Lincoln, Abraham. A manuscript letter in which President Lincoln thanks a fellow Illinoisan for a literary gift

LINCOLN, ABRAHAM

MANUSCRIPT LETTER SIGNED ("A. LINCOLN") AS SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT, TO THOMAS GREGG OF WARSAW, ILLINOIS

One page (7 3/4 x 4 7/8 in.; 197 x 126mm, sight) on a sheet of Executive Mansion letterhead, Washington, 2 July 1864; light mat born and soiling from earlier framing. Matted, framed, and glazed.

President Lincoln thanks a fellow Illinoisan for a literary gift. "I take great pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of your poem 'Ruth' and in thanking you for your kindness in sending it to me."

Gregg's sentimental narrative poem, "Ruth, a Poem for the Times," describes Grandma Ruth, whose own father died in the American Revolution, urging her grandsons to "Gird on your armor, boys, and go! | Be valiant in the fight; | Your Country call her loyal sons | To Battle for the Right!" The poem was published in pamphlet form by New Era Print in Warsaw, Illinois, in 1864.