Dated 3/18/1871, signed in ink "Jno. W. Geary" . Pre-printed form-"In The Name and By The Authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania….By the Governor.", measuring 16 x 17" mounted on heavy white card, w/Blue stamp Pennsylvania seal in upper left corner. Issued to "Vincent S. Bloomhall" of "Montgomery" County is commissioned 1st Lieutenant of the "Bullock Guards" of the Pennsylvania National Guard, of the "Second Division" composed of the "Uniformed Militia of Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware." Ink fading but legible. Exhibits light soiling & three sets of fold marks. PA seal cracked & chipped.

Governor John W. Geary was one of the most versatile politician /soldiers of his era. A native of Pennsylvania, Geary was to serve as Mayor of San Francisco and Territorial Governor of Kansas before returning home after the Civil War to be elected to two terms as a post-war Republican governor of Pennsylvania. On the military front he served as Colonel of the 2nd Pa. Infy. during the Mexican War and part in Scott's advance on Mexico City. During the Civil War Geary was eventually breveted to Major General, and in the interim was wounded twice at Cedar Mountain, while later commanding the 2nd Division of the 12th Corps at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and later commanding the same division when transferred to the Union 20th Corps during the Atlanta Campaign. Excellent piece for Geary & Pennsylvania collectors.