Lincoln writes to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton regarding John B. Gordon, whom U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs William P. Dole recommends for a "Military Storekeeper" position. Lincoln notes, "If there be a vacancy, let him have it, unless by some paper on file, I am committed for it to some one else." Abraham Lincoln to Edwin M. Stanton, 27 January 1863, IHi, Springfield, IL; CW, 10:176.