Civil War-dated partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 13 x 16.5, March 12, 1863. President Lincoln appoints Rufus C. Swope as "Assistant Quartermaster of Volunteers with the rank of Captain in the service of the United States." Signed at the conclusion by President Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The green seal affixed to the upper left remains intact. Handsomely double-matted and framed with a portrait to an overall size of 33 x 26.5. In fine condition, with all of the handwriting (including the two signatures) a couple of shades light.
Swope's biography appears in the History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania, in part: 'In 1862 he was appointed, by Gov. Curtin, draft commissioner of this district, and delivered a regiment [the 165th Pennsylvania Drafted Militia] to the authorities at Gettysburg. In December, 1862, he was appointed by President Lincoln captain, assistant quartermaster, and remained in the service until August, 1866, being on duty in Washington for a year after the close of the war.' Accounts of the Battle of Fairfield, fought amidst the Gettysburg Campaign on July 3, 1863, note that the Swope house was used as a hospital.
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