Beschreibung:

Large Grouping of 40+ Commissions and other documents Issued to General Frederick Phisterer (1836–1909) Civil War MOH (Medal of Honor) recipient, Indian Fighter, and Adjutant General of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic), and Acting Adj. Gen. of New York State. A select few are signed. Significant among the documents is a letter from General Henry C. Corbin, Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, transmitting to Phisterer on behalf of the President his MOH, and a scarce Medal of Honor Legion Certificate signed by General Nelson Miles. Medal of Honor Award certificates are more rare than the medal itself, many having been lost or destroyed with the passage of time. In 1890 the Medal of Honor Legion was organized by Civil War and Indian Wars MOH recipients to protect the integrity of the MOH by creating a centralized roster of recipients. This was believed necessary because the GAR and other veterans groups began presenting awards that resembled the MOH with the result that a group of impostors were pretending to be war heroes. The roster was a reliable resource to debunk the claims of impostors. Phisterer’s name is listed among the 1st Class Members in the Medal of Honor Legion Roster. FREDERICK PHISTERER was born in Germany in 1836 and emigrated to Ohio when young. In 1855 he joined the U.S. Army and served on the western frontier in the 3rd U.S. Artillery until being discharged as a Sergeant in December 1860. When the Civil War began he re-enlisted with the 18th U.S. Inf. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in October of 1861 and was brevetted Captain in 1862 for extraordinary heroism at Stone River for “voluntarily conveying, under a heavy fire, information to the commander of a battalion of regular troops by which the battalion was saved from capture or annihilation.” He later received the Congressional Medal of Honor for this same action. Post war he remained in the U.S. Army. He was brevetted Captain and was honorably discharged in 1870. He then became associated with the Ohio and New York National Guards. He was brevetted Brigadier General for organizing and training soldiers for the Spanish American War. In 1891 he was appointed Adjutant General of the GAR. He was Acting Adjutant General of New York State from 1901-02, and was promoted to brevet Major General at his retirement as recognition of his many years of successful service. He died in Albany, N.Y. in 1909. The documents include, in part: LS, January 12, 1895, to Col. Phisterer by General Henry C. Corbin (1842–1909-- Bvt. Brig. Genl. of Colored Troops Civil War, Commander of Buffalo Soldiers, with President Garfield when shot and when he died, Commander in Geronimo and Pine Ridge Indian Campaigns; Adjutant General of the US Army during the Sp. Am. War) transmitting Phisterer’s MOH. In part: “I have the honor to transmit herewith the Medal of Honor presented to you by direction of the President, you having [gives account of his actions at Stone River, TN on Dec. 31, 1862, for which he is receiving the MOH], Respectfully, H. C. Corbin, Asst. Adj. General. 1 enclosure: Medal of Honor. Corbin pencils at the bottom of the letter: “Dear Colonel I congratulate you H.C.C.”; DS. June 9, 1897, Washington D.C., [Certificate No. 220] receiving Phisterer as “Companion of the First Class of the Medal of Honor Legion of the U.S.;” Signed by General Nelson A. Miles as Commander of the Legion (and Commanding Gen. of the U.S. Army) and John Tweedale, as Adjutant. Both Miles and Tweedale were MOH recipients in the war, with Tweedale receiving his MOH in the same action for which Phisterer received his MOH; DS- Oct. 20, 1861, War Dept., Wash, signed by U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron, appoints Phisterer 2nd Lt. in the 18th U.S. Inf.; Vellum Doc, April 11, 1867, appointing Phisterer Captain of the 36th U.S. Inf., w/ printed sigs. of President Andrew Johnson and Edwin Stanton, but signed by E.D. Townsend as Asst. Adj. Gen.; Vellum Doc, Sept. 10, 1866, conferring Bvt. Rank of Capt. to d