Updated on March 19, 2026: This has been sold. Original postmaster appointment signed by Ulysses S. Grant as President on March 11, 1875, countersigned by Postmaster General Marshall Jewell. The document appoints Hiram Hascall of Genesee County, New York, to the position of postmaster. The official red seal remains intact at the lower left. Decorated with brass stars and a 1965 Centennial Civil War Bronze Coin Commemorative Medallion According to the Smithsonian: “Joseph Renier’s medal, commissioned by the Civil War Centennial Commission, memorializes the four years of hostilities between North and South one hundred years before. It depicts Confederate general Robert E. Lee, who surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, also shown here, at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, in 1865. 'Let Us Have Peace' became Grant’s presidential campaign slogan in 1868. At Appomattox, Lee released his officers and soldiers, bidding them return home with 'a consciousness of duty faithfully performed.'" Beautifully matted and framed. Note that the appointment is protected with acrylic, but the frame is otherwise open. Size: 13" x 15.25" Frame size: 22" x 23.25" Shipping: $35. Please allow two weeks for shipping. THE OFFICIAL CIVIL WAR CENTENNIAL COMMISSION COMMEMORATIVE MEDALLION 1961–1965 ABOUT THE COMMISSION The Civil War Centennial Commission was created by Congress in 1957 to assist in the five-year long observance of the 100th Anniversary of the American Civil War. In a statement of objectives, the Commission was declared: “The Civil War has the greatest test our country ever faced. Built of the heroism and endurance that were drawn from men and women of both sections in devotion to principles valued more than life itself, it was our most profound and tragic emotional experience. What was lost in it was lost by all of us; what was finally gained, advances our national character and our national destiny itself—the preservation of the American Union as an instrumentality of freedom for all the peoples of the world—was gained by all of us. The loss, the gain and the experience itself are a common national possession. “To commemorate the Centennial of this war we do not want simply to string together a series of holidays, reviving the exultation of victory and the shades of defeat. Rather, the Centennial must give us a new understanding of the way in which Americans built from sacrifice and suffering an enduring Nation and a lasting peace. Our ancestors fought the limits of endurance for our sake; when the fighting ended they closed ranks, saw in the unity of their land something that overshadowed the bitterness of the fight, and ever since have stood firmly together, fighting side by side, when occasion has demanded, to defend the values which both sections had stood for while the Civil War lasted. Human history contains few lessons more inspiring.” Present membership of the Commission includes Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico; Alvin J. Aubinoe, Washington, D.C.; Mrs. Consuelo N. Bailey, Burlington, Vermont; Congressman Richard Bolling of Missouri; Bruce Catton, New York City; Dr. Avery O. Craven, Chicago, Illinois; Senator Carl T. Curtis, Nebraska; W. Norman Fitzgerald, Jr., Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Congressman George A. Goodling of Pennsylvania; Major General U.S. Grant, 3rd, Clinton, N.Y.; Vice Admiral Stuart H. Ingersoll, Newport, R.I.; Dr. John A. Kroul, New York City; Dr. Damon D. McCarroll, Washington, D.C.; Axel Norden, Denver, Colo.; William S. Paley, New York City; Congressman Fred Schwengel of Iowa; Senator Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania; Congressman William M. Tuck of Virginia; Senator Ralph Yarborough of Texas; Dr. Bell I. Wiley, Atlanta, Georgia; and Conrad L. Wirth, Washington, D.C., with President Kennedy, Vice-President Johnson and Speaker of the House Rayburn as ex-officio members. General Grant is chairman and Congressman Tuck, vice chairman. The Executive Committee is composed of Congressman Tuck, chairman, Mr. Aubinoe, Mr. Fitzgerald, Dr. Wiley, Mr. Wirth and Senator Yarborough. Members of the staff are Karl S. Betts, executive director; Edmund C. Gass, assistant director; Virgil Carrington Jones, liaison officer; Mrs. Nancy Lee Callender, secretary of the Commission; Harry B. Elkins, administrative assistant; Scott Hart, historian; Conrad A. Drexel, staff secretary; and Mrs. Winifred C. Pressy, staff secretary. Headquarters of the Commission are located at 