Partly printed document completed in manuscript. Signed by Theodore S. Bowers ("T.S. Bowers", 1832-1866). City Point, Virginia, 29 October 1864. 1 page, 5 3/8 x 3 in, printed Washington, D.C.: Philip & Solomons. 

A wonderfully preserved pass to visit Washington, D.C., issued to Captain Orlando Hopkins Ross (1835-1892), an Aide-de-Camp on General Grant's Staff, and signed by Lt. Col. Theodore S. Bowers (1832-1866), Assistant Adjutant General to Grant. The pass reads: "Pass O.H. Ross to Washington. The Quarter Master's Department will furnish transportation. "

Orlando H. Ross, a cousin of Ulysses S. Grant, enlisted and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in Company D of the 20th Illinois Infantry on 26 November 1862. He was shortly thereafter discharged and promoted to Captain and Aid-de-Camp of General Ulysses S. Grant. This pass corresponds to right after his resignation on 7 September 1864, where he evidently traveled to the capital from the front. 

The pass is signed by another important member of Grant's Staff, Theodore Shelton Bowers. An Illinois printer, he raised Company G of the 48th Illinois Infantry, though he declined its captaincy and entered the war as a private. His leadership and organizational talent were quickly recognized, however, and he was promoted to the staff of General Grant on 17 November 1862. He was continually promoted throughout the war, receiving the rank of Brigadier General by brevet on 9 April 1865.  

A nice example of a pass to Washington, D.C. connected to men on General Grant's staff. 

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