ANS signed “A. Lincoln,” one page, 3.25 x 2, February 25, 1865. In full: “Allow the bearer, Roger A. Pryor, to pass to Gen. Grant, and report to him for exchange.” Also includes an ink signature, “Very respectfully—Roger A. Pryor, 1888,” on the reverse of Pryor’s personal calling card. In very good to fine condition, with moderate overall soiling to Lincoln’s card, and a few pencil erasures to Pryor’s.
A former newspaperman and Virginian congressman known for his fiery pro-slavery diatribes, Roger Atkinson Pryor enlisted as a private and scout under General Fitzhugh Lee after a failed attempt to command his own division. Roughly a year later on November 28, 1864, he was captured by Union forces and held in Fort Lafayette in New York as a suspected spy. Pryor was released on behalf of an exchange on February 27, two days after this note was written, squarely traded for General John Dent, the brother-in-law of General U. S. Grant. Penned amidst a nation’s turmoil and the stresses of the highest office, this is an immensely desirable handwritten presidential note. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$250.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
