Engineer Officers - Union and Confederate

Joshism

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
488
Reaction score
587
In Thomas Army's Engineering Victory, he gives statistics for how many officers from the Corps of Engineers and Corps of Topographic Engineers who stayed in the Union Army and how many resigned to join the Confederate Army. He only names some of them, and not all in the same place. The book lacks an appendix listing who these officers were. My Search Fu also failed to find a list online. As such, I thought it would a good and interesting idea to compile a list of who these individuals.

Statistics given in the aforementioned book...

Corps of Engineers: 48 officers in 1861. 40 served in the Union Army - 29 as engineers and 13 as field commanders (presumably 2 started as engineers but switched later in the war). The other 8 resigned to join the Confederates; 3 remained engineers and 5 became field commanders.

Corps of Topographic Engineers: 44 or 45 officers in 1861. 37 served in the Union Army, 7 in the Confederate Army (possibly 1 resigned and sat out the war).
 

Joshism

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
488
Reaction score
587
Note: these lists don't including officers like McClellan, Halleck, Roserans, or Ledbetter that had been Army engineers, but resigned in the 1850s only to rejoin for the war. I'll update these lists in subsequent posts as a roster is compiled.

Corps of Engineers - joined the Confederate Army
  1. Edward P. Alexander *
  2. P.G.T. Beauregard *
  3. Jeremy F. Gilmer
  4. G.W.C. Lee *
  5. W.H.C. Whiting *
  6. Robert E. Lee??? * (the book may have been counting him - can anyone confirm if he formally transferred from the Corps of Engineers to the Cavalry in the 1850s or did he retain his position in the Engineers while serving with the 2nd Cavalry in Texas?)
  7. Walter H. Stevens
  8. ???
Corps of Engineers - Union Army
  1. Orville Babcock (WP '61)
  2. John G. Barnard
  3. George W. Cullum (who later compiled Cullum's Register)
  4. Richard Delafield
  5. James C. Duane
  6. John N. Macomb
  7. James B. McPherson *
  8. James St. Clair Morton
  9. John Newton *
  10. John G. Totten
  11. Daniel P. Woodbury
  12. Horatio G. Wright *
* indicates field commander during the war.

That's only 12 of 40 identified so far, including only 3 of 13 field commanders

Topographic Engineers - joined the Confederate Army
  1. Robert F. Beckham
  2. Charles Read Collins
  3. Joseph Dixon
  4. William Holding Echols
  5. Joseph C. Ives
  6. Martin Luther Smith (field commander 1861-1863, engineer 1864-1865)
  7. William P. Smith (WP '57; I am having trouble identifying his Civil War service)
Topographic Engineers - Union Army
  1. Henry L. Abbot
  2. Hartman Bache
  3. Nicholas Bowen
  4. George Derby (on extended leave, died without serving during the war)
  5. William B. Franklin *
  6. Campbell Graham (retired in 1861 due to medical disability)
  7. Andrew A. Humphreys %
  8. George G. Meade *
  9. George H. Mendell
  10. Nathaniel Michler
  11. John G. Parke *
  12. Orlando M. Poe (engineer most of the war, except for about six months commanding the 2nd MI Infantry)
  13. John Pope *
  14. Haldiman S. Putnam *
  15. William F. Raynolds
  16. Lorenzo Sitgreaves
  17. Joseph Lee Kirby Smith *
  18. William F. "Baldy" Smith *
  19. Charles N. Turnbull
  20. Orlando G. Wagner
  21. Gouvenor K. Warren %
  22. Junius B. Wheeler
  23. Amiel W. Whipple *
  24. Robert S. Williamson
  25. James H. Wilson %
  26. Israel C. Woodruff
* served as a field commander during the war
% served as an engineer into 1862 or 1863 then became a field commander

26 of 37(?) identified so far (unclear if the book counted Derby and Graham)

Who is missing from these lists? Cullum's Register (free and searchable online) is an easy way to confirm served in 1861 and whether it was Corps of Engineers vs Corps of Topographical Engineers.
 
Last edited:

Joshism

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
488
Reaction score
587
12 more Corps of Engineers, all Union:
Henry W. Benham (mostly as an engineer, but did command a brigade in 1861)
Charles E. Blunt
Cyrus Comstock
William P. Craighill
Rene E. DeRussy
John G. Foster *
Edward B. Hunt
John D. Kurtz
John C. Palfrey
Frederick E. Prime
Charles Seaforth Stewart
Godfrey Weitzel *

Brings the list to 24 of 40 identified, including 5(?) of 13 field commanders.
 
