Nathaniel Towson Major - General Nathaniel Towson ( January 22 , 1784 – July 20 , 1854 ) also known as Nathan Towson . History . Nathaniel Towson was born in Towsonton , Maryland , which was then a small town north of Baltimore . Nathan farmed for much of his early life and left Towson to establish his family ' s recently acquired farm in Kentucky . Because of a land dispute , Nathan moved to Natchez , Mississippi . Military career . While in Natchez , Nathan joined a volunteer artillery outfit to accompany the first American governor of Louisiana , William C . C . Claiborne , to New Orleans . Nathan quelled an attempted mass desertion and quickly rose through the ranks until he finally commanded the Natchez Volunteer Artillery . In 1805 , Nathan returned to Baltimore County and continued farming but remained a military officer through his position with the Maryland Militia . Nathan ' s military prowess earned him recognition in the Maryland Militia and he became Adjutant of its 7th Regiment . During this period prior to the War of 1812 , Nathan became an astute artillery officer and devoted significant efforts to artillery ' s related study of mathematics . Nathan also became an adviser to the state during its revision of the militia laws . War of 1812 . With American and British tensions escalating , Nathan was appointed Captain in the US Army artillery on March 15 , 1812 . Nathan ' s service during the War of 1812 began with a notable success . His first engagement involved his commanding a small group to capture an enemy brig , the Caledonia . The successful capture propelled Nathan ' s reputation . Nathan quickly rose through the ranks , both through his own acts of individual bravery and his effective artillery command . While commanding relatively few artillery pieces , his batteries ' discharges were so numerous that his position during the Siege of Fort Erie became known as " Towson ' s Lighthouse " . During the War of 1812 , Nathan commanded artillery during many confrontations , including the Battle of Fort George , the Battle of Stoney Creek , the Battle of Queenston Heights , the Battle of Chippawa , the Battle of Lundy ' s Lane , and the Siege of Fort Erie . Post war . After the War , Nathan was assigned to a command Fort Independence in Boston and then Fort Wolcott in Newport , Rhode Island . He was then appointed Paymaster General of the Army in 1819 and was promoted to colonel on June 1 , 1821 . As Paymaster General , Towson resided primarily in Washington , DC . Towson received a brevet ( honorary promotion ) to brigadier general on June 30 , 1834 and another to major general on May 30 , 1848 for he services during the Mexican War . Towson died while still on active duty on July 20 , 1854 after serving 42 years in the Army . Societies . During the 1820s , Towson was a member of the prestigious society , the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences , which counted among its members former presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams as well as many prominent men of the day , including well - known representatives of the military , government service , medical and other professions . In 1831 he was admitted as an honorary member of the Maryland Society of the Cincinnati .