QUEEN VICTORIA (GREAT BRITAIN) - MILITARY APPOINTMENT SIGNED 01/26/1858 CO-SIGNED BY: GEORGE CORNEWALL (2ND BARONET) LEWIS - HFSID 167475

QUEEN VICTORIA
Appointment of an army major, also signed by George Cornewall Lewis as Secretary of State for War
Military Appointment signed: "Victoria Reg" as Queen of the United Kingdom. Also signed "Lewis" as Secretary of State for War. 1 page, 16x12. St. James Court, London, England. 1858 January 26. Appointment of John Blant, Esq., "to be Major in Our Army". QUEEN VICTORIA (1819-1901), the last member of the House of Hanover to reign (from 1837) as a British monarch, ruled the United Kingdom longer than any other monarch before or since. Her 63-year reign endeared her to her subjects, and she gave her name to an era, the Victorian Age. Until the very end of her reign, when the rising powers of Germany and the United States began to challenge its primacy, Victoria's British Empire was incontestably the world's greatest economic and military power. Her Husband, Prince Albert, an able political figure himself, was the Queen's close advisor until his death in 1861. The royal pair had nine children - four sons and five daughters. Victoria's reign was celebrated with two jubilees, honoring her 50 and 60 years on the throne. Sir GEORGE CORNEWALL LEWIS, 2nd Baronet (1806-1863) made his name as a scholar, publishing several books on philology, from the origins of Romance languages to the terminology of politics, and also translating classical Greek works. He served on several important government commissions, beginning in the 1830s. Lewis was a Member of Parliament (1847-1852, 1855-1863), editing the Edinburgh Review during his 3 years out of office. From 1855 he held key Cabinet posts: Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and War Secretary, arguing successfully in the latter post against making an offer to mediate the American Civil War (which would have amounted to recognition of the Confederacy). At least one historian has argued that - had he lived longer, Sir George, rather than William Gladstone, would have become the leader of the Liberal Party. Multiple folds. Corners worn. Light surface creases. Toned. Lightly soiled on corners and edges. Stained on verso. Otherwise, fine condition.