Autograph Endorsement (22 words) Signed

("A. Lincoln") in black ink [Washington, DC], May 12, 1863, being 7 lines on the verso of the second leaf of an autograph letter to Lincoln from Robert Chester, Buffalo, May 9, 1863, 2 pages; 7 7/8" x 12 3/4", on a bifolium of blue-ruled paper, neatly reinforced at folds. Lincoln deals with an officer seeking "An Honorable Discharge & to Avoid a Dishonorable One." Robert Chester, who identifies himself as "late Capt. 17th Infantry, US Army," petitions the President: "I would most respectfully request a suspension of Special Orders No. 201, (Extract 4) by which I am dismissed the service of the United States. The reasons for such request are that my case has not been properly submitted to Your Excellency. I would respectfully ask that the order my be suspended until a Court of Inquiry, or Court Martial; can be convened, when I may have the opportunity to defend myself." Chester's appeal is joined by ten other prominent citizens of Buffalo, including her postmaster, one the justices of the city's Superior Court, and three Union officers hailing from the Bison City. Lincoln forwarded Chester's petition to Judge Advocate General Joseph Holt, directing him to "please examine & report on this case. The officer only seeks an honorable discharge, & to avoid a dishonorable one." Nothing further on the case is recorded, and Holt - influenced, perhaps, by the President's none-too-subtle insinuation - evidently found no merit to Chester's claim. See "The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln", ed. Basler, Supplement: 187.. Signed by Author(s). No Binding. Very Good/No Jacket.