Edward Dickinson Baker was a politician, lawyer, and military leader. Baker served in both houses of Congress in Illinois and later in both houses on a federal level —first on behalf of Illinois in the House of Representatives and later as a Senator from Oregon.

He was a long-time friend of President Abraham Lincoln and served as a United States Army Colonel in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.  

It was during the Battle of Balls Bluff that Baker was slain while leading Union troops. It’s said that Lincoln cried upon learning of Baker’s death.

Following funerals in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, Baker’s body was sent to California for burial in San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio of San Francisco.