Mullan entered West Point on July 1, 1848. Sizing up the diminutive but muscular Mullan, Polk reportedly asked, "Well, don't you think you are rather small to want to be a soldier?" Mullan replied, "I may be somewhat small, sir, but can't a small man be a soldier as well as a tall one?" Polk, amused by Mullan's audacity, gave him the appointment six weeks later. In 1848, Mullan traveled to the White House in Washington, D.C., and asked Polk for an appointment to West Point. The entire Democratic delegation in the Maryland General Assembly petitioned President James K. John's president Hector Humphreys) wrote John Jr. This made the Mullans extremely well-connected politically, and several respected citizens of Annapolis (including St. had briefly served as an alderman on the Annapolis city council. The Mullan family were Democrats, and John Sr. sought admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Probably due to his father's lengthy career in the Army, John Mullan Jr. was assigned to the Navy (he formally joined the Navy in 1855 at the age of 54), and spent the rest of his career doing light general repair and cleaning at the Naval Academy. Marcy transferred the Army post of Fort Severn (which guarded the entrance to Annapolis harbor) to the United States Navy, which converted the fort into the United States Naval Academy. John's in 1847 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. John's College in Annapolis, where he studied Greek, Latin, history, mathematics, philosophy, art, rhetoric, navigation, surveying, chemistry, and geology, among other subjects. Despite the financial burden of raising so many children, the Mullans were able to finance secondary and higher education for John. had enlisted in the United States Army in 1823, and about the time of John Jr.'s birth was an ordnance sergeant. The Mullans moved to Annapolis, Maryland, in 1833. He was the oldest son of what would eventually be 11 children. Mullan was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on July 31, 1830, to John and Mary ( née Bright) Mullan. 4.2 Battle of Four Lakes and Battle of Spokane Plains.2.5 Blazing the Fort Benton-Mullan Pass road.2.4 Fall of 1853 exploration of the Bitterroot Valley.Mullan also served from 1883 to 1887 as one of the commissioners of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, a private organization acting as an agent of the federal government. The tarnished reputation he earned as a land speculator, coupled with state politics, led the three states and the territory to deny him most of the income he expected to generate from this business. He later became an agent and lobbyist for the states of California, Nevada, and Oregon and for the Washington Territory, securing reimbursements from the federal government. At one point, the law firm he co-founded was the largest land speculator in the state. Leaving the United States Army in April 1863, he failed at several businesses before profiting immensely as a real estate dealer and land attorney in California. He unsuccessfully sought appointment as Territorial Governor of the new Idaho Territory, although he played a significant role in the territory's formation and the establishment of its boundaries. He extensively explored western Montana and portions of southeastern Idaho, discovered Mullan Pass, participated in the Coeur d'Alene War, and led the construction crew which built the Mullan Road in Montana, Idaho, and Washington state between the spring of 1859 and summer of 1860. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1852, he joined the Northern Pacific Railroad Survey, led by Isaac Stevens. (J– December 28, 1909) was an American soldier, explorer, civil servant, and road builder. Building the Mullan Road in Montana, Idaho, and Washington state