Senator Garret Wall Writes of a Cadet at West Point

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WALL, Garret Dorset (1783-1850) was a military officer and politician from New Jersey. He served in the War of 1812 and commanded a volunteer regiment from Trenton. Wall was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1829, but declined to serve; he was then elected as a Jacksonian (later, a Democrat) to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1841; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. Autograph Letter Signed, “Garret D. Wall” 1p. quarto, Senate Chambers, March 13, 1838, with integral leaf addressed to Susan Schureman, and Free Franked by Wall, and reads “I do not recollect whether I mentioned to you, that you must not put your self to exposure in filling out James for West Point. You will see that he must get his clothing at West Point and therefore he will want only a few shirts not more than two & the suit to wear to the academy...” Fold splits, else VG.James Schureman entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY on July 1, 1838 and graduated 42nd in his class on July 1, 1842. He was promoted to a Bvt. 2nd Lieutenant, 7th Infantry, and stationed at Fort Wood, Louisiana. He went from there to the Buffalo Barracks, NY 1844-1845. While there he very likely commissioned the portrait in oils of himself in full dress uniform, now in the collection of the Monmouth County Historical Association, Freehold, New Jersey. This portrait was painted by Albert Tracy, a Buffalo artist, in 1845. With the outbreak of the Mexican War, Lt. Schureman went to Mexico and served under General Winfield Scott and General Lovell. He fought in several of the battles, including the Siege of Vera Cruz (1847 March 9 - 29). On August 20, 1847, he was promoted to Bvt. 1st Lieutenant and cited for galland and meritorious conduct in the Battles of Contreras (1847 August 19-20) and Churubusco (1847 August 20).

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