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 [decorative delimiter] Class of 1856

Vol. II
p639
1712

(Born N. Y.)

David C. Houston

(Ap'd N. Y.)

2

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1852, to July 1, 1856, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, July 1, 1856.

Served: at the Military Academy as Asst. Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Sep. 9, 1856, to Sep. 24, 1857; as Asst. Engineer

(Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, Oct. 31, 1856)

in the construction of the Defenses of Hampton Roads, Va., 1857‑58; in command of a detachment of Engineer troops in Oregon, 1858‑60; and as Asst. Engineer in the construction of Fort on Sandy Hook, N. J., 1860‑61.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Asst.

(First Lieut., Corps of Engineers, May 2, 1861)

Engineer in the construction of the Defenses of Washington, D. C., May 13, 1861, to Feb. 6, 1862, participating in the Manassas Campaign of July, 1861, and being engaged as Engineer of General Tyler's Division in the Action of Blackburn's Ford, July 18, 1861, — Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; in charge of repairs of Ft. Mifflin, Pa., Feb. 6 to Mar. 8, 1862; as Chief Engineer of 1st Army Corps, Mar. 13 to Apr. 4, 1862, — of the Department of the Rappahannock, Apr. 4 to

Major, Staff — Additional Aide-de‑Camp, May 16, 1862, to May 31, 1866)

Aug. 12, 1862, — and of 3d Army Corps, Aug. 12 to Sep. 6, 1862; in Northern Virginia Campaign, Aug.‑Sep., 1862, being engaged in the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9, 1862, — and Battle of Manassas,

(Bvt. Captain, Aug. 10, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va.)

Aug. 29‑30, 1862; as Chief Engineer of the 1st Corps (Army of the Potomac), in the Maryland Campaign, Sep. 6 to Nov. 15, 1862, being engaged in the Battle of South Mountain, Sep. 14, 1862, — Battle of  p640 Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862, — and in charge of the Defenses of Harper's

(Bvt. Major, Sep. 17, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services during the Maryland Campaign)

Ferry, Va., Nov. 1‑15, 1862; as Chief Engineer of the Department of the Gulf, Dec. 17, 1862, to July 5, 1864, being engaged in the Demonstration on Port Hudson, La., Mar., 1863, — Operations in Western Louisiana,

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

Apr.‑May, 1863, participating in the Combat of Camp Bisland, Apr. 13‑14, 1863, — Siege of Port Hudson, May 29 to June 17, 1863, —

(Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., June 17, 1863,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services in the Action at Port Hudson, La.)

Defenses of New Orleans, June 17 to Oct. 27, 1863, — Expedition to the mouth of the Rio Grande, Oct. 27, 1863, to Jan., 1864, — and Red River Campaign, Mar. to May, 1864, being present with the fleet in its Actions of Apr. 11‑13, 1864; and as Member of Special Board of Engineers for the Defenses of San Francisco, Cal., Aug. 9, 1864, to Apr. 7, 1865, —

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

of Special Board for Defenses of Willet's Point, N. Y., Apr. 7 to June 20, 1865, — and of Board, June 20, 1865, to May 18, 1867,​a to carry out in detail the Modifications of the Defenses in the vicinity of Boston, as proposed by the Board of Jan. 27, 1864.

Served: as Superintending Engineer of the Construction of the Defenses of Narragansett Bay, R. I., Nov. 9, 1865, to Feb., 1870, — of River

(Major, Corps of Engineers, Mar. 7, 1867)

and Harbor Improvements in Rhode Island and Connecticut, July 21, 1866, to Feb., 1870, — of the Defenses of New London and New Haven Harbors, [image ALT: an underscored blank]º 1867, to Feb., 1870, — of the Defenses of New Bedford Harbor, and Preservation of Plymouth Beach, Mas., May, 1869, to Feb., 1870, — of various Harbor Improvements, on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, Feb., 1870, to Mar. 12, 1884, — of Surveys and Improvements of various Rivers in Wisconsin, July, 1870, to Mar. 12, 1884; and as Member of Board of Engineers on Block Island Breakwater, Feb. 18, to Mar. 10, 1868, — on Wreck of Steamer Scotland, Mar. to July, 1868, — on Improvement of Ogdensburg Harbor, May‑June, 1868, and of Oswego Harbor, June, 1868, — on Wallabout Channel, New York, Navy Yard, June, 1869, — on plans for Docks in Chicago Breakwater, Aug., 1871, — on condition of Toledo Harbor, Dec., 1872, — to consider application of appropriations for Buffalo Harbor, and Dredging Bay of Superior, Apr., 1873, — on construction of Harbor at Michigan City, Jan., 1875, — to examine condition of Harbor at mouth of Kalamazoo River, June 9‑12, 1875, and St. Joseph's Harbor, and Railroad Bridge across it, June 10‑18, 1875, — on Improvement of Ahnapee Harbor, Wis., Oct. 13, to Dec. 16, 1875, — on Modification proposed in plan of Michigan City Harbor, Mar. 12, 1877, — on Outer Harbor at Chicago, Ill., and Michigan City Harbor, Ind., July, 1878, — and on the Improvement of the Upper Fox River, Wis., Aug., 1878; on leave of absence and awaiting orders,

(Lieut.‑Colonel, Corps of Engineers, June 30, 1882)

Mar. 18 to Dec. 17, 1884; as Supervising Engineer of the Districts in charge of various junior engineers, Dec. 12, 1884, to Jan. 22, 1886; as Member of the Board of Engineers for Fortification and River and Harbor Improvements, and of the Board of Visitors to the Engineer School of Application, Jan. 23, 1886 to –––––; in charge of the fortifications in Connecticut and inner harbor of New York city, and of the River and  p641 Harbor Improvements in the District of Connecticut and Southeastern New York, Feb. 17, 1886, to –––––, — of Ft. Lafayette, N. Y., Feb. 17, 1886, to July 8, 1889, — of the temporary supervision of Lieut.‑Colonel Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.McFarland's works in New York and New Jersey, Apr. 17 to July 26, 1886, — of governmental duties pertaining to the erection of the Bartholdi Statue,º at Bedloe's Island, N. Y., June 9 to Sep., 1886, — of construction of Ft. Wadsworth, and Ft. Tompkins, and its batteries, N. Y., June 28, 1888, to –––––, — and of David's Island Sea-wall, N. Y., Sep. 27, 1888, to –––––; as Member of various Engineer Boards on Improvement of Rivers and Harbors, and Bridge construction, 1879‑90, — and of Board on New York Harbor lines, Oct. 5, 1888, to –––––.

Colonel, Corps of Engineers, July 2, 1889.

Vol. IV
p101
[Supplement, Vol. IV: 1890‑1900]

Military History. — Member of the Board of Engineers, New York City, 1889 to May, 1893.

Died May 18, 1893, at St. Vincent's Hospital, New York, N. Y.: Aged 57.


Thayer's Note:

a At roughly this period, Maj. Houston worked on a casemate-carriage without tongue, which although not mentioned here, the Register records as then being reviewed by several officers; see the entries for Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Peter V. Hagner and Indicates a West Point graduate and gives his Class.Thomas J. Treadwell.


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