Beschreibung:

Partially printed DS, 1p, The War Department [Washington], June 26, 1860. Appointment for Charles C. Byrne as Assistant Surgeon in the US Army. Signed by John B. Floyd (1806-1863) as Secretary of War. Although openly opposed to secession, Floyd is accused of sending large stores of Federal arms to arsenals and forts in the South so they would be available when the seemingly inevitable war came. Floyd resigned his federal position Dec. 29, 1860 and shortly after received a commission as Major General in the Provisional Army of Virginia, then a Brigadier Generalcy in the Confederate Army. He seems to have lost most battles in which he was involved, and often deferred to his subordinates who were more experienced. His actions at Fort Donelson, and the loss of one of the most strategic battles of the war, resulted in his being relieved of command, although he retained his position in the Virginia militia. He became ill shortly after and died a year later at Abingdon, VA. Dr. Byrne stayed in the Federal Army, serving in the Office of the Surgeon General as well as in field hospitals at some of the major battles, including during the Atlanta Campaign. ALS, Apr. 16, 1914, 2pp. From Robert Daniel Johnston (1837-1919) to a collector trying to get autographs of surviving Confederate generals. At the start of hostilities Johnston was appointed captain in the 23rd North Carolina; in April 1862 he became the Lieut. Colonel of the regiment; in Sept. 1863 he was promoted to Brig. Genl. ADS, Fort Merrill, Texas, Oct. 30, 1852, 1p. William E. ("Grumble") Jones (1824-1864, USMA 1848) to Maj. Genl. George Gibson Commissary General, US Army, Washington. Jones was assigned to the Mounted Rifles after graduation. He received promotion to 1st Lieut. in 1854. He resigned his commission in 1857 to become a Virginia farmer. With the start of the Civil War, Jones joined the Virginia Cavalry as a captain. The Virginia militia was shortly after transferred to the Confederate States Army. He fought at First Manassas under J.E.B Stuart and was promoted to Colonel the following month. He was a good field officer, but rubbed many people the wrong way. Lee promoted him to Brig. General above the objections of some of them. He was later given command of the Shenandoah Valley forces. At the Battle of Piedmont in June 1864 he was shot in the head and killed while leading a charge against a superior force of Federals. Manuscript DS, December Term 1847, Superior Court of Texas, 1p. Signed by Thomas Green (1814-1864) as Clerk of the Sup. Court. Green took part in the Texas Revolution under Sam Houston. At the outbreak of the Civil War he became a Cavalry officer in the Trans-Mississippi Department. He was mortally wounded in the Red River Campaign in April 1864 while charging a fleet of Federal gunboats. Partially printed DS, New Orleans, LA , May 14, 1877. Francis Nicholls (1834-1912), document concerning an issue of new bonds under an 1874 funding bill. Nicholls served as Governor of Louisiana 1888-1892. At the start of the Civil War, he enlisted as a captain in the 8th Louisiana Infantry. He participated in First Manassas and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. He became colonel of the 15th Louisiana when it was formed and was promoted to Brigadier General in October 1862. He lost a foot at Chancellorsville and eventually was unfit for field command, but continued to serve with recruiting and other office duties.