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Partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 13.75 x 17.5, May 23, 1865. President Johnson appoints Harry C. Egbert to the rank of "Captain by Brevet…for gallant services at the battle of North Anna, Virginia.” Signed at the conclusion by Andrew Johnson and countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.” The upper left retains the original light blue War Office seal. In very good to fine condition, with scattered light toning and staining, and some fading to Stanton's signature. On May 23–26, 1864, two days after the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, the Battle of North Anna was fought as part of Union Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant's Overland Campaign against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. It consisted of a series of small actions near the North Anna River in central Virginia rather than a general engagement between the armies.
Harry Clay Egbert (1839–1899) was an officer in the United States Army who served in the American Civil War, the Spanish–American War, and the Philippine–American War. He commanded the 6th Infantry Regiment during the Battle of San Juan Hill but suffered a mortal wound during the Battle of Manila.
Per the American Battlefield Trust: ‘Following the stalemate at Spotsylvania Court House the first week of May, 1864, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was determined to continue his Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Grant found the Confederates entrenched on the south side of the North Anna River, where Lee's ‘inverted V’ defenses forced Grant to divide his forces into three parts to attack.
On May 23, one of Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill’s divisions assaulted the isolated V Corps on the Union right, which had crossed the river at Jericho Mill. After a bloody see-saw fight, the Federal bridgehead remained intact. On the Union left, Maj. Gen. Winfield Hancock's II Corps seized the Chesterfield Bridge over the North Anna.
On May 24, an attack by a brigade from the IX Corps was repulsed at Ox Ford, the apex of Lee's line. Meanwhile, Hancock advanced on the Confederate right. Lee hoped to strike an offensive blow, but the opportunity for defeating an isolated part of the Federal army had passed. Grant outflanked the position by moving downstream to the east and continued his advance on Richmond.’
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