- James Tanner, Union Corporal, Company C, 87 th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, U.S. Commissioner of Pensions, Lincoln Death Eyewitness - Major-General Abner Doubleday and Brevet Major-General John C. Robinson in the Civil War - In Memoriam Abner Doubleday 1819-1893 and John Cleveland Robinson 1817-1897, New York State Monuments Commission, Albany, NY, 1918, J.B. Lyon Co., printers, Albany. First Edition. hardcover. Good. 0x0x0. [Presentation Copy] Bound in publisher's cloth. Hardcover. Minor shelf wear. Spine, cover discolored. Gift inscription to Brig. Gen. James A. Allen from James Tanner. James Allen (1849-1933), served in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippine Islands, and Alaska, USMA class 1872. James Tanner (1844-1927) was a lobbyist and Union Civil War veteran (87th New York Vol. Infantry). He served in the Peninsular Campaign, Warrenton, Bristoe Station, Second Manassas (Bull Run). He lost both of his legs due to wounds sustained at Bull Run. Tanner had an interesting life, and worked in Washington. From Wikipedia: Tanner was just 17 years old when the American Civil War broke out in April 1861. He enlisted in Company C of the 87th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and was quickly promoted to corporal. (The title "Corporal" stuck with him for the rest of his life as a nickname.) He saw action in the Peninsula Campaign (March–July 1862), fighting at the Siege of Yorktown (April 5 to May 4, 1862), the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862), the Battle of Seven Pines (May 31 –June 1, 1862), the Seven Days Battles (June 25 to July 1, 1862), and the Battle of Malvern Hill (July 1, 1862). He then saw action at the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap (August 28, 1862), the Battle of Bristoe Station (August 26, 1862), and the Battle of Manassas Station (August 27, 1862). The last time he saw action was at the Second Battle of Bull Run, August 28–30, 1862. As Confederate artillery shelled his unit's position on August 30, shrapnel tore off his left foot and shattered his left leg below the knee. Union surgeons amputated both legs about 4 inches (10 cm) below the knee. With the Union army in retreat, Tanner was left behind to be cared for by a local farmer's family. He was captured by Confederate forces. Paroled after 10 days, he spent several weeks recovering in Fairfax Seminary Hospital before being sent home to New York. He learned to walk with artificial limbs. For his service and injuries, he received a Civil War Pension. Tanner won a position as deputy doorkeeper for the New York State Assembly, then worked in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility for the next few months. During this time, he learned stenography. In October 1864, Tanner won an appointment as a clerk and stenographer in the Ordnance Department in Washington, D.C. On April 14, 1865, he was summoned to the Petersen House where Abraham Lincoln lay dying from an assassin's bullet. During the night, Tanner took the testimony of eyewitnesses to the assassination, and he was present in the room when Lincoln died at 7:22 A.M. on April 15.