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Civil War-dated partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 13.75 x 17.75, March 11, 1862. President Lincoln appoints John Pilsen as “Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers with the rank of Captain in the service of the United States." Signed at the conclusion in ink by Abraham Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The upper left corner retains the original blue seal. In fine condition, with intersecting folds and scattered faint stains. Accompanied by an original 2.5 x 4 carte-de-visite portrait photograph of Pilsen wearing his military uniform in a full-length pose.
In early 1862, Gen. George B. McClellan proposed moving the Army of the Potomac by water to Urbanna, Virginia, to outflank Confederate forces and seize Richmond. President Lincoln, frustrated by delays, ordered all Union armies to begin offensive operations by February 22nd and directed McClellan to advance overland toward Manassas. McClellan objected, defending his Urbanna plan in a lengthy letter, and Lincoln reluctantly approved it.
On March 8th, concerned about McClellan’s slow progress, Lincoln convened a council of war and then appointed corps commanders himself. The very next day, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston unexpectedly withdrew south of the Rappahannock, rendering the Urbanna plan useless. McClellan then shifted to a new strategy: transporting the army to Fort Monroe and advancing up the Virginia Peninsula. Complicating matters, the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia had just shocked Washington by destroying Union ships at Hampton Roads on March 8th, before being checked by the USS Monitor in their historic March 9th duel.
On March 11, 1862, the very date of this document, Lincoln removed McClellan as general-in-chief, leaving him in command only of the Army of the Potomac so that he could focus fully on the upcoming Peninsula Campaign.
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