Abraham Lincoln Autograph Endorsement Signed

Civil War-dated autograph endorsement signed as president, "Let this man take the oath of Dec. 8, 1863 & be discharged, A. Lincoln, Jan. 11, 1865," on an off-white 3 x 2.5 slip. Handsomely double-matted and framed with an engraved portrait to an overall size of 12 x 17.75. In fine condition, with writing showing through from the back.

On December 8, 1863, President Lincoln had issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, by which he offered full pardons to any participant in the rebellion who laid down his arms and swore a loyalty oath, agreeing to 'faithfully support, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the union of all the States there under.' By this stroke of Lincoln's pen, he approved the release of a former Confederate soldier held as a prisoner of war.