{"product_id":"edwin-stanton-signed-envelope-directing-sykes-days-after-emancipation-psa","title":"Edwin Stanton Signed Envelope Directing Sykes Days After Emancipation! PSA","description":"\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"43\" data-end=\"267\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"43\" data-end=\"53\"\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"53\" data-end=\"56\"\u003e\nEdwin M. Stanton Civil War War Department Envelope - Dated January 12, 1863, 11 Days after Emancipation! Handwritten Military Directive Referencing General George Sykes - PSA\/DNA Certified Authentic Autograph, Certification No. 85952480\u003cspan aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"269\" data-end=\"638\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"269\" data-end=\"285\"\u003eDescription:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"285\" data-end=\"288\"\u003e\nA historically significant Civil War-era official War Department envelope bearing extensive handwritten instructions attributed to \u003cstrong data-start=\"419\" data-end=\"451\"\u003eEdwin M. Stanton (1814-1869)\u003c\/strong\u003e, President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of War. Of particular importance, the document is \u003cstrong data-start=\"541\" data-end=\"567\"\u003edated January 12, 1863\u003c\/strong\u003e, as indicated by the period manuscript notation along the bottom edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"640\" data-end=\"976\"\u003eThe manuscript concerns an aide associated with \u003cstrong data-start=\"688\" data-end=\"718\"\u003eMajor General George Sykes\u003c\/strong\u003e, a distinguished Regular Army officer then commanding the Second Division of the Union V Corps. The writing contains corrections, insertions, underlinings, and abbreviations characteristic of a working military directive rather than a presentation document.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"978\" data-end=\"1041\"\u003eA conservative transcription of the principal manuscript reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1043\" data-end=\"1247\"\u003e\"(Detail)\u003cbr data-start=\"1052\" data-end=\"1055\"\u003e\n[deleted] Lt. Heyward\u003cbr data-start=\"1076\" data-end=\"1079\"\u003e\nCutting aide of\u003cbr data-start=\"1094\" data-end=\"1097\"\u003e\nGeneral Sykes to\u003cbr data-start=\"1113\" data-end=\"1116\"\u003e\nNew York for\u003cbr data-start=\"1128\" data-end=\"1131\"\u003e\nspecial duty to\u003cbr data-start=\"1146\" data-end=\"1149\"\u003e\nbe approved by the\u003cbr data-start=\"1167\" data-end=\"1170\"\u003e\nWar Department.\u003cbr data-start=\"1185\" data-end=\"1188\"\u003e\nDirect him to meet [unclear] New\u003cbr data-start=\"1220\" data-end=\"1223\"\u003e\nYork\u003cbr data-start=\"1227\" data-end=\"1230\"\u003e\nEdwin M. Stanton\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1249\" data-end=\"1567\"\u003eAdditional period docketing and notations appear across the envelope, including \"Col. Townsend,\" a red manuscript notation appearing to read \"S.O. 14. Par 5,\" and the handwritten date \u003cstrong data-start=\"1433\" data-end=\"1453\"\u003eJanuary 12, 1863\u003c\/strong\u003e at the bottom. Several words are overwritten or difficult to decipher and should therefore be treated cautiously.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1569\" data-end=\"1841\"\u003eThe envelope bears the printed designation \u003cstrong data-start=\"1612\" data-end=\"1653\"\u003e\"War Department \/ Official Business.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e It displays expected evidence of wartime governmental use, including folds, toning, edge irregularities, corrections, docketing, and evidence of former sealing or mounting on the reverse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"1843\" data-end=\"2288\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1843\" data-end=\"1866\"\u003eHistorical Context:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"1866\" data-end=\"1869\"\u003e\nThe \u003cstrong data-start=\"1873\" data-end=\"1893\"\u003eJanuary 12, 1863\u003c\/strong\u003e date places this artifact at an especially consequential moment in the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln had issued the final Emancipation Proclamation only eleven days earlier, on January 1, 1863. Secretary Stanton supported emancipation as a military measure that could weaken the Confederacy while bringing additional men into Union military service. \u003cspan class=\"contents\" data-content-reference-start=\"2251\" data-content-reference-end=\"2270\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"2290\" data-end=\"2653\"\u003eThe date also falls during a turbulent period for the Army of the Potomac. The disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg had taken place only a month earlier, in December 1862. On January 12, 1863, \u003cstrong data-start=\"2482\" data-end=\"2548\"\u003eGeorge Sykes was commanding the Second Division of the V Corps\u003c\/strong\u003e, then part of Major General Joseph Hooker's Center Grand Division. \u003cspan class=\"contents\" data-content-reference-start=\"2598\" data-content-reference-end=\"2631\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"2655\" data-end=\"3131\"\u003eSykes was a professional Regular Army officer and West Point graduate whose soldiers became widely known as \u003cstrong data-start=\"2763\" data-end=\"2785\"\u003e\"Sykes' Regulars.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e He had commanded Regular troops at First Bull Run and subsequently led his men through the Peninsula Campaign, Gaines' Mill, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. His association with the Regular Army distinguished his command within an Army of the Potomac composed largely of volunteer formations. \u003cspan class=\"contents\" data-content-reference-start=\"3072\" data-content-reference-end=\"3092\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"3133\" data-end=\"3525\"\u003eThe date of this artifact is particularly interesting because Sykes had not yet achieved the command for which he is most remembered. Later in 1863, he would assume command of the \u003cstrong data-start=\"3313\" data-end=\"3324\"\u003eV Corps\u003c\/strong\u003e shortly before Gettysburg. On July 2, elements of his corps were rushed to the threatened Union left, where troops under his command became heavily involved around the Wheatfield and Little Round Top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"3527\" data-end=\"3734\"\u003eThus, this \u003cstrong data-start=\"3538\" data-end=\"3558\"\u003eJanuary 12, 1863\u003c\/strong\u003e document dates from roughly six months before Gettysburg, when Sykes was still a divisional commander recovering with the Army of the Potomac from the Fredericksburg campaign.