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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1854

Vol. II
p572
1632

(Born Mas.)

Henry L. Abbot

(Ap'd Mas.)

2

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. Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1831: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.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.

Vol. IV
p93
[Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

Military History. — Stationed in New York City from Jan. 1, 1890 to Aug. 13, 1895, being President of the permanent Board of Engineers; Division Engineer of northeast division; President of the Harbor Line Boards of New York and Boston, and of various other boards; and member of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification.

Retired from Active Service, he being 64 Years of Age, Aug. 13, 1895.

Civil History. — Chairman of Jury of Higher Awards at the Atlanta Exposition, 1895. — Consulting Engineer of Wisconsin Central Railroad, to prepare plans for interior harbor of Manitowoc, Wis., 1895‑96. — President of Board of Consulting Engineers on ship canal projected between Lake Erie and the Ohio River by the Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburg, 1895‑96. — Member of Forestry Commission appointed by the President of the National Academy of Sciences on application of the Hon. The Secretary of the Interior, 1896‑97. — Member of the Comité Technique de la Cie. Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, March 23, 1897 to –––––. — Member of the Commission Statutaire of the same company, Feb., 1898 to Feb., 1899. — Residence in Paris.

Vol. V
p81
[Supplement, Vol. V: 1900‑1910]

Military History. — Retired officer — Residence, Cambridge, Mass.

Civil History. — Member of the Comité Technique de la Cie. Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, March 23, 1897 to July, 1900. — Consulting engineer of the same Company to the transfer of the property to the United States in May, 1904. — Member Board of Consulting Engineers appointed by the President to prepare plan for the Panama Canal, June, 1905 to February, 1906. — Professor of Hydraulic Engineering in the Faculty of Graduates' Studies, George Washington University, May, 1905 to –––––. Author of Problems of the Panama Canal, 1907.

Vol. VI
p70
[Supplement, Vol. VI: 1910‑1920]

Military History. —

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

Colonel, U. S. A., Retired Aug. 13, 1895, by Operation of Law.

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

Civil History. — Member of the American Philosophical Society since 1862; of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1863; Corresponding Member of the Imperial Royal Geological Institute of the Austrian Empire since 1863; Corresponding Member of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences since 1866; member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1872; member of the Committee on Standards for Electrical Measurement appointed by the National Academy of Science in accordance with Section 2 of the Act of Congress approved July 12, 1894; member of the Comité Technique de la Cie. Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, March 23, 1897 to July, 1900; Consulting engineer of the same Company until the transfer of the property to the United States in May, 1904; member of the Board of Consulting Engineers appointed by the President to prepare plan for the Panama Canal, June, 1905, to February, 1906; member of the Panama Canal Slide Committee appointed by the National Academy of Sciences in 1915 at the request of the President; Professor of Hydraulic Engineering in the Faculty of Graduates' Studies, George Washington University, May, 1905, to July 22, 1910; member of the Board of Overseers of the Thayer School of Civil Engineering, Dartmouth College, 1895‑1918 inclusive.

Degree of LL. D. conferred by Harvard in 1886.

Member of the Society of the Cincinnati and of the Loyal Legion.

Author of Problems of the Panama Canal, 1907; Half Century of the West Point Class, 1850 to 1854, 1906; and of many earlier technical books, and papers in encyclopedias, journals, etc.

Ancestors serving in the War of the Revolution: Major Abiel Abbot, Captain Nathan Hale, Lieutenant Joseph Hale.

Vol. VI
p52
[Supplement, Vol. VII: 1920‑1930]

Military History: —

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

Colonel, U. S. A., Retired Aug. 13, 1895, by Operation of Law.

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

Died, Oct. 1, 1927, at Cambridge, Mass.: Aged 96.

At the time of his death he was the oldest living graduate of the Military Academy.

Portrait and obituary in Annual Report, Association of Graduates, for 1928.

Buried, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.


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