WIlliam Seward
Washington, DC, Sept. 29, 1865
W. Seward On Assassination Due to "the casualties of the season." Turns Down Independence Celebration.
LS, 7.5" x 10.5" 2pp., 4to. Washington D.C., written on a rare example of Department of State mourning stationery, dated Sept. 29, 1865 and written to Boston Mayor F. W. Lincoln Jr. In the unique letter, Seward declines the Boston Mayor's invitation to attend the city's Independence Day celebrations just months after the assassination of Lincoln and the attempted assassination on Seward's life by the conspirators. In part: "I should have found pleasure in accepting had circumstances been favorable to such a proceeding. Regretting the delay in making this acknowledgment, which the casualties of the season have occasioned." Boldly signed by American politician and Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward as "William H. Seward." In fine condition, boldly signed.

On the night of April 14, 1865, the same night President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot, an associated but lesser-known attack unfolded as part of a coordinated assassination plot against key members of the U.S. government. Lewis Powell, a co-conspirator in John Wilkes Booth's plan, targeted William H. Seward, the Secretary of State, at his Washington D.C. home. Armed and determined, Powell brutally attacked and seriously wounded Seward in his bed, where he was recovering from a recent carriage accident. Powell also injured several members of the Seward household during his frenzied attempt to kill the Secretary. Despite the severity of his injuries, including a slashed throat and facial wounds, Seward miraculously survived the assassination attempt. This violent act against Seward, coupled with Lincoln's assassination and additional planned attacks that failed to materialize, marked one of the darkest nights in American history, reflecting the deep divisions and tumult of the Civil War era.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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