Beautifully engraved partly-printed vellum DS, signed “R. E. Lee,” as superintendent of West Point, one page, 20.75 x 25, June 17, 1853. United States Military Academy diploma presented to George Bell "having been carefully examined on all the Branches of the Arts, Sciences, and Literature taught at the United States Military Academy has been judged worthy to receive the Degree required by Law preparatory to his advancement in the U. S. Army…and recommend him to the president for promotion in the Ordnance, Artillery or Infantry." Signed at the conclusion by Lee as superintendent of the Academy, and also signed underneath by ten professors, including Robert S. Garnett, George H. Thomas, Dennis Hart Mahan, George W. Cullum, and Robert Walter Weir. In very good condition, with creasing, toning, a half dozen small holes, and Lee's signature quite light but entirely legible. Bell would go on to serve as a commissary officer in the Union Army throughout the Civil War, and was brevetted brigadier general for his faithful and meritorious service during the rebellion.
After distinguishing himself in the Mexican-American War, Lee reluctantly accepted an appointment as superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point in 1852, where he remained for three years. In addition to Lee's ever-desirable signature, this document boasts that of the extremely rare Robert Selden Garnett, who signs as a tactics instructor—Garnett would become the first general officer killed in the Civil War on July 13, 1861. As West Point graduated a mere 140 cadets during Lee's entire tenure as superintendent, these documents are quite scarce and thus immensely desirable.
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