He served his State with great brilliancy in Congress, and commanded with conspicuous success one of her regiments in the war with Mexico.

The Whigs of the North- West presented Colonel Baker for a seat in the Cabinet of President Taylor.

His failure to receive the appointment was a sore mortification to him.

He thought his political career in Illinois was broken; and in 1852, after the close of his service in Congress, he joined the throng who were seeking fortune and fame on the Pacific slope.

When leaving Washington he said to a friend that he should never look on the Capitol again unless he could come bearing his credentials as a senator of the United States.