Marine Corps Signed CDV by Alan Ramsay, who died of disease in early 1864. Rarely do you hear of the Marine Corps involvement during the war and you especially don’t see much, if any items available from the war for purchase.

Ramsay, the son of Capt. William Ramsay (USN), received a commission as a second lieutenant on 3/1/57. He was promoted to 1^st Lt. in 1861 and Captain on 7/26/61. He had served on the USS Richmond at New Orleans and helped to guard the custom house and the American flag. He fought in 15 engagements before being assigned to the Marine Barracks in Washington, DC.

Ramsay was involved in two significant events during the war. The first was after the fall of New Orleans, which was huge for the Union's efforts in the West. On a website, we found the following: "On April 29th, 1862, a Battalion of Marines, numbering approximately 250, under the command of Captain John L. Broome, disembarked and took possession of New Orleans facilities. At the Custom House, he detailed Captain Alan Ramsay and a detachment to occupy it and hoist the American flag upon it. Here they were joined by a force of seamen from the USS Hartford with two howitzers, whereupon those left marched to the City Hall in the center of the city".

And the second event was Captain Ramsay commanding the Marine Corps band that escorted Abraham Lincoln to Gettysburg to give his most famous speech, the "Gettysburg Address" on November 19th, 1863.  Issues of the Gettysburg Times from November 19, 1946 and November 19, 1963 commemorating the Address corroborate that Ramsay was present on the train which carried Lincoln to Gettysburg, and rode on horseback in the procession to Soldier’s National Cemetery.

Sadly, Captain Ramsay did not live much longer after being a witness to Lincoln's speech. While on blockade duty, Ramsay fell ill and died of Typhoid Fever and Small Pox on February 15th, 1864 at the age of 28. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, DC.

The CDV has no backmark and is signed, “Alan Ramsay / Capt. Marines”. This is a chance to own one of the more elusive Civil War items, a signed CDV by a Marine Corps officer that didn’t survive the war.

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