U.S. Mil. Acady. 20 May 1854
Dear Sir:
In answer to your letter of the 13th. I regret to state that your young friend Charles B. Watson was declared deficient at the last Jany examination in Phily & Chemy by the Academic Board; & in consequence directed to be discharged by the Secy of War. But in consequence of his good conduct was allowed the privilege of resigning. His separation from the Acady. was a source of regret to all the officers of the Institution, who in addition to their sympathy for the loss of his father & the condition of his mother, appreciated his excellent character & correct deportment while at the Academy.
He is I believe now with his mother at Terre Haute, Ind. & has some prospect of an appt. in the Marine Corps.
I am very truly yours,
Signed/ R. E. Lee Br. Col:
Supt: Mil: Acady
Superintendent's Daily Correspondence United States Military Academy
Superintendent's Letter Book No. 3, p. 105. Addressed “Mr. Charles E. Blunt Boston, Mass.”