Item No. 1437823

Henry D. Wallen was a career Regular Army officer whose Civil War service was marked less by battlefield command than by prolonged administrative exile, repeated denials of transfer to active theaters, and persistent—though ultimately vindicated—questions about his loyalty arising from his Florida birth. This remarkable handwritten record consists of Wallen’s own transcription of official war correspondence while serving as a major in the 7th U.S. Infantry, compiled in 1865 and accompanied by his personal explanatory notes.

The correspondence documents Wallen’s repeated but unsuccessful efforts to obtain field service in the Army of the Potomac with his regiment, the 7th U.S. Infantry, and the War Department’s persistent orders sending him instead to the remote Department of New Mexico. His notes clarify that these assignments were not the result of parole, misconduct, or avoidance of duty, but occurred despite his explicit requests to serve in active combat theaters. “My heart is in the cause of our country,” he wrote to the adjutant general of the army, but still his regiment fought in Virginia under the command of junior officers.

While in New Mexico, Wallen distinguished himself as Acting Inspector General of the department, conducting extensive inspections across New Mexico, Colorado Territory, Texas, and Arizona. His work was repeatedly praised in official letters by Brigadier General James H. Carleton, who emphasized that Wallen’s “patriotism is unsullied” and suggested that his lack of advancement might unfairly be attributed to “the fact that he is a native of Florida.”

The record includes powerful third-party endorsements from Generals Carleton, John C. Frémont, and ultimately Ulysses S. Grant. After reviewing Wallen’s case, Grant concluded that he had been “harshly dealt with” and recommended brevet promotion. President Abraham Lincoln personally approved Wallen’s brevet to Colonel in February 1865, shortly before the war’s end.

At the conclusion, Wallen wrote, “I have served honestly and faithfully in the Army of the United States for 25 years without arrest, reprimand, or censure of any kind. I have made no application to shrink from any duty, and I ask any unprejudiced mind if I have been treated with proper consideration.”

Wallen signed and dated the record on March 5, 1865. His efforts were rewarded, as he was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers on March 13, and on July 30 he was made a lieutenant colonel in the regular army.

The correspondence was recorded on 23 handwritten pages, 5 1/4” x 8”, which are bound together nicely with string to form a booklet. Light foxing and toning. Creased where originally folded. Wallen’s signature appears no fewer than eight times within the document. The full transcript follows.

[Italicized portions below indicate Wallen’s transcripts of official correspondence.]

Washington, D.C.
Decr. 21st, 1861.
Brig. Genl. L. Thomas.
Adjt. Genl. U.S.A.

Sir:
I have the honor to request that I may receive an order placing me on duty with the Army of the Potomac.
I am, Sir,
Very respectfully
Yr. Obt. Servt.
H. D. Wallen
Major 7th Infy.

Note 1. Seven companies of my Regiment were paroled, but I was not a paroled officer.

Hd. Qrs. Army Adjt. Genl’s Office
Washington, D.C.
Jany. 8th 1862

Spl. Orders
No. 6

I.  Major H. D. Wallen, 7th Infantry, is assigned to duty in New Mexico. He will report in person to the Paymaster General without delay to receive and take charge of funds, and will then repair to Santa Fe, N.M., and report to the Commanding Officer of that Department.
By Com’d. of Maj. Genl. McClellan
L. Thomas
Adjt. General.

Washington, D.C.
Jany. 20th 1862

General:
I have asked the President, through my friends, to be made a Brigadier General of Volunteers, and I sincerely hope the promotion will meet with your approbation. I am from the South, but my heart is in the cause of our country, and I desire in this hour of trial, not only to express my loyalty in words, but to prove it by accepting any command you may confer upon me. I have but just returned from the Pacific, and am now under orders for New Mexico. I wish to be assigned to duty either here or with the Army in Kentucky or Missouri.
I am, General,
Very respectfully
Yr. Obt. Servant
W. D. Wallen
Maj. 7th Infy.

