Edwin M. Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stantons management helped organize the massive military resources of the North and guide the Union to victory. He also organized the manhunt for Lincolns killer, John Wilkes Booth. However, he was criticized by many Union generals for perceived overcautiousness and micromanagement.

The first of David and Lucy Stantons four children, Edwin McMasters Stanton, was born to them on December 19, 1814 in Steubenville, Ohio. The Stantons later had two daughters, Oella and Pamphilia, and another son, Darwin. In his youth, Edwin was physically delicate, grave and studious, as well as frank, eloquent and empathetic, according to his classmates. He was fond of giving monologues to the children in his neighborhood on such topics as God, the Bible, Moses and the Great Flood, something he did in a stable at the rear of the familys home. When Edwins father put a human skeleton in the same stable, hoping that he would study the skeleton and gain an interest in becoming a physician, he lectured his peers on that as well.

Source: Wikipedia