To Philip H. Sheridan1Jump to section
Winchester Va. Washington, 13 February, 1865.
Suspend execution of sentence in case of James Lynch alias Hennessy, until further orders and send record to me. Please acknowledge receipt of this. A. LINCOLN.
Maj. Eckert
Please send above Telegram JNO. G. NICOLAY
Annotation
[1] D, DNA WR RG 107, Presidential Telegrams, I, 340. John Hay wrote the telegram, and Nicolay signed Lincoln's name and added the note to Eckert. A clerk inserted ``Winchester Va.'' General Sheridan's reply was received on the same day at 2 P.M.: ``Telegram in the case of Jas Linch recd order issued suspending execution of sentence until further orders'' (DLC-RTL).
A second telegram from Sheridan was received at 4:30 P.M.: ``James Lynch was tried by a General Court Martial convened by Genl Crook and the proceedings in his case must now be on file in the War Dept'' (ibid.).
The court-martial record in the case of Private James Lynch, Second New York Cavalry, sentenced to be shot for desertion, shows no action by Lincoln (DNA WR RG 153, Judge Advocate General, OO 158).