1863 MILITARY APPOINTMENT, SIGNED BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT

LINCOLN, Abraham. Engraved document signed. Washington, February 24, 1863. Single vellum sheet (15-1/2 by 19-1/2 inches), partially printed and finished in a secretarial hand, embossed blue paper seal. Floated and framed, entire piece measures 26 by 22 inches. $16,800.

Splendid Lincoln Civil War document appointing George O. McMullin as "Second Lieutenant in the Third Regiment of Cavalry," countersigned by Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, with fragile paper seal present.

The 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment was created out of the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen, which dated back to 1846. Stationed in Missouri, the unit was renamed and reorganized by an Act of Congress on August 3, 1861—the first summer of the Civil War—into the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment. The regiment was initially tasked with pursuing retreating Confederates all the way to Texas. On November 23, the regiment occupied Memphis, Tennessee, where it remained until October 1863, later to be tasked by General Sherman with performing various reconnaissance missions as part of his army's advance guard. From May 1864 until the end of the war, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment was stationed in Arkansas. Their duties included "preventing the organization of enemy commands, capturing guerrilla bands and escorting trains." This commission is handsomely engraved with two military vignettes, one of an emblematic eagle and the other an army motif with crossed flags, cannon, and other accoutrements of war. Docketed in red ink in upper left-hand corner by Adjutant General L. Thomas.

A couple tiny spots of marginal foxing, tape repair to verso, and folding creases. An exceptionally handsome item.