Hd. Qrs. of the Army
Adjt. Genl’s Office.
Washington, D.C.
Feby 5th, 1862

Sir:
The Secretary of War not approving your desire to be relieved from the orders heretofore given you, directs that you repair without delay to New Mexico and join the Battalion of your regiment there.
I am, Sir,
very respectfully,
Yr. Obt. Servant
L. Thomas
Adjt. General

Note 2. Arriving at St. Louis, Mo, with Genl. Halleck’s permission applied to be assigned to duty in the Department of Missouri, as mail communication was interrupted by the Rebels to Santa Fe, N.Mexico. Reply:

By Telegraph from Washing’n
March 1st 1862
To Major H. D. Wallen
7th Infantry

The General-in-Chief expects you to go to Fort Leavenworth, and proceed thence by the first opportunity to New Mexico.
L. Thomas
Adjt. General.

Note 3. Arrived at Fort Riley, Ks, and the road being infested by guerrillas, it was deemed unsafe to proceed with the Public funds, and the command was ordered back to Leavenworth.

General Frémont then applied for my services:

Hd Qrs. Mountain Dept.
Wheeling, Va.
Apl. 20th 1862

Major:
Enclosed I send you the result of my application to the War Dept. for yourself. I should have been glad to have you with me, and regret that my request could not be granted.
Yours truly
J. C. Frémont
Maj. Genl.

Major Wallen
7th Infantry
Leavenworth

War Department.
Adjt. Genl’s Office
Washington, Apl. 10th ’62

Sir:
The following endorsement by the Secretary of War on an application of the 6th inst., from Major Genl. Frémont, is communicated to you by the Secretary’s order. Genl. Frémont’s request that Major Wallen, now at Fort Leavenworth, and, as he is informed, at present unable to join his regiment in New Mexico, may be assigned to temporary duty in his Department. The Secretary’s endorsement is, “The application for Major Wallen is refused and the Major is ordered to proceed to New Mexico, if he desires to remain in the Service.”
I am, Sir,
very respectfully
Yr. Obt. servt.
L. Thomas
Adjt. Genl.

I wonder if Mr. Stanton ever directed Genl. Thomas to use such harsh language.

Note 4. After a delay of three months, and after a battalion of four companies of Kansas Cavalry had been ordered on the service, on the 28 of June 1862, Major Wallen arrived at Fort Union, N.M. When the 7th Inf. was exchanged & ordered to the front, the following application was made:

Office Actg. Inspector Genl.
Dept. of New Mexico
Santa Fe, N.M.
May 22d 1863

Captain:
If the 7th U.S. Infantry, to which I have the honor to belong, is commanded by an Officer junior to myself, I claim it to be my right to receive orders to proceed to join the largest portion of it now serving with the Army of the Potomac.
I am, Captain,
very respectfully
Yr. Obt. Servt.
H. D. Wallen
Major 7th Infy
A. I. Genl.

Capt. B. C. Cutler
Asst. Adjt. Genl.
Dept. of N. Mexico
Santa Fe, N.M.

(Reply)

War Department
Adjt. Genl’s Office
Washington June 16th ’63

Major H. D. Wallen
7th U.S. Infantry
Santa Fe, N.M.

Sir:
In reply to your letter of the 22d of May last, requesting to be ordered to that part of your regiment serving with the Army of the Potomac, I have respectfully to inform you that the General-in-Chief disapproved your application.
I am, Sir, Very respectfully
Yr. Obt. Servant
E. D. Townsend
Asst. Adjt. Genl.

