PBA Galleries

Engraved document on vellum, filled out in ink, appointing William H. White as a Brigade Surgeon of Volunteers.  Signed by Abraham Lincoln as President, and Edwin M. Stanton as Secretary of War. 46x36.5 cm. (18x14¼"), matted and framed under plexiglass along with engraved portrait of Lincoln; overall 70x86.5 cm. (27½x34").

Document signed by signed by the man considered by many to be the greatest of all U.S. Presidents,  credited with saving the union from dissolution, and setting it upon a long path of progressive development that would bring at least partial fruition to the lofty ideals of the founding fathers. The attractive military appointment features an engraving of an eagle carrying arrows and an olive branch in its talons at the top, and the bottom flags and various implements of war. Although military appointments signed by Lincoln are not that uncommon, appointments of medical officers are much scarcer. William H. White, having left his practice to join the Army for patriotic reasons, was to serve in McClellan's Army of the Potomac, and was captured and held prisoner at Libby Prison in Richmond before being exchanged and returned to service.A portion of his diary recording his service is available at http://www.williamdwhite.com/dr-william-h-white-civil-war-diary/.