Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 17.75 x 12, April 18, 1861. Lincoln appoints “Green Clay of Kentucky…to be Secretary of Legation of the United States of America at St. Petersburg…until the end of the next session of the Senate of the United States and no longer.” Moderate intersecting storage folds, one through a single letter of signature, some light wrinkles and creases, a bit of trivial toning, and a light impression around text from previous framing, otherwise fine condition. The white paper seal remains crisp and intact and Lincoln’s signature is very clear and bold.
Even Lincoln can make a mistake, as this offered document clearly reveals a clerical error—it was not Green Clay but his son, Cassius Marcellus Clay, a native of Kentucky and a graduate of Yale, whom Lincoln sent to Russia in 1861. Clay was known for freeing his own slaves and editing the only Southern antislavery newspaper. He was recalled to the United States in 1862 and commissioned a Major General in the Union Army. Lincoln ordered Clay back to Russia in 1863 with the mission of keeping Russia from aiding Union forces. His assignment was a success, as later that year, Russian naval squadrons visited San Francisco and New York, signaling Russian support for the Union. In 1867, Clay played a key role in the purchase of Alaska. A desirable Lincoln document, as president, and signed on the same day that he invited Robert E. Lee to head Union armies—only to have the general decline and resign his post.
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