Peter Smith Michie (March 24, 1839 - February 16, 1901) was an American educator and soldier.

Biography

He was born in Brechin,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, came to the United States in 1843, and was brought up in Cincinnati. He graduated second in the class of 1863 at West Point and entered the engineer corps. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he served in the campaign of 1864 against

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

; was chief engineer of General Benjamin Butler's

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. Histor ...

during the construction of the

Dutch Gap Canal Dutch Gap Canal is located on the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia just north of the lost 17th-century town of Henricus. The canal's construction was initiated by Union forces during the American Civil War to bypass a meander loop of ...

; and was at the head of all engineering operations of the left column at Hatcher's Run and in the pursuit of General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

's army. After the war, having attained brevet rank of brigadier in 1865, he was for a year engaged in the government survey of the theatre of the war. From 1867 to 1869 he taught various branches at West Point; was member of a coastal fortification commission which visited Europe in 1870; and for the last thirty years of his life was professor of natural and experimental philosophy at West Point. He was an overseer of the Thayer School of Civil Engineering at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

(1871-1901). Michie died in

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

and was buried at the West Point Cemetery on February 18, 1901.

Works

* ''Elements of Wave Motion Relating to Sound and Light'' (1882) * ''The Life and Letters of Emory Upton'' (1885) * ''Elements of Analytical Mechanics'' (1886) * ''The Personnel of Sea-Coast Defense'' (1887) * ''Hydrodynamics'' (1888) * ''Practical Astronomy'' (1891) * ''General McClellan'' (“Great Commanders Series,” New York, 1901)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michie, Peter Smith 1839 births 1901 deaths People from Brechin Scottish emigrants to the United States United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Cincinnati American military engineers People of Ohio in the American Civil War Union Army generals United States Army officers United States Military Academy faculty American educators Writers from Cincinnati People from West Point, New York Burials at West Point Cemetery