Details
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President. Autograph note signed ("A. Lincoln") as President, to an unidentified correspondent [Secretary of War Simon Cameron], n.p. [Washington, D.C.], 7 August 1861. One page, 12mo, 13 lines plus signature and date-line, on the verso of an Autograph Letter signed from Senator Lyman Trumball to Lincoln, Senate Chambers, 1 August 1861, one page, 8vo, the two leaves cleanly separated along central fold, small square piece at top of Trumbull's letter detached but present.
RAISING GERMAN-AMERICAN REGIMENTS TO FIGHT FOR THE UNION
An interesting endorsement in response to the request of an Illinois acquaintance, the eminent German-American, Koerner, who proposed to raise German-American regiments for the Union Army at this critical early stage of the war. Senator Trumbull's letter of transmittal, addressed "to the President," reads: "Herewith are extracts [no longer present] from letters of [Lieutenant] Gov. Koerner asking authority to raise seven German Regiments in Ill. The high character of Gov. Koerner, his great influence among the German population not only in Ill[inois] but throughout the country, his sound judgement & devotion to the Union, in my opinion, entitle his suggestions to the fullest consideration...."
Lincoln's endorsement, boldly penned on the verso, states: "Gov. Koerner, who proposes within to raise additional forces for us, is one of the most reliable of men -- If this Department can safely promise to take more troops, it can be done with as much reliance on Gov. Koerner, as on a younger man...."
On the back third of the letter is a docket in an unidentified hand headed "Senate Chamber," explaining that the letter enclosed "Extracts from 2 Letters of Gov. Koerner - Belleville, Illinois, asking authority to raise 2 Regts. of Infantry, one Squadron of Cavalry & Battalion of Infantry - can be raised inside of 4 weeks. All officers to be men of experience. Warmly recommended by Senator Trumbull & by President of U. States. See within endorsement." On August 8, Lincoln wrote with great frankness to Koerner, telling him that "...Without occupying our standpoint, you can not conceive how this subject embarrasses us. We have promises out to more than four hundred Regiments, which, if they all come, are more than we want. If they all come, we could not take yours; and yet we have no possible means of knowing whether they will all come or not. I hope you will make due allowance for the embarassment this produces...." (Basler, 4:479). In the end, as Basler explains in a footnote, Governor Koerner "had to abandon his plan...because the competition for re-enlisting the three-months troops into three years-or-war regiments...left fewer men available than he had anticipated...." The present letter is published in Basler 4:476.
Gustav Phillip Koerner (1809-1896), jurist and historian, had studied law in Frankfurt-am-Main, but became involved in the revolutionary movements sweeping the German principalities. Wounded in the Frankfurt uprisings of 1833, he fled to France and embarked for America. Koerner and his party made their way to St. Louis, where they were "keenly disappointed when they discovered that the institution of slavery prevailed in this state [Missouri]..." (DAB). They settled instead in St. Clair County, Illinois, where a colony of German immigrants was already flourishing. Koerner studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and soon was drawn into local and national politics. In 1845 he was appointed a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and in 1852 was elected Lieutenant Governor (an office he held until 1856). Originally a Democrat, Koerner became active in the Republican Party in 1856 and handled some of Lincoln's legal cases in Springfield.
Provenance:
1. Anonymous owner (sale, Stan V. Henkels, Philadelphia, 19 May 1925, lot 142)
2. The present owner.
RAISING GERMAN-AMERICAN REGIMENTS TO FIGHT FOR THE UNION
An interesting endorsement in response to the request of an Illinois acquaintance, the eminent German-American, Koerner, who proposed to raise German-American regiments for the Union Army at this critical early stage of the war. Senator Trumbull's letter of transmittal, addressed "to the President," reads: "Herewith are extracts [no longer present] from letters of [Lieutenant] Gov. Koerner asking authority to raise seven German Regiments in Ill. The high character of Gov. Koerner, his great influence among the German population not only in Ill[inois] but throughout the country, his sound judgement & devotion to the Union, in my opinion, entitle his suggestions to the fullest consideration...."
Lincoln's endorsement, boldly penned on the verso, states: "Gov. Koerner, who proposes within to raise additional forces for us, is one of the most reliable of men -- If this Department can safely promise to take more troops, it can be done with as much reliance on Gov. Koerner, as on a younger man...."
On the back third of the letter is a docket in an unidentified hand headed "Senate Chamber," explaining that the letter enclosed "Extracts from 2 Letters of Gov. Koerner - Belleville, Illinois, asking authority to raise 2 Regts. of Infantry, one Squadron of Cavalry & Battalion of Infantry - can be raised inside of 4 weeks. All officers to be men of experience. Warmly recommended by Senator Trumbull & by President of U. States. See within endorsement." On August 8, Lincoln wrote with great frankness to Koerner, telling him that "...Without occupying our standpoint, you can not conceive how this subject embarrasses us. We have promises out to more than four hundred Regiments, which, if they all come, are more than we want. If they all come, we could not take yours; and yet we have no possible means of knowing whether they will all come or not. I hope you will make due allowance for the embarassment this produces...." (Basler, 4:479). In the end, as Basler explains in a footnote, Governor Koerner "had to abandon his plan...because the competition for re-enlisting the three-months troops into three years-or-war regiments...left fewer men available than he had anticipated...." The present letter is published in Basler 4:476.
Gustav Phillip Koerner (1809-1896), jurist and historian, had studied law in Frankfurt-am-Main, but became involved in the revolutionary movements sweeping the German principalities. Wounded in the Frankfurt uprisings of 1833, he fled to France and embarked for America. Koerner and his party made their way to St. Louis, where they were "keenly disappointed when they discovered that the institution of slavery prevailed in this state [Missouri]..." (DAB). They settled instead in St. Clair County, Illinois, where a colony of German immigrants was already flourishing. Koerner studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and soon was drawn into local and national politics. In 1845 he was appointed a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and in 1852 was elected Lieutenant Governor (an office he held until 1856). Originally a Democrat, Koerner became active in the Republican Party in 1856 and handled some of Lincoln's legal cases in Springfield.
Provenance:
1. Anonymous owner (sale, Stan V. Henkels, Philadelphia, 19 May 1925, lot 142)
2. The present owner.