Class of 1833

George Washington Cullum: Born Feb. 25, 1809, New York, NY.

Military History. — Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1829, to July 1, 1833, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

Bvt. Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, July 1, 1833.

Served: as Asst. Engineer in construction of Ft. Adams, Newport harbor, R. I., 1833‑34; as Assistant to the Chief Engineer, at Washington, D. C., 1834‑36; on inspection of Fts. Severn and Madison, to examine their sufficiency for the defense of Annapolis harbor, Md., 1835; as Asst. Engineer in the construction of Ft. Adams, Newport harbor, R. I.,

(Second Lieut., Corps of Engineers, Apr. 20, 1836)

1836‑38; as Superintending Engineer of the building of the Pier, Dike, and Light-house at Goat Island, Newport harbor, R. I., 1836‑38, — of the construction of Ft. Trumbull, 1838‑55, and Battery Griswold, 1841‑55,

(Captain, Corps of Engineers, July 7, 1838)

for the defense of New London harbor, Ct., — of the repairs of Sea Walls for the preservation of Deer, Lovell's, and Rainsford Islands, Boston harbor, Mas., 1846, — and of the construction of Ft. Warren, 1846, and Fts. Independence and Winthrop, 1846‑47, for the defense of Boston harbor, Mas.; on Recruiting Service for Engineer troops, 1846‑47; as Superintending Engineer for devising and constructing Sapper, Miner, and Ponton Trains for our Armies in the War with Mexico, and for Drill purposes at the Military Academy, 1846‑47; on Special duty at West Point, N. Y., preparing for publication a Memoir on Military Bridges, with India Rubber Pontons, 1847‑48; as Superintending Engineer of the construction of Cadet Barracks at West Point, N. Y., 1848; at the Military Academy, as Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, Mar. 25, 1848, to May 19, 1851, — and Treasurer, Mar. 25 to July 28, 1848; as Commandant of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers at West Point, N. Y., June 22, 1848, to July 5, 1850; on sick leave of absence, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, 1850‑51, and in the West Indies, 1851‑52; at the Military Academy, as Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, and Commandant of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers, June 1, 1852, to Jan. 1, 1855; as Superintending Engineer (under the Treasury Department) of the construction of the New York Assay Office, and of the alterations and repairs of Wall Street Bank Building to convert it into offices for the U. S. Assistant Treasurer, at New York city, 1853‑54, — of the building of Ft. Sumter, and repairing Castle Pinckney and Ft. Moultrie, constructing wharves at Ft. Johnson and Castle Pinckney, and of the preservation of the sites of the fortifications in Charleston harbor, S. C., 1855‑58, — of the improvement of Maffit's Channel into Charleston harbor, S. C., 1855‑60, — of the erection and repairs of Charleston harbor Light-houses, Keepers' Dwellings, and Beacons, 1855‑58, — and repairs of Fts. Macon and Caswell, N. C., and preservation of their sites, 1857‑58; as Member of Special Board of Engineers to devise the defenses of Sandy Hook, N. J., 1858; as Superintending Engineer of the construction of Fort at Clark's Point, New Bedford harbor, Mas., 1858‑61, — of repairs of Ft. Adams, Newport Harbor, R. I., 1858‑64, — in charge of Ft. Trumbull and Battery Griswold, New London harbor, Ct., 1858‑64, — and for commencing new Fort at Willet's Point, and making repairs and alterations of Ft. Schuyler, for the defense of eastern entrance to  p536 New York harbor, 1859‑64; and as Member of Board "to revise the Programme of Instruction at the Military Academy," Jan. 12 to Apr. 24, 1860, — and of Special Board of Engineers to select sites for additional batteries at Ft. Hamilton, N. Y., Sep. 7 to Oct. 25, 1860.

Served during the Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1861‑66: as Aide-

(Lieut.‑Col., Staff — Aide-de‑Camp to the General-in‑Chief, Apr. 9, 1861)

de‑Camp to Lieut.-General Scott, General-in‑Chief of the Armies of the

(Col., Staff — Aide-de‑Camp to the General-in‑Chief, Aug. 6, 1861)

United States, Apr. 9 to Nov. 1, 1861; as Member of the U. S. Sanitary

(Major, Corps of Engineers, Aug. 6, 1861)

