[Civil War] :

DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE DOCUMENT SIGNED AT HARPER'S FERRY, 22 JULY 1862, ENDORSED WITH SIGNATURE OF COMMANDER OF HARPERS FERRY COLONEL DIXON S. MILES: "I CERTIFY, ON HONOR, THAT JOSEPH A. BENNETT A PRIVATE OF CAPTAIN ALBERT HUNTER'S COMPANY (C) OF THE THIRD REGIMENT OF P.H. [POTOMAC HOME] BRIGADE VOLUNTEERS, OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND, BORN IN ADAMS COUNTY, STATE OF PENNA., AGED 40 YEARS ; 5 FEET 10 INCHES HIGH: DARK COMPLEXION, BLUE EYES, DARK HAIR, AND BY OCCUPATION A LABORER, HAVING JOINED THE COMPANY ON ITS ORIGINAL ORGANIZATION AT FAIRFIELD, PA, AND ENROLLED IN IT AT THE MUSTER INTO THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES AT FREDERICK MD ON THE NINTH DAY OF SEPT., 1861. . . TO SERVE IN THE REGIMENT FOR THE TERM OF THREE YEARS. . . IS NOW ENTITLED TO A DISCHARGE BY REASON OF SURGEON'S CERTIFICATE OF DISABILITY. . . GIVEN IN DUPLICATE, AT HARPERS FERRY VA, THIS 22ND DAY OF JULY, 1862. [signed] ALBERT HUNTER CAPT. COMMANDING COMPANY."

[n.p. 186*]. Broadside, 8" x 10". Printed document completed in ink manuscript. Old folds, clean. Signed at end by Capt. Albert Hunter; endorsed on verso "Deduct $2 85/100 from fare to Balto - Discharged, D.S. Miles, Col. 2d Inf.." Very Good.

Dixon Stansbury Miles [1804-1862] was a veteran or the Indian Wars and the Mexican War. Promoted to Captain in 1836, he fought in the Seminole Wars in Florida from 1839-1852. He was promoted to Major in the Mexican War for "gallant and distinguished conduct" in the defense of Fort Brown, Texas. He fought at Monterrey and the Siege of Veracruz, after which he was appointed Brevet Lieut. Col. for "gallant and meritorious conduct in the several conflicts at Monterrey, Mexico." During the Civil War he was given command of the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, where his garrison held Confederate General Lee's supply line through the Shenandoah Valley. Despite a gallant war record, he ended his life in infamy. He was killed in battle in September 1862, after having foolishly positioned his troops. Wikipedia writes, "Some historians have concluded that Miles was struck by artillery deliberately fired by his own men, but there is no conclusive proof. The resulting surrender of 12,419 men was the largest number of U.S. soldiers surrendered until the Battle of Bataan in World War II. The court of inquiry into the surrender denounced Miles for "incapacity, amounting to almost imbecility."
Albert Maxwell Hunter [1833-1911] of Adams County, Pennsylvania, enlisted with Co. B, 1st Maryland Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry on 9 September 1861 as a bugler. He was elected second lieutenant of Company C, quickly promoted to first lieutenant and then to captain at the end of three years' service. He was discharged 3 July 1865 He settled in Gettysburg after the war.
Joseph A. Bennett [c.1822-1918] was born in Adams County, Pennsylvania. He was mustered in Co. C, 1st Maryland Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry [later unit referred to as 3rd] as a wagoner on 9 September 1861, and was discharged as a private after ten months and 13 days, on 22 July 1862, due to a Surgeon's Certificate of Disability. He reenlisted 25 July 1863 in Gettysburg as a private with Warren's Independent Cavalry Militia Company, but discharged 15 September 1864 to enlist the following day with Co. I, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry [160th Pennsylvania], a volunteer cavalry unit. He was honorably discharged 21 June 1865. He was a farmer and laborer. Item #41070

Price: $250.00