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Head-Quarters,  Department  of  the  Gulf, 
New  Orleans,  19th  Dec,  1862. 


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iat  it  is  within  the  line  of  official  duty,  I  beg  your  per- 
brable  consideration,  the  military  services  of  Colonel 

le-de-Camp,  by  your  appointment,  on  my  staff. 

W  military  family  for  more  than  a  year,  and  has  dis- 

fNGUISHED  INDUSTRY,  FIDELITY,  AND  CAPACITY.       He  Was 

ster,  rendering  important  services,  and  receiving  hon- 
Commanding  Generals. 

of  Staff  duties,  Colonel  Clark  has  given  much  atten- 
f  organization,  movements,  and  purposes  of  the  Rebel 
Mountain,  at  which  he  was  present,  rendering  valu- 
able mention,  he  prepared  from  examination  of  pris- 
_    -     ^  +&ts  '  minute  detail  °f  Jackson's  army.     He  was  the  first 

'f*^***'  /  observation  with  officers  of  the  Signal  corps  of  my 

/&****^,  ral  Lee,  and  the  army  under  his  command,  towards 

Manassas,  when  the  army  of  Virginia  occupied  the 
i  person  to  General  Pope,  then  at  Warrenton  Junc- 
ms  of  Lee's  army.     His  report  was  afterwards  fully 

J^U^U^    /tL      A.  yt&-     t~^f-r  ,NCE  OF    THIS  SERVICE,  THE  WHOLE  OF  WHICH  WAS  PER- 

CANNOT  BE  TOO  HIGHLY  ESTIMATED. 

■  statement  of  the  organization  of  Lee's  army,  then 

e  forces  and  officers  of  all  its  Divisions,  Brigades, 

y,  and  Cavalry,  and  the  States  they  represented. 

r"D  ""Pan  1  llad  the  honor  to  present  to  you  in  person,  and  copies  also,  were  sent 

to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  Commander-in  Chief,  in  September. 

As  an  officer  of  intelligence,  integrity,  industry,  and  fidelity  to  the  govern- 
ment, Colonel  Clark  merits  the  highest  commendation  and  the  approval  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 

With  much  respect. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

N.  P.  BANKS,  M.  G.  C. 


~    /Uct  ■/&<*?.  fiz^ff"^/*" 


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Head-Quarters,  Department  of  the  Gulf,  ) 
New  Orleans,  19th  Dec,  1862.      j 

To  the  President  : 

Sir — In  the  belief  that  it  is  within  the  line  of  official  duty,  I  beg  your  per- 
mission to  commend  to  your  favorable  consideration,  the  military  services  of  Colonel 
John  S.  Clark,  an  additional  Aide-de-Camp,  by  your  appointment,  on  my  staff. 

He  has  been  a  member  of  my  military  family  for  more  than  a  year,  and  has  dis- 
charged ALL  HIS  DUTIES  WITH  DISTINGUISHED  INDUSTRY,  FIDELITY,  AND  CAPACITY.       He  was 

present  at  both  battles  at  AVinchester,  rendering  important  services,  and  receiving  hon- 
orable mention  in  the  Reports  of  Commanding  Generals. 

Apart  from  ordinary  routine  of  Staff  duties,  Colonel  Clark  has  given  much  atten- 
tion to  obtaining  information  of  the  organization,  movements,  and  purposes  of  the  Rebel 
army.  After  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  at  which  he  was  present,  rendering  valu- 
able services,  and  receiving  honorable  mention,  he  prepared  from  examination  of  pris- 
oners an  entirely  reliable  report,  in  minute  detail  of  Jackson's  army.  He  was  the  first 
to  discover  and  report,  by  patient  observation  with  officers  of  the  Signal  corps  of  my 
command,  the  movements  of  General  Lee,  and  the  army  under  his  command,  towards 
Buck  Mountain,  White  Plains,  and  Manassas,  when  the  army  of  Virginia  occupied  the 
Rappahannock  Valley,  and  gave  in  person  to  General  Pope,  then  at  Warrenton  Junc- 
tion, notice  of  the  movment  and  plans  of  Lee's  army.  His  report  was  afterwards  fully 
verified  by  the  facts.  The  importance  of  this  service,  the  whole  of  which  was  per- 
formed WITHIN  MY  OWN  OBSERVATION,  CANNOT  BE  TOO  HIGHLY  ESTIMATED. 

