Partly-printed vellum DS as president, one page, 13.5 x 17.5, August 12, 1861. President Lincoln appoints George Bell as "Commissioner of Subsistence, with the rank of Captain." Neatly signed at the conclusion by President Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of War Simon Cameron. The blue seal affixed to the upper left remains intact. Nicely matted and framed to an overall size of 19.25 x 23.25. In fine condition, with the handwritten portions of the text light, but entirely legible.
An 1853 graduate of West Point, Bell was prominent as a subsistence and commissary officer in the Union Army during and after the Civil War. Bell's positions from 1861 to 1865 included: Officer in Charge of the depot at Alexandria, Virginia and Instructor of Commissaries; Assistant Commissary, Army of the Potomac; Chief Commissary, Department of the Susquehanna; and Officer in Charge of the depot at Washington, DC. During the war Bell received brevet promotions to Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, and Brigadier General.
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