William Ward Duffield William Ward Duffield ( November 19 , 1823 – June 22 , 1907 ) was an executive in the coal industry , a railroad construction engineer , and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War . After the war he was appointed Superintendent of the U . S . Coast and Geodetic Survey . Early life . Duffield was born in Carlisle , Pennsylvania , the son of Isabella Graham ( Bethune ) , and the Reverend George Duffield , a prominent minister in the Presbyterian Church . He was also the brother of Brigadier General Henry M . Duffield . Although he would call Michigan home after 1836 , throughout his life William worked and traveled widely . He graduated in 1842 from Columbia College , New York , as a civil engineer , and two years later received a Master of Arts . He later studied law and was admitted to the Detroit bar . At the onset of the Mexican - American War he entered the U . S . Army as adjutant of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry . Later during the war he served on the staff of General Gideon J . Pillow . He went to California as an Army paymaster after the war and qualified as a founding member in the Society of California Pioneers . During this service he became well enough versed in the military sciences to author two books on the subject . After leaving the Army he worked as engineer and superintendent of railroads in New York ; surveyed the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad from Pontiac to Grand Haven , from Detroit to Port Huron , and from Mendota to Galesburg , Illinois . Civil War . When the Civil War erupted , Duffield joined the 4th Michigan Infantry as its lieutenant colonel , and participated with the regiment in the First Battle of Bull Run . In September 1861 he resigned from the 4th and accepted a commission as colonel of the 9th Michigan Infantry . On January 9 , 1862 , he was ordered to Bardstown , Kentucky , to head an officer examining board . From March 8 to May 14 , 1862 , he commanded the 23rd Brigade of the Army of the Ohio . On April 11 , 1862 , he was appointed acting brigadier general , but his appointment was not confirmed by the United States Senate ; it was tabled on July 16 , 1862 . On May 9 , 1862 , he was appointed acting military governor of Kentucky . On July 12 , 1862 , Duffield arrived in Murfreesboro , Tennessee , in command of the 9th Michigan . The following day the Union garrison , under the overall command of Brig . Gen . Thomas T . Crittenden , was attacked and defeated by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest in the First Battle of Murfreesboro . Col . Duffield was twice wounded during the attack and captured ; he was exchanged on August 27 , 1862 . Postbellum career . Duffield resigned from the Army on February 6 , 1863 , and returned to Michigan . After the war he had charge of coal mines in Pennsylvania and iron mines in Kentucky , and was chief engineer of the Kentucky Union Railroad . In 1879 - 1880 he served as a Michigan State Senator . He was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as Superintendent of the U . S . Coast and Geodetic Survey , 1894 - 1898 . He spent his last years in Washington , D . C . , where he died . He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery .