Wounded several times during the Civil War!

Commanded a division of the 12th Corps at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg

The first mayor of San Francisco, Governor of the Kansas Territory, and 16th Governor of Pennsylvania

(1819-1873) He was born near Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in Westmoreland County. From the age of 16 he had been a militia lieutenant, and with the outbreak of the war with Mexico, he was elected Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry, and took part in General Winfield Scott's advance from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. In the interval between the close of the Mexican War and start of the Civil War, Geary organized the post office system in California, served as the 1st mayor of San Francisco, and was the territorial Governor of Kansas. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Geary raised the 147th and 28th Pennsylvania Infantry regiments, and became colonel of the latter. Commanding the district of the upper Potomac River, he distinguished himself in some early war engagements being wounded at Bolivar Heights, Md.; and was wounded and captured near Leesburg, Va., on March 8, 1862. On April 25, 1862, he was promoted to Brigadier General, and was appointed a brigade commander in General Nathaniel P. Banks's Corps, which he led in the Shenandoah Valley campaign against General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. His brigade joined General John Pope's Army of Virginia in late June, and he led it at the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, where he was seriously wounded in the arm and the leg. He returned to duty on October 15th as the division commander; the corps now being part of the Army of the Potomac, designated as the 12th Corps, under the command of General Henry W. Slocum. General Geary's division was heavily engaged at Chancellorsville, Va., where he was knocked unconscious by a cannonball that shot right past his head, on the third day of the battle, May 3, 1863. He returned to action in time to command a division of the 12th Corps at the battle of Gettysburg. The 12th Corps was then transferred to the western army, and Geary fought at Chattanooga, and he distinguished himself in command during the Battle of Lookout Mountain, Tenn. He fought throughout the entire Atlanta campaign, and took part in General William T. Sherman's infamous "March to the Sea." After the capture of Savannah, Ga., General Geary was appointed it's military governor. He also participated with General Sherman's Army during their 1865 Carolina's campaign which resulted in the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's army at Greensboro, North Carolina. After the war he served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania, from 1867-1873. He established a reputation as a political independent, attacking the political influence of the railroads and vetoing many special interest bills. On February 8, 1873, less than three weeks after leaving the governor's position, at the age of 53, John W. Geary was fatally struck down by a heart attack in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was buried with full state honors at Mount Kalmia Cemetery, now, the Harrisburg Cemetery.

Signature: 3 1/2 x 3/4, in ink, Jno. W. Geary. Cut from a political document. There is a cut cancellation mark in the background area above the signature which has been repaired on the verso with an archival tape repair. Very solid signature. Bold and neatly written. An important autograph to have in any Gettysburg or historical collection!