Full Printing of Emancipation Proclamation in Maine Farmer Newspaper Above Letter Written by Soldier Who Died At Fredricksburg, 1863

Lincoln, Abraham

Newspaper

Early complete printing of the Emancipation Proclamation in a Issue of Maine Farmer newspaper dated 8 January 1863. Measures 26 x 19.5 inches. 4 pages. Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, Here only a week after the event, Printed on the paper's second page amid other news of the war, beneath the subheading "The following is the text of the President emancipating the slaves in the rebellious states," the proclamation reads "Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day of the first above mentioned order, and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following to wit: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana - except the parishes of St. Bernard, Placquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafouvche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans - Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia - except the forty eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, Northhampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and which excepted parts are, for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are and henceforward shall be free: and that the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence; unless in necessary self defense: and I recommend to them that in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States, to garrison foils, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.And upon this, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity. I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God, Abraham Lincoln."

War news on the same page includes battles lost and won, troop movements and casualties. A letter written by a union soldier to his father is included on the same page, reading in part "Dear Father, I write you while lying on the battlefield, wounded, perhaps fatally. I am very weak. I fell, wounded in the side. Goodbye if I never see you again. Tell mother I think of her while lying here, and wish I had her to be with me in my last parting moments. Much love to all." An editor's note reveals the letter was written in pencil on the battlefield at Fredricksburg by a member of the 16th Maine regiment. "The lines were traced with difficulty, and the paper was tinged with blood. He was removed from the field and died the next day."

Small tears to edges do not affect text. Light foxing does not affect text. Overall very good condition.

Item #18291

Price: $750.00