<p>Small format scrip note printed on pink paper similar to that of some 1862 and 1863 Confederate Treasury Notes. Diamond shaped border prints. Serial no. 40 penned at top left. Date of May 24, 1863 printed at top right. "Due the Bearer FIFTY Cents" at center. Boldly penned signature of J.L. Stockdale over dotted line with "Major, and A.C.S." printed below. John Lark Stockdale was born in Edgefield, South Carolina in 1831. He studied medicine in Charleston before moving to Alabama where he practiced as a surgeon. At the onset of the Civil War in 1861 Stockdale entered service as a member of the Alabama Mountain Rangers, later merged into the 8th Confederate Cavalry. He was transferred and commissioned a Major and brigade commissary in 1862. By 1863 Stockdale was serving as Assistant Commissary of Subsistence for the Confederates Western Department in Port Hudson, Louisiana. In addition to his duties as A.C.S. he served as the assistant surgeon at the nearby Confederate hospital. It was during Stockdales time in Port Hudson that this 50 Cent scrip note was issued on May 24, 1863. The Union siege of Port Hudson had begun just two days before. The fighting continued for 48 days until Port Hudsons commander Major General Franklin Gardner surrendered the stronghold on July 9 after hearing news of the fall of Vicksburg. The surrender of Port Hudson handed control of the Mississippi River to Union forces. While Union commanders granted parole to the enlisted Confederates at Port Hudson, officers were taken north as prisoners of war. Stockdale was sent to the Union POW camp at Johnsons Island, Ohio where he remained until the end of the war. In his post war life he made a name for himself teaching and practicing medicine in Talladega until his death in 1912. Given the timing of this issue it is doubtful Stockdale issued any great number of these notes. To our knowledge this is the first example of this issue to surface and we believe the note is likely unique. The printed inks are bold and Stockdales signature is dark and elegantly signed. Overall the paper is in remarkable condition given the circumstances that it endured. There is a penciled inscription on the back "Confederate States of America Army Money" perhaps written by a Union soldier who took it as a souvenir. This is a note with broad appeal to both Confederate and Louisiana collectors both of which are unlikely to get a second chance at this note for a very long time.</p>，From the Old Virginia Collection.
