UNION GENERAL CHARLES POMEROY STONE (1824-1887). 1845 West Point Graduate, served with distinction in the Mexican War; Resigned his Commission in the Army in 1856; Stone was in Washington, DC with Winfield Scott, requested to be Inspector General of the District of Columbia Militia at the rank of colonel as of January 1, 1861 and was reputed to be the First Volunteer Officer Mustered into the Union Army before the Civil War; he secured the Capital for President-elect Abraham Lincoln, and was personally responsible for security at Lincoln's Presidential Inaugural; Chief Engineer for the construction of the Statue of Liberty.
In December, 1860, while in Washington, DC working on his survey report, Stone was asked by Major General Scott to return to the Army and organize the Washington DC militia for the Defense of the United States Capital per the anticipated future Civil War, which Scott felt was inevitable. Stone organized some 30 Companies of militia and Oversaw the Security Arrangements for President-elect Lincoln’s Inauguration

June 6th 3 O’Clock AM (1861)-Dated Civil War Signed Field Orders, Signed, "Chs. P. Stone, Col. 14th Inf. Commdg", to Col. Cake, Commanding the 25th Pennsylvania Infantry:", a 3 months Regiment in service April 18, 1861 until July 26, 1861, and Known as the "First Defenders", for having arrived in Washington DC on April 18th, 1861., Very Fine. Well written in deep brown on while light blue lined wove period paper measuring 3” tall x 7.75” wide. It reads, in full:

“Sir -- The orders given you last night verbally are countermanded - Your regiment will be ready to move immediately. Let the men get an early breakfast and report in person for orders at daybreak -- (Signed) "Chas. P. Stone, Col. 14th Inft. Commdg".

The orders are directed to Col. Henry L. Cake (1827-1899), Colonel commanding the 25th PA. Infantry. This was a 3 months Regiment in service April 18, 1861 until July 26, 1861, and Known as the "First Defenders", for having arrived in Washington DC on April 18th, 1861.
Charles Pomeroy Stone was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts on September 30, 1824 and graduated 7th in the West Point Class of 1845. In Mexico, he served as an ordnance officer under Winfield Scott, earning brevets for gallantry at Molino del Rey and Chapultepec in September, 1847.

Following the Mexican War, Stone spent 18 months in Europe studying the military systems of France, Prussia, and Sweden, then returned to the U.S. to become Chief of Ordnance for the new Department of the Pacific as of August, 1851.

In July, 1853 Stone married Maria Louisa Clary, daughter of Capt. Robert Clary, later General McClellan’s quartermaster. With a daughter, Esther, born in October, 1854 and a son, Charles, Jr., born in November, 1856, Stone decided to leave the army so as to better provide for his family. He resigned shortly after the birth of his son who, sadly, died only five months later.

Working briefly as a banker and gold broker, Stone eventually took a job directing an extensive mineral survey of the Mexican state of Sonora.

In December, 1860, while in Washington, DC working on his survey report, Stone was asked by General Scott to return to the Army and organize the Washington DC militia for the defense of the Capital in the anticipated future Civil War, which Scott felt was inevitable. Stone organized some 30 Companies of militia and Oversaw the Security Arrangements for President-elect Lincoln’s Inauguration.

He was named Brigadier General of Volunteers in August, 1861 and given Command of the right flank division of the Army of the Potomac, along the line of that river opposite Leesburg, Virginia.

On October 21 came the disastrous Battle of Ball’s Bluff which resulted in his eventual arrest and the end of his promising army career. Stone was arrested in February, 1862 (in fact more because of political rivalries in Congress than because of the defeat at Ball’s Bluff) and spent six months in prison at Forts Lafayette and Hamilton in New York harbor.

No charges ever were filed against him, despite his frequent attempts to be Granted a Court-martial to defend himself, and he was released the following August with no explanation whatsoever from the War Department.

Assigned to Gen. Nathaniel Banks in New Orleans in May 1863, he arranged the Surrender of Port Hudson, then served as Banks’ Chief of Staff until April 16, 1864 when Banks relieved him after a falling out.

Stone’s first wife having died in February, 1863, he married Annie Jeannie Stone (who coincidentally shared the same last name) in November. The following August, General Grant brought him back east and gave him a brigade in the V Corps. Typhoid and an impending nervous breakdown resulted in his decision to resign from the army, effective September 13, 1864.

After the Civil War, Stone worked as a mining engineer in Virginia until an accepting a job as Chief of Staff to the Khedive of Egypt in early 1870. He spent over 12 years in Egypt building up an Egyptian army and overseeing a dozen major explorations and surveys of the Nile River and surrounding area.

With the British takeover of Egypt in late 1882, Stone resigned his position and returned to the United States where he was hired as Chief Engineer for the construction of the Statue of Liberty. Stone served as Grand Marshal of the Statue’s dedication parade on October 28, 1886.

Three months later, he contracted pneumonia and died in New York City on January 24, 1887. Charles P. Stone was buried with full military honors at West Point.

Colonel Cake served as Col. Of the 96th PA Infantry Sept. 1861 until he resigned in March, 1863. He later served in the U.S. Congress, 1867-1871.
[Civil War, Union Army, Defense of Washington] [Charles P. Stone, Abraham Lincoln, Pennsylvania Infantry] [Manuscripts, Documents, Military Orders, Autographs]