700 Jackson Place, N. W., Washington 25, D. C., in front of the White House. THE DESIGN OF THE MEDAL It was decided in the early discussions that the medals should bear portraits of the two great Civil War leaders, Generals Grant and Lee. The quotation, “Let Us Have Peace,” is taken from a letter written by General Grant in May of 1868 in which he accepts the Republican nomination for President of the United States. The quotation of General Lee’s, “Consciousness of Duty Faithfully Performed,” is taken from General Orders, #9, Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia, April 10, 1865, which were considered to be General Lee’s farewell message to his troops. The quotation in its entirety reads, “You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I will pray a merciful God will extend to you His blessings and protection.” The reverse of the medals contains the official Civil War Centennial Commission seal. ABOUT THE SCULPTOR Joseph Emile Renier, N. A. Born in the U.S.A. Studied in New York City, Paris, Brussels and Rome. Recipient of the Prix de Rome in 1915. Re-appointed through active service in Italy until January 1921. One of this country’s outstanding sculptors, Mr. Renier has exhibited widely in the United States. His works include a series of seven metopes on the Post Administration Building, Washington, D.C.; Great Star of Texas, a relief twenty-five feet in diameter depicting Texas history and allegorical figures, in the State of Texas Building, Dallas, Texas; “Speed” sculpture in the lagoon of the Court of Communications, and two nude male figures on the approach to the Empire State Bridge, New York World’s Fair 1939; Panels for the Main Entrance, Denver Art Museum; the busts of many artists, numerous portraits and statuettes and bas-reliefs. Medals designed by Mr. Renier include the twenty-third issue for the Society of Medalists, the Omar N. Bradley Medal for Distinguished Service of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Merit Award Medal for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Ordnance Association’s American Heart Association, the Will Ross Medal for the American Jurisprudence Award; a memorial medal for the S. S. United States Maiden Voyage; the Astronautics and Submarine Nautilus Medal to celebrate the launching; the 75th Anniversary Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the Ernest L. Howard Memorial Medal, the Indiana University Award Medal, the State of New York University Medal and many others. Plaques by the artist have been the Robert H. Gore and M. A. Horth Memorial, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the Arthur T. Gagné Memorial, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; the Daniel G. Goff Memorial; the Isabelle Firestone Plaque; the Pangborn Brothers. Mr. Renier is represented in the Collection of American Sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina, with “Pomona” (marble, heroic size) and “Boy with Snail” (bronze). His awards include Third Medal for Sculpture, National Academy of Design, Annual Exhibition 1960; prizes for sketches, Garden Club of America; prize in national competition for a medal to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Medallic Art Company. Mr. Renier is a member of the National Sculpture Society, fellow of the American Academy in Rome, a member of the Society of Medalists and a member of the Art Commission of the City of New York. He resides and has his studio in New York City. ABOUT THE MEDALIST The Medallic Art Company was authorized to manufacture and distribute the official Civil War Centennial Medal. The designs and sculptors’ models were approved by the United States Fine Arts Commission, headed by Mr. David Finley. Engravers were Mr. Paul Manship, Mr. Walker Hancock, Mr. Lee Lawrie and Mrs. William Penn Cresson, distinguished American sculptors. The models were then submitted to the United States Fine Arts Commission, David Finley, Director, for approval, and were also approved by them. The Medallic Art Company has produced practically all of the official medals recently issued, such as the Statehoods of Alaska and Hawaii, the 350th Anniversary of Santa Fe, the launching of the USS Enterprise, the 1959, 1957 and 1961 Inaugural Medals, as well as other numerous distinguished awards for industry and the leading associations and colleges of this country. This company introduced to this country in 1900 the art of the medal as reproduced from sculptors’ models.
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