Item consists of a slip of paper that meas. approx. 3.75 x 1.25 inches that is signed in ink “VERY TRULY YOURS, NELSON A. MILES.” Signature is strong though the ink has faded some. With the signature is a 6.00 x 4.50 copy of a wartime photo of miles. Both pieces are in a dark blue mat in a modern wooden frame that meas. approx. 9.50 x 11.75 inches.

Miles was working as a crockery store clerk in Boston when the Civil War began. He entered the Union Army on September 9, 1861. He became a Lieutenant in the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 61st New York Infantry on May 31, 1862. He was promoted to Colonel after the Battle of Antietam. Other battles he participated in include Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Appomattox Campaign. Wounded four times in battle (he was shot in the neck and abdomen at Chancellorsville), he was awarded a promotion on March 2, 1867 of Brevet Brigadier General in the Regular Army in recognition of his actions at Chancellorsville, and also Brevet Major General for Spotsylvania Court House. He received the Medal of Honor on July 23, 1892 for gallantry at Chancellorsville. He was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers as of May 12, 1864, for the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. On October 21, 1865, he was appointed Major General of Volunteers at age 26.  After the war, he was commandant of Fort Monroe, Virginia, where former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was held prisoner. During his tenure at Fort Monroe, Miles was forced to defend himself against charges that Davis was being mistreated.

After the Civil War Miles had a long army career extending through the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American War. He died in 1925 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

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