To John A. Dahlgren1Jump to section
My dear Sir Washington, Jan. 9. 1864.
Capt. Lavender wishes to show you a contrivance of his for discovering, and aiding to remove, under-water obstructions to the passage of vessels, and has sufficiently impressed me to induce me to send him to you. He is sufficiently vouched to me as a worthy gentleman; and this known, it needs not my asking for you to treat him as such. Yours truly A. LINCOLN
Annotation
[1] ALS, owned by J. Coleman Scal, New York City. On January 8, 1864, Senator Edwin D. Morgan wrote Lincoln: ``Capt Lavender of New York eighteen years a sea captain at that Port comes to me from so good a source, that I cannot refuse to comply with his request to be introduced to you. Such then is the object of this note, and I hope you may be able to spare him a few moments. He does not want an office. . . .'' (DLC-RTL).
On January 23, Admiral Dahlgren replied to Lincoln's letter:
``Captain Lavender arrived duly with your note, which I was much pleased to receive, and gave it my immediate attention;---There seems to me no objection to a a [sic] trial of his project, and I beg leave, therefore, to recommend that such be made at some Navy Yard under the eye of one or more experienced persons.
``It would be almost impossible to make the machine here, a material and mechanics are unequal to the daily pressing wear and tear of the vessels of the Squadron. . . .'' (Ibid.).
No further identification of Lavender or his invention has been found.