Fort Craig, N. Mex.
May 12th 1863

Captain:
Having carried out the special instructions indicated in your letter from the Commanding General dated Hd. Qrs. Dept. of N. Mex., Santa Fe, N.M., April 27th, 1863, I respectfully ask to be relieved from the duties of Acting Inspector General of the Department. My first desire on being relieved is to be ordered to my regiment now serving with the Army of the Potomac, and commanded by a Captain. If it is not compatible with the interest of the service to give me an opportunity to serve at the head of my regiment, where I may earn some distinction, I am perfectly willing to go wherever I can best serve the Government.
I am, Captian,
very respectfully,
Yr. Obt. Servant
H. D. Wallen
Major 7th Infy.
A. I. General

To Capt. B. C. Cutler
Asst. Adjt. Genl.
Hd. Qrs. Dept. N.M.
Santa Fe, N.M.

Note 5. While on duty as Actin Inspector General of the Department of N. Mexico, the following letters were written to the War Department, but no notice whatever was taken of them.

Hd. Qrs. Dept. of New Mexico,
Santa Fe, N.M.
March 1st, 1863

Brig. Genl. L. Thomas
Adjt. Genl. of the Army
Washington D.C.

General:
Enclosed herewith, I have the honor to forward for the information of the War Department the Report of Major Henry D. Wallen, U.S. 7th Infantry, Acting Inspctor General of the Department of New Mexico, of the result of his inspection of the following posts, viz:

Fort Garland, Colorado Territory
Fort Marcy, New Mexico
Fort Union, New Mexico
Orndance Depot, Fort Union
Franklin, Texas
Messilla, Arizona, and
Fort Craig, New Mexico

They show, as you will perceive, great exactness on the part of Major Wallen, and give an elaborate account of the military condition of those posts which can be but satisfactory to the War Department, so far as the manner in which the inspection has been made, may go. I beg to call the attention of the Department to the genuine merits of this accomplished officer, and to remind those in authority that he has been in the Army twenty-three years. His patriotism is unsullied. He has no thought as a soldier except for the Union, and the idea that his claims to preferment have been overlooked, could never justly be associated with the fact that he is a native of Florida. I bespeak for him the just consideration of the War Department. He has made no complaints, but goes on and does his whole duty manfully and without a murmur; but I have known him ever since he graduated and know that he would do honor to any of the higher grades of the service.
I am, General,
very respectfully
Your obt. servant
James H. Carleton
Brig. General
Commanding

Hd. Qrs. Dept of N. Mexico,
Santa Fe, N. Mex.
May 27th, 1863

Brig. Genl. Thomas,
Adjt. Genl. U.S.A.
Washington, D.C.

General:
I have the honor herewith to enclose the Report of an Inspection by Major Wallen, 7th U.S. Inf., Acting Inspr. Genl., of Fort Craig. His report will give you a clear idea of the condition and defenses of that important post. You will observe by this, as well as by all other reports of inspections by Major Wallen, that he does his duty in a most thorough and satisfactory manner. I beg to call your attention, and that of the General-in-chief, to the fact that this officer’s just claims to consideration and professional advancement seem strangely to be overlooked. There is no more ardent patriot than Major Wallen, and it seems to be hard for one so well qualified as himself—one who has been under the flag and faithful to it for a lifetime—to see all his old comrades advanced over him. Besides as he was born in Florida, I respectfully suggest whether enemies of the Union might not say it was for that reason he had been overlooked.

I know that you are just. I know that the General-in-chief is just, and believe that this simple hint to the fact that this officer has been overlooked, will call your attention to the true merits of his case.
I am, General,
very respectfully,
Yr. Obt. Servant
James H. Carleton,
Brig. General
Commanding

Note 6. On being relieved from the duties of Inspector General, the following order was published:

Hd. Qrs. Dept. of N. Mex.
Santa Fe, N.M.
Nov. 5th 1863

Spl. Orders
No. 28

The Commanding General takes this opportunity to express his acknowledgement of the prompt and thorough manner in which Major Wallen has discharged the varied duties which have been assigned to his lot while he has been Acting Inspector General of this Department. Major Wallen now proceeds to command the important post of Fort Sumner, Bosque Redondo.
By order of Brig. Genl. Carleton
Ben. C. Cutler
Asst. Adjt. Genl.

