Evening journal., 1897-01-27
CRAIGHILL WILL RE TIRE
The Resignation of Chief En-
gineer of the Army.
A NOTABLE Military CAREER

He wan rako Lcave Of Active Service
Voluntarily on saturday Next nas Ef-
neientiy Served His Country For Near
Iy Half Century.
WASHINGTON. Jan. General William
Price Craghill chief Of engineers Of the
army, will voluntarily retire from active
service in the army next saturday His
decision t9 relinquisi his important Office
at this time Is due aim 50 entrlly to a de-
sire for a short vacation, which he will
improve In looking FIR more permanent
employment of congenial character in
civil life Ii has been in active military
service for i3 years, and in all that time
he has not had over six months leave of
absence. He will bc ga years of age on Ju-
ly and would he subject to compulsory
retirement on that date Another statute.
however, provides for ne retirement Of
officers who have served 30 yenrs on their
own application, and it is this privilege Of
which General Craighillwill take advan
tago. To his friends he las said that he is
good fer several years more of hard work
and his chances of securing IT, he thought,
might be impaired should his record show
that he was retired f0' age
General C.aighill is most efficient OIL
Ger and stands at the front Of his profes
sion in this country as military and civil
engineer. He was born on July 1888,
at Charlestown, W. Va (thcn Nirgirih),
and entered the Military academy from
that state ON July lS49. -Four yoGrs
later he was graduated No in class of
% members. Among his classmates were
Generals Sheridan, Schofold Mcpherson
SoOysmifh and Vincent on tae Union side
in the civil war and Generals Hood, Cham-
bliss and Walker of the Confederate army
! Appointed a second lieutenant of the corps
of engineers, he has since passed through
all the intermediate grades TO to brieadier
/ general and chief of orginccrs, 10 which
/ last Office he was appoi1tcl b7 President
/ Cleveland on May l0, S95, succeeding
/ General Thomas l.. Casey
His Active Service.
Ia the war OF the rebellion he received
/ the hreycts of licutcraat colonel and colo-
mel fcr nc-itofious s'riicc. Ar yuriou-
tim. in the war he had charge ~ tac ioTti-
/ hcalilns of Washington, Baltimore. Hamp-
/ ton Roads Charleston. ) tvannah. IN Dry
/ Tortugas and relaware river. He was al
80 on the special board g. arrange dconscs
! for San Francisco WHOM tho French wcro
/ IN Mexico and thrcatcrcd 10 invndo Cali
lornia. ard Immediately after the war ne
served on board 10 revise an the fo,tifica
/ tions OF thc United states For four years
/ he was assistant professor of military and
1 civil engineering at the United St1tcs
Military academy at West Point rom
/ 1856 to 1859 Gcncral Craighill was assist
ant i'm the engineer bureau i'm the wcs do
/ partment, and again. from 1866 t1 1870
he was on duty in the engineer bureau.
In connection with river and hn-hOr
duty, General Craighill has had active
charge of many importnntp public imIroye-
&. ments n various parts of the country end
has taken an active Part be the Irci ct ioi
many others. He has been professionally
employed on harbors of refuge at the
mouth of the Delaware and on the coasts
of Massachusetts, and southern California
and has directed the surveys fer ship ca
nails between the Chesapeake and Della
ware bays the connection of the Atlantic
coast and the Mississippi valley by way of
the James, lianawia and Ohio rivers, and
he was ono Uf the hrard appointed io c0n-
slider the proposed sturgeon bay ship ca
nal near Milwaukee,
/ General CTighill has been twice sent Co
Europe on important cngin0aring missions
/ for the government and has five times vis-
| tied the Pacific coast ON similar service
He was Tr, siilent of the beard appointed
TO select and recommend % congflss sites
| for manufacturing heavy guns Oh tee fa-
ciic and gulf coasts, was "a member Of the
lighthouse board i'm Washington f-r sew
eral years and has several times been q iiol
90 ac cpt the appointment of suTcrirtend-
ent of the Military academy West
Point. For many yoirs member OF the
American Society Of Civil Engineers, he
became The president of tnnt organization
in 1885, icing tie only officer Of th' army
who has attained that distinction Hc is
also n mcmhcr of the American Associa-
tion For the Advancement a. Science. the
I Historical society n Maryland and The
/ American Economic association In 1881
ne compiled "Tfc Amy officers Pocket
Companion. in 1863 he translated and
published General Dupont's Cours dc
Tactiouc. and in cooperation with Cap.
tain Nendcll be also translated General
Jomini's Trccis de J. Art dc Ia Guerre
His re ord as chief of cncircCCrs has hccn
highly crcditablc and was signalized by
tic starting Of a comprehensive system of
fortiffati1ns in all parts of the country
and the beginning and continuation OF
important river and harhor works for
which large appropriations became availa-
bic at the beginning Of tho present fiscal
yelr
German Omcer Sentenced.