Partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 15.5 x 19.5, April 20, 1865. President Johnson appoints Erasmus C. Gilbraith [sic] as an “Assistant Quarter Master of Volunteers with the rank of Captain.” Signed at the conclusion by Andrew Johnson and countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Retains the blue seal affixed to the upper left. In fine condition, with a fold intersecting Johnson’s strong signature. A very early presidential document that was signed five days after the death of Abraham Lincoln. On the day it was signed, the War Department issued its famous ‘$100,000 Reward! The Murderer’ broadside for the capture of Booth and his accomplices.
Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath (1840-1898) was a major in the United States Army who began his 37-year career as a first lieutenant in the 20th Indiana Volunteer Regiment. Gilbreath was involved in numerous battles during the American Civil War, such as Gettysburg, and bearing witness to the battle between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor, the American Indian Wars, in which he helped establish Fort Custer, and the Spanish-American War.
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