Details
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President. Autograph endorsement signed ("A.Lincoln") as President, to SECRETARY OF WAR SIMON CAMERON, [Washington, D.C.], 2 November 1861. 1 page, 4to, 8 lines plus signature and dateline on the verso of a letter from 1st Lt. George T. Balch, endorsement leaf lightly browned and soiled, docketed in several places.
LINCOLN'S CONSIDERATION FOR A DISMISSED OFFICER
President Lincoln responds to a request that Captain John McNab be allowed to testify on his own behalf in front of a court of inquiry. Lincoln writes: "I think any officer who has been dismissed on suspicion of disloyalty, but does not go over to the enemy, continuing to protest his loyalty, entitles himself to a hearing, and I hope this case will be enquired into..." (Basler, V:11).
McNab was dismissed from the Tenth Infantry at Fort Laramie 1 July 1861 on the grounds of disloyalty. Lincoln originally wrote Cameron on 10 August 1861 directing that McNab receive a hearing, but as there is no record of McNab's reinstatement, it is not known whether Lincoln's request was ever acted upon (Basler, IV:480).
LINCOLN'S CONSIDERATION FOR A DISMISSED OFFICER
President Lincoln responds to a request that Captain John McNab be allowed to testify on his own behalf in front of a court of inquiry. Lincoln writes: "I think any officer who has been dismissed on suspicion of disloyalty, but does not go over to the enemy, continuing to protest his loyalty, entitles himself to a hearing, and I hope this case will be enquired into..." (Basler, V:11).
McNab was dismissed from the Tenth Infantry at Fort Laramie 1 July 1861 on the grounds of disloyalty. Lincoln originally wrote Cameron on 10 August 1861 directing that McNab receive a hearing, but as there is no record of McNab's reinstatement, it is not known whether Lincoln's request was ever acted upon (Basler, IV:480).