Subsequently  he  prepared  a  full  statement  of  the  organization  of  Lee's  army,  then 
in  Maryland,  with  a  statement  of  the  forces  and  officers  of  all  its  Divisions,  Brigades, 
and  Regiments  of  Infantry,  Artillery,  and  Cavalry,  and  the  States  they  represented. 
This  Report  I  had  the  honor  to  present  to  you  in  person,  and  copies  also,  were  sent 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  Commander-in  Chief,  in  September. 

As  an  officer  of  intelligence,  integrity,  industry,  and  fidelity  to  the  govern- 
ment, Colonel  Clark  merits  the  highest  commendation  and  the  approval  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 

With  much  respect. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

N.  P.  BANKS,  M.  G.  C 


Auburn,  N.  Y.  June  29,  1863. 

His  Excellency,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

Dear  Sir — Permit  me  to  make  a  few  suggestions  relative  to  the  military 
qualifications  and  services  of  Col.  John  S.  Clark,  of  the  staff  of  Major  Gen'I  Banks. 

He  entered  the  service  from  this  city  in  May,  1861,  as  Col.  of  the  19th  N.  Y.  V., 
afterwards  changed  to  the  3d  N.  Y.  V.  Artillery,  and  remained  with  the  Regiment  until 
August  of  that  year,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  Staff  of  Gen'I  Banks,  where  he  has 
since  remained.  Of  his  usefulness,  fidelity,  and  ability  in  this  position  Gen'I  Banks  can 
furnish  the  most  reliable  information. 

His  services  however  previous  to  taking  the  field  are  most  meritorious,  and  deserv- 
ing of  special  mention.  Being  at  Baltimore  on  his  return  home  from  Washington,  at 
the  time  of  the  riot  on  the  19th  of  April,  1861,  he  stopped,  mingled  during  the  day 
and  following  night  with  the  populace  and  rioters,  gathered  all  possible  information  and 
on  the  following  morning  returned  to  Washington  and  laid  the  information  before  the 
military  authorities.  Communication  with  Annapolis  being  cut  off,  he  accepted  the 
hazardous  position  of  bearer  of  dispatches  from  the  War  Department  to  Gen'I  Butler, 
and  of  the  seventeen  messengers  sent  upon  that  mission,  was  the  only  one  who  succeed- 
ed in  reaching  his  destination  without  arrest,  and  that  was  accomplished  only  by  a  night 
march  on  foot  of  twenty-five  miles  in  a  country  with  which  he  was  unfamiliar,  and  by 
swimming  the  Patuxent,  within  sound  of  the  voices  of  the  enemies  sentinels.  Gen'I 
Lander,  the  only  other  one  of  the  messengers  who  succeeded  in  reaching  Gen'I  Butler 
at  all,  was  arrested  on  the  route,  but  forwarded  by  Gov.  Hicks.  Col.  Clark  returned 
from  Annapolis  in  company  with  the  7th  Regiment  N.  Y.  Militia,  and  remained  as  a 
volunteer  attache  of  the  War  Department  without  reward,  and  until  his  selection,  in  his 
absence,  and  without  his  knowledge  or  solicitation,  to  command  the  19th  N.  Y.  V.,  the 
first  regiment  raised  in  this  Congressional  District.  In  regard  to  these  services  at  Wash- 
ington, I  beg  to  refer  you  to  Gen'I  Scott,  Sec'y  Seward,  and  the  late  Sec'y  Cameron, 
each  of  whom  is  wholly  familiar  with  them. 

