Item #69485 : Original period manufacture. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania issued commission to William A. Sands, as a First Lieutenant in the Reading Dragoons, dated the 20th of October 1854. Doing some online searching courtesy of Ancestry, I found a listing for a William Sands, born 1835 in Berks County, Reading Pa. This man served as a 1st Sgt in the 88th Pennsylvania Infantry during the war, and was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry for capturing a Confederate flag in February 1865. Certainly worthy of other research attention. Document measures 17x13 inches, folded, with tape repairs on the reverse. Comes with an old EBAY receipt for its sale back in April 2001.