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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1817

Vol. I
p159
168

(Born R. I.)

John R. Vinton​a

(Ap'd R. I.)

John Rogers Vinton: Born June 16, 1801, Providence, RI.

Military History. — Cadet of the Military Academy, May 4, 1814, to July 17, 1817, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

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

Second Lieut., Corps of Artillery, Oct. 31, 1817.

Served: on the Survey of the Northern Boundary of the United States,

(First Lieut., Corps of Artillery, Sep. 30, 1819)

1818‑21; in garrison at Charleston harbor, S. C., 1821‑22; on Ordnance

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

(Transferred to 3d Artillery, Dec. 5, 1821)

duty, Aug. 20, 1822, to Aug. 1, 1823; in garrison at Ft. Nelson, Va., 1823‑24, — Ft. Monroe, Va. (Artillery School for Practice),  p160 Apr. 5, 1824, to Mar. 1, 1825; as Aide-de‑Camp to Major-General Brown, Mar. 1, 1825, to May 24, 1828; in Adjutant-General's Office at Washington, D. C., 1828; in garrison at Ft. Wolcott, R. I., 1828‑29; on

(Bvt. Captain, Sep. 30, 1829, For Faithful Service Ten Years in one Grade)

Special duty at Boston, Mas., 1829‑30; in garrison at Ft. Wolcott, R. I.,

(Captain, 3d Artillery, Dec. 28, 1835)

1830‑32, — and Ft. Preble, Me., 1832‑36; on Recruiting service, 1836; in the Florida War against the Seminole Indians, 1837‑38, and 1838‑42, being engaged in the Defense of Ft. Mellon, Feb. 8, 1837; in garrison at New Orleans, La., 1842; in garrison at St. Augustine, 1842‑43, — Augusta Arsenal, Ga., 1843, — Ft. Macon, N. C., 1843‑44, 1844, — and Augusta Arsenal, Ga., 1844‑46; and in the War with Mexico, 1846‑47, as Major of Artillery Battalion of the "Army of Occupation," Aug. 21, 1846, to Feb. 14, 1847, being engaged in the Battle of Monterey,

(Bvt. Major, Sep. 23, 1846, for Gallant Conduct at Monterey)

Sep. 21‑23, 1846, and Siege of Vera Cruz, Mar. 9‑22, in the approaches to which, by the wind of a shell, he was

Killed, Mar. 22, 1847.

Buried, Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, RI.


Thayer's Note:

a The article in Cullum's Register does not do the man justice. John Rogers Vinton was a good painter, primarily of landscapes, whose works are still sought after today; and something of a polymath, or at least he would be considered so today. (He also kept a diary, of which at least three notebooks survive, covering among other things the social and political scene in Washington.) He is the subject of a 2017 biography, The Army Is My Calling: The Life and Writings of Major John Rogers Vinton 1801‑1847.

He was the father of Indicates a West Point graduate, Class of 1856: a link to his biographical entry in Cullum's Register.Francis L. Vinton.


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