Civil War Gettysburg Campaign Muster Roll Signed by Medal of Honor Recipient Moses Veale

1863. Medal of Honor Recipient Moses Veale Signed Civil War muster out roll dated June 8, 1863 documents the discharge of 1st Lieutenant Orson Foot of the 60th New York Volunteer Infantry so he could accept a commission as Captain during the opening phase of the Gettysburg campaign. Issued at Aquia Creek, Virginia, the document bears the signature of Captain Moses Veale as mustering officer, a Union officer later awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary gallantry during the Civil War. Veale's citation records that during the Battle of Wauhatchie, Tennessee, he continued directing his men after being struck by four enemy bullets and having his horse shot from under him. The presence of Veale's signature transforms the document from routine military administration into a signed record connected to one of the war's most decorated acts of battlefield courage. At the same time, the roll records Foot's discharge to accept promotion during the Gettysburg Campaign.
Foot, Orson. Civil War muster out roll. Aquia Creek, Virginia, June 8, 1863. One manuscript sheet completed in official Union Army muster format and signed by Captain Moses Veale as mustering officer. The document certifies that the officer "carefully examined this Roll... and mustered the said Orson Foot for discharge; and I hereby honorably discharge [him] from the service of the United States." It records Foot's enrollment at Ogdensburg, New York, on September 16, 1861, identifies his rank as 1st Lieutenant in the 60th New York Volunteer Infantry, and notes in the remarks that he was mustered out "to accept Commission of Captain." The sheet therefore documents the administrative transition by which an officer left one commission to assume another within the wartime command structure.

The document's date and place situate it at the evacuation of Aquia Creek Landing, one of the Army of the Potomac's principal logistical bases. Established during earlier campaigns in northern Virginia, Aquia Creek served as a major supply depot linking Washington with Union forces in the field. As Robert E. Lee advanced north in June 1863, the Union command dismantled and abandoned the installation to support the army's rapid movement toward Pennsylvania. By the very day this roll was issued, June 8, Federal forces were evacuating and destroying the depot to prevent its use by Confederate troops. Foot's promotion therefore occurred amid the redeployment that would culminate at the Battle of Gettysburg. Single manuscript sheet measuring approximately 32 x 11 inches when unfolded. Some age toning, scattered ink staining, and edge wear consistent with large-format wartime administrative documents; overall good condition. A substantial Civil War military document combining Gettysburg campaign context with the signature of Medal of Honor recipient Moses Veale, whose later battlefield heroism makes his autograph particularly desirable within Civil War military manuscripts. A substantial Civil War military document produced during the evacuation of Aquia Creek and the opening phase of the Gettysburg campaign.