frame. Provenance: Sold Christie's New York, 4 December 2009, Sale 227, lot 242. 

In full: "Senator Powell says that of the many applications he has, he thinks the within named may safely be allowed to take the oath and be discharged. He says those designated as officers have resigned as they write to him and he believes.  Let them all take the oath of Dec. 8. and be discharged. A. Lincoln."

Lincoln pardons a group of Confederate soldiers at the request of a Kentucky Democrat. Powell served one term in the the Senate, one of the few Southern Democrats to serve in the Congress during the Civil War. Both pro-Southern and anti-secession, he gave his name to the resolution appointing the Committee of Thirteen during the Buchanan-Lincoln interregnum, and he advocated for the Crittenden Compromise. Published in Basler 7:149 (noting "Lincoln's endorsement having been cut from the attendant document, Senator Lazarus W. Powell's recommendation is not available").