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1870 President Ulysses S. Grant Signed Naval Commission - Appointing Dr. Hampden Aulick an “Assistant Surgeon of the Navy”
This commission promotes Dr. Hampden Aulick to an “Assistant Surgeon of the Navy”. He was an historical Navy medical officer appointed during the post-Civil War reconstruction era. Rarity over Line Officers: The Navy commissioned far fewer surgeons and assistant surgeons during the post-Civil War era than standard line officers (like Ensigns, Masters, or Lieutenants), making the text on the document more unique and also more variable.
ABOUT THE DOCUMENT:
* The document features a crisp, dark ink signature from President Ulysses S. Grant at the bottom right, alongside a countersignature by the Secretary of the Navy, George M. Robeson.
* The Seal: In this condition, the large, embossed dark blue paper Navy Department seal at the bottom of the document is perfectly crisp and uncracked.
* Vellum Preservation: Vellum is in excellent condition. It’s flat and smooth without any crease lines our tears. The edges are perfectly straight with no corner damage as well.
* The document is approximately 16” by 19.5” in size.
ABOUT THE RECIPIENT:
The officer named on this commission is Dr. Hampden Aulick (often misspelled or read as "Aulich" due to 19th-century cursive and phonetic transcriptions). He was a notable medical officer who served a dedicated, multi-decade career in the post-Civil War United States Navy. Historical logs, medical journals, and military archives reveal a comprehensive picture of his background and career:
Early Life and Appointment:
* Deep Naval Roots: Dr. Hampden Aulick came from Winchester, Virginia. He belonged to a highly prominent Virginia military family. Most notably, he was related to Commodore John Henry Aulick, a famed War of 1812 hero who later helped negotiate early American naval expeditions to Japan.
* The 1870 Commission: As noted on this exact document, he received his official presidential commission as an Assistant Surgeon in the U.S. Navy on February 3rd 1870, shortly after completing his medical training.
Career and Deployments:
Entering the Navy during the Reconstruction era meant Dr. Aulick was part of a smaller, peacetime fleet focused on global trade protection, scientific exploration, and diplomatic missions. Over his career, he rose steadily through the ranks:
* Shipboard Duty: As an Assistant Surgeon, his primary responsibility was managing the health of the crew, combatting shipboard infectious diseases (like yellow fever and malaria), and performing emergency trauma surgeries at sea.
* Promotion to Full Surgeon: By December 1883, medical records from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) show he was promoted to a full Naval Surgeon.
* The USS Alliance: Upon his promotion, he was officially ordered to report to the USS Alliance, a wooden-hulled gunboat, serving as its primary medical officer. During this era, the Alliance was deployed to the North Atlantic Squadron and cruised extensively across Europe, the Mediterranean, and Africa
* No doubt that there’s much more research left to be done on Dr. Aulick
All autographs I sell are guaranteed to pass authentication by either PSA, JSA, or Beckett. | 100% stand by what I sell and in the extremely unlikely event that any autograph I sell were to fail authentication, I will gladly refund your purchase in full (no matter how much time has gone by since your original purchase).
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