[CIVIL WAR]. Manuscript copy of General Joseph Hooker's General Orders No. 65, in which he turns over command of the Army of the Potomac to General George Meade. Frederick, MD, 28 June 1863.

2pp., 7 3/4 x 9 7/8 in., creasing, soiling, some discoloration. Docketed verso.

Major General Joseph Hooker, conforming with orders of the War Department dated the day prior, 27 June 1863, relinquishes command of the Army of the Potomac to Major General George G. Meade, "a brave a accomplished officer who has nobly earned the confidence and esteem of the Army on many a well fought field." Hooker continues, "The sorrow of parting with the comrades of so many battles is reduced by the conviction that the courage and devotion of this Army will never ceases nor fail - that it will yield to my successor, as it has to me, a willing and hearty support...I bid it farewell."

[With:] 4 7/8 x 7 3/16 in. engraving of Major General Joseph Hooker (wear and adhesive residue to verso, minor spotting to recto). After a photograph by C.D. Fredericks, engraved by J.C. Buttre. Facsimile signature below.

President Lincoln accepted General Hooker's resignation the day before, on 27 June 1863, and chose General Meade to replace him. Meade got to work immediately, issuing orders for the Army to move toward the Susquehanna River, in the direction of York, Pennsylvania in preparation for meeting the some 80,000 Confederate troops he was informed were spread between Chambersburg and Carlisle. This set the state for the all-important Battle of Gettysburg that would take place just a few days later and mark the turning point of the war in favor of the Union.