Richard Delafield (September 1, 1798 – November 5, 1873) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer for 52 years. He served as superintendent of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

for 12 years. At the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, then

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Delafield helped equip and send volunteers from New York to the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. He also was in command of defenses around

New York harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

from 1861 to April 1864. On April 22, 1864, he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the Regular Army of the United States and

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

. On March 8, 1866,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

nominated Delafield for appointment to the grade of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the Regular Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

confirmed the appointment on May 4, 1866, reconfirmed due to a technicality on July 14, 1866. He retired from the US Army on August 8, 1866. He later served on two commissions relating to improvements to Boston Harbor and to lighthouses. He also served as a regent of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Early life

Richard Delafield was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on September 1, 1798.Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964. . pp. 117-118.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . pp. 205-206. He was one of the 14 children of John and Anne (''née'' Hallett) Delafield. His father had emigrated to New York from England in 1788 and made a fortune as a merchant.

Edward Delafield Edward Delafield (May 7, 1794 – February 13, 1875) was an American physician, primarily known as an ophthalmologist, but also for his work in obstetrics and gynaecology. He was the co-founder (with John Kearney Rodgers) of the New York Eye Infi ...

, a prominent American physician,

Joseph Delafield Joseph Delafield (August 22, 1790 – February 12, 1875) was an American soldier, lawyer and diplomat. Early life Delafield was born in New York City on August 22, 1790. He was the second oldest of the surviving sons and four daughters born to ...

, a lawyer and diplomant, and

Rufus King Delafield Rufus King Delafield (November 18, 1802 – February 6, 1874) was an American banker and manufacturer. Early life Delafield was born at his father's residence, 16 Wall Street in New York City, on November 18, 1802, and named after Rufus King, t ...

, a banker and manufacturer, were among his brothers. He was the first graduate of the

to receive a merit class standing, ranking first in the class of 1818. During his time at West Point he also became the first cadet teacher detailed as acting assistant professor of mathematics in 1815. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, he served as topographical draftsman for the American Boundary Commission, along with his brother Joseph Delafield. The commission established the northern boundary between the United States and Canada under the

Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...

Military career

Delafield served as assistant engineer in the construction of

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

defenses from 1819 to 1824 and was in charge of fortifications and surveys in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

delta area in 1824–1832. While superintendent of repair work on the

Cumberland Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

east of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, he designed and built

Dunlap's Creek Bridge __NOTOC__ Dunlap's Creek Bridge was the first arch bridge in the United States built of cast iron. It was designed by Richard Delafield and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Constructed from 1836 to 1839 on the National Road in ...

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the Sullivan Expedition, defeat of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war ...

, the first cast-iron tubular-arch bridge in the United States. Commissioned a major of engineers in July 1838, he was appointed

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the Military Academy after the fire of 1838 and served till 1845. He designed the new buildings and the new cadet uniform that first displayed the castle insignia. He superintended the construction of coast defenses for

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

from 1846 to 1855. The Delafield Commission

In the beginning of 1855, Delafield was appointed by the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

a head of the board of officers, later called ''The Delafield Commission'', and sent to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to study the European military. The board included Captain

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

and Major

Alfred Mordecai Alfred Mordecai (January 3, 1804 – October 23, 1887) was an American army officer. He contributed to United States' military development through his research and writing, particularly in the area of artillery. He was instrumental in the United ...

. They inspected the state of the military in Great Britain, Germany, the Austrian Empire, France, Belgium, and Russia, and served as military observers during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. After his return in April 1856, Delafield submitted a report which was later published as a book by Congress, ''Report on the Art of War in Europe in 1854, 1855, and 1856''. The book was suppressed during the

due to fears that it would be instructive to Confederate engineers as it contained multiple drawings and descriptions of military fortifications. Delafield served as superintendent of the Military Academy again in 1856–1861. In January 1861, he was succeeded by Captain

Pierre G. T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonly ...

, who was dismissed shortly after Beauregard's home state of Louisiana seceded from the Union, and Delafield returned as superintendent serving until March 1, 1861. In the beginning of the Civil War he advised the governor of New York

Edwin D. Morgan Edwin Denison Morgan (February 8, 1811February 14, 1883) was the 21st governor of New York from 1859 to 1862 and served in the United States Senate from 1863 to 1869. He was the first and longest-serving chairman of the Republican National Comm ...

during the volunteer force creation. Then, in 1861–1864, he was put in charge of New York Harbor defenses, including

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...

and

Fort at Sandy Hook Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor, with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. The ...

. On May 19, 1864, he was commissioned a brigadier-general after replacing

Joseph Gilbert Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...

, who had died, as the

, United States Army Corps of Engineers, on April 22, 1864. He stayed in charge of the Bureau of Engineers of the War Department until his retirement on August 8, 1866. On March 8, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Delafield for appointment to the grade of

major general in the Regular Army of the United States, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on May 4, 1866, and reconfirmed it due to a technicality on July 14, 1866.

Later life

After retirement Delafield served as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution and a member of the Lighthouse Board.''American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection''
ed. by Spencer C. Tucker. Volume I. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2013. He died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on November 5, 1873. The Secretary of War ordered that 13 guns be fired in his memory at West Point. He is buried at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Family

Delafield's first wife Helen Summers, whom he married in 1824, passed away after four months into the marriage. In 1833 he married Harriet Baldwin Covington (1811–1894) with whom he had eight children, among them: *Henry Baldwin Delafield (1834–1847) *Susan Parish Delafield (1836–1896) *Juliet Covington Delafield (1837–1925) *Emma Delafield (1840–1938) *Laura Delafield (1843–1886) *Albert Delafield (1846–1920), who married Julia Floyd (1846–1929), granddaughter of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

William Floyd William Floyd (December 17, 1734 – August 4, 1821) was an American Founding Father, wealthy farmer, and political leader from New York. Floyd served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Continental Association and ...

File:Members of the Delafield family, circa 1870.jpg, Members of the Delafield family, circa 1870 File:Delafield Family Mausoleum.jpg, Delafield Family Mausoleum File:Delafield Family Mausoleum - Inscriptions.jpg, Delafield Family Mausoleum inscriptions File:Delafield Family Mausoleum III.jpg, Delafield Family Mausoleum (close-up)

References

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