Last edited:

Joshism

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
488
Reaction score
587
Found the missing Corps of Engineer officer who went CSA: Samuel H. Lockett.

More Corps of Engineers in the Union Army, bringing the list to 35 of 40 (plus 5 West Point 1861 graduates), but only 6 of 13 field commanders who I would have thought would be the easier ones to come up with.
Thomas Lincoln Casey
Charles E. Cross (WP '61)
Arthur H. Dutton (WP '61)
George H. Elliot
Francis U. Farquhar (WP '61)
Quincy A. Gillmore *
David C. Houston
Walter McFarland
William E. Merrill
Patrick J. O'Rorke (WP '61)
William C. Paine
Chauncey B. Reese
Henry M. Robert (who famously wrote Robert's Rules of Order)
George W. Snyder
John A. Tardy
 

Joshism

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
488
Reaction score
587
Through the miracle of JSTOR I stumbled across the answer to all my questions here: George T. Ness Jr. "Army Engineers of the Civil War." The Military Engineer, Vol. 57, No. 375 (Jan-Feb 1965), 38-40.

Corps of Engineers - active as of Jan 1, 1861; joined the Confederate Army
  1. Edward P. Alexander *
  2. P.G.T. Beauregard *
  3. Jeremy F. Gilmer
  4. George Washington Custis Lee *
  5. Samuel H. Lockett
  6. Richard K. Meade Jr.
  7. Walter H. Stevens
  8. W.H.C. Whiting *
Corps of Engineers - Union Army (active as of Jan 1, 1861)
  1. Barton S. Alexander
  2. John G. Barnard
  3. Henry W. Benham (mostly as an engineer, but did command a brigade in 1861)
  4. Charles E. Blunt
  5. Alexander Hamilton Bowman
  6. Henry Brewerton
  7. Thomas Lincoln Casey
  8. Cyrus B. Comstock
  9. William P. Craighill
  10. George W. Cullum (later compiled Cullum's Register)
  11. Richard Delafield (Chief of Engineers 1864-1866)
  12. Rene E. DeRussy
  13. James C. Duane
  14. George H. Elliot
  15. John G. Foster *
  16. Quincy A. Gillmore *
  17. David C. Houston
  18. Edward B. Hunt
  19. John D. Kurtz
  20. John N. Macomb
  21. Miles Daniel McAlester
  22. Walter McFarland
  23. James B. McPherson *
  24. Montgomery C. Meigs (Quartermaster General of the Union Army)
  25. William E. Merrill
  26. James St. Clair Morton
  27. John Newton *
  28. William C. Paine
  29. John C. Palfrey
  30. Frederick E. Prime
  31. Chauncey B. Reese
  32. Henry M. Robert
  33. George W. Snyder
  34. Charles Seaforth Stewart
  35. Sylvanus Thayer
  36. John A. Tardy
  37. John G. Totten (Chief of Engineers until 1864)
  38. Zealous Bates Tower
  39. Godfrey Weitzel *
  40. Daniel P. Woodbury
  41. Horatio G. Wright *
Corps of Engineers - Union Army From The West Point Class of 1861
  1. Orville E. Babcock
  2. Charles E. Cross
  3. Arthur H. Dutton
  4. Peter C. Hains
  5. Francis U. Farquhar
  6. Patrick J. O'Rorke
Corps of Engineers - Union Army From The West Point Class of 1862
  1. Ranald S. Mackenzie
  2. George L. Gillespie
  3. George Burroughs
  4. Charles R. Suter
  5. Jared A. Smith
  6. Samuel M. Mansfield
  7. Henry C. Wharton
Corps of Engineers - Union Army From The West Point Class of 1863
  1. John Rodgers Meigs
  2. Peter S. Michie
  3. James D. Rabb
  4. William J. Twining
  5. William Rice King
  6. William H. H. Benyaurd
  7. Charles W. Howell
  8. Asa H. Holgate
Corps of Engineers - Union Army From The West Point Class of 1864
  1. Garrett J. Lydecker
  2. Arthur H. Burnham
  3. Amos Stickney
  4. James W. Cuyler
  5. Alexander Mackenzie
  6. Oswald H. Ernst
  7. David Porter Heap
  8. William Ludlow
  9. Charles B. Phillips
  10. William Albert Jones
  11. John T. Cantwell
  12. Andrew N. Damrell
  13. C. Douglas Waterman
  14. Vanderbilt Allen
  15. Charles J. Allen
The West Point graduates from 1862-1864 were all the respective top class finishers. Yes, the Top 15 in 1864 all went into the Corps of Engineers! This was presumably due to the wartime expansion of the corps.

