Abraham Lincoln Queries the Surgeon General of the Army About an Appointment

On an envelope of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, Lincoln writes this endorsement:

Respectfully submitted to Surgeon General for his opinion whether Mr. Bushnell should be appointed as recommended.

William A. Hammond, the Surgeon General of the United States Army, has replied below, on the 13th, to the President’s query:

Respectfully returned to His Excellency the President with the recommendation that Mr. Bushnell be appointed as there is a place for him at Louisville. S.G. Office.

According to Basler, “Bushnell” has not been identified and no record of his appointment found.

Autograph Endorsement Signed (“A. Lincoln,” 1 page, on an narrow octavo envelope addressed to him from the U.S. Sanitary Commission in Washington; no place, January 10, 1863. A secretarial docket, signed by Surgeon General William A. Hammond, and dated January 13, 1863, appears below Lincoln’s four-line query.