Partly-printed war-dated DS as president, one page (with attached integral blank leaf), 7.75 x 9.75, June 30, 1863. Lincoln calls out Massachusetts men for military service. In full, “I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy thereof, having taken into consideration the number of volunteers and militia furnished by and from the several States, including the State of Massachusetts, and the period of service of said volunteers and militia since the commencement of the present rebellion, in order to equalize the numbers among the Districts of said States, and having considered and allowed for the number already furnished as aforesaid, and the time of their service aforesaid, do hereby assign Three thousand and seventy-two as the first proportional part of the quota of troops to be furnished by the Third District of the State of Massachusetts under this, the first call made by me on the State of Massachusetts, under the act approved March 3, 1863, entitled ‘An Act for Enrolling and calling out the National Forces, and for other purposes,’ and in pursuance of the act aforesaid, I order that a draft be made in the said Third District of the State of Massachusetts, for the number of men herein assigned to said District, and fifty percent in addition.” In fine condition, with a uniform shade of light toning and a few trivial wrinkles.
In 1863, the US Congress tightened up the military draft to replenish the Union Army’s depleted ranks, and in June, just a day before Gettysburg, Lincoln signed this draft requisition targeting men in the Third District of Massachusetts. The Conscription Act required states to draft men to serve in the armed forces if individual states failed to meet their enlistment quotas with volunteers. Conscription was controversial and sparked riots in the North, most notably in New York City the month before. The federal government oversaw the draft and created provost marshals to enforce it; all white men between the ages of 20 and 45 were eligible. The Conscription Act permitted drafted men to pay a $300 fee or hire a substitute to escape service if they were drafted. More than 160,000 Massachusetts men would serve in the Union Army and Navy during the war. A controversial but necessary wartime order signed by Lincoln during the bloody conflict. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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