ALS signed “F. J. Porter,” one page both sides, 8.5 x 11, Commissioner's Office, New York Police Department letterhead, October 9, 1887. Letter to General Franklin, regarding the family of officer Charles Pomeroy Stone, in part: "Your good help is wanted where it will do the most good—in the interest of Mrs. Stone, who needs all the help and comfort & relief she can get—and…if possible to get the President to appoint or promise to appoint young John S. Stone aged 19y 1mo—to a cadetship next June. If we can only get the promise now, it will enable the boy to study for entrance instead of the profession of mining engineer…I am getting good replies & the President & Sec. of War will have good letters from such persons as Gov. Winthrop, Gen. F. A. Walker…& others from Mass.—& lots of from N.Y. Your help will be of the best. Will you write to the President or the Sec'y of War in his behalf." In very good to fine condition, with creasing and a short tear to the top edge, and two small areas of paper loss affecting nothing.
Charles Pomeroy Stone was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and surveyor (1824-1887) who fought with distinction in the Mexican-American War, earning two brevet promotions for his performance in the conflict. After resigning and surveying for the Mexican Government, he returned to the U.S. Army to fight in the American Civil War. Stone was reportedly the first volunteer to enter the Union Army, and during the war, he served as a general officer, noted for his involvement at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in October 1861. Held responsible for the Union defeat, Stone was arrested and imprisoned for almost six months, mostly for political reasons. His son, John Stone Stone, became a noted mathematician, physicist, and inventor (1869-1943) who initially worked in telephone research, followed by influential work developing early radio technology, where he was especially known for improvements in tuning.
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