Annotation
[1] Copy, DNA WR RG 74, Navy Branch, Bureau of Ordnance, Diller's Powder, Letters Received, 1862-1863. The copy of Lincoln's endorsement is with a copy of a letter of Lieutenant Commander William N. Jeffers to Isaac R. Diller, October 12, 1863, as follows:
``Having been detailed by the Bureau of Ordnance, in conjunction with Major Laidley, U.S.A., to experiment with the material submitted by you as a substitute for common Gunpowder, I have been strongly impressed with its prospective value, and the results of experiments with the several specimens presented by you.
``As at first submitted, it was in too fine a state to be with safety and convenience transported; it was, therefore, made imperative that it should be grained. The small quantity submitted in that state appears to satisfy all the required conditions. If it retains its original properties, while conforming to these requirements, I think it will prove valuable. At any rate, the successful results already obtained, in my opinion, warrant a continuation of these experiments, and the manufacture of at least 500 lbs. that a definite opinion may be formed, after experiments of a more extended character than those hitherto made.''
See Lincoln to Diller, December 15, 1862, supra; also his letter to Wise, October 21, and memorandum of November 2, 1863, infra.