Topographic Engineers - joined the Confederate Army
  1. Robert F. Beckham
  2. Charles Read Collins
  3. Joseph Dixon
  4. William Holding Echols
  5. Joseph C. Ives
  6. Martin Luther Smith (field commander 1861-1863, engineer 1864-1865)
  7. William Proctor Smith
Topographic Engineers - Union Army
  1. James William Abert
  2. John James Abert (Chief Topographic Engineer)
  3. Henry L. Abbot
  4. Hartman Bache
  5. Nicholas Bowen
  6. Francis T. Bryan
  7. Thomas J. Cram
  8. George Derby (on extended leave, died without serving during the war)
  9. William B. Franklin *
  10. Campbell Graham (retired in 1861 due to medical disability)
  11. James D. Graham
  12. Andrew A. Humphreys %
  13. James Kearney
  14. John N. Macomb
  15. George G. Meade *
  16. George H. Mendell
  17. Nathaniel Michler
  18. William Rickettts Palmer
  19. John G. Parke *
  20. Orlando M. Poe (engineer most of the war, except for about six months commanding the 2nd MI Infantry)
  21. John Pope *
  22. Haldiman S. Putnam *
  23. William F. Raynolds
  24. James H. Simpson (engineer most of the war, except for one year commanding 4th NJ Infantry)
  25. Lorenzo Sitgreaves
  26. Joseph Lee Kirby Smith *
  27. William F. "Baldy" Smith *
  28. Howard Stansbury
  29. George Thom
  30. Charles N. Turnbull
  31. Orlando G. Wagner
  32. Gouvenor K. Warren %
  33. Junius B. Wheeler
  34. Amiel W. Whipple *
  35. Robert S. Williamson
  36. James H. Wilson %
  37. Israel Carle Woodruff
* served as a field commander during the war
% served as an engineer into 1862 or 1863 then became a field commander

As far as I have found, the only addition to the Corps of Topographic Engineers during the war was Alfred Mordecai from the West Point Class of 1861 who transferred to Ordinance later that year. (Not to be confused with the other, better known antebellum Ordinance officer of the same name.)
 
Last edited:

Joshism

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Messages
488
Reaction score
587
Some observations...

Of the original 36 officers assigned to the Corps of Topographic Engineers upon its creation in 1838, 14 were still with the Corps in 1861 (and Joseph E. Johnston was Quartermaster General). Of the other 21, 13 were dead by the start of the war and 1 had been dismissed from the army.

The four senior officers in the Topogs at the start of 1861 were the same four senior officers when the Corps formed in 1838. All four died during the war, but none from war-related causes. So that means, among other things, the Army had the same Chief Topographic Engineer for 23 years.

The Corps of Engineers wasn't much better. Joseph G. Totten was the Chief of Engineers from 1838 to 1864. He only left the position because he died of pneumonia, having been in the Army for 57 years! There's no question he was a very talented engineer, but that's ridiculous.

The top six senior officers in the Corps of Engineers on Jan 1, 1861 had all graduated West Point between 1805 and 1825. John G. Barnard, who served well with the Army of the Potomac, was the youngest Major in the Corps of Engineers. He graduated in the Class of 1833. The Top 15 senior officers in the Corps of Engineers had been in the Army for 20+ years.

The youngest Captain in the Corps of Engineers at the start of 1861 was John G. Foster, Class of 1864.

15 members of the 1861 Corps of Engineers would reach the rank of Major General (Brevet and/or of Volunteers) by the end of the war.

5 members of the 1861 Corps of Engineers would be Chief of Engineers at some point after the end of the war.

P.G.T. Beauregard was the most senior member of the Corps of Engineers or Corps of Topographic Engineers to resign his commission to join the Confederacy. He had been with the Corps of Engineers since 1838.

Montgomery Meigs (best known as Quartermaster General for most of the war) entered 1861 as a Capt of Engineers, 10th on the Corps seniority list.
 
Top