Unpublished Letter Written by Lincoln During the Korean War... Sold for 100 Million Won

Recipient is a Civil Engineer... Displaying Wartime Command Appearance
Individually Inherited and Preserved, Later Sold to a Collector

An unpublished letter written by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, during the first year of his presidency amid the Civil War, was sold for $85,000 (approximately 110 million KRW).

On the 5th (local time), the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that this letter, which had been kept privately for over 100 years, was sold to an anonymous private collector through a professional agency. The letter was written on August 19, 1861, the year Lincoln took office as president. Lincoln was inaugurated in March, and the Civil War broke out the following month in April. The recipient of the letter was Charles Ellet Jr., a civil engineer famous at the time for building suspension bridges.

In the letter, Lincoln asked Ellet to explain his proposal regarding the engineering corps to three of Lincoln’s generals. Nathan Raab, president of the Raab Collection, which brokered the sale of the letter, said, "Lincoln shows a remarkably high level of managing the war," adding, "(Lincoln) received Ellet’s proposal to design the South’s road and railroad infrastructure and personally connected him with the generals. This is the image of Lincoln as a wartime president."

Lincoln's Unpublished Letter. At the top, the text reads 'Executive Mansion, August 19, 1861, and to Mr. Charles Ellet Jr.' [Image source=RAAB Collection website, Yonhap News]

Raab also noted that discovering an unpublished letter from Lincoln is a rare occurrence. The Raab Collection, which buys and sells historical documents, sells several Lincoln letters annually. The letter’s owner stated that it was inherited from their parents. Therefore, the Raab Collection believes this letter has remained in private hands for at least 100 years. The buyer is a private collector residing in the southeastern United States who wished to remain anonymous.

This letter is also related to the political situation in the early Civil War period. One of the generals mentioned in the letter, George McClellan, who was the Union Army’s general-in-chief early in the war, ultimately ignored Lincoln’s request to meet Ellet. This fact has been confirmed through other letters exchanged between Lincoln and Ellet that were previously made public. Regarding this, Raab interpreted, "General McClellan’s ignoring Lincoln’s request may have been a message to Lincoln to stay out of military affairs."

Ellet was later promoted to colonel and built steam-powered vessels that played a decisive role in the 1862 Battle of the Mississippi River. However, he was shot in the knee during the battle that year and died.

President Lincoln [Image source=Pixabay]

President Lincoln signed official government documents such as appointment letters with his full name, "Abraham Lincoln," but on all personal letters and notes, including this letter, he signed as "A. Lincoln," using only the initial "A" of "Abraham."

Raab said, "I have never seen an exception to this rule," adding, "Any letter signed 'Abraham Lincoln' should be suspected of being a forgery."

At the top of this letter is the phrase "Executive Mansion," the name used for the White House at the time. The White House was officially called the presidential residence starting in 1901.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.