To Joseph G. Totten1Jump to section
Dear Sir: Washington March 8, 1862.
I hereby appoint the following persons Cadets to the Military Academy at West Point for the year 1862:
At Large.
Edward W. Baker Barry Ill.
Albert S. Bayless Flemingsburg Ky.
William H. Upham Wis.
Frederick A. Mahan N. Y.
Henry Davis Wallen, Jr. Ga.
Arthur Tracy Lee Mass.
Edward Everett Sharp Danville Mo.
Erasmus D. Gaines Freeport Ill.
Francis Jones Pa.
Charles Woodson Bates Mo.
For the District of Columbia:
Richard Cuyler Churchill D.C.
Yours truly ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Gen. J. G. Totten
Chief Engineer Bureau.
Annotation
[1] LS, DNA WR RG 77, Office of the Chief of Engineers, Letters Received, P 1091. Lincoln's letter was accompanied by one from Nicolay of the same date, instructing General Totten to ``send the appointments of Baker and Gaines to me; that of Bayless to Senator Wright of Indiana; that of Upham to Senator Doolittle; that of Sharp to Hon. J. S. Rollins, M. C.; and that of Bates to the Attorney General.'' Of the several appointees the following are not of record as entering West Point: Edward W. Baker, Edward Everett Sharp, Erasmus D. Gaines, and Francis Jones. Charles Woodson Bates, the son of Attorney General Bates, entered but failed his examinations in 1866 (see Bates' Diary, January 23, 1866). A list of these appointees, in Lincoln's handwriting, is preserved in the Lincoln Papers, but supplied with an incorrect date ``[1861]'' (DLC-RTL, 13649).