President Joe Biden’s great-great-grandfather was once pardoned by former President Abraham Lincoln after engaging in a bloody physical altercation, a newly discovered document reveals.
Lincoln pardoned Biden’s ancestor, Moses J. Robinette, after he was charged with intoxication, causing a “dangerous quarrel,” disturbing military discipline and order, and making an “attempt to kill” another person, being convicted of all but the last charge, according to the Washington Post.
Robinette was a veterinary surgeon for the Union in the Civil War, and the brawl occurred on March 21, 1864, when another civilian employee, John J. Alexander, confronted Robinette, leading to the fight.
According to the 22-page document discovered at the National Archives, Alexander heard that Robinette had spoken ill of him to a female cook. This led to a war of words before fists started flying, and eventually, Biden’s great-great-grandfather used his pocket knife to wound his adversary. This resulted in the “attempt to kill” charge, which he was not convicted of, citing self-defense.
Biden’s ancestor said he “had no malice towards Mr. Alexander before or since” the incident and argued that he was only defending himself against someone much larger and stronger than himself.
Robinette was sentenced to two years of hard labor at a military prison in Florida for his role in the incident, of which he would only serve one month before his surprise pardon by Lincoln. He then returned home to his family’s farm in Maryland.
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Several officers in the Army petitioned Lincoln to overturn the conviction, and the case was taken up by a West Virginia senator. Robinette received his pardon on Sept. 1, 1864, after the War Department issued Special Order No. 296. The Republican president was assassinated just seven months later on April 15, 1865.
Former President Barack Obama, who Biden served as vice president under, was outspoken about his admiration for Lincoln as president. Biden also evoked the 16th president in his inaugural address, citing his commitment to “unity.”
