 While Catholic chaplains had been appointed first during the Mexican–American War, to serve the needs of the large influx of Irish immigrant enlistments, the same had not been accomplished for Jewish Americans; to make matters worse, in 1861 Congress ordered military regiments to appoint Chaplains who were specifically of the Christian faith.Following protests by the Board of Delegates of American Israelites and introductions by others, a meeting was held in December 1861 with President Lincoln, which led to the rescinding of the order and the appointment of the first Jewish chaplain.Some sources consider this intercession "perhaps the first example of organized Jewish lobbying in Washington".