This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/27/2026
Abraham Lincoln signed Civil War consul appointment to Cardiff, Wales, a key diplomatic position as Lincoln sought and needed to maintain the United Kingdom's neutrality towards the Confederacy and U.S. during the war.
Dated 24 August 1861, President Lincoln here taps James C. Slaght, a politically connected young man who would actually decline the appointment in favor of a Captain's rank in the U.S. Quartermaster Volunteers. Slaght's Civil war career was a rather ignominious one, however, as he was found guilty in a court martial in 1864, with Lincoln subsequently remitting his sentence. Later that year Slaght was promoted to Colonel, though the examining board found him ''exceedingly deficient in knowledge of the regulations, and orders'' of the Quartermaster's Department, despite him serving in it for three full years. In April 1865 at the war's end, Slaght was dismissed from the service but again used his political connections to refashion that dismissal into a more respectable resignation.
Document features an extraordinarily bold and prominent signature by Lincoln, signing his full name, ''Abraham Lincoln''. Countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. With red wax seal intact. Document measures 17.75'' x 13'', matted and framed to a size of approximately 30'' x 25''. Chipping to edges and splits starting to folds. Not examined out of frame, but appears in very good condition.