Nice clean white card that meas. approx. 4.00 x 2.00 inches has a nice dark ink inscription that reads “JOHN R. BROOKE / MAJ. GENL.” Along the bottom is “HAVANA / FEBRY 18-1899.”

John Rutter Brooke was born July 21, 1838 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Brooke's military career began when he joined the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry with the rank of Captain in April 1861. In August, he became Colonel of the newly raised 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry and served in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign.

He temporarily commanded a brigade during the Battle of Antietam in September of 1862. In May 1863 he was given permanent command of a brigade of the 1st Division of the 2^nd Corps, which he led in the Battle of Chancellorsville and during the Gettysburg Campaign.

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Brooke found himself in the thick of the action when Confederate Lieutenant General James Longstreet launched his assault against the Union lines south of Gettysburg. Rushed into action as reinforcements by Maj. Gen. Winfield Hancock, Colonel Brooke launched a limited counterattack against oncoming Confederate forces with his brigade in the Wheatfield. Although he was knocked out of action with a severe wound, his men temporarily stopped the Confederates and stabilized the Union line long enough to prevent a breakthrough.

After his recovery, Brooke served in the Overland Campaign and was promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers on May 12, 1864. He was critically wounded at Cold Harbor in June but was able to lead a division in western Virginia late in the war. He was promoted to brevet Major General of Volunteers on August 1, 1864, for his service at Totopotomoy and Cold Harbor, and to brevet Brigadier General in the Regular Army on March 2, 1867, for service at Spotsylvania Court House.

In 1866, Brooke accepted a commission as Lieutenant Colonel of the 37th U.S. Infantry. Thirteen years later, he was given the position of Colonel of the 13th U.S. Infantry serving on the frontier in various posts.

In 1888, he was promoted to Brigadier General and was in command of the Department of the Platte.

In 1897, he was made a Major General and assigned to command the 1^st Corps during the Spanish-American War. In Puerto Rico, he landed in Arroyo with General Hains, and reached Guayama by the time the armistice was signed. When General Miles left the island in October 1898 to return to the United States, Brooke became military governor and head of the army of occupation in the U.S. military government. On the December 6, Brooke was replaced by General Guy Vernon Henry, and by December 13, was named to the same position in Cuba.

He retired July 21, 1902, in Philadelphia, where he lived until his death at age 88 in 1926. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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