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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1864

Vol. III
p17
2025

(Born O.)

Oswald H. Ernst

(Ap'd O.)

6

Oswald Herbert Ernst: Born June 27, 1842, Cincinnati, OH.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1860, to June 13, 1864, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

First Lieut.,º Corps of Engineers, June 13, 1864.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1864‑66: as Asst. Engineer in of the Army of the Tennessee, in the Georgia Campaign, July 21 to Sep. 23, 1864, being engaged in the Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, — Siege of Atlanta, July 22 to Aug. 5, 1864, — Battle of Ezra Church,  p18 July 28, 1864, — and in fortifying Marietta, Aug. 5 to Sep. 3, 1864; and at the Military Academy as Asst. Professor of Engineering, Oct. 5‑18, 1864.

Bvt. Capt., Mar. 13, 1865, for Faithful and Meritorious Services.

Served: as Asst. Engineer in the construction of Defenses of San Francisco, Cal., Dec. 1, 1865, to May, 1868; in command of Engineer Company

(Captain, Corps of Engineers, Mar. 7, 1867)

at Willet's Point, N. Y., June, 1868, to June 16, 1871, being detached Nov. 3, 1870, to Mar. 2, 1871, as Astronomer of U. S. Commission to observe in Spain the Solar Eclipse of Dec. 20, 1870; as Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, Military Signaling, and Telegraphy in the Military Academy, and commanding Engineer Company at West Point, N. Y., Aug. 1, 1871, to Aug. 28, 1878; as Asst. Engineer on the works in charge of Colonel Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Simpson, Sep. 28, 1878, to Mar. 30, 1880; in charge of the Improvement of Osage River, Mar. 30, 1880, to Sep. 30, 1884, — of the Mississippi River, between mouths of the Illinois and Ohio, from Mar. 30, 1880, and at points in Missouri, from June 17, 1880, and Illinois and of its Harbor Improvements, from Mar. 19, 1881, and under the

(Major, Corps of Engineers, May 5, 1882)

Mississippi River Commission, from July 21, 1884, to Nov. 17, 1886; as Member of the Missouri River Commission, since July 7, 1884; in charge of River and Harbor Improvements in Texas, Nov. 23, 1886, to Nov. 2, 1889; as Member of Mississippi River Commission, since May 15, 1888; on duty in Mexico under orders of the State Department, Nov. 16 to Dec. 12, 1888; as Member of various Engineer Boards on River and Harbor Improvements, Bridge Constructions, etc., 1881‑89; in charge of Public Buildings and Grounds, and the care of the Washington Monument, Washington, D. C., since Sep. 7, 1889 (ex officio Colonel); and in charge of the erection of monument to mark the birthplace of George Washington, and of improvements over the grave of Thomas Jefferson, since Sep. 10, 1889.

Civil History. — Author of a "Manual of Practical Military Engineering," 1873; and of various articles on Military subjects in Johnson's Cyclopaedia, 1874‑76.

Vol. IV
p143
[Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

Military History. — In charge of public buildings and grounds in Washington, D. C., and Aide-de‑Camp to the President, to March 31, 1893. — Member of the Mississippi River Commission and of Missouri River Commission to 1894. — Member of Lighthouse Board, 1892‑93. — Superintendent U. S. Military Academy at West Point, April 1, 1893 to Sept. 10, 1898.

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Corps of Engineers, March 31, 1895)

(Brig.‑General U. S. Volunteers, May 27, 1898)

 p144  — In command 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Corps, June 13 to Oct. 17, 1898, being in camp at Chickamauga, June 13 to July 6; en route to Porto Rico, July 6 to 26; in Porto Rico campaign to its close, and then en route homeward, Oct. 12‑17. — Commanded the troops in the affair of Coamo, Aug. 9, when with a loss of but 7 wounded he inflicted a loss upon the enemy of 9 killed (including the commanding officer), 30 wounded, and 167 prisoners. — For his conduct in the campaign he was recommended for promotion by Major-General Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.James H. Wilson, commanding his Division, and by Major-General Miles, commanding the Army. — Awaiting orders, Oct. 17 to Dec. 20, 1898. — Inspector-General of the Military Division of Cuba, Jan. 1, 1899 to –––––; Appointed by the President of the United States member of a commission to determine a route for a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, June 9, 1899.

