page_title: Eben C. Smeed
section_title: Civil war
hierarchical_section_title: Eben C. Smeed / Civil war
caption_attribution_description: English: The photograph shows several men at the construction site of the Potomac Creek Bridge. Eben C. Smeed is seated at right.
context_page_description: Eben Cedron Smeed was an American civil engineer who was best known for his work on railroads, particularly the United States Military Railroad in supporting Sherman's Atlanta and Savannah campaigns working first under General Herman Haupt and then Colonel William Wierman Wright. Smeed typified the successful, self-made civil engineer in the 19th century.
  Although Haipt praised Smeed as a "man without education... he was a close student expert mathematician" as well as the best organizer of work Haupt had ever seen. Smeed's work on building the Chattahoochee bridge was in Haupt's opinion, unmatched anywhere in the world or military history.
context_section_description: In 1862, Smeed came to Virginia in the employ of Daniel Stone as a foreman of carpenters. Smeed was superintendent for the pontoon bridge crossing of the Rappahannock on the occasion of General Burnside's ill-fated attack on Fredericksburg.
  In November 1862, Smeed was with Colonel William Wright who was assigned by Haupt as Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad to rebuild the wharves at Acquia creek as well as fifteen miles of the railroad 
  to Fredricksburg, Virginia controlled by the Union army with Adna Anderson acted as chief engineer of construction. After rebuilding the bridges and wharves for the road, Wright was forced to abandon Acquia creek on September 6, 1862, due to Lee's victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Wright returned to Acquia creek in November 1862 while Lee had destroyed the railroad line from its terminus at Acquia creek all the way to Fredricksburg. Working under Wright, Smeed rebuilt the road including the Potomac creek high bridge but was forced to again abandon the railroad in June 1863 when Lee's advance to Gettysburg forced Union forces to retreat from their Fredricksburg positions. 
  As Haupt noted in his memoirs, in this 1863 retreat, Smeed remained at his station long after they had been evacuated by the military in retreat. In this case, Smeed led a small force of carpenters, worked for nearly half a day under fire, until their ropes were cut, the pulleys smashed, and the timbers knocked about with shells. A military force of 200 men, which had been detailed to assist, straggled off soon after the action commenced, not leaving a single man to protect Smeed's crew.
  For a detailed discussion on Smeed's role in Sherman's Atlanta campaign, see this article.
caption: 1862 US Military Railroads rebuilding the high bridge across Potomac Creek using Haupt's new design, Eben C. Smeed seated center-right.
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