A handwritten note by Abraham Lincoln is among the top lots in RR Auction's online memorabilia sale. Bidding stands at $5,543 and is due to close on August 13.
It dates to April 5, 1865 and reads in its entirety: "Will the Sec. of War please see & hear Gen. Barringer of N. C. & oblige him if you consistently can in seeing some friends."
 The note allows General Barringer to see friends during his incarceration |
It was written after the president met confederate general Rufus Barringer, who was captured in the aftermath of the battle of Namozine Church in the closing days of the American civil war.
Both men got on well during their brief conversation and Lincoln provided the general with the card, which allows friends to visit him while incarcerated.
Barringer himself noted in his diary: "Dined with Brig. Gen. Collis Called to see Mr. Lincoln at Gen. Grant's H. Qtrs—Pleased with him. His looks, dress & manners have been misrepresented [by the] South. Gave me a card to Mr. Stanton."
Unfortunately, Lincoln's generosity backfired as he was assassinated just over a week later. Suspicion fell on Barringer, who remained in captivity without charge for some months after the end of the war.
We have these scraps of wallpaper from Abraham Lincoln's bedroom in Springfield, Illinois.
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