Washington, D.C., February 21, 1862. Appointment of N. J. Sappington, later assigned to Elmira Prison to feed captured Confederates, as “Commissary of Subsistence of Volunteers with the rank of Captain.” Paper Seal of the Department of War affixed at upper left. Patriotic vignettes of an eagle with wings spread at top center and flags, weapons, military accouterments, and a regiment horn and drum across the bottom. When Elmira Prison opened in upstate New York in August 1864, Nicholas J. Sappington became Commissary of the prison. In January, 1865, many of the military contracts had to be extended or rewritten. Commissary Sappington had hoped to solve his problem of being able to procure better grades of meat for prisoners by stipulating in the new fresh beef contract for larger stock. Elmira flourmills were extremely busy in 1865. Besides the amount needed for meals, Commissary Sappington was required, as he put it, to keep in excess “about 50,000 pounds of hard bread on hand while the Prisoners were held here in case of any accident to the bake ovens.” Edwin M. Stanton (1814-1869) was Buchanan’s Attorney General (1860-1861) and Lincoln and Johnson’s Secretary of War (1862-1868). Johnson’s attempt to remove Stanton from his cabinet led to President Johnson’s impeachment. In 1869, Stanton was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant to be an Associated Justice of the Supreme Court. He died just four days after he was confirmed by the Senate.