Class of 1817

James Duncan Graham: Born Apr. 4, 1799, in Prince William County, VA.​a

Military History. — Cadet of the Military Academy, June 19, 1813, to July 17, 1817, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Third Lieut., Corps of Artillery, July 17, 1817.

Served: at the Military Academy, as Adjutant, Oct. 12, 1817, to Feb. 10,

(Second Lieut., Corps of Artillery, Oct. 14, 1817)

 p158  1819; on Major Long's Western Exploration, 1819‑21; on Topographical

(First Lieut., Corps of Artillery, Sep. 8, 1819)

(First Lieut., 4th Artillery,
in Re-organization of Army, June 1, 1821)

(Transferred to 3d Artillery, Aug. 16, 1821)

duty, Jan. 14, 1822, to Jan. 15, 1829; on Surveys in Vermont, 1829;

(Bvt. Captain, Staff — Asst. Top. Engineer, Jan. 15, 1829)

on Railroad Surveys in Virginia, 1831‑32, — and in Alabama, Florida,

(Bvt. Major, Staff — Top. Engineer, Sep. 14, 1834)

and Georgia, 1836‑37; in making Reconnoissance and Surveys for Military Defenses in Me., 1838; on Court of Inquiry at St. Louis, Mo., 1838‑39; on tour of Inspection of Harbor Improvements on Lakes Ontario

(Major, Corps of Top. Engineers, July 7, 1838)

and Champlain, 1839; as Astronomer, on the part of the United States, for the joint demarcation of the Boundary between the United States and the Republic of Texas, 1839‑40; as Commissioner for the Survey and Exploration of the Northeast Boundary of the United States, 1840‑43; as "Head of the Scientific Corps and Principal Astronomer," on the part of the United States, for the joint demarcation of the Boundary between the United States and the British Provinces, under the Treaty of Washington, 1843‑47, — and renewing maps of the Boundary

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Colonel, Jan. 1, 1847, for Valuable and Highly Distinguished Services, particularly on the Boundary Line between the United States and the Provinces of Canada and New Brunswick)

Survey, destroyed by fire, 1848‑50, and 1852‑53; on Survey of Boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland ("Mason and Dixon's Line"), 1849‑50; as Principal Astronomer and "Head of the Scientific Corps," on the part of the United States, for the joint demarcation of the Boundary between the United States and Mexico, under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1850‑51; in general supervision of the Harbor Improvements on Lake Michigan, Apr. 20, 1854, to Dec. 11, 1856, — and of the Channel Improvement over St. Clair Flats, Apr. 25, 1854, to Sep., 1856; as Superintending Engineer of the Harbor Improvements on the North and

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Top. Engineers, Aug. 6, 1861: Corps of Engineers, Mar. 3, 1863)

Northwestern Lakes, Dec. 11, 1856, to Apr. 20, 1864, in which he discovered the existence of a lunar tide, 1858‑59.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑65: as Superintendent of the United States Lake Survey, Aug. 30, 1861, to Apr. 20, 1864; as Lighthouse Engineer of the 10th and 11th Districts (Northern Lakes, except Champlain), Aug. 30, 1861, to Apr. 20, 1864, — and Inspector

(Colonel, Corps of Engineers, June 1, 1863)

of 11th Lighthouse District, Aug. 30, 1861, to Mar., 1863; as Superintending Engineer of Sea-walls in Boston harbor, and in charge of the Preservation and Repairs of Harbor Works on the Atlantic Coast, from Maine to the Capes of the Chesapeake, Aug. 1, 1864, to Dec. 28, 1865.

Civil History. — Member of several Scientific and Historical Societies, 1840‑65.

Died, Dec. 28, 1865, at Boston, Mas.: Aged 66.

Buried, Congressional Cemetery, Washington, DC.