ULYSSES S. GRANT Signed Presidential Document

AutographsU.S. Grant Signed Rare Presidential Appointment

ULYSSES S. GRANT, 18th President of the United States and Civil War Union General.
March 14, 1873, Partially-Printed Document Signed, "U.S. Grant", in black fountain pen ink, as President, Washington, D.C., Choice Very Fine. This presidential nomination measures 12" x 17.25", and appoints David B. Parker a U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia, for a term of four years. President Grant's 2.5" signature appears quite clearly and distinctly in the lower right. This document also has the embossed original Presidential Seal in an unusual gray and silver coloration. Also signing this document is John C. Bancroft Davis, as Acting Secretary of State, who served as Assistant Secretary of State for only 6 months in 1873. This document is of a rare form, and has folds and archival tape reinforcement on the back. An unusual and rarely seen style Printed-Printed Ulysses S. Grant document, boldly Signed as President.

John Chandler Bancroft Davis (1822-1907) had a long career as a diplomat, jurist, and historian. The son of John Davis, a Massachusetts Governor and U.S. Senator, he received a law degree from Harvard in 1847. During 1849-1852 he served in a diplomatic posting in England. In 1869 he accepted an appointment as Assistant Secretary of State under President Ulysses S. Grant. In this post, Davis arbitrated a dispute between Portugal and England over their African possessions. In 1871 he resigned his position to join a commission to settle claims against England for damages to Confederate vessels during the Civil War. The Tribunal of Arbitration at Geneva awarded the United States over $15 million for damages. Davis was reappointed assistant secretary of state in January 1873 but resigned six months later to succeed his uncle, George Bancroft, as minister to Germany.