Caleb Smith of Indiana 1/9/1862 Free Frank Cutout On Piece Lincoln Secy Interior

Description

This is a cutout of a free frank of Caleb B. Smith which is rather clumsily glued to a piece of lined paper.  It includes a Washington DC circular date stamp from January 9 1862, which was during Smith's tenure as Lincoln's Secretary of the Interior.  His free frank is listed in the ASCC at 0.00.
Caleb Blood Smith
(April 16, 1808 – January 7, 1864) was a
United States Representative
from
Indiana
, the 6th
United States Secretary of the Interior
and a
United States District Judge
of the
United States District Court for the District of Indiana
. He was a member of the
Indiana House of Representatives
from 1832 to 1837, and from 1840 to 1841, serving as Speaker in 1836. He was Commissioner to collect assets and adjust debts for Indiana in 1837.
Smith was an unsuccessful candidate for the
27th United States Congress
in 1841. He was elected as a
Whig
from
Indiana's 4th congressional district
to the
United States House of Representatives
of the
28th
,
29th
and
30th United States Congresses
, serving from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1849.
Smith was appointed by President
Zachary Taylor
to serve as a member of the board of commissioners to adjust claims against
Mexico
from 1849 to 1851. He resumed private practice in
Cincinnati
, Ohio, from 1851 to 1859. He was a member of the
Peace Convention of 1861
held in
Washington, D.C.
, in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending
American Civil War
.
He was appointed by President
Abraham Lincoln
to serve as the 6th
United States Secretary of the Interior
from March 5, 1861, to January 1, 1863. However, Smith had little interest in the job and, with declining health, delegated most of his responsibilities to
Assistant Secretary of the Interior
John Palmer Usher
. When Lincoln showed the draft of the
Emancipation Proclamation
to his cabinet, the conservative Smith considered resignation upon its public announcement, but accepted the decision in the end.
Smith was nominated by President
Abraham Lincoln
on December 16, 1862, to a seat on the
United States District Court for the District of Indiana
vacated by Judge
Elisha Mills Huntington
. His service terminated on January 7, 1864, due to his death in
Indianapolis
,
Marion County
, Indiana.
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