Appointment of Keyes and FJ Porter as Brigadiers-Generals

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Nov 10, 2006
An anomaly has cropped up. The Senate records show that both Keyes and FJ Porter were formally nominated by the President to be brigadier-generals in the volunteer force on 6th January 1862. However, they are included as such in General Orders dated 20th August 1861.

I can find no evidence that Lincoln made appointments of them as BG(V) before nomination. Indeed, Keyes and FJ Porter are definitely still just regular colonels at the end of July '61.

Have I missed something?
 
Yes, something like that did happen. McClellan had known Porter from his West Point days (McClellan Class of 1846, Porter Class of 1845); both were in Scott's army on the way to Mexico City. They kept in touch. I believe it was F. J. Porter who wrote McClellan in April of 1861 (while McClellan was still head of a RR) urging him to take a Major General spot with either the Ohio or Pennsylvania forces.
It also appears that Mac, who was directly involved in the process, concluded that Porter had a good appointment to BGUSV as of August. That long-standing friendship was the basis for the concern that Lincoln expressed later to McClellan about his looking to replace Sumner, et al on the Peninsula.
 
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