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THBAbraham Lincoln Appointment Signed as President for James N. Caldwell, Major, 18th Infantry, February 1862
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
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About Auction
LiveJun 12, 2015 - Jun 13, 2015
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
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- Lot Description
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Partially printed DS. 1p. 13.75 x 17.5 in., on vellum with embossed seal, upper left. Dated at Washington, April 16, 1862, to James Caldwell, appointing him Major in the 18th Regiment of Infantry from February 27, 1862. Signed by Abraham Lincoln as President (1861-1865) and Edwin M. Stanton (1814-1869) as Secretary of War (1862-1868).
James Nelson Caldwell was born 17 Nov. 1817 in Franklin, Ohio. He secured an appointment to the United States Military Academy from the State of Ohio where he was a cadet from 1 July 1836-1 July 1840 (Cullum # 1041). He graduated 25th in his class of 42. Many in this group went on to become officers in the Civil War - at least 9 Confederate and 5 Union Generals (including William Tecumseh Sherman), plus 5 Colonels and 7 Majors. He would have also known many of the members of the three classes ahead and three classes behind him at the Academy.
Upon graduation he was a brevet Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Infantry, until his was appointment as 2nd Lieut. in the 1st Infantry on 5 August 1840. He served in the Seminole Wars in Florida for the next year and was then sent to frontier duty in Wisconsin and Kansas for the next four years. He was primarily recruiting during the Mexican War, being promoted to 1st Lieutenant during that time, then to Mississippi. He spent the next decade (1848-1861) at various posts around Texas (Ringgold, Ft. Duncan, Ft. Belknap, Camp Verde, and more), and earned a promotion to Captain in 1850.
At the start of the Civil War (Rebellion of the Seceding States, War of Northern Aggression)he was sent to Key West Barracks, then served primarily in the Western Theater, where he earned a brevet for “gallant and meritorious services” at Murfreesboro and Stones River (“second Murfreesboro”), TN. He was retired from field service as the result of disease and exposure in the line of duty, but was in command of the draft rendezvous at Concord, NH from April 1863 to Feb. 1865. At the end of the war, he was unemployed for a time, before securing a position as Professor of Military Science for a time at Kentucky University, and a member of the Board for Examination of Candidates for promotion in the Army.
He married the widow of Captain Edgar Lacey of the 1st Infantry and had two sons and two daughters. His sons were Professor James N. and Doctor Frank Caldwell. His step-daughters married J.M. Turner of Cincinnati and Col. P.T. Swaine, 22nd US Infantry. Caldwell died in Carthage, OH 12 March 1886 at the age of 68. He is buried at Woodhill Cemetery in his home town of Franklin.
Provenance:Descended Directly in the Caldwell FamilyPaper crease through Lincoln's signature, but clearly legible. Later red ink notation, upper left.Condition
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