Francis, Joseph (1801-1893) to Edwards Pierrepont
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03502 Author/Creator: Francis, Joseph (1801-1893) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 14 February 1864 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy
Discusses the delay in the army for the order of his pontoon bridge. Mentions General John Adams Dix. Informs that Colonel Edward Serrell needs to go to Washington to see Francis's bridges but there is a problem getting the orders for Serrell to get there by train. Francis asks Pierrepont to write to Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War, and ask him to allow Colonel Serrell to go stating, "It is merely to ask Mr. Stanton to allow Coln Serrell (who is the best & most popular Engineer officer in the Army) to examine my system. He cannot object to this, and I should think he would be glad to have the opinion of so distinguished an officer." Year inferred from content.
At this time, Pierrepont was a prominent New York lawyer. Francis was an American inventor, mainly of life-saving equipment. Apparently, Stanton did not allow Serrell to go to Washington because Francis wrote to President Abraham Lincoln in March in order to request permission for Serrell to examine the pontoons.
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