Letter from Lincoln being sold by Philly dealer

[September 08, 2011]  PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A rare letter is for sale that President Abraham Lincoln wrote to one of his top generals at a turning point of the Civil War.

The Raab Collection in Philadelphia is selling the document. It's expected to fetch around $100,000.

Lincoln wrote the letter to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan on Oct. 29, 1862 seeking a progress report.

It's the president's last note to McClelland before relieving the general of his command for not aggressively pursuing Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee after the Battle of Antietam a month earlier.

McClellan's demotion set in motion a series of events that eventually led to Ulysses S. Grant commanding the Union army, a move that ultimately ended the war and brought victory to the North.

[Associated Press]

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