SOLD Abraham Lincoln Approves the Appointment of a General Who Was to Die in Service
He commissions William H. Keim a brigadier-general of volunteers.
Edward Wallace was the U.S. Naval Agent in Philadelphia and had reason from time to time to contact the President about military matters. He was also closely related to the first family, as his brother Maj. William S. Wallace, an army paymaster, was married to Mrs. Lincoln’s sister Frances. Andrew G. Curtin...
Edward Wallace was the U.S. Naval Agent in Philadelphia and had reason from time to time to contact the President about military matters. He was also closely related to the first family, as his brother Maj. William S. Wallace, an army paymaster, was married to Mrs. Lincoln’s sister Frances. Andrew G. Curtin was Governor of Pennsylvania throughout the Civil War. When the war broke out, Curtin commissioned William H. Keim major-general of the Pennsylvania volunteers that were sent by order of the Governor, under General Robert Patterson, to defend the towns of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Hagerstown, Maryland, and the upper Potomac. However, Keim sought more active service in the national army, and used his influence with Wallace to reach Pres. Lincoln.
On September 7, 1861, Wallace wrote Lincoln on his Naval Office letterhead, saying “Gen. Wm. H. Keim the present Auditor General of the state is anxious to return to the service of his country & he desires his wish to be made known to you. Gen. Keim was at one time our representative in Congress; he has devoted considerable attention to military affairs & at the commencement of the rebellion, he was appointed brig. general by the Governor of this state. I shall be glad to learn that you have assigned him such a position as you may think his merits deserve.”
Lincoln was willing to cooperate, endorsing the letter on the verso, “Sept. 16, 1861. Respectfully submitted to War Department.” Keim was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers in the U.S. service, and, joining the army under General McClellan, he commanded a Pennsylvania brigade in the Peninsula campaign. Unfortunately, he died shortly thereafter.
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