Edwin M. Stanton, nicknamed “Mars,” was Attorney General under President James Buchanan and Secretary of War under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, 1862-1868.  After a disastrous outcome in the Battle of Bull Run, Stanton was openly critical of Lincoln, referring to the “imbecility of this administration.”  In response to Henry Dawe’s congratulations to Lincoln for getting a man of Stanton’s abilities in his cabinet, Lincoln remarked that they might have to put bricks in Stanton’s pockets just to hold him down.  However, he would prefer rocks in his pockets than “rocks in his hat.”

Stanton became the new Secretary of War after Lincoln ousted the corrupt Simon Cameron, appointing him Minister to Russia.  Stanton gave up a lucrative law practice to take the appointment and proved himself to be an effective cabinet officer.

It was Stanton who led the efforts to impeach and remove President Andrew Johnson from office after Lincoln’s assassination.  Opposed to Johnson’s lenient reconstruction policies, he worked to implement the Republican’s plans for reconstruction in the south.  Johnson suspended Stanton, then fired him in 1868.  Stanton, however, refused to leave office and remained in the War Department until the Senate voted against the President’s removal.
 
Stanton’s longtime wish to be a Supreme Court Justice seemed fulfilled when President Grant appointed him and the Senate confirmed him on the same day.  However, he died four days later in Washington. D.C. It was Stanton who had said of Lincoln’s death, “Now he is one for the ages.”