Outlining the procedures for the 1863 military draft

4 1/2 x 7 3/4, imprint, signed in ink by Henry Stone, A.A.G.

War Department
Provost Marshal General's Office
Washington, D.C., June 25, 1863

To Lt. Col. Robt. C. Buchanan, 4th Inf.
Acting Assistant Provost Marshal General
Trenton, N.J.

Sir:

I am directed by the Provost Marshal General to instruct you to see that each of the Provost Marshals under your supervision, makes all the necessary preliminary arrangements to effect a draft as soon as one may be ordered. The name of each man of the 1st class should be written on a separate card, suitable to be put in a box or wheel for drawing. The necessary box or wheel for drawing should be provided without delay. You will also see that adequate preparation is made for the prompt entry of the names drawn, as required by paragraph 74, Regulations for the government of the Bureau of the Provost Marshal General, and for speedy notification, in each sub-district, of persons drafted.

You will also make without delay any other arrangements, not herein specified, that may be advantageous and proper for the accomplishment of the draft, with the least possible delay.

I am, sir, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Henry Stone
Assistant Adjutant General

Light age toning and wear. Very fine.

Henry Stone: (1831-96) Born in Maine, he was a resident of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin at the outbreak of the Civil War, and he enlisted on August 28, 1861, and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Co. K, 1st Wisconsin Infantry. He was promoted to rank of 1st Lieutenant, on October 31, 1861. Promoted to Captain & A.A.G., on April 4, 1863, and assigned to the Adjutant General's Department. On January 19, 1865, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 100th U.S. Colored Infantry; and Brevet Colonel, on March 13, 1865. He was mustered out of the U.S. service on December 26, 1865. After the war he was a member of Gettysburg G.A.R. Post #191, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Robert C. Buchanan: (1811-78) Born in Baltimore, Md., Buchanan the recipient of this order, was Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th U.S. Infantry in 1863, and he had a long and very distinguished military career in the U.S. Army. An 1830 graduate of the United States Military Academy, at West Point, he fought in the Mexican War where he was brevetted for gallantry in the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Molino del Rey. He was later cited for gallantry in the Civil War battles of Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, Manassas and Fredericksburg, Va., earning promotion to Brevet Brigadier General, and Brevet Major General, on March 13, 1865. After the war he remained in the army serving as Colonel of the 1st U.S. Infantry. He resigned on December 31, 1870.