John G . Barnard John Gross Barnard ( May 19 , 1815 – May 14 , 1882 ) was a career engineering officer in the U . S . Army , serving in the Mexican - American War , as the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy and as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He served as Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac , 1861 to 1862 , Chief Engineer of the Department of Washington from 1861 to 1864 , and as Chief Engineer of the armies in the field from 1864 to 1865 . He also was a distinguished scientist , engineer , mathematician , historian and author . Early life and career . John G . Barnard was born into a large and gifted family in Sheffield , Massachusetts . His brother , Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard was a longtime educator and president of Columbia University and namesake of Barnard College in New York City . Both John and Frederick , as well as most members of their family , suffered from a hereditary form of deafness which intensified in later years . In early life , when stationed in New Orleans , Barnard married Jane Elizabeth Brand , of Maryland , with whom he had four children . In 1860 , he married Anna E . Hall of Harford County , Maryland , with whom he had three children . In 1833 , at the age of 18 , Barnard graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York , second in a class of forty - three cadets . As one of the top graduates of his class , he was posted as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers , embarking on a 48 - year career in that branch . Throughout his career , he served on many garrison and fortification details , most notably participating in the construction of coastal defenses at Fort Columbus / Fort Jay , Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth in New York City , New Orleans , Pensacola , Mobile , Fort Livingston , Louisiana , Fort Jackson , Louisiana , Fort St . Philip , Louisiana and on the Pacific Coast at San Francisco . During the Mexican - American War , he headed the construction of American defenses at the captured Mexican port of Tampico , ensuring that city ' s safety as a vital supply line for American forces advancing on Mexico City . He also worked on the survey of Mexican - American War battlefields . and as Chief Engineer for the Exploration and Survey of the projected Tehuantepec Railroad in Mexico , in 1850 – 1851 . From May 31 , 1855 through September 8 , 1856 , Barnard served as the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy , succeeding Robert E . Lee . He then returned to work on coastal defenses , especially in the New York and New Jersey area . During a leave of absence , he studied construction projects in Europe . Civil War . Soon after the outbreak of the Civil War , U . S . Army commander Major General and Brevet Lieutenant General Winfield Scott , bearing in mind Barnard ' s success at defending his Tampico - based supply lines during the Mexican - American War , assigned then Major Barnard to the Department of Washington . This was the Union Army unit in charge of defending Washington , D . C . , the capital of the United States . On April 28 , 1861 , Colonel Joseph K . Mansfield , the department commander , a former engineer himself , attached Barnard to his headquarters as chief engineer . When the Union Army moved into Northern Virginia on May 24 , 1861 , Barnard oversaw the erection of fortifications on the Arlington hills . He also accompanied the Army to Manassas in July 1861 and was present at the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run ( Manassas ) . Between June 1861 and September 1861 , Barnard also served on the U . S . Navy ' s Blockade Strategy Board . Major General George B . McClellan assumed command of the Military Division of the Potomac , the troops around Washington , D . C . on July 23 , 1861 . On August 15 , 1861 , McClellan was appointed to the command of the Army and Department of the Potomac , and Barnard became chief engineer of the Military District of Washington . As McClellan formulated his thoughts for fortifications around Washington , D . C . , Barnard planned , designed and oversaw their construction . In Barnard ' s " A Report on the Defenses of Washington " , published after the Civil War , he commented on the complexity and everchanging nature of the project : On September 23 , 1861 , President Abraham Lincoln appointed Barnard to the grade of brigadier general , U . S . Volunteers , to rank from September 23 , 1861 . Lincoln formally nominated Barnard as brigadier general on December 21 , 1861 and the U . S . Senate confirmed the promotion on March 24 , 1862 . Barnard was Engineer for the Army of the Potomac between August 20 , 1861 and August 16 , 1862 . He participated in the Peninsula Campaign and directed the siege works at Yorktown , Virginia of offensive and defensive works on the Chickahominy River . On the march to Harrison ' s Landing on the James River , he reconnoitered and selected positions for the Battle of Gaines Mill , the passage of White Oak Swamp and the Battle of Malvern Hill . After the conclusion of his work in that campaign , he again was engaged in working on the defenses of Washington as chief engineer of the Department of Washington until May 1864 . He had certain additional special assignments such as devising the defenses of Pittsburg , Pennsylvania during this period . Upon the death of the Chief of the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers , Brigadier General Joseph Totten , on April 22 , 1864 , President Lincoln nominated Barnard to be the next Chief of the U . S . Army Corps of Engineer at the grade of brigadier general , U . S . Army , but Barnard immediately asked that the nomination be withdrawn . Barnard was Engineer XXII Corps , Department of Washington , between February 2 , 1863 and May 25 , 1864 . Between May 25 , 1864 and June 5 , 1864 , he was Chief Engineer for the Army of the Potomac . He was on the staff of General Ulysses S . Grant in the Overland Campaign between June 5 , 1864 and July 4 , 1864 . On July 4 , 1864 , President Lincoln nominated and the U . S . Senate confirmed the award to General Barnard of the honorary rank of brevet major general , U . S . Volunteers , to rank from July 4 , 1864 for " Meritorious and Distinguished Services during the Rebellion . " Barnard was appointed Chief Engineer of the armies in the field with his appointment to General Grant ' s staff . He remained in this position during the Siege of Petersburg , including the capture of Fort Harrison , the Battle of Hatcher ' s Run and the final assault on Petersburg , until the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox , Virginia on April 9 , 1865 . General Barnard served in the honor guard for President Lincoln ' s funeral in April 1865 . He was mustered out of the U . S . Volunteers on January 15 , 1866 . On April 10 , 1866 , President Andrew Johnson nominated and on May 4 , 1866 the U . S . Senate confirmed the award to Barnard of the honorary grade of brevet brigadier general , USA , ( Regular Army ) to rank from March 13 , 1865 for " Gallant and Meritorious Service in the Campaign terminating with the Surrender of the Insurgent Army under Gen . R . E . Lee . " On July 17 , 1866 , President Johnson nominated and on July 23 , 1866 the U . S . Senate confirmed the award to Barnard of the honorary grade of brevet major general , USA , to rank from March 13 , 1865 " for Gallant and Meritorious Services in the Field during the Rebellion . " Postbellum career . Barnard was promoted to colonel in the Regular Army on December 28 , 1865 and continued his career in the Army Corps of Engineers until January 1881 . Soon after the close of the war , Barnard was made president of the permanent Board of Engineers for Fortifications and River and Harbor Improvements , a position which he held until his retirement from active service , in January , 1881 . Barnard successfully recast the approach to coastal defenses which was required because of the obsolescence of wooden ships and muzzle loading guns . He also advocated the successful use of parallel jetties to improve the mouth of the Mississippi River . He was a prominent member of the United States Lighthouse Board from February 20 , 1870 until his retirement on January 2 , 1881 . Barnard was an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847 as well as the < a href = " Military % 20Order % 20of % 20the % 20Loyal % 20Legion % 20of % 20the % 20United % 20 % 0AStates " > Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States < / a > . Barnard authored several scientific and engineering treatises and Civil War history papers . Among the more notable of these were : Barnard was a co - founder of the United States National Academy of Sciences , as were several other senior officers of the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers . Colonel Barnard retired from the Army Corps of Engineers on January 2 , 1881 . Colonel , Brigadier General , USV , and Brevet Major General , USA and USV , John Gross Barnard died in Detroit , Michigan , on May 14 , 1882 and is interred in Sheffield , Massachusetts .