The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-08
OBITUARY,
Brigadier-Genera1 Thomas j. Rodman,
United states Army.

united states Army
This well-known officer and inventor of the
celebrated Rodman gun died at Rock Island,
ILL.,, where he was commandant of the United
States armory and arsenal, at o'clock yester-
day morning He was native of Indiana,
from from which State he was appointed to the
there from July, 1887, to July, 1S4l, when
be graduated seventh in his class, aud was COM
missioned brevet second lieutenant and assigned
TO duty as assistant ordnance officer at Allie
gheny Arsenal Pa. In 1S45 he went to Rich
mond for the preparation of machinery to test
gun metal and to supervise the manufacture of
cannon. From September to November, 1S46,
he was at Boston, mounting and experimenting
with Bomford's 12-inch columbiad. The greater
part of the following year was passed at Pitts
burg, supervising the manufacture of cannon.
In March, 1S47, he was promoted to the rank
OF first lieutenant, and in July, 1856, was COM
missioned captain ''for fourteen years con-
tinuous service" During this interval he was
engaged in ordnance duties, part of the time at
Piltsburg and Baton Rouge. From 1857 to 1859
he was engaged, at intervals, fixing the pro-
gramme of experiments with cannon, expert
menting on gunpowder and determining the
proper form of cannon, testing carbnes, and in
spectiDg and fixing the quality of iron. He cou-
tinued his experiments until 1851, when he pub
lished their results In a valuable work, entitled
"Reports of Experiments on Metals for Cannon
and Cannon Powder" Previous to this Captain
Rodman had invented the gun which bears his
name. He supervised the casting and testing of
the first 12-inch columbiad, 12-inch rihed gun,
and 20-inch smooth bore, and from September,
1864, to his death supervised the casting of pro,
jecties and ordnance with hollow core and
cooled from inside to outside, as invented by
himself) for the Ordnance Department. In
March, 1865 he was brevetted lieutenant-colo-
nel colonel, and brigadier-general "for faithful,
meritorious, and distinguished services in the
Ordnance Department" receiving thereby the
usual compliment of three brevets In a single
day. In March, 1867, he was commissioned
lieutenant-colonel of ordnance, and held that
rank at the time of his death. General Rod
mans services during the rebellion were most
valuable to the country. 1t was not his fortune
to be called upon the battle field, but in prepar-
ing the ordnance for the use of the Union
not be overestimated, and performed it so tho
roughly that there never was the slightest com
plant from the generalsl commanding in the
field.
Juan George Kohl.
Juan George Kohl, a celebrated traveller aud
author, who died on Tuesday at Bremen, Ger.
many was born in the same place on the 2Sth
of April, 1905 He studied science in Bremen
and finished his education in the Universities OF
Gottipgen, Heidelberg, and Munich. For seve-
raj years he was engaged as tutor in noble
families, and afterwards he travelled over
every part of Europe. He finally settled In
Dresden in 1885, and published sketches and
| popular. In 1857 he contributed to the Smith
| sonian Institution at Washington two treatiset
on the maps and charts of the New World al
| different periods, and wrote descriptive cata-
| logue of all the maps, charts, and surveys re-
| lating to America. He also wrote a history o
and commentary on the two maps of the New
| World made in Spain at the commencement o
the reign of the Emperor Charles v, and contri
| buted frequently to the publications of various
learned societies.