Honorably discharged from Volunteer Service, June 12, 1899.

Vol. V
p113
[Supplement, Vol. V: 1900‑1910]

Military History.Inspector-General of the Military Division of Cuba, Jan. 1, 1899 to May 6, 1899. — Member of a commission to determine a route for a canal across the Isthmus of Panama, June 9, 1899 to March 3, 1900. — In Europe inspecting ship canals and plans and records of Panama Canal, July‑Oct., 1899, and in Central America examining various routes across the Isthmus, Jan.‑April, 1900. — In charge of fortifications and river and harbor work, with headquarters at Baltimore, Md., April 14, 1900 to Aug. 18, 1901, and of river and harbor work at Chicago, Ill., Aug. 19, 1901 to April 3, 1905.

(Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Feb. 20, 1903)

— Division Engineer, Northwest Division, July 24, 1901, to April 5, 1905. — Engineer Officer, Department of the Lakes, July 31, 1901 to Dec. 22, 1903. — Chairman of the Board of Engineer Officers to survey route for waterway 14 feet deep from Chicago to St. Louis, July 5, 1902 to Aug. 26, 1905; of Board to report upon the plans for improvement of the  p114 Mississippi River near Glenhaven, Wis., Dec. 1, 1903 to Sept. 30, 1904; of Board to examine certain officers of the Corps of Engineers for promotion, March 17, 1904, to July 15, 1904; of Board to examine and report upon designs for movable dam at St. Mary's Falls Canal, Jan.‑April, 1905. — President of Mississippi River Commission, Feb. 25, 1903 to June 27, 1906. — Member of Isthmian Canal Commission April 1, 1905 to June 27, 1906. — Member of Advisory Board on Fuels and Structural Materials, March 12, 1906 to Nov. 10, 1906. — Member of International Waterways Commission and Chairman of American Section, Oct. 2, 1903 to date. — Elected honorary vice-president of Wisconsin National Guard Association, Jan. 14, 1903. — Prepared plans for the protection of the American Bottom opposite St. Louis for the East Side Levee Association, Oct., 1906 to Feb., 1908.

Brig.‑General, U. S. A., Retired June 27, 1906, by operation of law.

— Address, 1321 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, D. C.

Vol. VI
p106
[Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910‑1920]

(Oswald Herbert Ernst, Born June 27, 1842.)

Military History. —

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Feb. 20, 1903.

Colonel, U. S. A., Retired, June 27, 1906, By Operation of Law.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., on Retired List, June 27, 1906,
Act of April 23, 1904.

 p107  Prepared plans for the protection of the American Bottom opposite St. Louis for the East Side Levee Association, Oct., 1906, to Feb., 1908; as Consulting Engineer, examined and reported upon the various plans proposed for the drainage of the Coldwater-Tallahatchie Basin in the alluvial bottom of the Mississippi, Nov., 1909; President of Board of Consulting Engineers convened by the Miami Conservancy District to examine plans to protect the valley of the Miami River, Ohio, from the destructive effects of floods, 1914‑1915;

(Major-General, U. S. A., Retired, Nov. 2, 1916,
Under Provision in Army Appropriation Act Approved Aug. 29, 1916)

Member of Board of Directors of the Panama Railroad Co., since April, 1905.

Service medals: Civil War, Spanish War, Army of Occupation of Cuba.

Vol. VI
p75
[Supplement, Vol. VII: 1920‑1930]

Military History: —

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Feb. 20, 1903.

Colonel, U. S. A., Retired, June 27, 1906, By Operation of Law.

Brigadier-General, U. S. A., Retired, June 27, 1906,
Act of April 23, 1904.

Major-General, U. S. A., Retired, Nov. 2, 1916,
Under Provision in Army Appropriation Act Approved Aug. 29, 1916

Died, Mar. 21, 1926, at Washington, D. C.: Aged 83.

Buried, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.

Portrait and obituary in Annual Report, Association of Graduates, for 1926.


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