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Army of Northern Virginia "Special Orders" stationery obtained by Samuel W. Crawford from Lee's headquarters at Appomattox. 7 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (creasing, few minor rips). Crawford's inscription reads, "Obtained at Lees last Hd Quarters Appomattox C.H. Va April 11th 1865 / S.W. Crawford Bvt. Maj. Gnl. 3rd Div of Inf."

[With:] Vignetted bust portrait of Samuel W. Crawford as major general, autographed on image ("S.H. Crawford / Bvt. Mj. Gnl"). Cincinnati, OH: Leon Van Loo. 2 1/8 x 3 11/16 in. CDV on cardstock mount (light spotting, toning). Photographer's imprint on verso.

Upon graduating from medical school, Samuel Wylie Crawford (1829-1892) joined the US Army in 1851 as an assistant surgeon, serving in Texas, Mexico, and Kansas for nearly 10 years prior to the outset of the Civil War. Crawford was stationed in South Carolina when the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861. He commanded a battery returning fire against the Confederate bombardment, proving his mettle as a leader in battle. He was thus commissioned a major in the 13th US Infantry on 14 May 1861. Crawford received numerous promotions for his prowess and gallantry, participating in battles including Winchester, Cedar Mountain, and Antietam, where he was severely wounded in the thigh. After recovering from his injury, Crawford rejoined the field in May of 1863, leading his men at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Five Forks, and other battles, eventually earning a brevet to major general for conspicuous gallantry.

Notably, just as Crawford was present for the opening shots of the war, he was present at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered to Grant. It was at this closing event that Crawford would have taken the Confederate stationery featured here - a souvenir of the war he witnessed, from beginning to end.

Crawford retired from the Army in 1873, and published a book about Fort Sumter in 1887 entitled The Genesis of the Civil War: The Story of Sumter.