Beautifully engraved partly-printed vellum DS, signed "R. E. Lee," as superintendent of West Point, one page, 17 x 21.5, June 16, 1854. United States Military Academy diploma presented to George A. Gordon "having been carefully examined on all the Branches of the Arts, Sciences, and Literature taught at the United States Military Academy has been judged worthy to receive the Degree required by Law preparatory to his advancement in the U. S. Army…and recommend him to the president for promotion in the Infantry, Dragoons, or Mounted Riflemen." Signed at the conclusion by Robert E. Lee as superintendent of the Academy, and also signed underneath by 10 professors, including Robert Selden Garnett, Fitz John Porter, A. E. Church, George W. Cullum, J. W. Bailey, and William Bartlett. In fine condition.
After distinguishing himself in the Mexican-American War, Lee reluctantly accepted an appointment as superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point in 1852, where he remained for three years. In addition to Lee's ever-desirable signature, the extremely rare Robert Selden Garnett, who signed here as a tactics instructor, is a prize in itself—Garnett would become the first general officer killed in the Civil War.
The recipient of this diploma, George A. Gordon (1833-1878), went on to serve in the Union Cavalry, participating in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign, Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Antietam, and serving as aide-de-camp to Generals Wesley Merritt and Alfred T. A. Torbert. While Gordon seemingly had a successful yet modest career, several of his peers in West Point's class of 1854 went on to distinguish themselves in the Civil War, including J. E. B. Stuart, O. O. Howard, and Lee's son, George Washington Custis Lee. With just 45 graduates in the class of 1854—and a mere 140 graduates during Lee's entire tenure as superintendent—these documents are quite scarce and immensely desirable. A truly spectacular document with a wide array of interesting associations.
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