Fine framed vellum commission to William C. Church as "Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers, with the rank of Captain" March 10, 1863, signed with full signature of President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. William Conant Church (1836-1917) "In his New York Times obituary, Church was lauded as one of the greatest journalists in the nation ("Col. W.C. Church"). He published in the Century, Scribner's, the North American Review, the New York Times, and others. He also wrote biographies of John Ericsson and Ulysses S. Grant. Outside of the journalistic world, Church is best known as a co-founder of the National Rifle Association. He also helped found the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was a longtime member of the New York Zoological Society". Church, along with fellow Civil War veteran George Wingate, founded the National Rifle Association (NRA) in 1871, which still upholds the original principles it established today. William Church was also the NRA's second president, replacing General Ambrose Burnside in 1872. SIZE: 20" x 24" frame. CONDITION: Not removed from frame for inspection, but appears complete with good green embossed war department applied seal, some text is light but all discernible. 52906-1 JGS (7,000-9,000)