President Abraham Lincoln FRAMED authentic SIGNED Historical NAVY DOCUMENT 1864

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President Abraham Lincoln FRAMED authentic SIGNED Historical NAVY DOCUMENT 1864 :
$4250.00

PURCHASED FROM \" UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES\"

IN CONNECTICUT (See their website online) in 1993 -See last 2 pictures for documentation.

FRAMED with museum quality glass and acid-free materials.

1864 NAVAL APPOINTMENT SIGNED BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT

LINCOLN, Abraham. Engraved document signed.

* Washington, DC: June 13, 1864.

* Folio, single sheet (14-1/2 x 18 inches), vellum; partially printed and accomplished by secretarial hand, with two engraved vignettes of an emblematic eagle and nautical motifs, with embossed orange paper seal.

* Professionally (beautifully) matted &framed, entire piece measures 22-1/2 by 26-1/2 inches.

* \"Registered No.THREE, the lowest number of the same date takes rank\" countersigned by William P. Moran.

* Countersigned by Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy.

Lincoln document signed as President, appointing George R. Martin as Assistant Paymaster in the Navy during the Civil War, , with fragile embossed paper seal present.

Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of the Northern victory of the Civil War. Welles was also instrumental in the Navy\'s creation of the Medal of Honor.

When Gideon Welles became Secretary of the Navy he was immediately faced with the loss of more than half of the officer corps—over 300 of whom either resigned or were dismissed as disloyal. Welles moved quickly to expand the navy, first by initiating a river fleet that would assist in the internal blockade of the Confederacy, and then by purchasing merchant vessels that could be converted rapidly into fighting ships.

At the end of 1860, the size of the United States Army was some 15,000 men, of whom 1,080 were officers. The Army was spread over an entire continent, and very thinly at that. After the southern states seceded, 286 officers, many of them, including some of the finest in the service (like Robert E. Lee) resigned. When the Civil War began on April 12, 1861, there was an immediate need to build a new, huge army, and over the course of the war almost 3 million men donned the Union blue.

Paying these troops was no easy matter. When the war broke out, there were ten regiments and about 25 paymasters to pay them. During the war, the Union Army raised over 2,000 regiments. This lack of urgently needed personnel was remedied by the appointment of men called \"additional paymasters\", who were officers usually with the rank of captain or major. Some 562 were appointed in the war.

On payday the men would form for parade and receive their pay in cash. These additional paymasters did not have a sinecure; they traveled with the troops, shared their hardships, got their illnesses, suffered from the heat and exposure just as the men did. During the conflict, 28 died and 171 resigned, sometimes for reason of illness.

Additional paymasters were appointed by President Lincoln and confirmed by the US Senate starting in1861. This one was to take effect June 30, 1864.

Document has some minor spotting and toning. Lincoln’s signature has faded a little, but still very clear.