His  labors  upon  the  Staff  of  Gen'I  Banks  have  been  unremitted,  until  temporarily 
disabled  by  a  severe  gun  shot  wound  through  the  leg,  in  the  first  advance  upon  Port 
Hudson,  from  which  however  he  is  dow  rapidly  recovering. 

1  have  known  Col.  Clark  intimately  for  many  years.  Possessing  as  he  does,  a 
splendid  physical  organization,  great  mental  powers,  indomitable  energy,  and  untiring 
industry,  and  the  whole  hardened  and  disciplined  into  the  soldier  by  more  than  two 
years  of  constant  military  service,  I  am  not  suprised  at  his  success  in  the  least,  and 
know  him  to  be  competent  to  fill  a  wider  field  of  usefulness  in  the  future. 

This  Congressional  district  I  judge  to  have  furnished  at  least  seven  thousand  two 
and  three  year  soldiers.     No  Brigadier  has  been  appointed  from  the  District.     I  know 
most  of  the  officers  well,  and  among  them  I  know  none  who  has  so  justly  earned  pro- 
motion, and  none  more  competent  for  the  command  of  a  Brigade. 
Very  respectfully 

Your  obedient  servant, 

THEO.  M.  POMEROY,  M.  C. 


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Albany,  January  2,  1863. 
His  Excellency,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

Dear  Sir — Colonel  John  S.  Clark,  now  on  the  staff  of  Major  Gen.  Banks,  is 
a  citizen  of  our  State,  and  one  of  the  first  commissioned  by  me  on  the  breaking  out  of 
the  rebellion.  He  is  an  officer  of  uncommon  merit,  has  rendered  signal  service  to  the 
Government,  and  is,  I  am  confident,  fully  entitled  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General,  and 
I  should  esteem  it  a  favor  to  have  him  appointed  as  such. 

With  great  regard, 

E.  D.  MORGAN. 


Willard's  Hotel,  Washington,  June  12,  1863. 

My  Dear  Sir: 

I  desire  to  unite  with  the  friends  of  Col.  John  S.  Clark,  in  commending  his 
application  for  appointment  as  Brigadier  General.  I  need  not  enlarge  upon  the  grounds, 
which  in  my  judgment  entitle  him  to  expect  this  promotion.  They  are  forcibly  stated 
in  the  letter  of  Gen.  Banks,  which  will  be  presented  in  support  of  the  application.  I 
have  known  Col.  Clark  for  several  years,  and  believe  him  eminently  deserving  the  dis- 
tinction. 

Yours  with  esteem, 
The  President.  IRA  HARRIS. 


Albany,  Jan.  5,  1863. 

Dear  Sir  : 

Col.  Clark,  whom  Gen.  Banks  and  Governor  Morgan  recommend  for  promotion, 
is  a  very  capable  and  efficient  officer.  He  is  a  man  like  the  late  General  Lauder,  of  in- 
domitiable  energy  and  courage. 

He  is  also  sagacious  and  far-seeing,  all  his  qualities  fitting  him  for  usefulness,  and  1 
am  confident  that  his  services  entitle  him  to  promotion. 

Yours  truly, 
Hon.  E.  M.  Stanton.  THURLOW  WEED. 


\Ejrt 'met from  Gen.  Pope's  Report,  Virginia  Campaign.] 

During  the  day  of  tlie  24th,  a  large  detachment  of  the  enemy  numbering  thirty-six  regiments  of  Infantry, 
with  the  usual  number  of  batteries  of  artillery,  and  a  considerable  cavalry  force,  inarched  rapidly  down  the 
north  in  the  direction  of  Reetortown.  They  could  be  plainly  seen  from  our  signal  stations,  established  at  high 
points  along  the  Rappahannock ;  and  their  movements  and  force  were  reported  to  me  from  time  to  time,  by 
Col.  John  S.  Clark,  of  General  Hanks' staff,  who  both  on  that  day,  and  formally  preceding  days,  gave  me  most 
valuable  and  reliable  information.  1  am  glad  to  express  here  my  appreciation  of  the  valuable  services  of  this 
officer.—  Official  Report,  Jan.  29,  1863. 


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