1845 - Letter from the Quartermaster General of the United States regarding the equipping of the 6th Infantry Regiment as dragoons

1845. Envelope or Cover. Very good. This one-page stampless folded letter measures 16" x 10" unfolded. Its dateline reads, "Quartermaster Genls Office / Washington City April 18'" 1845". It is addressed to "Major D. D. Tompkins ' Asst Qtr Master / Philadelphia / Penna." It bears a circular Washington City postmark, dated 19 April and a "FREE" handstamp, both in red.

The letter addresses the receipt of invoices to equip the 6th Infantry as dragoons. It reads in part:

"I acknowledge the receipts [of] invoices for the 6th Infantry with letters from my signature &c. The course proposed by you for procuring the 200 sets of Dragoon horse equipments by accounting for proposes for funding that number deliverable at the Schuylkill Arsenal within 90 days after the opening of the proposals on the 11th of May is approved. It is not deemed advisable to incur the expense of advertising except in the Pennsylvanian and one of the papers of Cincinnati to be selected by Capt Irwin. . .. / Henry Staton / Ast Qr M Gen"

Docketing indicates the acquisition of dragoon equipment was approved.

. Interestingly, there is no record of the 6th Infantry ever transitioning from a traditional foot infantry regiment into a horse-mounted dragoon unit. At the time this letter was written, the regiment was most likely still stationed at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, however before the end of the year, it had been assigned to General Zachary Taylor's command at Corpus Christi, Texas and deployed to the Rio Grande due to rising tensions with Mexico as it became likely Texas would be officially annexed by the United States.

D. D. Tompkins was an early West Point graduate who had been breveted to the rank of Major for gallantry at the Battle of San Felasco Hammock while serving in the 1st Regiment of Artillery. He subsequently served many years as a distinguished Quartermaster officer.

At the time of this letter, Colonel Henry Stanton was the Assistant Quartermaster General. He served with distinction during the Mexican-American War and received a brevet promotion to general for meritorious conduct.

(For more information, see various online newspaper articles, genealogical references, and obituary notices.)

A curious letter considering there appears to be no record of the 6th Infantry ever having been redesignated as a dragoon regiment or having served on horseback. Worthy of additional research.

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