Abraham Lincoln's Most Notorious Forgers

Via Jimmy L. Shirley Jr.

 The Bixby Letter

For more than 140 years, the Bixby letter has been hailed as one of President Abraham Lincolns most remarkable prose masterpieces. It has been displayed in museums across theUnited States and has more recently served as the inspiration of Steven Spielbergs movie Saving Private Ryan. Yet, since the letters creation, its authenticity has been debated by countless handwriting experts, historians and scholars. To date, there is still no concrete evidence proving it was actually written by Lincoln or simply the work of a forger.

The letter, which was allegedly written by Lincoln in the fall of 1864, was addressed to Lydia Bixby, a Bostonian widow and mother of five sons. It was believed that all of Mrs. Bixbys sons were killed in action during the Civil War. Upon her sons deaths, the grieving widow purportedly received a letter of condolences from Lincoln in which he attempted to console her great loss.

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