(1829 - 1890) Union brigadier general and Secretary of War in Grant's administration; impeached by the Senate for accepting bribes from Indian posts. Intriguing A.L.S. as Secretary of War on War Department letterhead, 2pp. 8vo., Washington, D.C., Dec. 9, 1872, to an unnamed general, by context likely Emory Upton, then Commandant of West Point. In full: ‘I enclose a letter I have just received from my sister-in-law, Mrs. Reed, the mother of Harry who is a cadet. It explains itself. The information she gives is the first I have had of the affair, and it embarrasses me very much to be appealed to. I have concluded to send you the letter confidentially with the request that you will return it, with your view of the case. I have no favor to ask for Harry. At the same time I hope & believe that he will have fair play. You can understand how the matter embarrasses me.’ He signs boldly ‘Wm. W. Belknap’ in black ink at the conclusion. Shows original mailing folds, otherwise in fine condition. In the fall of 1870, a court of inquiry found that Belknap’s nephew Harry Reed, among others, was guilty of harassing James Webster Smith, the first Black cadet admitted to West Point, but no punishment was recommended. Belknap himself presided over a court-martial of Smith in 1871, in which he was accused of keeping his head down while marching, which resulted in Smith being held back a year. Smith endured further racial harassment until he was dismissed from West Point on spurious grounds in 1874. It is likely that Belknap’s letter refers to this ongoing scandal, in which President Grant’s son, Frederick Dent Grant, was a ringleader.