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"Personal" Letter from the Secretary of War, William C. Endicott, who says he will present Benjamin Grierson's application and supporting letters to the President for his consideration for Grierson to become a Brigadier General!

War Department,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington,
April 2, 1887.


Personal.

My Dear General:

I have received your letter of the 28th ultimo, enclosing a copy of your application forwarded to the Department for promotion to Brigadier General, when General Willcox retires on the 12th instant. In reply I beg to say that I shall take pleasure in presenting your application and any commendatory letters requesting you to the President for his consideration when the question of making the appointment comes before him. With my kind regards,

Very truly yours, W. C. Endicott

Bv't Maj Gen. B.H. Grierson, U.S. Army, Santa Fe, N.M."

Comes with original cover, in very fine condition with wear as shown in the photograph.

$195.00 plus shipping

William C. Endicott, Secretary of War- "...In 1852, he was elected a member of the Salem Common Council and, five years later, became City Solicitor. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1862. In 1853, he entered into a law partnership with J. W. Perry under the name Perry & Endicott, which was dissolved in 1873 upon his appointment to the bench. From 1857 to 1873, also served as president of the Salem Bank.

In 1873, Endicott, although a Democrat (and originally a Whig), was appointed by Republican governor William B. Washburn to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, where he served until 1882. In 1879, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress, followed by an unsuccessful gubernatorial race in 1884. Grover Cleveland appointed Endicott Secretary of War and he served in that capacity in the administration between 1885 and 1889. Endicott oversaw many important changes in the organization of the United States Army, including the establishment of a system of examinations to determine the promotion of officers.

Endicott convened and chaired the Board of Fortifications in 1885 (usually called the Endicott Board), which would provide detailed recommendations and designs for the generation of American coastal defense fortifications constructed in the era of the Spanish–American War. Most of these Endicott Period fortifications served through early World War II.