In 1998 a document from the Civil War was re-discovered. The pardon was one of the last official acts of President Lincoln, since he was assassinated later that day at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.
Scientists at America's National Archives have conducted a new analysis and confirmed that the date was forged. The ink on the "5" in "1865" was noticeably darker than the ink on the "8". It seemed as if there was another number underneath it. Lincoln's writings from the 1950s were consulted by Plante. The pardon was dated April 14, 1864, a full year before Lincoln was assassinated. The document had been altered to make it more significant.
The man who made the discovery was turned to by investigators. They began corresponding with Thomas Lowry in 2010. When he learned about the nature of the investigation, he stopped communicating with the Office of the Inspector General, which made him suspicious. The investigators knocked on the historian's door in January of 2011. The National Archives released a statement saying that Lowry had admitted to altering the date on the pardon. The fountain pen and ink were brought into the research room, along with a change to the "4" in the title. The statute of limitations for tampering with government property had run out, but he was barred from the National Archives for life.
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But there's a twist, as Lowry recanted, saying he had signed the confession under pressure from the National Archives investigators.
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Slashdot reader waspleg writes that Ars Technica goes through the analysis of how it was verified to be a forgery using several techniques. The ink used to write the "5" was different in overall color compared to the other numbers in the date, according to an examination under magnification and reflective fiber optic lighting. The authors wrote that the ink from a scratched away number can be seen below and beside the darker '5' as well as smeared across the paper. The paper under and around the "5" was found to have scratches that were not seen anywhere else on the document. The team found that the paper around the "5" is thinner than everywhere else, and that the ink from the scratched-away "4" was visible in the abraded paper fibers. The authors concluded that it was not possible to restore the document to its original state without causing more damage.
