A contemporary clerical document in beautiful secretarial script issued from the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, 1st Corps, 2nd Division on January 1, 1863. The manuscript document is signed by an unidentified official at lower left. Docketed verso. Expected wear including flattened folds. Two tiny closed tears found along fold lines along the left edge, and two isolated areas of loss, one area affecting two words of text, found along the right edge. Else near fine. 7.875" x 9.75."

The document was a contemporary clerical copy of General Orders No. 2 issued by the Board of Officers to report the findings of a court-martial recently launched against officers from the 90th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. The court-martial stemmed from an accusation made by one Private Miller from Company H, 90th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. In a formal complaint submitted to General Gibbons on November 30, 1862, Private Miller had accused his superior officers of stealing general issue rations from the rank and file.

The Board of Officer's report determined that Private Miller's accusations of theft were groundless. In fact, the investigation revealed that instead of stealing rations, some officers even bought supplemental food for their men reduced to short rations. The document produces a ready explanation for the disconnect between the accusation and the findings: the accuser, Private Miller, "is a man of very depraved character a deserter, and was guilty by his own confession to Lieut. Reilly of Rape on a Negro woman but a short time ago. The Board finds that the said Miller perjures himself in his testimony before the Board…"

The document underscores how routine military procedures like court-martial reporting took place even on January 1, 1863, the same day that President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves.

The 90th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was an infantry unit organized in Philadelphia County in October 1861. It was soon assigned to the Army of the Potomac. The 90th Regiment participated in the Battle of Cedar Mountain (August 9, 1862), the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862), and the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862). The 90th Regiment would soon see action in the Battle of Chancellorsville in the spring of 1863, and the Battle of Gettysburg in the summer of 1863.

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database compiled by the National Park Service lists three men with the surname Miller as having served in Company H, 90th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. These are George Miller, Henry Miller, and Henry Theodore Miller. Was one of these men the notorious "Private Miller" of "depraved character"? Further digging into the historical records might reveal his identity.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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