Autograph and printed receipt for fuel, signed by William R. Shafter.
When he wrote this requisition for wood fuel, two months after the end of the Civil War, Shafter had received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in combat and a brevet promotion to Brigadier General, though here he still signs with his rank as Colonel. Later in his career, despite his command of Black troops in both the Civil War and Indian Wars, it was “Pecos Bill” Shafter who initiated the court-martial of Henry Flipper, the first African-American to graduate from West Point. Still later, during the Spanish-American War, Shafter was given overall command of the U.S. forces that invaded and “conquered” Cuba.