Commission, June 13, 1861, to Feb. 24, 1864, — and as Associate Member

(Brig.‑General, U. S. Volunteers, Nov. 1, 1861)

of Western Sanitary Commission, Jan. 2 to July 11, 1862; as Chief Engineer of the Department of Missouri, Nov. 19, 1861, to Mar. 11, 1862, and of the Department of the Mississippi, Mar. 11 to July 11, 1862; as Chief of Staff of Major-General Halleck, while commanding the Departments of Missouri and of the Mississippi, Nov. 19, 1861, to July 11, 1862, while General-in‑Chief of the Armies of the United States, July 11, 1862, to Mar. 12, 1864, and while Chief of Staff of the Army, Mar. 12 to Sep. 5, 1864; as Member of Board for the examination of the fortifications and system of defense of the City of St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 2, 1861, to Feb. 6, 1862, — and of Army and Navy Board to examine the condition and fitness of the Mississippi Gun and Mortar Boat Flotilla, Dec. 9‑31, 1861; in command at Cairo, Ill., of operations auxiliary to the armies in the field, on the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers, — of the defense of the District of Cairo, embracing portions of the adjacent States of Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, — and of the land forces while making several Demonstrations and Armed Reconnoissances, by Army and Navy, of the Rebel fortifications of Columbus, Ky., Feb. 6 to Mar. 7, 1862; in organizing the defenses of the Mississippi River at Cairo, Ill., Bird's Point, Mo., Ft. Holt, Ky., Columbus, Ky., Island No. Ten, and New Madrid, Mo., Apr., 1862; as Chief Engineer of the armies commanded by Major-General Halleck in the Campaign in Tennessee and Mississippi, Apr.‑July, 1862, being engaged in the Advance upon and Siege of Corinth, Mis., Apr. 19 to May 30, 1862, — and in fortifying Corinth, May 30 to July 18, 1862; in inspecting the defensive arrangements at Harper's Ferry, Winchester, and Martinsburg, Va., Aug. 27 to Sep. 6, 1862; as Member of Commission to examine the plan and sufficiency of the defenses of Washington city, Oct. 29 to Dec. 24, 1862, — of Board of Engineers to examine Timby's Revolving Iron Tower for Harbor defense, Dec. 15, 1862, to June 23, 1863, — of Ponton Board to examine all designs for Military Bridges presented to the War Department, Jan. 22, 1863, to Sep. 5, 1864, — of Special Board of Engineers to examine

(Lieut.-Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Mar. 3, 1863)

the defenses of Boston harbor, and to devise expedients to resist the entrance of armed cruisers, May 2‑22, 1863, — of Board for the examination of Officers of the Corps of Engineers for promotion, Aug. 1, 1863, to Mar. 8, 1864, — of Board to devise defenses of Potomac Aqueduct, Aug. 29 to Sep. 3, 1863, — of Board for the Armament of the defenses of Washington, D. C., Nov. 10 to Dec. 3, 1863, — of the Board of Engineers to Re-organize our system of Seacoast Fortifications, Jan. 27, 1864, to May 31, 1864, — of Board for the examination of Officers of the Corps of Engineers for promotion, July 6 to Sep. 20, 1864, — and of Board to Re-organize the defenses of Baltimore, Md., July 27‑31, 1864; as Engineer to examine, modify, and project fortifications  p537 for the more perfect defense of Nashville, Ten., as a base of operations, and depot of supplies for our Western armies, Aug. 6 to Oct. 20, 1864; and as Superintendent of the U. S. Military Academy, Sep. 8,

(Bvt. Colonel and Bvt. Brig.‑General, U. S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865,
for Faithful and Meritorious Services during the Rebellion)

(Bvt. Maj.‑General, U. S. Army, Mar. 13, 1865, for Faithful, Meritorious, and Distinguished Services during the Rebellion)

1864, to Aug. 28, 1866.

Mustered out of Volunteer Service, Sep. 1, 1866.

Served: as Member of the Board of Engineers, Nov. 24, 1866, to May 18, 1867, to carry out in detail the modifications of the defenses in the vicinity of New York, as proposed by the Board of Jan. 27, 1864, —

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

and of Board of Engineers for Fortifications and Harbor and River Obstructions required for the Territory of the United States, May 18, 1867 (leave of absence in Europe, May 21 to Nov. 4, 1873), to Jan. 13, 1874, — and of Board for the examination of Officers of the Corps of Engineers for Promotion, June 20 to Sep. 6, 1872.

Retired from Active Service, Jan. 13, 1874, under the Law of July 17, 1862, he being over the Age of 62 Years.

Civil History. — Author of "Military Bridges with India Rubber Pontons," 1849; of "Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy," 1850; of Translation of "Duparcq's Elements of Military Art and History," 1863; of "Systems of Military Bridges," 1863; of "Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy," 1867 (2d edition, 1879, and 3d edition, 1890); of the "Campaigns and Engineers of the War of 1812‑15 against Great Britain," 1879; of the "Struggle for the Hudson," during the American Revolution, in the "Narrative and Critical History of America," 1888; and of numerous biographical, historical, and geographical papers, 1833‑90. Vice-President of the American Geographical Society, since Jan. 13, 1874; and President of the Geographical Library Society of the City of New York, since Nov. 12, 1880. Member of the Board of Managers of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, 1880‑82; of the Farragut Monument Association, 1880‑81; and of the New York Cancer Hospital, 1885 (declined). Delegate to the Conference of the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations, held at Cologne, Ger., Aug., 1881; and of the International Geographical Congress, held at Venice, Italy, Sep., 1881.

Buried, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.