SILK RIBBON FROM GETTYSBURG CEMETERY DEDICATION, THE EVENT AT WHICH LINCOLN GAVE THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

U.S. Sanitary Commission ribbon. Silk and imprinted lettering. Pencil notation to recto reading "Pancoast" and to verso reading "Badge of U.S. Sanitary Commission at dedication of gettysburg Cemetery. Mr. A. Lincoln, Mr. Everett principal speakers." Approx. 24 x 3/4 in. 

With printed slip of paper. Imprinted with "U.S. SANITARY COMMISSION." Approx. 15 3/4 x 3 in. 

Provenance: Letter written by Pancoast's great-granddaughter. 

A ribbon badge from the dedication of Gettysburg National Cemetery on 19 November 1863 — the same event where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address. The ribbon belonged to Dr. Joseph Talbot Pancoast, a pioneer in both general and cosmetic surgery. 

Pancoast was born to Quaker parents in 1805 in New Jersey. He attended the medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote his 1827 thesis on the erectile tissue and graduated in 1828. After graduating, Pancoast practiced as a surgeon and also taught classes in practical anatomy and surgery. He was responsible for several advances in surgery — such as replacing eyelids and ears, sectioning the facial nerve to relieve neuralgia, operating on cataracts and performing a lithotomy — all of which were described graphically in articles and books. His most famous work is A Treatise on Operative Surgery, which was published in 1844. 

Pancoast primarily worked at Jefferson Medical College, where he was the chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1839-1841, then the chairman of the Department of Anatomy from 1841-1874. It was during this latter role that Pancoast served on the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which was a private relief agency created by federal legislation in 1861 to support sick and wounded Union soldiers. Since Pancoast was based in Philadelphia, where a large Sanitary Commission branch was present, it makes sense that this renowned surgeon would lend his services to the troops. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Relics, Militaria] [Medals, Corps Badges, Badges, Ribbons] [Gettysburg, Little Round Top, Culp's Hill, Pickett's Charge, Devil’s Den]

Some foxing to ribbon. Repair to center of paper slip.