Class of 1856

Miles Daniel McAlester: Born Mar. 21, 1833.

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: as Asst. Engineer in building Ft. Taylor, Fla., 1856‑57, — to

(Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, Dec. 1, 1856)

the Board of Engineers for Atlantic Coast Defenses, 1857‑58, — and in the construction and repairs of the Fortifications of New York Harbor, 1858‑59; and as Superintending Engineer of the Defenses of the Narrows entrance to New York Harbor, 1859‑60, and 1861, — and of the repairs of Ft. Mifflin, Pa., 1861.

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

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Asst. Engineer in the construction of the Defenses of Washington, D. C., Oct. 17, 1861, to Mar., 1862; as Chief Engineer of 3d Corps (Army of the Potomac), in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign, Mar.‑Aug., 1862, being engaged in the Siege of Yorktown, Apr. 5 to May 4, 1862, — Battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, — Battle of Fair Oaks, May 31, 1862, — Action of Oak Grove, June 25, 1862, — Battle of Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862, — and directing the construction of field works, June‑July, 1862;

(Bvt. Major, and Bvt. Lieut.‑Col., July 1, 1862,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services in the Virginia Peninsular Campaign)

in fortifying Yorktown, Va., Aug., 1862; in the Maryland Campaign (Army of the Potomac), being engaged in the Battle of Crampton's Pass, South Mountain, Sep. 14, 1862, — and Battle of Antietam, Sep. 17, 1862; as Chief Engineer of the Department of the Ohio, Oct. 30, 1862, to

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

Apr., 1863, being engaged in fortifying Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport, Ky., and constructing bridge trains for the Western Armies, Apr. to Aug., 1863, — and detached under the orders of General Grant at the Siege of Vicksburg, Mis., June 20 to July 4, 1863; at the Military Academy, 1863‑64, as Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, Sep. 10, 1863, to June 22, 1864, — as Principal Asst. Professor of Engineering, Sep. 10, 1863, to June 22, 1864, — and Treasurer, Nov. 6, 1863, to June 22, 1864; and as Chief Engineer of the Military Division of West Mississippi, July 15, 1864, to July 16, 1865, — and of Department of Louisiana, July 16 to Nov. 25, 1865, being engaged in Reconnoissance of the Rebel Defenses at the mouth of Mobile Bay, July 20‑24, 1864, — Siege and Capture of Ft. Gaines, Ala., Aug. 4‑8, 1864, — Siege and Capture of Ft. Morgan, Aug. 9‑23, 1864, — and in the Mobile Campaign, Mar. 4 to Apr. 12, 1865, including the Siege and Capture of Spanish Fort, Mar. 27 to Apr. 8, 1865, and the Siege and Storming of Blakely, Apr. 5‑9, 1865.

 p642  Bvt. Colonel, Aug. 23, 1864, for Highly Meritorious Services
as Chief Engineer of the Military Division of West Mississippi,
and especially as Supervising Engineer of the Siege of Fts. Gaines and Morgan, Ala.

Bvt. Brig.‑General, U. S. Army, Apr. 9, 1865,
for Gallant and Meritorious Services at the Siege of Mobile, Ala.

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

Served: as Superintending Engineer of the Defenses of Ship Island, Mis., Dec. 23, 1865, to Nov. 26, 1867, — of Defenses of New Orleans, La., Dec. 23, 1865, to Dec., 1868, — of Defenses of Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., Mar. 13, 1866, to Nov. 26, 1867, — of the Improvement of the Mouth of the Mississippi River, Mar. 13, 1866, to Dec., 1868, — of Eighth Lighthouse District, May 22, 1867, to Sep., 1868, and of the part west of Pearl River to Dec., 1868, — of Survey of Galveston Harbor, Tex., Apr., 1868, — of Repairs of Fts. Ontario and Niagara, N. Y., Dec., 1868, to Apr. 23, 1869, — of Harbor Works on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, Dec., 1868, to Apr. 23, 1869, — and of the Tenth Lighthouse District, Dec., 1868, to Apr. 23, 1869.

Died, Apr. 23, 1869, at Buffalo, N. Y.: Aged 37.

Buried, Hollenback Cemetery, Wilkes-Barre, PA.