EDWARD TOWNSEND. ANS: "ED Townsend/Ass't Ad't General.", 1p, 4¾x7½. Adjutant General's Office, Washington, D.C., 1862 December 1. To L. Roy, Genesee Co., N.Y. In full: "Respectfully referred to Capt. H.A. Hascall, 5th US. Artillery in answer to application of the 22nd inst. The medical certificate covers the absence." Written on the last page of printed General Orders No. 100. The order, which relates to the extension of sick leaves of absences, ends: "In all cases of personal application for leaves of absence made to the War Department, the applicant will be examined by a medical officer assigned to that duty in this city." Lieutenant Colonel Edward Davis Townsend (1817-1893) joined the Adjutant General's office in Washington, D.C. in 1861, serving under Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas. During the Civil War, Townsend, who initiated the gathering of papers for the Official Records of the war, was the principal executive officer of the War Department, working closely with President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Townsend was brevetted Brigadier General on September 24, 1864 and Major General in March 1865 (for "faithful, meritorious, and distinguished services in the adjutant-general's department during the rebellion."). After being promoted to Adjutant General of the Army in February 1869, Townsend organized plans for a U.S. military prison, urging legislation on the subject and establishing the prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Slightly creased. Pinhead- stain at lower blank margin. Fine condition.