Medal of Honor Recipient for gallantry in the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia in 1863

Private Secretary of President Ulysses S. Grant

Signed on the back of the business card of former Colonel George H. Starr, 104th New York Infantry, who was captured at Gettysburg! Starr escaped from 3 different Rebel prisons!

(1837-1921) Born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, he was the son of David R. Porter, a Governor of Pennsylvania, and was the first cousin of, Andrew Porter, a Union Civil War general. He graduated #3 in the West Point class of 1860. During the Civil War he served as Chief of Ordnance of the Army of the Potomac, the Department of the Ohio, and the Army of the Cumberland. He also served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Ulysses S. Grant. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry in the battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, fought on September 20, 1863. He was able to rally enough men to hold the ground at a critical moment in the battle when the Union lines had been broken. Exposed to heavy fire by the enemy, Porter held his position long enough to facilitate the escape of numerous wagon trains and batteries. Besides the Medal of Honor, Porter was cited for gallantry in the siege of Fort Pulaski, Ga.; the battle of the Wilderness, Va.; and in the action at New Market Heights, Va. He received promotion to brevet brigadier general, March 13, 1865, for his gallant and meritorious Civil War services in the field. After the war, he served as Private Secretary to his close friend and former commander, President Ulysses S. Grant, from 1869-73; Vice President of the Pullman Palace Car Company; was President of the Union League Club of New York, 1893-97, being a major influence in the construction of General Grant's Tomb, in New York City; and was the United States Ambassador to France, 1897-1905. He was awarded the Legion of Honor, by the French government in 1904. Porter was also the author of two books, "Campaigning With Grant," and "West Point Life."

Card Signature: 3 1/2 x 2 1/4, large and boldly signed in ink, Horace Porter. This autograph was signed on the reverse of the imprinted business card of George H. Starr, a New York attorney, and former Civil War officer who served in the 104th New York Infantry, and was captured at Gettysburg. The imprint reads: "Geo. H. Starr, Counsellor at Law, 56 Pine Street, New York City." Excellent. Very desirable item related to the battle of Gettysburg, General Ulysses S. Grant, and the Medal of Honor.

Colonel George H. Starr, enlisted as a private at Geneseo, N.Y., on November 23, 1861, and was mustered into Co. D, 104th New York Infantry. He was promoted to sergeant on the same day; 2nd lieutenant, on March 6, 1862; and captain, on September 12, 1862. He was captured in action at the battle of Gettysburg, on July 1, 1863, and confined at Libby Prison, in Richmond, Va. Starr was one of the over 100 men who escaped through a tunnel on February 9, 1864, but was recaptured. He was then sent to Macon, Ga., where he was confined on April 1, 1864, and once again escaped, this coming on August 15, 1864. He was re-captured a third time, and confined at Camp Sorghum, Columbia, S.C., on September 1, 1864. He escaped again on October 10, 1864, after having been moved to Charleston, S.C. He was discharged from the army on January 6, 1865; and promoted Colonel, N.Y. Volunteers, by brevet. After the war Starr studied law and practiced in New York City, and in Yonkers, N.Y.