Lot 265
Grant, Ulysses S (1822-1885) Commander-in-Chief of the Union army in the U.S. Civil War and 18th president of the U.S. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was commissioned colonel, then brigadier general, of a regiment of volunteers and fought his first battle at Belmont, MO., on Nov. 9, 1861. In Feb. 1862 he captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee, providing the first major Union victory, and he was at once promoted to major general. The Vicksburg campaign (1862-63), which ended Confederate control of the Mississippi, was one of his greatest successes. Called to the supreme command in the West (Oct. 1863), he thoroughly defeated the Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga. Lincoln made him commander in chief, with the rank of lieutenant general, in Mar. 1864. He directed the Union army in the Wilderness campaign (May-June 1864), wearing out the Confederates by sheer attrition; he received Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox on Apr. 9, 1865. He was made full general in 1866, the first U.S. citizen after Washington to hold that rank. Elected president in 1868 and reelected in 1872. His administration was characterized by corruption, special-interest legislation, and vigorous pursuit of a punitive Reconstruction program. Grant's Personal Memoirs (2 volume., 1885-86) rank among the great military narratives of history.
Document Signed ("U.S. Grant"). As President. Partially printed, accomplished in manuscript. One page, 15¾ x 19½", Washington D.C., April 14, 1869. Countersigned by Secretary of War John A. Rawlins. Being an Army appointment to one John Coppinger. On vellum. Wafer seal intact and affixed to upper left. Recorder's signature at upper left corner. One vertical and five horizontal creases; light soiling and toning. Ink of Grant's signature has bled a bit, and accomplishing ink has faded a bit. Still, in very good to fine condition.
Rising in the ranks, here our soldier, John Coppinger, recieves the title Colonel in this appointment signed by the ever-popular Grant. Just two years prior Coppinger had been named Captain.
Estimated Value $800 - 950.
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| Realized $500 |
