Class of 1854

Henry Larcom Abbot: Born Aug. 13, 1831,º Beverly, MA.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1850, to July 1, 1854, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., Top. Engineers, July 1, 1854.

Served: as Assistant in the Office of Pacific Railroad Surveys, Washington, D. C., Oct. 12, 1854, to May 1, 1855, — on Survey of railroad route between California and Oregon, May 1, 1855, to May 19, 1857, and

(Second Lieut., Top. Engineers, Oct. 2, 1855)

as Assistant in office of Explorations and Surveys, Washington, D. C., — and on Hydrographic Survey of the Delta of the Mississippi River, La., May 19, 1857, to July 1, 1861.

First Lieut., Top. Engineers, July 1, 1857.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Asst. Top. Engineer on the Staff of Brig.‑General McDowell, July 5‑15, 1861; as Chief Top. Engineer of General Tyler's Division in the Manassas Campaign of July, 1861, being engaged in the Action of Blackburn's Ford, July 18, 1861, — and Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, where he was

(Bvt. Capt., July 21, 1861,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services in the Battle of Bull Run, Va.)

wounded; as Asst. Top. Engineer in the Defenses of Washington, on the Staff of General McDowell, July 23 to Aug. 21, 1861, — and as Assistant to General Barnard in the construction of field-works south of the Potomac, Aug. 21, 1861, to Mar. 19, 1862; as Aide-de‑Camp to General Barnard in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign (Army of the Potomac), Mar. 10 to July 24, 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5 to May 4, 1862, — and various Engineer duties of the Seven Days' Operations

 p573  (Bvt. Major, May 4, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Siege of Yorktown, Va.)

(Captain, Top. Engineers, June 18, 1862; Corps of Engineers, Mar. 3, 1863)

before Richmond, June 26 to July 2, 1862, including the preparation of maps; on sick leave of absence, July 24 to Sep. 25, 1862; as Aide-de‑Camp to General Barnard, Sep. 25 to Nov. 11, 1862, being engaged in fortifying the southern approaches to Alexandria, Va.; as Chief Top. Engineer of General Banks's Expedition to the Gulf of Mexico, Nov. 11, 1862, to Feb. 10, 1863; in command of Regiment or Brigade in

(Colonel, 1st Connecticut Artillery Volunteers, Jan. 19, 1863)

the Defenses of Washington, Feb. 28, 1863, to May 10, 1864; as Member of the Board of Engineers to Reorganize our system of Seacoast Fortifications, Jan. 27 to May 31, 1864; in Organizing Siege Train for the Armies operating against Richmond, Apr. 20 to May 10, 1864; in command of the Siege Artillery of the Army of the James, May 13 to June 23, 1864, — and of the Siege Artillery of the Armies operating against Richmond, June 23, 1864, to Jan. 5, 1865; as Chief of Artillery of the Expedition

(Bvt. Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, Aug. 1, 1864, for Gallant and Distinguished Services in the Operations before Richmond, and especially in the Lines before Petersburg, Va.)

to Ft. Fisher, N. C., Jan. 5‑22, 1865; in command of the Siege Artillery of the Armies operating against Richmond, Jan. 22 to July 3, 1865, being engaged in the Siege of Petersburg till Apr. 2, 1865, including

(Bvt. Maj.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Rebellion)

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Siege of Petersburg, Va.)

the Mine Assault, July 30, 1864, — Battle of Ft. Steadman, Mar. 25, and Assault of the Rebel Intrenchments, Apr. 2, 1865; as Chief of Artillery

(Bvt. Col., Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Rebellion)

(Bvt. Brig.‑General, U. S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services in the Field during the Rebellion)

of the Department of Virginia, May 10 to July 13, 1865; in command of Brigade in the Defense of Washington, D. C., July 15 to Sep. 25, 1865; and awaiting orders, Oct. 4 to Nov. 23, 1865.

Mustered out of Volunteer Service, Sep. 25, 1865.

Major, Corps of Engineers, Nov. 11, 1865.

Served: in command of the Engineer Battalion at Willet's Point, N. Y., and as Superintending Engineer of the construction of Ft. Schuyler, N. Y., Nov. 25 to Dec. 12, 1865; as Asst. Engineer in examination of the Mississippi Levees, Dec. 12, 1865, to May 29, 1866; in command of the Engineer Battalion and Engineer School of Application, June 1, 1866, — and of the Post and Engineer Depot at Willet's Point, N. Y., June 12, 1868, to Mar. 15, 1886; as Superintending Engineer of the construction of Ft. Schuyler, N. Y., June 1, 1866, — and fort at Willet's Point, N. Y., June 12, 1868, to May 24, 1886; as Member of Board of Engineers to conduct Experiments in the Use of Iron in Permanent Defenses, Sep. 1, 1866, to May 18, 1867; on detached service, under the orders of the Secretary of the Treasury, to observe Solar Eclipse at the Island of Sicily, Oct. 7, 1870, to Jan. 20, 1871; on professional duty in Europe to make contracts for Torpedo Cable, and to examine systems of Torpedo Defense adopted by  p574 Great Britain, Germany, Austria, and France, July 2 to Oct. 13, 1873; as Member of Board of Engineers to re-organize the Ponton Equipage for the U. S. Army, Dec. 19, 1868, to Nov. 15, 1869, — on Improvement of Wallabout Channel, New York Navy Yard, June, 1869, — of the Board of Engineers for Fortifications (and its Executive Officer) in matters relating to Torpedo Defense, May 5, 1869, to Sep. 2, 1879, — of Commissioners to devise a permanent plan for reclaiming the Alluvial Basin of the Mississippi, July 2, 1874, to Jan. 18, 1875, — on proposed Railroad from Austin, Tex., to Topolobampo, West coast of Mexico, Feb., 1875, — and to examine the contracts between the United States and the Moline Water Power Company, Apr. 5 to June 13, 1877, — of the Board of Visitors to the U. S. Military Academy, 1879, — of the Board of Engineers for Fortifications and River and Harbor Improvements, since Sep. 2, 1879,

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Mar. 31, 1880)

— of the Gun Foundry Board, Apr. 3, 1883, to Dec. 20, 1884, — in charge of Torpedo experiments, since Apr. 10, 1886, — on site of new bridge

(Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Oct. 12, 1886)

across Arthur Kill, Jan. 7‑26, 1888, — of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification, since Oct. 25, 1888, — on sites for seaboard fortifications, May 12, 1885, to July 27, 1888, — of Harbor lines of Boston, Mas., since Aug. 13, 1886, — and of New York, since Oct. 5, 1888; and Division Engineer for the inspection of engineer work in the Northeastern territory of the United States, since Dec. 3, 1888.

Civil History. — Correspondent of the Imperial Royal Geological Institute of the Austrian Empire, Dec. 17, 1862. Corporator of the National Academy of Sciences, since 1872. Degree of LL. D. conferred by Harvard University, Mas., 1886. Author (jointly with Capt. A. A. Humphreys) of "Topographic and Hydrographic Survey of the Delta of the Mississippi," 1861; and of various Biographical Memoirs, Professional Papers, etc., 1861‑90.

Buried, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.