Abner Doubleday was born on June 26, 1819 in Ballston Spa, New York. Both his maternal and paternal grandfathers fought in the Revolutionary War and his father in the War of 1812 before becoming a U. S. Congressman. After spending much of his childhood in Auburn, New York, Abner was sent to Cooperstown to live with his uncle and attend a private high school. He worked as a surveyor before entering West Point, from which he graduated in 1842, becoming a lieutenant in the U. S. Artillery. He served in the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, then the Seminole Wars from 1856 to 1858. In 1852,