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To George F. Shepley1Jump to section
To Commanding Officer By Telegraph from Washington D.C
Norfolk dated January 28th. 1865
Suspend execution of death sentence of Wm. H. Jeffs Co. ``B'' 56th. Mass Vols, until further orders, and forward record of the trial for examination. A. LINCOLN
Annotation
[1] Official copy, OFH. See the same telegram sent to General Grant, January 26, supra. General George F. Shepley replied on January 29: ``Your order in reference to Wm. H. Jeffs . . . has been received. There is no such man at Norfolk and as far as I am informed no such man within this District I have communicated your order to the Major General Commanding the Department'' (DLC-RTL).
On January 30, Shepley telegraphed again: ``Wm B Jeffs . . . is not to be found in this District or Department. The 56th Mass Vols is not in this Department & never has been.''(Ibid.).
No further correspondence has been found. The roster of the Fifty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers lists William H. Jeffs as mustered out of service on July 12, 1865.