Washington, May 24, 1864. Partially-printed military commission on vellum, signed by Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, appointing Medal of Honor recipient Charles Amory Clark Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers; counter-signed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Blue seal intact in top left; manuscript in red ink, signed by the Assistant Adjutant General registering the document. Worn; sheet distorted; heavy loss along right side, affecting text, but not signature. In mat and in frame, 29 x 23 1/2 in.

Abraham Lincoln appoints Medal of Honor recipient Charles Amory Clark (1841-1913) Assistant Adjutant General of Volunteers. Born in Sangerville, Maine, Clark enlisted with the 6th Maine Infantry in July 1861, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in February 1862. On May 4, 1863 at Banks Ford, Virginia, he gallantly saved his troops from capture, "having voluntarily taken command of his regiment in the absence of its commander, at great personal risk and with remarkable presence of mind and fertility of resource led the command down an exceedingly precipitous embankment to the Rappahannock River and by his gallantry, coolness, and good judgment in the face of the enemy saved the command from capture or destruction." In 1896 he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his "extraordinary heroism".