Item No. 3885181

This handwritten December 1863 order grants a leave of absence for fifteen days to Major Crawley P. Dake of the 5th Michigan Cavalry. It is signed on behalf of Major General Alfred Pleasonton by his staff officer Captain Charles C. Suydam. Dake had been wounded in the Mine Run Campaign and would resign at the conclusion of his leave on December 31. He would serve again in the 3rd New Jersey Cavalry prior to the war’s end.

Dake is better known for his postwar years. He was appointed US Marshal for the Arizona Territory in 1878, and was criticized for his inability to settle the dispute between the Earps and the Cowboys that led to the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone. Indeed Dake would be replaced by Zara T. Tidball just a few months later.

The 1863 document was written on the front page of a bifolium letter sheet measuring 7 3/4” x 9 3/4”. Light toning. Creased at the original folds. There is also some slight separation. The full transcript appears below.

Head Quarters, Cavalry Corps
December 16th, 1863

Special Orders
No. 225

Extract

1. Leave of absence is hereby granted the following named officers in compliance with General Orders No. 3 & 10, current series, from Head Quarters, Army of the Potomac.

Major C. P. Dake, 5th Mich. Cavalry for (15) fifteen days.

By Command of Maj. Gen’l. Pleasonton
(Sgd) C. C. Suydam
Asst. Adjt. General
Adjt. Genl’s Office
Washington, Dec 24, 1863