Edwin McMasters Stanton was President Lincoln's choice to succeed Simon Cameron as Secretary of War. As a lifelong Democrat, Buchanan's Attorney General, and a strong opponent of secession, his appontment was generally welcomed as a cementing of Northern unity. His nomination was confirmed in the United States Senate 36-2, with only Republicans Samuel Pomeroy of Kansas and James Grimes of Iowa voting against. Stanton served in that post until 1868. (By John Osborne)