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"3736\" data-end=\"4335\"\u003eThe date is also notable in Stanton's own wartime activities. Contemporary records establish that \u003cstrong data-start=\"3834\" data-end=\"3938\"\u003ePresident Lincoln and Secretary Stanton conferred on army affairs on the morning of January 12, 1863\u003c\/strong\u003e, the same date appearing on this artifact. A surviving Lincoln letter to Stanton dated that day concerns proposed military promotions. This does not establish that the present directive resulted from that meeting, but it provides valuable context for how actively Stanton and Lincoln were addressing military personnel and command matters on this exact date. \u003cspan class=\"contents\" data-content-reference-start=\"4259\" data-content-reference-end=\"4291\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"4337\" data-end=\"4773\"\u003eStanton himself was one of the central administrators of the Union war effort. Appointed Secretary of War in January 1862, he oversaw the enormous organizational and logistical apparatus required to equip, supply, and administer Union forces. The Library of Congress notes his important role in reorganizing War Department administration and provisioning the expanding Union military establishment. \u003cspan class=\"contents\" data-content-reference-start=\"4692\" data-content-reference-end=\"4711\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"4775\" data-end=\"5102\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4775\" data-end=\"4810\"\u003eAuthentication \u0026amp; Encapsulation:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4810\" data-end=\"4813\"\u003e\nThe original War Department envelope is professionally encapsulated and authenticated by \u003cstrong data-start=\"4902\" data-end=\"4913\"\u003ePSA\/DNA\u003c\/strong\u003e. The PSA label identifies the artifact as \u003cstrong data-start=\"4956\" data-end=\"5009\"\u003e\"ENVELOPE \/ EDWIN M. STANTON \/ PSA\/DNA CERTIFIED\"\u003c\/strong\u003e and designates the autograph \u003cstrong data-start=\"5039\" data-end=\"5060\"\u003e\"AUTHENTIC AUTO.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e The certification number is \u003cstrong data-start=\"5089\" data-end=\"5101\"\u003e85952480\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"5104\" data-end=\"5379\"\u003eThe oversized clear holder provides excellent visibility of the original War Department printing, Stanton manuscript, military instructions, period corrections, docketing, and the important \u003cstrong data-start=\"5294\" data-end=\"5314\"\u003eJanuary 12, 1863\u003c\/strong\u003e date while protecting the document for long-term preservation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-start=\"5380\" data-end=\"5603\"\u003e\u003cli data-section-id=\"p0x1fz\" data-start=\"5380\" data-end=\"5603\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong data-start=\"5382\" data-end=\"5424\"\u003eAdditional Documentation \u0026amp; Provenance:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"5425\" data-end=\"5601\"\u003eAt buyer's request, Historical Autographs Gallery will include an additional \"Historical Autographs Gallery Certificate\" signed by our company founder Luke Pascal at no cost.\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"5605\" data-end=\"6588\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5605\" data-end=\"5624\"\u003eClosing Appeal:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"5624\" data-end=\"5627\"\u003e\nThe newly identified \u003cstrong data-start=\"5648\" data-end=\"5739\"\u003eJanuary 12, 1863 date significantly strengthens the historical context of this artifact\u003c\/strong\u003e. Rather than an undated Stanton autograph, this is a wartime War Department document that can be placed at a specific moment in the Civil War: only eleven days after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, approximately one month after Fredericksburg, and while George Sykes was commanding the Regulars of the V Corps months before his elevation to corps command at Gettysburg. Particularly compelling is the fact that Lincoln and Stanton are independently documented as discussing army affairs on this same date. With Stanton's authenticated handwriting, an official War Department envelope, substantive military content involving General George Sykes, an exact wartime date, and PSA\/DNA authentication, this is an unusually evocative artifact for an advanced collection of Lincoln administration, Gettysburg, Union Army, or Civil War material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\" data-start=\"6590\" data-end=\"7022\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"6590\" data-end=\"6610\"\u003eShipping Notice:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"6610\" data-end=\"6613\"\u003e\n\u003cem data-start=\"6613\" data-end=\"7022\" data-is-last-node=\"\"\u003eFor insurance purposes, items sold over $600 may require signature confirmation upon delivery. Higher-value items, likely over $1,500, are shipped via FedEx 2-Day with Direct Signature Confirmation. FedEx provides the most flexibility when requiring a signature, allowing you to make special delivery requests directly through their tracking system. This ensures both security and convenience for the buyer.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"H.A.G.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50523037106339,"sku":"EB-168715044155","price":1895.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/7509\/6227\/files\/57_760468ab-03dd-48dc-a9b0-516376babb02.png?v=1790206127","url":"https:\/\/historicalautographsgallery.com\/products\/edwin-stanton-signed-envelope-directing-sykes-days-after-emancipation-psa","provider":"H.A.G.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}