Immensely desirable pairing of presidentially signed documents by Abraham Lincoln and U. S. Grant, both of which relate to the military career of Charles B. White. The Lincoln document: a Civil War-dated partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 15.75 x 19.5, September 9, 1861. President Lincoln appoints Charles B. White as “Assistant Surgeon in the service of the United States.” Nicely signed at the conclusion by President Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of War Simon Cameron. The Grant document: a partly-printed vellum DS, one page, 15.5 x 19.5, February 10, 1876. President Grant appoints Charles B. White as “Surgeon with the rank of Major in the service of the United States.” Neatly signed at the conclusion by President Grant and countersigned by Secretary of War William W. Belknap, with the dark blue War Office seal affixed to the upper left.
Includes a pair of partly-printed vellum DSs bearing stamped signatures of President Andrew Johnson, both 15.75 x 19.5, August 10, 1866, appointing White as “Major by Brevet” and “Captain by Brevet.” Also included is a selection of four medical diplomas conferred to White, his father Ambrose L. White (2), and his son Davenport White, which is highlighted by White’s 1859 medical degree from the University Medical College of New York, signed by eleven faculty members including pioneer surgeon Valentine Mott. In overall fine condition, with minor edge chipping and Lincoln's signature a bit lighter than usual; all other documents are very good to fine, with occasional toning. After Lincoln appointed him assistant surgeon, White was sent to Virginia's Fort Monroe and not long after was treating injured soldiers at the Battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chantilly, and South Mountain. Following a Union victory at the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862, White volunteered his services and remained with the wounded behind enemy lines. His subsequent capture, as detailed in Dr. John Swinburne's 1863 Report on the Peninsula Campaign, describes White's dutiful and diligent care to both Union and Confederate forces.
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