Class of 1848

James Chatham Duane: Born June 30, 1824, Schenectady, N. Y.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1844, to July 1, 1848, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, July 1, 1848.

Served: at West Point, N. Y., attached to Company of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers, 1848‑54, — and as the Asst. Instructor of Practical Military Engineering at the Military Academy, Sep. 13, 1852, to Aug. 31,

(Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, Mar. 16, 1853)

1854; as Asst. Engineer in building Ft. Trumbull, New London Harbor, Ct., 1849, and of Ft. Carroll, Patapsco River, Md., 1854‑56; as

(First Lieut., Corps of Engineers, July 1, 1855)

Light-house Engineer, New York District, Aug. 25, 1856, to Mar. 31, 1858; on Utah Expedition, in command of Engineer Company, Mar. 31 to Oct. 13, 1858; and at the Military Academy, 1858‑61, as Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, and commanding Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers, Oct. 16, 1858, to Jan. 18, 1861, — and Treasurer, Mar. 1, 1859, to Jan. 18, 1861.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: in command of Engineer Company in guarding Washington, D. C., Jan. 20 to

(Captain, 12th Infantry, May 14, 1861: Declined)

Apr. 2, 1861; in Defense of Ft. Pickens, Fla., Apr. 16 to Sep. 25, 1861;

(Captain, Corps of Engineers, Aug. 6, 1861)

in the Defenses of Washington, D. C., Oct. 31, 1861, to Mar. 27, 1862, being engaged in organizing Engineer Battalion, and Engineer Equipage for the Army of the Potomac and Department of the South, — and detached to Harper's Ferry, Feb. 24-Mar. 5, 1862, to bridge the Potomac; in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Mar. to Aug., 1862, being engaged, commanding Engineer Battalion, in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 12-May 4, 1862, — in construction of Field-works, and forming Bridges across Chickahominy and White Oak Swamp, — Battle of Gaines's Mill, June 27, 1862, — and in the subsequent Operations of the Campaign in the construction of Roads, Field-works, and Bridges, and particularly in building the Bridge •(2,000 feet long) over the Chickahominy, Aug. 12‑14, 1862; in the Maryland Campaign, as Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, Sep. 8 to Nov. 5, 1862, being engaged in the Battle of South Mountain, Sep. 14, 1862, — Battle of Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862, — and Skirmishes in Gaps of Blue Ridge, Oct., 1862; as Chief Engineer of the Department of the South, Nov. 19, 1862, to June 13, 1863, being engaged in the Attack on Ft. McAllister, Ga.,  p345 Mar., 1863, — and in Operations against Charleston, S. C., Apr., 1863;

(Major, Corps of Engineers, Mar. 3, 1863)

as Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, July 15, 1863, to June 8, 1865, being engaged in the Actions of Manassas Gap, July 23, 1863, — Combat of Rappahannock Station, Nov. 7, 1863, — Action of Robertson's Tavern, Nov. 27, 1863, — Battle of the Wilderness, May 5‑6, 1864, — Battles about Spottsylvania, May 9‑20, 1864, — Battles of Cold Harbor,

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., and Bvt. Colonel, July 6, 1864, for Meritorious and Faithful Services in the Campaign from the Rapidan to the James River,
and particularly for Distinguished Professional Services before Petersburg, Va.)

June 1‑3, 1864, — Siege of Petersburg, June 18, 1864, to Apr. 2, 1865, — Combat of Hatcher's Run, Feb. 4‑5, 1865, — Pursuit of Rebel Army,

(Bvt. Brig.‑General, U. S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Siege of Petersburg,
and the Campaign terminating with the
Surrender of the Insurgent Army under General Robert E. Lee)

Apr. 3‑9, 1865, and Capitulation of General Lee with the Army of Northern Virginia, at Appomattox C. H., Apr. 9, 1865; in command of the Post of Willet's Point, and Superintending Engineer of the construction of Defenses at the Eastern entrance to New York Harbor, June 8, 1865, to Aug. 12, 1866; as Member of Board of Engineers, June 20, 1865, to May 18, 1867, to carry out in detail the modifications of the Defenses in the vicinity of New York, as proposed by the Board of Jan. 27, 1864, — of Board for the Examination of Engineer Officers for Promotion, Nov. 28 to Dec. 16, 1865, and Mar. 25 to Feb. 5, 1866.º

Served: as Superintending Engineer of Fort at Willet's Point, N. Y., and commanding post, Aug. 12, 1866, to June 12, 1868, — of Defenses of

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Mar. 7, 1867)

Portland Harbor, and Fts. Popham and Knox, Me., Aug. 5, 1868, to May 31, 1879, — of First Light-house District, Sep., 1868, to July 1, 1879, of Second District, June, 1870, to June 30, 1881, — and of the Defenses of Portsmouth Harbor, N. H., May 14, 1871, to Feb. 28, 1874, and May 30, 1874, to May 31, 1879; as Member of Board on Block Island Breakwater, R. I., Feb. 18 to Mar. 10, 1868, — of Board to re-organize the Ponton Equipage for the U. S. Army, Dec. 19, 1868, to Nov. 15, 1869, — of Board on foundation of Washington Monument, Sep. 21, 1876, to June 18, 1878; and as Engineer of Third Light-house District, Dec. 16, 1878, to Nov. 9,

(Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Jan. 10, 1883)

1886; as Member of the Board of Engineers for Fortifications, and River and Harbor Improvements, Apr. 12, 1884, to Oct. 11, 1886, — and of Board of Visitors to Engineer School of Application, Mar. 11, 1885, to Oct. 11, 1886; in charge of supervision of such matters connected with

(Brig.‑General, — Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, Oct. 11, 1886)

the construction of Jetties and other works at South Pass, Mississippi River, as require the action of the Secretary of War, and Member of Joint Commission to supervise the construction of the Washington National Monument, Oct. 11, 1886, to June 30, 1888; in command of the Corps of Engineers and in charge of the Engineer Department, Oct. 14, 1886, to June 30, 1888; and Member of the Light-house Board, Oct. 22, 1886, to June 30, 1888.

Retired from Active Service, June 30, 1888, he being 64 Years of Age.

Civil History. — Commissioner of Croton Aqueduct, N. Y., since Aug. 1, 1888. Author of "Manual for Engineer Troops," 1862.