After a distinguished career in the US Army which included service in the Mexican American War, A.P. Hill resigned his commission to serve in the Confederate Army in 1861. Hill took command of the Light Brigade‚ where he served under General Stonewall Jackson. Hill saw heavy action throughout 1862 in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. His leadership was recognized the following year when he was given command of the Confederate Third Corps. Hill led his Corps from the Battle of Gettysburg until his death during the Battle of Petersburg in 1865. Hill has gone down as one of America ablest fighting commanders and is remembered posthumously through the naming of the US Army Virginia training base, Fort A.P. Hill. Because of Hill early death at the age of 39, not many of his signatures exist. This example is signed in black fountain pen on a sheet of U.S. Coast Survey Office Stationery. The page is dated Washington D.C. March 15, 1861, a mere 14 days after resigning his US Army commission and throwing in his lot with the Confederacy. A tremendous piece of Civil War history from a general who gave his life in battle. The piece comes with a modern colorized portrait of A.P. Hill.