Note 7. On being relieved from the duty at Fort Sumner and after commanding that post for six months, I recevied the following open letter from the General Commanding:

Hd. Qrs. Dept. of N. Mex.
Santa Fe, N.M.,
May 30th, 1864

To: Lt. Genl. Grant,
Comdg. Armies of U.S.
Washington, D.C.

My dear General:
Amidst all your great and responsible duties, I hope you will have time to read a line or two which I take pleasure in writing in behalf of one of our old comrades, Major Henry D. Wallen, U.S. Army, who has just been relieved from duty in this Department and ordered East.

I have known and served with Major Wallen at various times for nearly a quarter of a Century. We were 2d Lieutenants together three years, even before you left the Academy. There is no officer in the Army who is a purer patriot, or who brings as a guide in the discharge of his duty a more conscientious mind than himself. For a long time, he was the Inspector General of this Department, and I had occasion frequently to call the attention of the War Department to the efficient manner in which he discharged the varied and laborious duties of that office. When relieved from this duty by Lt. Col. Davis, Asst. Inspector Genl. Major Wallen was assigned to the command of Fort Sumner, and has had charge of the colonization of the Navajo prisoners located upon the reservation at that post. The labor of organizing and locating these Indians, so that regard should be had to their health, comfort, and the systematic employment of their time and labor in opening up farms for their support, has been very great. Yet this has been done in a manner to meet with praise and commendation on every hand. I regret deeply to lose Major Wallen’s services, but feel that is better for him as a soldier to go where more can be done to reward him for a lifetime of faithful service than I have power to do for him. I hope, General, that he will receive that promotion which he so well has earned, and which as a patriot and as an efficient and able soldier, he so well merits.
I am, General,
very respectfully,
Yr. Obt. Servant
James H. Carleton,
Brig. General
Commanding

Note 8. After an interview with the President held by Lieut. Genl. Grant, the President wrote as follows:

General Grant told me tonight that he would recommend Major Wallen to be Brevetted to a Colonelcy in the Regular Army. Let it be done.
Feby 11th, 1865
A. Lincoln

Note 9. Lieut. Genl. Grant’s letter to the Secretary of War:

Hd. Qrs. Armies of the U.S.
City Point, Va.
Feby. 20th 1865

Hon. E. M. Stanton
Secy. of War

Sir:
Whilst in Washington on my last visit, I took occasion to examine copies of all the official correspondence between Major H. D. Wallen, 7th U.S. Infantry, and Adjt. Genl. Thomas, on the occasion of the Major being ordered to New Mexico. The correspondence on the part of Wallen is creditable to him. It shows a desire to get into the field where he might have an opportunity of earning promotion. It would seem that he was pushed off to New Mexico, where but a handful of his men were serving, while the greatest portion of it was serving in the East, most if not all the time commanded by his junior. It really seems to me from a fair examination of these papers that Major Wallen has been harshly dealth with. I may, however, not know all the circumstances. If I am right, I would earnestly recommend, as a partial reward for past disappointment which Major Wallen has suffered, and for services rendered by him in New Mexico, as testified to by General Carleton, that he be brevetted Lieut. Colonel and Colonel in the Regular Army. I spoke to the President on the subject while I was in the city, and he requested me to make this statement in writing. I will therefore be pleased if you will lay this before him if the appointment asked cannot be made without. I shall really feel pleased if you will have Major Wallen brevetted up to a Colonelcy.
Very respectfully
Your Obt. Servant
U.S. Grant.
Lieut. General

Note 10. On the 14th March 1861, 21 Majors were promoted over my head, three taken from my own regiment, but junior to me.

Note 11. I have served honestly and faithfully in the Army of the United States for 25 years without arrest, reprimand, or censure of any kind. I have made no application to shrink from any duty, and I ask any unprejudiced mind if I have been treated with proper consideration.

H. D. Wallen,
Major 7th Infy.
Fort Schuyler, N.Y.H.
March 5th 1865