To Ladies in Charge of Northwestern Fair1Jump to section
Oct. 26. 1863.
Ladies having in charge of the North-Western Fair
For the Sanitary Commission Chicago, Illinois
According to the request made in your behalf, the original draft of the Emancipation proclamation is herewith enclosed. The formal words at the top, and the conclusion, except the signature, you perceive, are not in my hand-writing. They were written at the State Department by whom I know not. The printed part was cut from a copy of the preliminary proclamation, and pasted on merely to save writing.
I had some desire to retain the paper; but if it shall contribute to the relief or comfort of the soldiers that will be better Your obt. Servt. A. LINCOLN
Annotation
[1] ADfS, DLC-RTL. On October 11, 1863, Mrs. D. P. Livermore of the Chicago Sanitary Commission wrote Lincoln:
``The patriotic women of the Northwestern States will hold a grand Fair in Chicago, on the last week of Oct., and the first of Nov., to raise funds for the Sanitary Commission of the Northwest, whose head-quarters are in Chicago. This Commission labors especially for the sick and wounded soldiers of the