President Abraham Lincoln Obliges Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and Appoints His Brother-in-Law a Hospital Chaplain

But the only people there, on the ground and right with them every day, to give the soldiers a sympathetic ear, to hear their fears, tender them advice, provide spiritual uplift, and offer the solace of religion, were the military chaplains. Catholic, Protestant and Jewish, they instructed soldiers in religious matters, settled difficulties among the troops, accompanied and counseled troops to the moment of battle, preached and celebrated services, and for the Catholic soldiers, heard confessions and gave last rights. The image immediately comes to mind of Father William Corby, chaplain to the 88th New York, blessing and giving final absolution to the men of the Irish Brigade as they were about to attack Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army across the famous Wheatfield. Perhaps the toughest job a chaplain could perform was hospital chaplain, as there was an unrelenting drumbeat of illness, suffering, death and dying, at all hours and under all circumstances. He did this under conditions that were unsanitary and primitive. Yet, though chaplains performed a heroic service during the Civil War, there was a shortage of them.

Mary Frances Grant was the youngest child of Jesse Grant and Hannah Simpson. Born in 1839, she was 17 years younger than her brother, Ulysses S. Grant. In October 1863 she married Michael J. Cramer of Cincinnati. Cramer was an ambitious young man, and he earned his way through college by teaching German and Latin and working part time as a printer. He studied for the ministry and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1860. Cramer joined the Methodist conference and preached for four years. On July 10, 1864, Abraham Lincoln appointed him Hospital Chaplain, to rank as such from June 30 of that year.  Cramer stayed in the service until 1867, when President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward named him U.S. Consul at Leipzig, Germany. In addition to his official duties there, he organized a chapel service and preached every Sunday. In 1870, Cramer was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Denmark by his brother-in-law President Grant, and he resided in Copenhagen for eleven years in this capacity.  In 1881 President James Garfield appointed him U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland, and this post was confirmed by Chester A. Arthur when he became President after Garfield's assassination. Cramer returned to America in 1885, the day after the death of General Grant.  Cramer was afterwards professor of theology at Boston University, professor of church history at Drew Theological Seminary, and professor of philosophy at Dickinson College. He died in 1898. When Mary Grant Cramer died in 1905, The New York Times noted in her obituary that "she was well known in religious and charitable circles."

This is the very document which named Cramer, Grant's brother-in-law, as military chaplains. Document Signed as President, on vellum, with engravings of military scenes, dated July 10, 1864, appointing Michael J. Cramer a Hospital Chaplain. The appointment document is countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.

This is an unpublished document, and has been with the Grant family and its heirs since Cramer received his appointment.  An appointment of a man so closely related to Grant is itself an extraordinary rarity.