Details:

John F. Hartranft autographed partly-printed document signed (DS) as Pennsylvania Auditor General, dated November 12, 1865, authorizing payment of $20.69 to Mary Kunkle, mother of the deceased Private Peter Kunkle, for his military service in Company E, 1st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers under the Act of April 16, 1862. Signed in bold ink, “J. F. Hartranft,” with numerous period endorsements and signatures on the verso documenting the payment process.

Executed just four months after one of the most significant episodes in American history, this document was signed by one of the Civil War’s most distinguished officers. John F. Hartranft is perhaps best remembered for his role as officer of the day at the execution of the four convicted conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on July 7, 1865. It was Hartranft who read the official death warrants to Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt before overseeing the proceedings. His association with the final chapter of the Lincoln assassination gives his signed documents a particularly compelling historical connection.

Very good condition.

John Frederick Hartranft (1830–1889) was a Civil War officer, politician, and the 17th Governor of Pennsylvania. He earned the Medal of Honor for his gallantry at the First Battle of Bull Run (First Manassas), where he voluntarily led his regiment into action after its term of enlistment had expired. Rising to the rank of brevet Major General, Hartranft later gained lasting historical significance for supervising the execution of the Lincoln assassination conspirators in 1865. Following the war, he served as Pennsylvania Auditor General before being elected Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1873 to 1879. 

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

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Reference sku: 11364 1416593-1