John Newton ( engineer ) John Newton ( August 25 , 1822 – May 1 , 1895 ) was a career engineer officer in the United States Army , a Union general in the American Civil War , and Chief of the Corps of Engineers . Early life . Newton was born in Norfolk , Virginia , a city his father Thomas Newton , Jr . represented in the U . S . Congress for 31 years . He ranked second in the United States Military Academy class of 1842 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers . He taught engineering at the Military Academy ( 1843 – 46 ) and constructed fortifications along the Atlantic coast and Great Lakes ( 1846 – 52 ) . He was a member of a special Gulf Coast defense board ( 1856 ) and Chief Engineer , Utah Expedition ( 1858 ) . Civil War . Though a fellow Virginian , Newton did not follow Robert E . Lee but stood firm for the Union . Newton helped construct Washington defenses and led a brigade in the Peninsula Campaign . In the Maryland Campaign , at South Mountain , he led a bayonet charge that resulted in taking the enemy position , and also fought at the Battle of Antietam . As a division commander in the VI Corps , he participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg . After that disastrous defeat , he and other generals journeyed to see President Abraham Lincoln and informed him of their lack of confidence in Army of the Potomac commander , Maj . Gen . Ambrose E . Burnside . This was one of the causes of Burnside ' s relief in January 1863 , but it also wounded Newton ' s career ; his appointment to major general on March 30 , 1863 , was withdrawn the following year when his involvement was understood . In the Battle of Chancellorsville , Newton was wounded at Salem Church . At Gettysburg , he replaced the slain Maj . Gen . John F . Reynolds in command of the I Corps and led it through the defense of Pickett ' s Charge . He retained command of I Corps until the Army of the Potomac was reorganized in 1864 for Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant ' s Overland Campaign . The I Corps was dissolved , and Newton was sent to the Army of the Cumberland . In the Atlanta Campaign , he commanded the 2nd Division , IV Corps , in Maj . Gen . George H . Thomas ' s command . He served under Sherman , who regarded him highly . At the Battle of Peachtree Creek , he prevented a dangerous Confederate movement against Sherman and his rapidly constructed works allowed him to turn back the Confederate thrust , a victory that put his official military career back on track . After the capture of Atlanta , Newton left active field duty and commanded the District of Key West and the Tortugas of the Department of the Gulf from 1864 to 1866 . His last campaign resulted in a defeat at the Battle of Natural Bridge in Florida in March 1865 , which temporarily enabled the Confederates to hold on to the state capital . Postbellum career . Returning to the Corps of Engineers , Newton oversaw improvements to the waterways around New York City and to the Hudson River above Albany . He also had charge of New York Harbor defenses until he was appointed Chief of Engineers in 1884 . He is famed for blowing up New York ' s Hell Gate Rock with 140 tons of dynamite on October 10 , 1885 . He retired from the Army in 1886 and served as Commissioner of Public Works , New York City ( 1886 – 88 ) , and as President of the Panama Railroad Company ( 1888 – 95 ) . He died in New York City and is buried at West Point National Cemetery . In 1899 , the Corps of Engineers named a 175 - foot paddlewheeler in Newton ' s honor ; the boat was later used as the Minnesota Centennial Showboat until its destruction by fire in 2000 .