2065

Civil War Dismissal Notices Signed by Brigadier General Edward Townsend [160284]

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 400.00 USD
Civil War Dismissal Notices Signed by Brigadier General Edward Townsend [160284]
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80.00USDto d*******f+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Mar 31 @ 09:19UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Lot of 2. Both are orders from the War Department, Adjutant General's Office, January 1863, and signed by Edward Davis Townsend, Assistant Adjutant General. One is for Colonel HC Murphy, 8th Wisconsin Volunteers, who is being dismissed "for allowing his command to be surprised at Holly Springs, Mississippi, without having taken proper steps to protect his post, or repulse the enemy, and his troops having been found in bed at the time of the attack." The other order is for Captain George T. Woodson, who is being dismissed from the 16th US Infantry (no reason stated). Both documents are typed with live signatures. 7.5 x 5" Edward Davis Townsend (1817-93) graduated from West Point and served in the Adjutant General's Dept. during the Civil War. He became colonel in 1861 while serving as General George Winfield Scott's chief of staff. In 1863, Townsend became acting head of the department when Lorenzo Thomas was reassigned. Townsend worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton. He was promoted to Brigadier General and succeeded General Thomas. After being promoted to Adjutant General of the Army in February 1869, Townsend organized plans for a U.S. military prison, urging legislation on the subject and establishing the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Townsend was also the officer in charge of escorting Lincoln's remains on the journey to Springfield.

Date: 1863
Country (if not USA):
State: Washington, D.C.
City:
Provenance: Gary Bracken Collection