At the outset of the war, Sackett, then the lieutenant colonel of the 5th U.S. Cavalry, was assigned to Washington, D.C. as the  Acting Inspector-General of the Department of Washington.
At the start of the war, Sackett, who held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the 5th U.S. Cavalry, was assigned to Washington, D.C. as the Acting Inspector-General for the Department of Washington.